Bridging the Gap - Making Science Work for Industry

On Wednesday 4 July the Institute of Food Research will launch the Food and Health Network. The Network bridges the gap between fundamental food-related research and the needs of the food and drink industry and aims to improve industrial competitiveness.

"The Food and Health Network represents one of IFR's commitments to technology transfer in the support of UK and European food and drink industry," said Ian Lester, Head of Business Development at IFR. He continued, "It is part of our obligation to transfer the knowledge that we generate for the benefit of our stakeholders, both for the public good and to create wealth."

Speakers at the launch event include John Wood, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Division, Food and Drink Federation and Bob Marsh, Managing Director of RHM Technology, who will address the importance and relevance of fundamental research and technology transfer to the industry. Neville Rayner, Deputy Chairman of East of England Development Agency will explain the regional strategy. There are two speakers from the Food Standards Agency: Dr Steven Pugh, Research Coordination Unit, will outline FSA research policy; and Dr Richard Harding will review food regulations. IFR scientists will describe the Expertise Clusters, and the session closes with an open discussion.

Dr Peter Wilson, an IFR scientist with extensive experience of using IFR's science to provide insight into industrial problems, has taken on the role of Business Support Manager. "Expertise Clusters are at the heart of the Food and Health Network. They focus on issues that we know are of great importance for many companies in the food industry, and are in areas in which we can make a real difference," he commented. "The Clusters will be a real partnership between food industry experts and leading edge scientists from IFR. They will be membership driven and draw extensively on our scientific expertise". IFR's multidisciplinary approaches and scientific independence are significant strengths of the Network.

Clusters will develop, and new ones will be formed, according to the needs and interests of the membership. Clusters proposed initially are:

• Predictive Microbiology and Risk Analysis

• Waste Upgrade

• Barriers

• Shelf-life Extension

There are three levels of membership available, with options for access to seminars, newsletters, Clusters and the Network's private web site. Network Manager, Peter Gillatt said, "The network is an exciting development of the Food and Health Business Club, initiated by IFR and the University of East Anglia, to serve the needs of East Anglian SME's. This will allow the Network to serve food and drink producers, processors and retailers, from small and medium enterprises to international corporations."

Open sections of the website can be found at: www.foodandhealthnetwork.com. 

Food industry professionals can contact Jan Charlton on 01603 255193 or email enquiries@fhnet.co.uk  to register for the free seminar on 4 July.

• Media invitations are available from the Communications Office. The Institute of Food Research is a company limited by guarantee, with charitable status, grant aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

• Food and Health Network is operated by IFR Enterprises Ltd, the business arm of IFR.

• The Institute is based on the Norwich Research Park
• ISDN Audio available.
• Pics available

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