The legacy of Denis Lynn
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Following the tragic loss of entrepreneur, Denis Lynn, Professor Chris Elliott highlights some of his most important innovations and how he helped change the food sector for the better.
Many people in the UK food industry will have known or at least heard of Denis Lynn. The founder and Chairman of Lynn’s Country Foods and Finnebrogue Artisan. Denis tragically died on Sunday (2 May 2021) aged 63, leaving behind a devastated family and a very large circle of friends. He has been described as the ultimate innovator, an entrepreneur extraordinaire and one of the greatest disruptors the UK food industry has ever witnessed.
Denis Lynn TRIBUTES have been paid to Northern Ireland agri businessman Denis Lynn, who died following a quad bike accident on Sunday night. Mr Lynn, 63, was the founder of Finnebrogue in Downpatrick, which championed his locally produced food including venison and a range of bacon and sausages. Mr Lynn started his career selling pies from a van and quickly expanded into selling pre-cooked chips and then into farming. Based at the Finnebrogue Estate in County Down, he developed the popular Naked Bacon range, which was free from nitrites, and then a range of sausages. More lately he was leading an expansion into plant based foods and already had completed a new factory to produce that new range. The company employs around 1000 people across four sites in County Down and supplies several major UK supermarkets.
Why is our meat still being poisoned by nitrates?
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Chris Elliott makes his case for the abolishment of nitrite use in the meat industry and suggests that there is strong evidence it’s linked to cancer.
It is not often I write a book review, in fact, I think this is only the second time I have undertaken such a challenge. The reason I decided to do this is because the book is on a topic that I became very interested in a few years ago. I tried to get to the root cause of the issues myself; where I failed, at least partially, I think this book (entitled ‘Who poisoned your bacon sandwich’ written by a French TV documentary producer Guillaume Coudray) has succeeded.
Parent Lynn’s Country Foods reported a 21% increase in sales in its latest accounts
Naked Bacon owner Finnebrogue Artisan has so far avoided any major issues in transporting product between Britain and Northern Ireland, despite the disruption to trade over the Irish Sea.
Speaking as parent Lynn’s Country Foods reported strong sales growth in its latest accounts, a spokesman for the Northern Irish supplier said it had been “well prepared” for the disruption, and had been “able to respond to minor bumps in the road”.
Finnebrogue had been “at the heart” of “successful” government-led trials to try and find a solution to issues around groupage shipments, he said, adding the business was now “very optimistic” over the prospects of supply to GB, the island of Ireland and globally.