Food Standards Scotland set to welcome international delegates at first food conference

Two hundred delegates will attend ‘Fresh Thinking on Food’, Food Standards Scotland’s first food conference, this Wednesday (28 March 2018) at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Expert speakers will gather in the Scottish capital from around the world, with speakers and attendees travelling from across Europe, the US and New Zealand.

The agenda will kick off with a keynote introduction from Sir Kenneth Calman, Chancellor of the University of Glasgow and formerly the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, England and Wales, presentations by the Scottish Retail Consortium on the impact of Brexit for food and retailers, Kantar TNS on emerging trends in consumer attitudes to food, and from M&S on industry challenges and opportunities.  

To reflect the diverse conversation that can be had in relation to food, there will be parallel interactive sessions in the afternoon, focussing on diet and obesity, food fraud, food safety and food controls.  Speakers include Dr Alison Tedstone, Deputy Director of Diet & Obesity at Public Health England, Eric Marin, Deputy Head of Unit at Food Fraud Network, Malcolm Copland, Commercial Director at Greggs PLC, and Daniel Kleinberg, Head of Health Improvement at the Scottish Government.

Geoff Ogle, Food Standards Scotland’s Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be holding Food Standards Scotland’s first food conference and I am looking forward to welcoming our world-renowned speakers and delegates from across the food sector.

“There are currently many shared challenges and opportunities for the food sector – not least ensuring food that we eat is safe and that we tackle Scotland’s problems with poor diet and obesity. Food Standards Scotland also has an important role in protecting consumers from food fraud and we’ll be discussing all of these at the conference with experts in their respective fields. 

“Food supply chains are both local and global, so the challenges can be wide ranging. This conference presents an opportunity for us to discuss the importance of these issues in relation to food in Scotland – whether we eat it, make it, sell it or export it – and to share our experience with others and learn from them too.”