ABP Food Group
Profile
ABP Food Group is an integrated agrifood business operating 50 manufacturing sites in 7 EU countries. We are structured around 4 divisions and our principal business is in red meat processing (beef and lamb) for retail, wholesale, food service, etc. The remaining divisions look to maximise carcass utilisation into Petfood (C&D), Proteins for Pharma and food ingredients and finally a sizeable renewable energy division (Olleco). Research interest is sustainable proteins.
Competences & Capabilities
Main areas of expertise include:
- Understanding of beef/lamb farming systems and drivers of efficiency across Europe.
- Strong category and consumer understanding of the protein purchaser (meat, fish, poultry and non-meat).
- Environmental sustainability and the drivers of improvements at farm and business level.
- Adding value to animal by-products.
- Brand protection - food authenticity, security and safety of supply chains.
14 Castle Street, Ardee, County Louth, Ireland
Contact
Dean Holroyd, Group Technical and Sustainability Director
dean.holroyd@abpbeef.com
Partner in the following EIT Food projects
Food System Master of Science Programme
The programme is based on a combination of essential entrepreneurial skills, which will help you to become an effective innovator, and key technical skills that are tailored to your career ambition in the sector
Advanced technologies for beef & lamb composition, imaging & sorting
The project will expand, adapt & implement 3-D CT scanning technologies to digitise the beef & lamb food chain into a new Connected Food System
Educating for Technology Take-off
However, uptake of new technologies on farms is patchy
Seaweed supplementation to mitigate methane (CH4) emissions by cattle (SeaCH4NGE)
There is a gap in the market for products with lower environmental impact as consciousness among consumers rapidly increases
Consumer and Manufacturing Driven Alternative Packaging Solutions from Agrifood Waste Streams
Suitable materials for meat, fish & poultry have constraints such as the need for an oxygen barrier & stability at higher temperatures, so wide-scale use of alternatives has so far been low
BLINK: BeefLink - Traceability within the beef value chain using rapid DNA fingerprinting
Food fraud is in many aspects an appealing activity because the profit margins of this activity can be quite large but the risk of being caught is lower than in other criminal activities due to the low priory of police and judicial authorities
Focus on Farmers
However, farmer adoption of these technologies is often limited and therefore the benefits are not realised
Food Fortress for raw materials and ingredients in Europe – Gaining Consumer trust through transparency
This project aims at gaining consumer trust through improving the transparency of the supply chain using rapid-reactive and proactive risk management using a combination of technologies such as predictive analytics and multi-analytical tests
The development of organic supply chains that drive fair, transparent and healthy options for the consumer
On a global basis the amount of fraud occurring in the organic supply system is growing rapidly and issues are appearing on a weekly basis
FOOD4SENIOR High nutritional and sensory quality Food innovations for the promotion of Senior Health
It is also important to highlight the impact of the demographic change on public health and its costs
Consumer attitudes towards healthier processed meat products
The countries investigated will be UK, Spain and Denmark, countries with high meat consumption rates (> 80 kg per person/year in UK and Denmark and > 90 kg per person/year in Spain)