IT is bright yellow, cooks at the highest temperatures without burning, and is packed with Omega-3 and vitamin E.

Cold-pressed Scottish rapeseed oil has long been recognised by top chefs across the country as a healthy alternative to imported olive oil.

Now eight Scottish producers from across the country - Black & Gold of East Lothian, Borderfields, Cullisse of Moray, Mackintosh of Glendaveny in Aberdeenshire, Ola of Inverurie, Stark of Arran, Summer Harvest of Perthshire and Supernature of Midlothian - will launch themselves under the collective banner of "Scottish Rapeseed Oil - Scotland's Gold" in a concerted campaign to get more of it into our kitchens.

Rapeseed oil is the fastest growing sector of the oils category in the UK, and is worth more than £8 million.

The move, as the Royal Highland Show starts in Ingliston today, marks a development in the Scottish food and drink industry, where collaboration of competitor businesses is seen as the way forward.

"We want to establish a point of difference between Scottish rapeseed oil and those from elsewhere, because we believe the long daylight hours and cooler climate in Scotland are best suited to producing plants of the highest quality," said Lynn Mann, of Supernature.

James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, said: "By joining forces with their competitor businesses, the eight Scottish producers of cold-pressed rapeseed oil are working together to build awareness of the numerous benefits of rapeseed oil."

Neil Forbes, chef director at Cafe St Honoré, who will help launch Scottish Rapeseed Oil in the Cookery Theatre at the Royal Highland Show, said: "We have a genuinely world-class product."