THE EURO-TOQUES chefs’ group has urged the Government to provide a safety net for small food producers to allow them to survive the recession.
The call was made at the presentation of the annual Euro-toques food awards in Dublin yesterday.
Four of the five awards went to groups of farmers who had added value to their produce.
Euro-toques commissioner general Feargal O’Donnell said regulatory requirements and compliance costs were making many businesses uncompetitive and deterring new food enterprises.
“In many cases, producers are being asked to invest in facilities that they will never recoup the cost of,” he said. “Many of these people wish to remain small and just to supply locally. We believe a different approach is needed.”
Euro-toques is seeking an independent assessment of cases where compliance costs are putting food businesses under threat or where they are being told they can no longer carry out traditional or artisan production methods.
The chefs group is also planning to ask the Food Safety Authority and the Government for a guarantee that no indigenous food producer will be forced out of business without this “safety net” process being employed.
Minister for Food Trevor Sargent told the awards ceremony he would “continue to espouse the cause of the local producer and a fair distribution of rewards in the food chain whilst all the time placing the protection of our environment and our long-term food supply at the heart of all policy decisions”.
This is the 13th year of the awards by the chefs group, which is the Irish branch of the European Community of Chefs and Cooks.
The Apple Farm at Moorstown, near Cahir, Co Tipperary, received an award for its range of apple and fruit varieties, juices and fruit produce. Con Traas’s family have been growing fruit, primarily apples, at the Apple Farm since the 1960s.
The judges praised it for “promoting diversity, retaining Irish horticulture and producing top-quality fruit and fruit juices”.
Woodside Farm in Leamlara, Co Cork, received an award for its free-range pork and pork products. Martin and Noreen Conroy breed and rear pure traditional Saddleback and Gloucester Old Spot pigs at their farm near Midleton.
The judges said the Conroys produced “excellent truly local food, produced sustainably on a real family farm, with excellent animal welfare and use of rare breeds”.
Drumeen Farm in Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, was recognised for its Happy Heart organic rapeseed oil. Kitty Colchester began producing the oil on her parents’ organic farm earlier this year.
The judges highlighted the “sustainable, holistic farm system”.
In September, a fire in the drying machine destroyed the entire final harvest of rapeseed. Because the farm does not want to import rape, there will be limited availability of the oil until next summer.
Another award went to Solaris Botanicals in Galway for its organic whole leaf speciality and herbal teas. Medical herbalists Jorg Muller and Karin Wieland produce a wide range of such teas.
The judges said Solaris Botanicals had “an innovative product, based on passion and expertise, with an environmental conscience and excellent business practices”.
A special award was presented to farmers co-operative group Connemara Hill Lamb Ltd for its achievement in registering Connemara Hill Lamb as a protected geographical indication (PGI) under the EU food quality scheme.
This means that the name Connemara Hill Lamb can only be used to describe lamb born and reared in the Connemara hills from black-faced horned ewes, feeding on a unique mixture of grasses, herbs and their mother’s milk.
