UK government reviews its support for collaborative food research

The government is reviewing the future of its collaborative Food Link pre-commercial research programme, which supports a number of projects lasting up to three years into food manufacture and food quality.

The results should emerge in few months time, when the review is due to be completed, according to Dr Christina Goodacre, programme manager for the Sustainable Farming and Food Science Division within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Goodacre formerly headed up DEFRA’s Food Technology Unit (FTU), which co-ordinated much of the Link research together with other research programmes designed to bring academics and industry together to ensure the UK’s food manufacturing sector took advantage of the most cutting edge technologies. The FTU was closed by DEFRA last year.

DEFRA is in discussions with other organisations, including the Food Processing Knowledge Transfer Network (FPKTN), to identify how collaborative research projects in the sector might be supported going forward.

The FPKTN also facilitates the introduction of new techniques and equipment to increase the efficiency and quality of the food manufacturing industry in the UK.

DEFRA provides grants for approximately £5M of research a year to various consortia in five Farming and Food Link programmes. For standard Link projects, government support is available to a maximum of 50% of the total project costs.

A requirement for support is that government contributions are matched by an equivalent contribution - cash and/or in kind - from industrial partners. Financial support from industry partners is matched 50:50 by government. The exception to this rule applies to feasibility and development Link grants, where contributions range from 25% to 75%.

There are two active programme areas within Food Link: advanced Food Manufacture and Food Quality and Innovation.