Products as diverse as chocolate beer, boar meat and gluten free Christmas puddings have been given their first public exposure at this year's IFEX '98 exhibition, the international food, drink and catering event which has opened at the RDS.
There are 200 companies participating, many of them from Europe and Northern Ireland. Several companies are using the event to test their latest product with the large number of international buyers in attendance.
One of the new products arousing interest is the wild boar meat from Moyallon Foods, based in Craigavon, Co Armagh. Described as the "forgotten flavour of Ireland", Moyallon is the only company selling boar meat in either the Republic or Northern Ireland. The owner of the company, Ms Jilly Acheson, said there are now 250 boars on the company's farm.
While she said they can be "vicious brutes" to keep, she already has several customers in the Republic, including Ashford Castle.
Another company, Beeline, used the exhibition as a chance to unveil its Get Up & Go "revitaliser" which, it says, is guaranteed to deal with any hangover. The product, which enters most supermarkets next week, does not contain aspirin or paracetamol, which Beeline claims exacerbates hangovers. It is taken before sleep and works in a preventive manner, aiding the liver to process food and alcohol.
The Belgian brewer, Huyghe, was looking to create interest in its selection of fruit beers, which include passion fruit and one called Ninkeberry. The company's vice-president, Mr Alain De Laet, said Huyghe's chocolate beer was proving popular with Irish buyers. Mr De Laet said the chocolate beer is an attempt to combine what he called the two greatest things about Belgium - chocolate and beer. He said drinking the beer was like drinking a hot chocolate after it has cooled.
The exhibition was opened by the Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Mr Ned O'Keeffe, and the Northern Ireland Minister for the Economy, Mr Adam Ingram. Mr O'Keeffe said the exhibition is an important showcase for promoting quality Irish food. He said the Irish food industry should continue to assure consumers of its safety and emphasise the "excellent food control systems in place".
