Embutidos Ortizhas been awarded the Prize for Agricultural Research and Innovation within the 5th La Rioja Capital Awards, which are presented every two years by the Department of Agriculture of the Government of La Rioja.

The Navarrete-based company from La Rioja has earned this recognition for maintaining the essence of the best Rioja charcuterie tradition while remaining faithful to a work philosophy based on quality and professionalism and for its firm commitment to innovation and internationalisation.

In fact, consumers can now enjoy its two latest and innovative products, which incorporate new ingredients to the traditional recipe of Rioja chorizo in order to respond to new market trends, and which have been developed in collaboration with Ctic-Cita: Chorizo con Quinoa y Chorizo con Algas Kombu. In addition, Embutidos Ortiz was one of the first Riojan SMEs to obtain the approvals to export Riojan sausages to countries such as Japan, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and New Zealand.

The award to Embutidos Ortiz, represented by the fourth generation of the family, was presented by María Jesús Miñana, Director General of Agriculture and Livestock. On the stage of the Palacio de Congresos de La Riojaand encouraged by Roberto Brasero, presenter of the gala, Inés, Miguel and Carlos took the floor.

Inés Ortiz, head of the Quality and R&D&IDepartment at Embutidos Ortiz: “This recognition is a boost for a company like ours, and it also motivates us to take a brand with Rioja origin to more and more countries”.

Miguel Ortiz, manager of Embutidos Ortiz:“We are already in several international markets, but it is clear that this process of innovation without renouncing our origins can open the doors to more international markets and consolidate us in those we are already in”.

Carlos Ortiz, Production Manager of Embutidos Ortiz:“Our Chorizo with Kombu seaweed is going to participate in the Carrefour Innovation Awards as did the Chorizo with Quinoa and we already have another novelty on the market: the Chorizo Criollo with Kombu seaweed, which is really delicious”.

Inés Ortiz, on behalf of her siblings, took the floor again to dedicate the award to those who have supported them in this innovation process: “We are proud to be part of this innovation process.We would like to dedicate this award to our parents, above all, for their effort and dedication and for giving us the possibility to develop professionally. Also for the trust and freedom to delegate to make up the Embutidos Ortiz team and its external collaborators, to whom we also dedicate it.”

5TH LA RIOJA QUALITY AWARDS

These prestigious biennial awards publicly recognise the track record and commitment to the growth of the agricultural, livestock and agri-food sector of professionals, companies and entities in La Rioja. Specifically, the Prize for Agricultural Research and Innovationawarded to Embutidos Ortizis in recognition of its decisive contribution to improving the quality of agricultural and agri-food products through research and innovation.

Embutidos Ortizis the first company in the meat sector to receive this award, as in previous editions the winners were the Centro Tecnológico Agroalimentario, the Centro Tecnológico de Investigación del Champiñón, Semillas Ramiro Arnedo and Viveros Provedo.

In April 2018, Embutidos Ortizbegan marketing Chorizo with Quinoa Ortiz, made by adding quinoa to the classic recipe of the Rioja sausage, which maintains all its traditional flavour. Subsequently, in October, the Riojan company presented Chorizo with Kombu seaweed,made by adding this type of calorie-free seaweed with a high fibre content to the traditional formula. The result was a chorizo with a new intense and exotic flavour and reduced salt content. Both projects were carried out in collaboration with the Centro de Tecnológico Agroalimentario de La Rioja (Ctic-Cita).

 

OTHER WINNERS

The La Rioja Capital Awards were created in 2011. Nine categories have been established to cover a wide range of areas in the agri-food sector. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Environment, Íñigo Nagore, the winners were:

  • Luis Pascual, President of Ternoja. Award for the agricultural and/or livestock trajectory.
  • Grupo Rioja. Award for the agri-food business trajectory.
  • Nuez de Pedroso and Alubia de Anguiano collective marks. Agri-Food Quality Award.
  • Embutidos Ortiz, Award for Agricultural Research and Innovation.
  • Cameros Blues Festival, Rural Development Award.
  • Bodegas Lecea, Award for the development of unique initiatives.
  • Ayuntamiento de Alfaro, Award for the Local Corporation committed to the agricultural sector.
  • Restaurante La Vieja Bodega, Award for gastronomic initiative.
  • Magazines LA UNIÓN, of the UAGR and Campo Riojano, of Arag-Asaja,Award for the media most committed to the agricultural and agri-food sector.

And finally, outside the categories of the awards, the jury awarded an honorary prize to Marisa Sánchez, of theEchaurren Restaurant in Ezcaray, who recently passed away, for a lifetime dedicated to cooking and for being an example of hard work and perseverance for new generations of professionals.

The Regional Minister of Agriculture, Iñigo Nagore, presided over the jury for the awards, made up of the Directors General of Rural Development, Daniel del Río; Agriculture and Livestock, María Jesús Miñana; the Technical Secretary General of the Regional Ministry, Florencio Larrea; the head of the Statistics and Publications Service, Eugenia Zueco; the head of La Rioja Capital, José María Rodríguez; José Antonio Torrecilla, for Arag-Asaja; Ángel Palacios, for UAGR; Tomás Latasa, for UPA; José Manuel Marrodán, for FECOAR; the head of the International Department and secretary of the Agri-Food Associations of the FER, Sheila Argáiz; Javier Pascual, for the Academia Riojana de Gastronomía; and Teresa Alonso, representing the Press Association of La Rioja.