His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, toured Bessvale Farm outside Lisburn today, along with farmer John Tuft and son Jonathan (R), who now supply organic chicken through Moy Park for the 'Duchy Originals from Waitrose' brand.
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Moy Park has been supplying all organic chicken for the ‘Duchy Originals from Waitrose’ product range since June this year. Duchy Originals is based on a belief in the value of local organic food, grown and produced sustainably.

The ethos of the brand is to produce delicious British, great quality food and drink, while helping to preserve our food heritage and support The Prince’s Charities.

Nigel Dunlop, Moy Park CEO paid tribute to the high quality of Northern Ireland’s farmers and food producers.

“We are delighted to welcome The Prince of Wales to visit Bessvale Farm to see the standards to which these free range, organic chickens are reared, and to meet the farmer Mr John Tuft, his family and some of the Moy Park team. Northern Ireland has a proud food heritage. We have a history and a reputation for producing good food and we are very pleased that chicken produced in Northern Ireland has been selected for the Duchy Originals range.

“Farming is at the heart of our business and Moy Park is extremely proud to work with farmers, such as John Tuft, who employ the highest standards on their farms ensuring sustainability, welfare and product quality are their priorities. This partnership with the ‘Duchy Originals from Waitrose’ range demonstrates that high quality farmed products can be produced on a scale that makes quality food attainable for a larger market” he concluded.

Duchy Originals organic chicken from Moy Park has been launched in almost 100 Waitrose stores across the UK, all of which is produced by farmers in Northern Ireland who have worked in partnership with Moy Park over many years. Bessvale Farm is a traditional family farm where Mr Tuft and his son Jonathan have been rearing organic poultry since 2001.

“We are committed to sustainable farming and have seen the benefits it provides for the birds and for our business” says Mr Tuft.

“Our emphasis is on bird health, wellbeing and welfare. The birds are produced on this and other farms so that they have plenty of space to roam. All our Duchy Originals Organic brood chicken houses have double glazed windows so from an early age the birds can enjoy natural light. The temperature in the brood houses is controlled as the birds grow so they become acclimatised for their life roaming outdoors and we enrich the environment for the birds with perches and bales of straw. All feed is organic and once the birds are old enough to roam outdoors, trees, hedges and fences provide shelter and give the bird a sense of security” he said.

During his visit to Bessvale Farm, His Royal Highness spent time talking to Mr Tuft and his family in their 17th Century thatched farmhouse and toured the 230 acre farm which produces organic chicken for the ‘Duchy Originals from Waitrose’ brand.