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Alliance's Handpicked Lamb (pictured) recently won gold at the Outstanding NZ Food Producers Awards.
Alliance Group has been awarded five gold medals for its beef, lamb and venison at the Outstanding NZ Food Producers Awards.
The red meat co-operative won gold for its Pure South Lamb, Pure South Handpicked Lamb, Pure South Beef, Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef and Pure South Venison.
The awards celebrate inspiring Kiwis who harvest, grow, and produce New Zealand’s outstanding food and drink. Entries are judged on a range of criteria including aroma, visual appearance, flavour, consistency, quality, sustainability, brand story, and packaging.
Shane Kingston, general manager sales for Alliance Group, says the array of awards across its portfolio highlights the co-operative’s commitment to quality and the passion and dedication of farmers.
“Our Pure South beef and lamb are our foundation brands and they are enjoyed in more than 65 countries around the world. The recognition of the special qualities of our new Handpicked Lamb is particularly pleasing,” Kingston says.
“Over the past five years, we have also steadily expanded our range to build a differentiated premium portfolio to provide our farmers with opportunities to partner with us on new products to meet demand from consumers who are also willing to pay a premium for red meat products and attributes guaranteed by a trusted brand.”
Judges praised the Pure South Lamb for its delicate, mild and mellow flavour and pleasant fine grained texture, and the Pure South Handpicked Lamb for its texture, mature depth of flavour and “tarty layer of fat”.
The Pure South Venison won accolades for its tenderness, succulence, and delicious flavours.
Pure South Beef was described as milk, juicy and tender with good clean tasting fat. The Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef was singled out for its marbling and “good beefy flavour that is reminiscent of Grandma’s classic beef and Yorkshire pudding”.
Previously, the Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef has also won multiple gold medals at the World Steak Challenge.
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