Food industry comes centre stage with Nutraceutical Research Facility

IRELAND has taken a step closer to its food innovation ambitions with the opening of Teagasc’s new Nutraceutical Research Facility in the Ashtown Food Research Centre, Dublin.

The advanced level facility will bring the food industry centre stage, and help Ireland deliver on its goal of reaching its target of raising R&D spending to 3% of GDP by 2020. It will also align the food sector to research fields such as health and science, as well as green fuels and technologies.

Launching the event, European Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: “To launch a hi-tech, state-of-the-art research facility at this time demonstrates faith; faith in the future of the Irish agri-food sector and faith in Ireland’s talents in research and science as a springboard to growth and jobs. The agri-food industry was at the cutting edge of innovation before the word innovation became part of the language of economic recovery. This is the sector that brought us plant sterols several years ago. I think it is fantastic that, if I need to, I can reduce my ‘bad’ cholesterol levels through diet rather than having to take medication. I believe this innovative agri-food industry will thrive and grow within the Innovation Union.”

Teagasc’s new Nutraceutical Research Facility will also be involved in partnerships such as sustainable and productive agriculture, energy, “smart” cities and mobility, water efficiency and non-energy raw materials.

The facility will also help achieve the EU health objective to extend the proportion of people’s good health by two years.

In 2006, the European market for functional foods was worth around €6bn, the third largest after Japan and the United States. Experts predict that the global market for functional foods will grow in value from €57bn in 2007 to €94bn in 2013.

Director of Teagasc Prof Gerry Boyle said: “Teagasc has built the capacity for food innovation on a foundation of research excellence. The convergence of agri-food with nanotechnology, computer science, life sciences and robotics, presents tremendous potential for transforming food and non-food production during the next two decades.

“Science, technology and innovation (STI) will enable agriculture to expand beyond food and feed to include bio-materials, bio-energy and bio-pharmaceuticals, creating products that can compete on the basis of quality, safety and environmental attributes.”

Ireland also hopes that the new Ashtown facility will add further jobs in the already labour-intensive agriculture sector.

The broader European bio-economy, encompassing agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, chemicals and biofuels, is worth nearly two trillion euro and provides around 22 million jobs in Europe, 12 million of these in agriculture alone.

The EU has invested €260m in research on food and health issues alone. Teagasc has participated in 51 projects, with funding of around €10m from the EU’s sixth and seventh Research Framework Programmes.