June 2010: Duke of York Visits Campden BRI

Press Release (June 2010)

Duke of York Visits Campden BRI

Chipping Campden based food technology centre, Campden BRI, was delighted to host a Royal visit on Monday 7th June.

The Duke of York visited Campden BRI as part of his official capacity as ambassador for UK Trade and Industry. Accompanied by the Director-General, Professor Steven Walker, His Royal Highness was given a tour of the bakery facilities, the Food Technology division and the department of Consumer and Sensory Sciences, where he learned about Campden BRI’s work for the Ministry of Defence in ensuring that food for the armed forces meets stringent specifications.

He also met Mrs Paula Twinn, Manager at IATC Ltd (International Agri-Technology Centre Ltd), a subsidiary of Campden BRI, which is contracted by UK Trade & Investment and Advantage West Midlands to promote UK agri-food science and technology overseas.

Mrs Twinn explained the scope of the agri-food technology industry and the skills held in the UK, she told His Royal Highness about an initiative IATC has been working on with Sainsbury’s in Africa – using UK expertise and technology to help African producers improve productivity and build a sustainable food supply. He was impressed by IATC’s work, and asked where all the expertise in the UK could be found, providing the opportunity for Mrs Twinn to show him the agri-science directory IATC produced by IATC.

The directory pulls together, for the first time, all the organisations involved in agri-science and research in the UK, mapping them according to industry sub-sector. An invaluable tool for anyone involved in the industry – UK or International.

Commenting on the visit Mrs Twinn said "His Royal Highness seemed to be enjoying his visit to Campden, and was very interested to learn about IATC’s work – asking lots of questions about the support available to the UK agri-technology industry and how IATC worked on behalf of UKTI"

She continued "He clearly understands the importance of the agri-food industry and was impressed with the agri-science directory, taking two copies away with him."

For more information on the services IATC provides for UK organisations, or to request a copy of the agri-science directory contact staff on 02467 323960 or visit the website at www.theiatc.org.

***Ends***

9 June 2010