Food research consultancy Leatherhead Food International (LFI) is to seek work from overseas governments and organisations such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as work from traditional UK clients such as DEFRA and the Foods Standards Agency comes under pressure from financial constraints.

New chief executive Dr Paul Berryman said LFI's activities would now be focused on delivering better scientific services to its 1,000 company members. He said he also hoped to raise the amount of business that it carries out for overseas clients, mainly in the US and Europe, from its current level of 45% of LFI's work.

As EFSA's workload increased, Berryman said he saw an opportunity for LFI to bid for work. He suggested, for example, that EFSA might decide to back further research into the effects of individual colouring dyes and the preservative benzoic acid, following its review of research at Southampton University. Its study showed a link between combinations of colourings in food and hyperactivity in children. However, some scientists were critical that this work failed to identify which individual additives were responsible.

"I'd like to see EFSA putting a pot of money together for research," said Berryman.

"Modest profit" on LFI's £11M turnover in 2007 was expected to rise to about £250,000 this year, he added.

• See feature in next month's Food Manufacture