Loughry students have an ‘exc-eel-ent’ experience at Lough Neagh Eels!

An end of semester trip to Lough Neagh Eels proved to be an enjoyable day out for National Diploma Food Technology students from CAFRE. As part of their Meat Technology unit, where the students have learnt about various types of meat processing including red meat and poultry, the visit to Lough Neagh Eels put the theory into practice.

National Diploma Food Technology Students enjoying their visit to Lough Neagh Eels with Product Development and Marketing Manager Cathy Chauhan (far right).

During the visit, Loughry Campus Food students were able to see the day to day activities at the largest commercial wild eel fishery in Europe, starting with the delivery of the live eels to the Co-Operative by the Lough Neagh fishermen. Following the process through intake, grading and packing, the students were intrigued to learn that the eels are shipped live to England, Holland and Germany in specially designed packaging which gives them sufficient oxygen and moisture for the duration of their journey!

Following the tour around the factory, students had a sneak peek at the newly opened Lough Neagh Fisheries Visitors Centre, where they were able to view displays detailing the life cycles of eels and scale fish, traditional and current fishing techniques, and some fishing folklore. 

As you can imagine, Loughry students thoroughly enjoy these industry visits where they can see first-hand how some of Northern Ireland’s world class food is produced.

If you would like to study a qualification at a college with well-known links to the food industry, why not come and ‘taste’ what Loughry has to offer at our careers advice evening on Thursday 22 August. You can also check out the CAFRE website or follow us at DiscoverCAFRE on Facebook and Instagram.

Notes to editors: 

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