The partnership would help the two networks tackle the global threat of food safety, IFST’s ceo Jon Poole told FoodManufacture.co.uk on April 23.
He also said that 500 students registering for its Food Start project was positive news as it would help young people begin careers in the food and drink industry.
On the darker side of things, Poole said the ever-present threat of food fraud was still a major concern for food and drink manufacturers.
Positive news
There was positive news for Iglo Food Group, which was sold by Permina to Nomad Holdings for a whopping £1.87bn on Monday.
Iglo is one of Europe’s leading frozen food firms with net sales of £1.08bn in the past 12 months.
There was also good news for Pork Farms after its acquisition of Kerry Foods’s chilled savoury pastry facilities in Dorset and Lincolnshire was granted approval by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Finally, on the positive side of things, there was good news for insect manufacturers as the Food and Agriculture Organisation promoted the use of creepy crawlies in food for human consumption through an infographic it tweeted.
In bad news, it was revealed the number of small and medium food manufacturers that had suffered financial distress as a result of supermarket price wars had rocketed by 120% in the past year.
Also, Tesco announced its worst ever pre-tax loss during its 97-year history of £6.4bn.