Finnebrogue, the Downpatrick-based artisan food manufacturer, located at Down Business Park, is to create up to a further 125 new jobs following its £17m investment in its state-of-the-art nitrite-free bacon facility.
The Invest Northern Ireland-backed investment has enabled the company to establish a manufacturing facility in Downpatrick for the production of its nitrite-free bacon, hailed by many experts as a breakthrough in the food processing sector.
Denis Lynn, Chairman of Finnebrogue Artisan,saidxa0“It has been known for decades that nitrites used in curing meat can cause cancer. That’s why, despite being the UK’s leading top tier sausage maker, we refused to make a single rasher of bacon until we could figure out a way to make it better and safer.
“We always set out to make food the best it can be, without being bound by the way it has always been done. And so, after much research, we discovered a process that uses fruit and spice extracts to flavour the pork, keep it pink and retain shelf life. We are using this technology in our Naked Bacon and we’ve had a great response from both retailers and consumers.”
***
