Healthy Options: Good 4 U

FSAI and Healthy Ireland host food reformulation event

The addition of the new Veggie Sausages adds to Clonakilty’s Family of Great Taste.

A welcomed addition to their product range alongside Clonakilty’s Ispíní, Ireland’s favourite pork sausage, Clonakilty Veggie Sausages are the second vegetarian product launched by Clonakilty, joining the Clonakilty Veggie Pudding.

As members of Bord Bia’s Origin Green, sustainability is a key pillar for Clonakilty Food Company’s business. Clonakilty Veggie Sausages are packed full of fresh vegetables and grains, are soya free, high in protein, low in fat and come in recyclable packaging.

“At Clonakilty we feel passionately that everyone should enjoy the delicious taste of a Clonakilty sausage,” notes Colette Twomey, owner of Clonakilty. “We wanted to ensure our new Veggie Sausage offered the same great taste and quality that people expect from Clonakilty. We really hope you enjoy our Clonakilty Veggie Sausages as much as we do.”

For more information, email sales@clonakiltyblackpudding.ie or call their sales team on (023) 8834835.

KitKat Vegan

THE Food Reformulation Task Force, a partnership between the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and Healthy Ireland, hosted a workshop recently on food reformulation for food manufacturers, retailers and the out-of-home food sector. Attendees at ‘Food Reformulation in Ireland: A Workshop for Food Businesses’ heard opening remarks from Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, before presentations focusing on policy from the Department of Health, an insight into the National Prepared Consumer Food Centre by Teagasc and an explanation of supports available for food businesses as they work on reformulation by Enterprise Ireland. The workshop also featured case studies from Britvic Ireland, O’Brien Fine Foods, Sodexo and Nestlé.

Food reformulation means improving the nutritional content of commonly consumed processed foods and drinks by reducing calories and target nutrients (such as saturated fat, salt and sugar). The goal of reformulation is to reduce target nutrients, without increasing the energy content or nutrients of concern, to ensure healthier food choices are available to Irish consumers. The Food Reformulation Task Force is responsible for implementing a Reformulation Roadmap with specific targets which will continue to be tracked from initial baseline figures in 2015.

Dr Pamela Byrne, CEO, FSAI, described the event as “a great opportunity for food businesses to come together and to hear what other businesses are doing to achieve food reformulation targets. In Ireland, two thirds of the adult population are estimated to be obese or overweight. Obesity reduces life expectancy and people are more likely to get heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and other diseases. Food reformulation is one of the measures to help tackle obesity and to improve the health and wellbeing of consumers. We look forward to continuing to work with food businesses to ensure key targets are met, which result in healthier food options for consumers and improved health.”

Then Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and National Drugs Strategy, Frank Feighan TD said: “The Department of Health is delighted to be working with the FSAI to ensure that food companies, such as those who attended the workshop, make progress towards reducing key markers in food and drinks. This could make a real difference in offering healthier choices to consumers.”

For more information, visit www.fsai.ie

A sell out when it launched as a limited edition in 2021, KitKat Vegan is back for good! Available as a single 41.5g 4-Finger bar, this plant-based break is made with a rice-based milk alternative to create an indulgent-tasting vegan chocolate and crispy wafer combo. KitKat Vegan is available now in all major retailers.

All KitKat products produced in the UK and Ireland are made with 100% certified sustainable cocoa.

Aldi’s healthy eating range

Aldi are proud of their healthy eating range, which includes everything from wholesome salads and hearty soups to nutritious ready meals and traditional homestyle dinners. Thanks to Aldi’s range of ready-to-eat meals, shoppers can take the hassle out of mealtimes and still make healthy choices.

KitKat Vegan is is made with a ricebased milk alternative to create an indulgent-tasting vegan chocolate and crispy wafer combo.

Aldi stock a soup-er selection of hearty, warming soups from their award-winning Specially Selected range. Perfect for lunch or dinner, these ready-to-heat soups come in a variety of flavours like classic Specially Selected Tomato & Basil Soup, wonderfully wintry Specially Selected Butternut Squash Soup or exotic Specially Selected Mexican Style Bean Soup, which picked up a Silver Award at the 2022 Free From Food Awards. in the microwave without a second thought, Aldi stock NutriQuick’s range of ready meals in stores nationwide. Founded by Dean Siney, the Blessington-based company strives to make healthy eating easy, accessible, and affordable and was started with young, busy professionals in mind.

For lunch, the range includes Aldi’s tasty, plant-based lunch like the Eat & Go Falafel & Houmous Wrap. Consumers can feast on a Willow Brook Farm Pasta Salad, available in Chicken & Bacon, Mixed Cheese or Tuna & Sweetcorn, or tuck into a simple Tasty To Go Sushi Selection, which picked up a Silver Award at the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards 2022.

For those who fancy a healthy, nutritious dinner that you can pop Aldi’s tasty, plant-based Eat & Go Falafel & Houmous Wrap.

Available in Aldi stores nationwide, the range includes breakfast options like the NutriQuick Protein Power Pots and NutriQuick Burrito Bowls, which can be enjoyed as a quick and easy lunch. Meanwhile, consumers can make dinner time delicious without sacrificing nutritional value thanks to NutriQuick Ready Meals, with varieties like Chicken Curry, Spaghetti Bolognese, Chilli Con Carne, Taco Fries, Turkey Sliders and more.

“Between work, family and social commitments, I know many young professionals struggle to find the time to cook meals for