Welcome
It's been a busy start to 2026 for the Making Food Better programme. In January, we published research mapping the retail and out of home sector in Northern Ireland which demonstrated the scope of potential policy to restrict the promotion of food high in fat, sugar and salt.
In February, we championed the nutrition message at the NI Foyle Science Showcase, at IFEX and IFEX Kitchen Live, at the NIFDA Awards and at events to promote the NI Food Strategy Framework. Over the course of one week, we delivered our nutrition message to thousands of individuals.
I'm genuinely encouraged by the positivity and encouragement I've witnessed from delivery partners and stakeholders and I'm looking forward to building upon this momentum in the coming months.
Sharon Gilmore, Head of Standards and Dietary Health
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 Interactive maps (Opens in a new window) have been developed to visualise the findings and show the spread of businesses across Northern Ireland that would be in the scope of promotions restrictions legislation currently in place in England. The research findings are now being used to explore policy options and we hope to update you on the next steps soon.
NI Foyle Science Showcase
On Friday 20 and Saturday 21 February, at the NI Foyle Science Showcase our message was simple, get to know the Eatwell Guide.
Over the two-day period, 765 students, 78 teachers and 1,612 members of the public were provided with information on the Eatwell Guide – a tool that makes healthy eating easier to understand by showing what foods are needed to have a well-balanced diet.
Hundreds of children completed the interactive task and embraced the associated learning.
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IFEX – Nutrition and Food Safety Promotion
In February, we attended IFEX, NI’s flagship trade event for the hospitality, foodservice and retail sectors, where we engaged with a wide range of food businesses at the FSA stand.
We showcased the diverse range of support the FSA offers to businesses, from the free allergen checklist, which was extremely popular, to the extensive range of healthier catering guides and our free food fraud resilience tool.
It was great to meet so many engaged and motivated individuals who are keen to make a positive contribution to the food industry.
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IFEX Kitchen Live - Nutritional Standards in Public Sector Settings
We also took part in the inaugural IFEX Kitchen Live which put chefs and real-world experience centre stage.
On Tuesday 24 and Thursday 26 February our focus was on Nutritional Standards in Public Sector Settings, outlining what they are, the opportunity they present for industry and sharing successes from their application within Health and Social Care Settings.
Michelle Young, Senior Policy Adviser, delivered Tuesday’s session and Fionnuala Close, Head of Dietary Health took to the stage on Thursday.
A cookery demonstration by a team of chefs from the Northern Trust demonstrated how allergens are catered for and also provided tasty evidence of how the standards can be applied to breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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IFEX Kitchen Live - Healthier Children's Menus
On Wednesday 25 February, the spotlight was on children’s menus in the hospitality sector with Jennifer McGonagle, Registered Nutritionist, Dietary Health, FSA, a key voice in the ‘Little Plates; Big Impact: Creating Healthier Menus That Kids Will Love’ panel.
Jennifer was joined by Dr Kirsty Porter, Children’s Dietician, while Sysco Chef Kyle Greer, cooked up hidden vegetable sweet potato gnocchi as Dean Coppard, new product development chef at Lynas Foodservice and Keenan Seafood compered. The chefs’ top tips for peers were, consider portion size; make it appropriate to the age of the consumer and try to avoid frying foods.
Also keen to promote healthier children’s menus, was deputy First Minister Emma-Little Pengelly, who visited the stand and reinforced the ‘less salt’ and ‘source healthier ingredients from food suppliers’ message.
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2026 NIFDA Awards
At the 2026 Northern Ireland Food and Drink Awards, we supported the Healthier Product Innovation Award. The award was open to any food manufacturer in NI that reformulated or developed a new prepacked food product with reduced calories, sugars, saturated fat and/or salt.
There were seven finalists, with the winner announced at a gala awards ceremony as Fibre Up Sparkling Fruit Juices. Founded by Paul McCreery in 2023, the company has sought to address low fibre intakes among the NI population. Paul created Fibre Up to "help people realise the benefits of getting enough fibre every single day."
Emphasising the importance of celebrating industry’s efforts to make positive changes Andy Cole, Director for Northern Ireland said, "The calibre of this year’s award entries reflects a sector that is cutting edge, ambitious and continually investing in its people, products and processes. At FSA we are proud to support healthier product innovation.”
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NI Food Strategy Framework
We were pleased to attend events organised by Food NI in partnership with DAERA to promote the Northern Ireland Food Strategy Framework. These sessions brought together people from every part of the NI food system.
Two themes that stood out were the importance of healthier diets and the need for strong collaborative working across sectors.
These events offered an important opportunity to listen, learn, and build relationships that will support more joined up action. We look forward to continuing this partnership as the Framework develops and collective ambitions progress.
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We want to hear from you
This newsletter is for you. Please tell us: What did you think of it? What did you like or not like? And what would you like to see more of? We'd love to hear your ideas!
Get in touch at dietaryhealthNI@food.gov.uk
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