Food 'Oscars' set fresh standard of excellence

INAUGURAL awards presented in Dublin last night have set a new standard of excellence for the country's 15 billion a year food and drink industry.

The Food Ireland Food and Drink Industry awards recognise best practice in the sector which accounts for €6.8 billion in exports to 130 countries and involves 700 companies employing 166,000 people.

A total of 196 entries were received from 120 companies across six categories of the awards, which were organised by Bord Bia, the Food and Drink Federation of IBEC and AIB.