RURAL Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead visited Tesco on Saturday to celebrate the latest local line in store – the multi award winning SALAR smoked salmon.

Produced in a small smokehouse in South Uist, Salar Flaky Smoked Salmon received a pre-Christmas boost by becoming the latest local Scottish producer to launch in Tesco stores across Scotland.

Mr Lochhead welcomed the news: "Farmed Scottish salmon is a high quality product attracting strong demand from consumers all over the world. I'm pleased to see major retailers such as Tesco are helping to ensure that Scottish Salmon is reaching a wide audience this Christmas and delivering a boost to the Western Isles economy.

"Sampling delicious Scottish produce such as this fantastic smoked salmon is definitely one of the more enjoyable aspects of my job!

"I know from personal experience the quality of the natural environment in which these fish grow. It's very encouraging to see Salar building on its recent success at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards."

Angus Bell, Local Buying Manager for Tesco in Scotland says: “We are continually impressed with the variety of food and drink being produced in Scotland. Salar Flaky Smoked Salmon was awarded the ‘Product of the Year’ at this year’s Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards and is a great ambassador for the industry. We are delighted to be adding this product to our range of locally sourced food and drink.”

Lesley Robertson, General Sales Manager for Salar Smokehouse says: “We are delighted to have such an opportunity. We hope to work closely with Tesco to achieve high sales growth and demonstrate that the best quality foods from Scotland can outperform foods from anywhere else!”

Salar already has a fan base including celebrity chefs Rick Stein, Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Nick Nairn and are sure to pick up a few more over this festive season.