UK – A dairy company which started by providing products for people with allergies to traditional dairy goods has won the Great British Food Award.

Winner Judy Bell, of Shepherd’s Purse Cheeses, was made aware of the growing number of people with such allergies after working as an osteopath, and found that alternatives such as sheep’s milk products were hard to come by.

The company was set up in 1987 and now boasts a range of sheep’s cheeses, as well as cow’s and buffalo’s milk products.

“Judy has shown the success that can come from spotting an opportunity and pursuing it with determination and flair to make a product that consumers love,” said National Farmers Union (NFU) president Tim Bennett.

The Great British Food Award is one of seven NFU Farming Excellence Awards for 2004.