One of the industry's most popular figureheads has been named in the Queen's jubilee honours.
Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) ceo Doug Henderson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to UK fresh produce.
The affable Scotsman has been credited with many an industry success since he took the job as ceo in 1994.
He makes it his business to constantly promote the benefits of increased fruit and vegetable consumption, while protecting the sector from misguided and bureaucratic legislation.
Under Henderson's direction, the FPC has continued to work with the government to encourage improved penetration of fresh produce into the diets of the UK population, particularly the young.
He has handled troublesome issues such as packaging waste and pesticides, with his work earning him plaudits from within the industry, as well as from schoolteachers, parents and the trade press.
'I am honoured and delighted with this award, but feel it is a reflection of group endeavour rather than individual effort,' said the Glasgow-born 58-year-old. 'It has been a wonderful pleasure to serve an industry that is so vital and is faced by so many problems and threats.' Henderson was not the only industry figure to receive a blessing from Her Majesty.
National Farmers Union director Richard Macdonald was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), as was National Farmers Union for Scotland president Jim Walker and Defra man Thomas Eddy. Colin Mychreest of the Food Standards Agency and Beth Chatto of Beth Chatto Gardens received an OBE, while Robin Cherry earned a MBE for his services to the potato industry.