NEWS RELEASE
June 25 2010
The Chip Group, which was set up to improve the nutrition of hot chips, was officially recognised for its work when it was presented with an excellence award by the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) last night (Thursday 24 June 2010)
The annual Awards were established by NZIFST to recognize excellence and leadership in innovation and quality in the New Zealand food industry.
The Chip Group was presented with The Orica Chemnet Excellence in Leadership Award and was named as runner up of the Excellence in Service Award for innovation and customer service.
The Chip Group spokesperson, Glenda Gourley, said she was delighted to accept the award on behalf of the Group as it provided ‘independent endorsement’ of the hard work done by the Group in recent times.
“We’ve been providing a considerable amount of support and resources to chip shop owners and chefs to help them make better quality chips. Among other things, this has included the launch of the Industry Standards (NZ) for deep fried chips, introduction of online training to help people cook chips according to the Standards, running the Best Chip Shop Competition, and production of various promotional materials.
“We are particularly pleased with our progress as we have encountered a couple of barriers along the way including the diverse range of operators and chefs working in the industry and prevalence of chip shop owners who have English as a second language.
“However, we took a practical approach to overcoming these and worked closely with a diverse group of people to develop the Industry Standards.”
Glenda said feedback to date had been positive with chip shop owners and chefs both saying that the online training was both practical and relevant.
“It’s been a great year for the Group and chip lovers,” Glenda said.
“Chips are a firm favourite amongst the New Zealand public, with kiwis consuming approximately seven million serves of chips each week. With that in mind, people who cook chips play a big part in providing better quality chips to the public simply by the way that they cook them. If we can help support chip shop owners and chefs to achieve that through the provision of cooking tips and advice then we are meeting our objectives.”
Glenda said many industry suppliers had also been very keen to be involved with the Group.
“A range of industry suppliers, many of whom are competitors, have collaborated with us to work towards improving the quality of New Zealand’s food supply. This support is invaluable as it allows The Chip Group to better represent the industry and demonstrate that the whole industry can be part of the solution.”
The Chip Group has also received funding and support from the Ministry of Health.
“We’ll continue to build relationships within the industry and consult with the Heart Foundation, industry suppliers, chip shop operators and chefs to further refine our strategy.”
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For further information:
Christine Meads
P: 09 525 0061
M: 027 294 0823
