Susanna May of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is to be keynote speaker at the FSDF conference which takes place in Nottingham at the end of September.
FSDF chief Chris Sturman said: “We’re delighted to announce the theme, timings and location of the FSDF 2012 Conference ‘Food Supply Chain Excellence – Opportunities and Challenges’, in collaboration with British Frozen Food Federation.”
May will set out the government’s view of the UK food supply chain, its resilience, the importance of the food and drink industry to the economy, both in feeding the nation but also as a growing export sector generating international trade.
May has worked on public policy issues for the past 14 years at MAFF, the European Commission, Defra and the Cabinet Office most recently covering issues relating to agriculture and food.
Dave Howorth of General Mills will also be speaking at the conference in a session entitled “Customer dynamics – The roles of the supplier and manufacturer”.
Also under scrutiny will be progress on the renegotiation of the FSDF Climate Change Agreement for UK standalone temperature controlled facilities for the years 2012-23.
And there will be a presentation to cover the application of key Health and Safety Regulations (ATEX/DSEAR) relating to the design and operation of ammonia refrigeration plant.
The conference, which is being run in collaboration with the British Frozen Food Federation, takes place at Eastwood Hall, Nottingham on 30th September to 1st October.
