Institute launches food industry network

On Wednesday 4 July the Institute of Food Research (IFR) in the UK will launch the Food and Health Network. According to the Institute the Network aims to bridge the gap between fundamental food-related research and the needs of the food and drink industry and to improve industrial competitiveness. "The Food and Health Network represents one of IFR's commitments to technology transfer in support of the UK and European food and drink industry,"​ said Ian Lester, Head of Business Development at IFR. Speakers at the launch event will include John Wood, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Division, Food and Drink Federation and Bob Marsh, Managing Director of RHM Technology. From the UK 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. IFR scientist and the new Business Support manager, Dr Peter Wilson, commented, "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. The Clusters will be membership driven and draw extensively on our scientific expertise".​ Clusters will develop, and new ones will be formed, according to the needs and interests of the membership, the IFR stated. Initial examples proposed are Predictive Microbiology and Risk Analysis; Waste Upgrade Barriers; and 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. Open sections of the website can already be found at www.foodandhealthnetwork.com​.