As if to emphasise it is struggling to come up with its own ideas, the government has chosen May 5 as election day, daring to clash with this year’s Re:fresh Conference and Awards.
Tony Blair and his cohorts and opponents will have a hard time competing with the UK fresh produce industry’s main event of the year.
The Re:fresh Conference, sponsored by Prophet, kicks off with a presentation by Bob MacDowall, of the markets & policy initiatives division at the Office of Fair Trading. Only six weeks after the publication of the well-publicised audit of its own Code of Practice for supermarkets and their suppliers, MacDowall will address the industry on this and developments in the supermarket sector since Morrisons’ Safeway takeover.
In a session looking at different segments of the fresh produce market, Costcutter’s Jamie Davison, Brakes’s Stuart Smith and Tesco’s Peter Durose will analyse the shape of the c-store, foodservice and on-line markets and the particular issues facing suppliers.
Gillian Kynoch, food & health co-ordinator for the Scottish Executive, will no doubt have a political view on the most political of days, and as one of Scotland’s 100 most influential women, she will outline how her aim to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables north of the border is helping to tackle Scotland’s chronic obesity problem.
These are just the highlights. For the remainder of the speaker programme, see page 12. To register, go to www.refreshconference.com or call Carole Myers on 01322 660070.
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