Founder and MD of Northern Irish veg grower and processor Willowbrook Foods, John McCann, has been awarded an MBE for services to the food Industry and the community.
McCann established Willowbrook Foods in 1968 on his family farm, when he began supplying home-grown vegetables to supermarkets.Today the company has sales of £22 million and employs more than 90 people.
Elsewhere in the 2017 New Years Honours List, Defra director Sarah Church was awarded the Order of the Bath for services to British food and farming.
Chairman of the Agri-Food Strategy BoardTony O'Neill, received an OBE in the honours. Among various industry roles, O'Neill is a board member of Food NI, the body which helped to deliver last year’s Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink.
Other awards included Northern Irish chef Simon Dougan, who received an MBE for his services to hospitality and catering in Northern Ireland. His catering business has produced a range of own-brand products, which have won a series of UK Great Taste Awards, and he is a leading advocate of local food and drink.
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