Gavin Esler, award winning broadcaster and author, hosted an impressive list of speakers at this year’s Federation of Bakers’ Annual Conference which looked at the challenges faced by the food industry from climate change and the wider health agenda.
The event which was held at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham in association with sponsors AB Mauri, Baker Perkins, LeSaffre, Zeelandia and Zeppelin Systems UK was well received by industry delegates and guests.
With a wide range of speakers including Chris Kent, Senior Applied Climate Scientist from the Met Office; Mark Pettigrew, Agricultural Sustainability Manager for Europe at PepsiCo International; Dr. Clive Black, Director and Head of Research at Shore Capital Markets; and Giles Quick, Director at Kantar Worldpanel, the event offered an interesting and informative look at the issues that will impact the industry long term.
The session on climate change looked at the implications on food production – in particular wheat growers – and how the industry can plan ahead accordingly. The Market Update session featured insights on the UK food industry in respect to the wider UK and Irish economies, with discussion on how a possible ‘Brexit’ would have implications for the UK economy. An insightful presentation on consumer trends and the impact of the wider health agenda highlighted that while progress has been made, consumer habits remain hard to change so the focus has to be on innovation and reformulation.
The finale to the day’s proceedings was a presentation ‘From Front Line to Finish Line’ from ex Royal Marine Joe Townsend, who suffered life changing injuries when he lost both legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Through an amazing feat of personal courage and sheer determination Joe has managed to overcome his injuries and is now an accomplished world class para-athlete training for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Joe shared his remarkable journey with delegates which was an inspirational end to the day.
Gordon Polson, Director of the Federation of Bakers says: “The annual conference is the time of year when the baking industry comes together, so that as a collective we can discuss the current and future issues affecting our industry. We have already had lots of extremely positive feedback from delegates so we would like to thank all those involved, including the speakers, sponsors and the delegates for contributing to this success and we look forward to planning next year’s event.”
Ends
Notes to Editors: For further information or copies of any of the presentation slides please email: info@bakerfederation.org.uk
About the Federation of Bakers: The Federation of Bakers represents the interests of the UK’s largest baking companies who manufacture sliced and wrapped bread, bakery snacks and other bread products.