The UK government has provided more than 11m pounds worth of funding to 34 major business-led collaborative food processing and manufacturing development projects, in a move which secures the country’s leadership in food technology.
The projects are led by major companies such as ABP Food, Arla Foods, Bakkavor Foods, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods UK R&D, Nestlé, PepsiCo international, Sainsburys Supermarkets, and Warburtons, among others.
The investment by participating companies takes the total value of the projects to more than 23m GBP.
The new projects are aimed at achieving efficient food processing, packaging and distribution in the retail and food service segments as well as efficient recycling of manufacturing by-products and waste.
Food and Farming Minister David Heath said that the investment in research and technology offers long-term benefits and this funding keeps UK at the forefront of technology innovation.
"In an increasingly hungry world these new technologies and manufacturing techniques will help the UK's food processing sector use fewer natural resources and be more efficient," Heath added.
These projects are being funded by the UK's innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, Defra, the Scottish Government, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
