New Institute For Global Food Security Officially Opens

Tesco Chief Executive, Philip Clarke has officially launched Queen's University new Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS), which will improve global food safety through the establishment of an international 'food-fortress' in Belfast.

An investment of over £33m from Queen's will see the Institute play a key role in national and global efforts to provide the world’s growing population with a sustainable, safe and secure supply of high quality food.

Staff in the new Institute will work alongside the food sector locally, and worldwide, to improve the integrity of the food chain and deliver best value and quality to the consumer. The opening of the IGFS will enable Queen's to enhance the role it already plays in ensuring the local agri-food industry continues to be competitive in a growing global market.

Tesco is the largest customer for food producers on the island of Ireland buying £1 billion of foodstuffs each year. At today's launch Tesco's CEO Philip Clarke addressed an audience of 250 invited guests in the University's Riddel Hall on 'Competing in a changing global food supply chai'’. He also met representatives from leading food companies during a high-level roundtable discussion. Chaired by Professor Chris Elliott, Director of the new Institute, and Dr Clive Black, a leading retail analyst and Head of Research at Shore Capital, the industry summit is aimed at helping those present drive regional growth and competitiveness.

Mr Clarke also officially opened a new £2.5m laboratory today. Housing state-of-the-art equipment provided by Waters Corporation, the multinational technology company, it will be capable of undertaking unique forms of testing in order to provide early warning of food contamination and adulteration. With part finance from the European Regional Development Fund, Invest NI is supporting the laboratory instrumentation and some of the research activities within it.

Professor Elliott said: "As CEO of Tesco plc, Philip Clarke's attendance at Queen’s today is testament to how significant this new Institute for Global Food Security is for the food sector, not just here in Northern Ireland, but worldwide. We want to build a ‘food-fortress’, ensuring everything we import is of the highest quality and that what we sell locally and internationally is also 100 per cent safe, nutritious and authentic.

"This new Institute will ensure that we can continue to recruit the best students into our food programmes, creating the food-leaders of the future who have been trained in one of the world’s best equipped research laboratories."

Mr Clarke said: "It's an honour to have been asked to launch the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University. Northern Ireland can be proud that it is home to a world leading centre for the study of an issue which all of us in the food industry need to pay close attention to."

(CD)