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Do we need an independent agency to talk about nano and GM?

04-Oct-2010 - As a marketing professional, I see potentially difficult times ahead for the food industry. The viability of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is under review and genetically modified (GM) foods and nanotechnology are progressing up the agenda.


united we stand, divided we fall

06-Sep-2010 - If there's one thing I hope that the 21st Century will become known for, it's joined-up thinking. 'Silo' thinking led to World Wars I and II.

Fond farewell to a food industry leader

06-Sep-2010 - I dedicate this column to Leatherhead Food Research chairman Dr Alistair Penman, who died on August 3 after a long battle with illness.


Scorch and burn Coalition

03-Sep-2010 - Phew, what a scorcher! Not the weather, but the blistering pace at which the Coalition has set about delivering a programme for government during its first 100 days. 


Shocking spreadsheets

03-Sep-2010 - Forget embezzlement and insider trading. If you really want to shock colleagues, one crime tops them all: use of a spreadsheet.


Two must become one

03-Sep-2010 - At 12 minutes past eight on the morning of February 3 1783, Antoine Lavoisier placed a guinea pig in an ice machine.


Investment 
all starts in 
the kitchen

03-Sep-2010 - As a great believer in giving consumers a mix of culinary pleasure and technology-led products, I am encouraged by the investments being made in the UK’s food manufacturing industry. 


Which God made the seven-day milk rule?

03-Sep-2010 - The European Parliament’s (EP’s) call for milk labelled as ‘fresh’ to be under seven days old raises the question of the meaning of ‘fresh’ in relation to any food.


Fire foresight for firms

01-Aug-2010 - I read with interest John Dunn’s item on factory design in the July 2010 issue (p63), which raised many key issues.

Too COOL by far? Common sense and country-of-origin labelling

01-Aug-2010 - Recent announcements about the future of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) dealt with the handover of country of origin labelling (COOL) to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Methinks I smell optimism

01-Aug-2010 - Do I detect a faint whiff of optimism circulating through our sector?

Compulsory circle of life

01-Aug-2010 - We are born, we grow up, and then we die, making way for the next generation. Such is the circle of life. Otherwise, the world would be a very crowded place.

What green and clean really mean

01-Aug-2010 - At a recent Leatherhead conference, a speaker from Mintel said the number of new products making 'natural' and 'green' claims increased steadily between 2005 and 2009. But I'm not convinced that consumers understand all these claims.

Safer food means better business

01-Aug-2010 - As a consumer, caterer, chef and food developer, I have found the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to be a great source of clear and concise information that has helped me to make more informed choices and, more importantly, produce food safely. It has lived up to its mission statement: 'safer food, better business'.

We must think the unthinkable

05-Jul-2010 - Had the merchant bank been called Lehman Sisters, it would probably never have gone bankrupt in 2008, precipitating one of the world's biggest financial crises ever recorded.

The two
cultures

02-Jul-2010 - Over 50 years ago, Charles Percy Snow CP Snow the acclaimed scientist and novelist, presented his Rede lecture at the University of Cambridge titled 'The two cultures'.

Actions speak louder …

02-Jul-2010 - Grains of rice have been produced weighing as much as 78mg each. This is way above the typical weight of 23mg per grain.

Lobby stifles
GM debate

02-Jul-2010 - Oh dear. The furore surrounding the Food Standards Agency's (FSA's) project on genetic modification (GM) is an unwelcome reminder of how a small group of campaigners remains absolutely determined to derail any sensible debate in the UK about the pros and cons of using new biotechnologies in the food sector.

Breath of fresh air for innovation

02-Jul-2010 - Since this is supposed to be an ingredients column, I thought I'd tell you about the latest ingredients research at Leatherhead.

Dedicated followers of food passion

02-Jul-2010 - It's that time of year when, as you drive the length and breadth of the country, you see signs at the roadside advertising country shows, festivals, fêtes and fairs. Being someone who always likes to cover new ground, I usually go if I have a spare day at the weekend.


Food for the economy

02-Jul-2010 - I agree wholeheartedly with David Gregory, chairman of Assured Food Standards, that our sector skills councils should co-ordinate their efforts to "enable skills transfer across the industry" (Food Manufacture, June 2010, p7).

Trade Talk: 
Nanny doesn’t always know best


02-Jul-2010 - The national newspapers had a field day in their reporting of the European Parliament's (EP's) rejection of traffic-light food labelling. Reports described the reaction of food and health lobbies as anything between 'dismay' and 'outrage'. The EP was accused of "caving in" to industry pressure.

E is for extraction from the stomach

09-Jun-2010 - We risk becoming a “scientifically illiterate society”, warned David Gregory, chairman of Assured Food Standards, in this year’s Institution of Food Science and Technology’s annual lecture.

Tales of the unexpected road trip

04-Jun-2010 - I was in Frankfurt chairing a conference on low fat, salt and sugar when the Icelandic volcano discharged its cloud of volcanic ash.

Trade Talk: When is a food not a food?

04-Jun-2010 - The second issue of the Food Standards Agency's magazine Bite focused on nanotechnology and its potential for developing novel foods.

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