Scares should not take away from other challenges

In preparing for this article, I had to ask myself would it have been much different if it was written a month ago?

Yes, we’re in the middle of the horsemeat/food labelling issue, which has rightly taken a lot of attention and industry focus. But this problem doesn’t change the fundamentals that face the food industry.

There are so many positive things to say about the food industry. It is a core part of the Irish economy, so everything must be done not only to protect what we have, but also to maximise the potential opening up due to growing consumer class populations worldwide, removal of milk quotes in 2015, innovation at farm and food industry level and the huge appetite for growth that exists in Ireland.