Thirty food and drink companies from across Northern Ireland have gained over 100 gold stars for their produce in the annual UK Great Taste Awards.

The awards - organised annually by the Guild of Fine Food and sponsored and promoted in Northern Ireland by Invest NI - were announced at the weekend following the judging of products from almost 5,000 companies in the UK, Republic of Ireland and other parts of Europe.

The awards are graded into three, two and one star categories for quality, taste and innovation.

One Northern Ireland company, Mullin's Ice Cream of Kilrea, Co Londonderry, achieved the top rating of three stars for its recently launched goat's milk ice cream with vanilla. Mullins also gained two stars each for its pistachio ice cream and its chocolate sorbet products.

There were also gold awards for Avondale Foods, Dale Farm in Belfast, Crossgar Foodservice, Fivemiletown Creamery in Tyrone, Kestrel Foods in Craigavon, Linwoods in Armagh, and McErlain's Bakery in Magherafelt.