Introducing the Winners of the Soil Association Organic Food Awards
Winners of this year's Soil Association Organic Food Awards, supported by Seeds of Change, were recognised last night (19th September2013) at a celebration in central London. The awards showcase the UK's best organic food produced with passion, creativity and care.
Winners include Brown Cow Organics live natural yoghurt, Riverford vegetable harira soup, the Hampstead Tea and Coffee Co white leaf tea, Booja Booja's Keep Smiling Vanilla M'Ggorilla frozen dessert and the Story Group organic chicken.
Now in their 27th year, the Organic Food Awards blow the trumpet for the best of the best. These are the producers who go the extra mile - like Green's Windmill, who won an Organic Food Award for their Organic Stoneground White Flour. Milled in the traditional way using French millstones in a nineteenth century windmill, the wheat used is grown locally on a biodynamic farm.
Like the Science Centre it houses, the mill is committed to ecological innovation and produces their own power to reduce their carbon footprint. Sitting on the edge of inner city Nottingham, the mill is open to the public and is also an educational resource for schools with hands-on bread-making sessions, following the process from grain to loaf.
In addition to the 11 product categories, this year there are also five special awards for those who put their heart and hard work into organic and social enterprise. The special awards include best school community initiative, best independent retailer, best supermarket and the consumer choice award - in recognition of the breadth and diversity of the organic movement.
Speaking at the event, Helen Browning, chief executive of the Soil Association said:
This year's Organic Food Award winners prove there is even more to their products than fantastic taste. Organic food producers champion health, and new solutions to the challenge of caring for people, farm animals and wildlife, while feeding an ever growing population. I am thrilled that there were so many entries this year, reflecting recent research showing an overall return to growth in the organic market. The judges were often hard-pressed to make a decision in many categories as the quality was so high.
The 2013 Organic Food Awards ceremony took place at Wholefoods Kensington High Street on 19th September. For more information visit www.soilassociation.org/foodawards