NORTHERN Ireland dairy cooperative Dale Farm has been recognised with a mammoth 36 awards at the International Cheese Show.
In addition to its cheese, the cooperative received accolades for its quark, cottage cheese and yoghurt at the annual industry event, held in Nantwich, Cheshire last week.
Dale Farm picked up 11 gold, seven silver and 11 bronze awards at the cheese show, with expert judging sampling over 5,500 entries from some of the world’s leading cheesemakers and dairy producers.
Stephen Cameron, group commercial director at Dale Farm said they are "extremely proud" to have their products recognised by the industry.
"These accolades represent not only a stamp of approval from the experts, but also a guarantee of product quality for the consumer," he said
“Our world-class dairy products come from world-class milk, and these awards are testament to the high quality of milk produced by the farmers within our cooperative, and the skill of those involved throughout the production process.”
Dale Farm markets its cheese ranges under the Dale Farm and Dromona brands in Northern Ireland and Britain; and Rowan Glen in Scotland.
The largest UK farmer-owned dairy cooperative also supplies cheese to many major retailers for their own brand ranges. The company produces 50,000 tonnes of cheddar a year from its plant in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, using milk supplied by its dairy farmer owners.
Last month Dale Farm unveiled significant increases in profit, return on capital employed (ROCE) and turnover as part of its financial results for the year ending March 2019.
Group operating profit was up 18 per cent to £14.3m, profit before tax up 19 per cent to £12m, with EBITDA up 15 per cent to £20.9m. Overall group turnover grew 5.6 per cent to £509m.
