FOR many it is the staple element which completes the perfect fry up breakfast.

So how has the humble black pudding been named as one of this year's superfoods?

It takes pride of place on the list featuring the top healthy foods for 2016 along with black beans, seaweed, avocado oil, mushrooms and black rice.

But before you throw a handful of puds in a fryer thinking it will be the perfect New Year diet, there are a number of things that you have to take into consideration to deem it 'healthy' – such as the fat content, ingredients and the way it has been prepared.

Peter Winkler, marketing manager at Bury Black Pudding Company, is delighted by its new status.

He said: "We have been saying for years that black puddings are healthy.

"It's all in the way that they are made and the ingredients that are used. Ours are on the low end of the scale, about are about 2.5 per cent fat, whereas others can be as high as 40 per cent.

"Plus you don't have to have them in a breakfast — they can be grilled and used in salads, making them much healthier."

Bury Black Pudding Company founded by Debbie Pierce and Richard Morris, has been selling its low fat, iron-rich black pudding to the borough and beyond since its humble beginnings at Bury Market, where it still has a stall.

You may not realise it but black pudding, is packed full of protein and is practically carb-free, as well as being rich in iron and zinc.

Using just five ingredients to make them – blood, onions, herbs and spices, barley and fat from a mature pig — the company's 100-year-old recipe is top secret and designed to create the perfect pud.

Mr Winkler said: "There is no meat in the black puddingThe blood is rich in iron, the onions are anti-oxidant, the barley is classed as a super grain and good for your cardiovascular system, the herbs are good for you in all sorts of ways, the fat is the best quality from a mature pic.

"We have top chefs using our black puddings in their starters and main courses at restaurants across the country. Andrew Nutter even uses our puddings in his signature dish of crispy wonton. It's amazing what they come up with."

The company's best seller is its sliced version, of which they sell 90,000 packets a week — which was doubled over Christmas.

Mr Winkler said: "On average we sell 40 tonnes of black pudding a week. Thirty of that is the sliced version, and the other 10 tonnes is our other products, such as the chilli, gluten free and traditional ringed versions.

"Since it has been named a superfood, we've been inundated by requests from people asking about recipe ideas and how best to cook them. It's great to know that more people are being introduced to the food which we have championed for years."

To view more recipe ideas visit buryblackpuddings.co.uk.