Conference will look at food chain (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
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Conference will look at food chain
3:17pm Friday 15th March 2013 in Business
By Mike Bridgen
A NATIONAL conference to examine food chain security will be held near York next month.
Assuring the Integrity of the Food Chain is aimed at food manufacturers, processors and retailers in the wake of the horse meat crisis.
It will examine the scandal and explore how robust verification measures can be included in supply chain management to ensure product integrity.
The high level debate – hosted by York, North Yorkshire & East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership – is seen as key to re-establishing consumer confidence and trust in the food industry, particularly the meat sector.
Leading international and UK industry speakers will address the event along with representatives from Defra and the Food Standards Agency.
The conference is at The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), Sand Hutton, York, on Wednesday, April 24. Yorkshire has the largest concentration of food and drink businesses in the UK, contributing £2.7bn to the regional economy.
Professor Rob Edwards, Fera’s chief scientist, said: “The food sector faces a significant challenge in restoring consumer confidence following the revelations surrounding horse meat.
“Science has a significant role to play in helping companies rebuild trust with their customers. The aim of this conference is to bring together industry specialists and scientists to look at what can be done now and what may need to be developed for the future.”
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Germany and Nofima, the Norwegian food research institute, will share their experiences with the expected 200 delegates.
David Kerfoot of Kerfoot Oils, Northallerton, and LEP board member, said: “The UK food and drink industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the country so it’s vital we learn all we can.
“Drawing together industry experts and scientists willfacilitate a debate about how best we address food integrity.”
