7 May 2015
Craig Duckham became Chair of the Food Group at their AGM on 23 April 2015. Here he thanks the outgoing Chair, Andy Kerridge, and describes his vision for the Group:
'In my capacity as the newly appointed Chair of SCI’s Food Group, on behalf of SCI and the Food Group, I would like to thank Andy Kerridge (outgoing Chair) for serving as the Chair for the last 6 years.
'During this tenure, Andy was instrumental in shaping and steering the Group forward and helping to promote and raise awareness of food science. He has done a great job at encouraging the involvement of our younger members and has been a key figure in developing closer collaboration within SCI and with those outside bodies which have common food related interests.
'I would also like to add my personal thanks to Andy for his encouragement and support and to congratulate him on his well-deserved Distinguished Service Award (DSA) which was announced recently. I look forward to continuing to work closely with him over the next few months and appreciate his on-going support on the committee. Thanks also go to the outgoing committee members, Bryan Hanley, Emma Smith, Tony Taylor, Wendy Matthews, Javier Garcia Lomillo, Katerina Alba and Oyenike Oyeleke, for their service and support of the Food Group during their involvement.
'Going forward in 2015 and beyond, the Food Group’s remit remains unchanged, and that is to communicate, disseminate and exchange ideas on new technologies and new applications with the wider food sciences community. To achieve this we will continue to identify opportunities to partner and collaborate with other SCI Technical Interest and Regional Groups. As before, the Food Group will continue to organise meetings, conferences and workshops, building on the success of previous events.
'There are a number of challenges to meet including public engagement and encouraging the active involvement of our wider membership. To help us to meet these challenges I would like to see a re-focus of our activities. We aim to make the most of our resources and the tools available such as teleconferencing, webinars and Skype (similar technologies are also available!), to encourage participation, particularly from our more remote members.
'A growing number of issues of public concern and issues that affect small businesses in particular, have come to the fore recently; these include: food crime, allergens, new EU food labelling regulations and nanotechnology. We are well placed to help communicate the facts and the science behind these issues. We have an enthusiastic committee made up of food technologists, sensory scientists, analytical chemists, water industry experts and quality management specialists, with members from both academia and industry; we have student members and others with a wealth of experience to share.
'I look forward to sharing more information about our plans as they progress.'
Craig Duckham
Chair, SCI Food Group
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