The Chip Group, which was set up to improve the nutrition of hot chips, was officially recognised for its work when it was presented with an Excellence Award by the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) on June 24.

The annual awards were established by NZIFST to recognise excellence and leadership in innovation and quality in the New Zealand food industry.

The Chip Group was presented with the Orica Chemnet Excellence in Leadership Award and was named as runner-up in the NZIFST Excellence in Service Award for innovation and customer service.

Glenda Gourley of The Chip Group says she was delighted to accept the award on behalf of the Gropup as it provided independent endorsement of the hard work done by the Group in recent times.

"We've been providing a considerable amount of support and resources to chip shop owners and chefs to help them make better quality chips.

Among other things, this has included the launch of the Industry Standards (NZ) for deep fried chips, introduction of online training to help people cook chips according to the Standards, running the Best Chip Shop Competition and production of various promotional materials.

"We are particularly pleased with our progress as we have encountered a couple of barriers along the way, including the diverse range of operators and chefs working in the industry and prevalence of chip shop owners who have English as a second language.

"However, we took a practical approach to overcoming these and worked closely with a diverse group of people to develop the Industry Standards."

Gourley says feedback to date has been positive with chip shop owners and chefs saying that the online training was both practical and relevant.