Sainsbury's popular Taste the Difference Meatballs, made from Mey Selections beef in an authentic tomato and smoky bacon sauce with added Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, beat off four other finalists to win the meat and poultry category of the Grocer Own Label Award Excellence Awards for 2007 at the Savoy Hotel, London yesterday.
The award follows the product's success as the Best New Meat Product in the Meat Industry Awards in London last year.
The meatballs, available in over 200 of Sainsbury's stores, use non-prime cuts of Mey Selections beef, and were successfully developed by Dunbia, the Mey Selections meat processor. They come 12 to a pack, and are sold in a ready-to cook container with the sauce and cheese in separate sachets.
Tracy Waters, Mey Selections Business Development Manager, said that the fact that the independent judging panel based its decision on researched views of consumer panels, expert judges and chefs showed that consumers really could "taste the difference."
"We're delighted that the Taste the Difference Meatballs beat four other products in the finals to win the award, and has now won two major awards" she said. "This success reflects the great popularity of the product.
"To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the few products where a major retailer has identified the source of a key ingredient on its own-label packaging," she said.
Dr John Strak, managing director of North Highland Products, which produces Mey Selections products, said that the company were developing other dishes using non-prime cuts of meat.
"We are actively testing new dishes to be included in the Taste the Difference range," he said. "We're very confident that they will be as popular - and as successful - as our award winning Mey Selections Meatballs."
Photo
This shows, from left to right:
Nigel Barden, BBC London Food Journalist
Dermott Slade, Head Development Chef, Dunbia
Amy Brech, Product Developer, Sainsbury's
Adam Leyland, Editor, The Grocer
Tracy Waters, Business Development Manager, Mey Selections
