UK meat students going for gold at ANUGA
UK meat students going for gold at ANUGA
A team of ambitious meat students from Harper Adams University are hoping to scoop the top prize in the European finals of Ecotrophelia 2013 in Germany this weekend after winning gold in the UK finals organised by Campden BRI and the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST).
The Ecotrophelia 2013 finals take place on the 6th and 7th of October in Cologne during ANUGA.
The students won the UK heat of the prestigious ‘eco-innovative’ food competition at Campden BRI’s annual food industry event in June, with their ready meal offal pie, ‘Hearty Meal’, which consists of several kinds of offal including heart, kidney and liver.
The Harper Adams team hopes their Hearty Meal Pie will fill a sizeable gap in the market for an offal ready meal product, capitalising on celebrity chefs, such as Gordon Ramsay’s recent championing of cooking with offal and using cheaper cuts of meat.
The UK students face stiff competition from 18 other European countries including: France; Germany; Belgium; Denmark; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Italy; Netherlands; Czech Republic; Russia; Serbia; Slovenia; Switzerland; Spain and the Ukraine, all vying for the chance to win up to €8,000.
The finalists will be judged by a distinctive panel of European food industry experts representing the industrial and distribution sectors and members of the European Commission and chaired by Dr. Michael Knowles, President of the European Technology Platform ‘Food for Life’.
The judges will be looking not only for the most innovative, eco-friendly food product but the team which demonstrates a thorough understanding of marketing, optimising raw materials, ensuring sustainable processes and taking into account technical, taste, regulatory and packaging requirements to create an economically and commercially relevant product.
Bertrand Emond, Head of Membership and Training at Campden BRI, said: “It is hugely exciting to see such creativity, innovative flair and in-depth understanding of the challenges involved in bringing a food product to market in our young food scientists and technologists here in the UK. These students represent the future of the food industry and from what we have seen from judging the British entries, the outlook and prospects for these food innovators of the future are very bright indeed.
“This is the first time the competition has been open to entries from UK students and we wish the Harper Adams team the very best of luck in the Ecotrophelia 2013 European finals.”
To find out more about Ecotrophelia 2013, visit the official website at www.ecotrophelia.eu.
