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
Develop in-depth knowledge about food systems through studying consecutively at three distinct European academic institutions and use your knowledge to drive the future transformation of the food system.

Educating for Technology Take-off
New technologies and innovations offer significant opportunities to farm businesses to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, enhance yields and outputs, as well as reducing environmental impacts.

Seaweed supplementation to mitigate methane (CH4) emissions by cattle (SeaCH4NGE)
SeaCH4NGE aims to reduce methane (CH4) emission from cattle and increase product quality.

Consumer and Manufacturing Driven Alternative Packaging Solutions from Agrifood Waste Streams
We aim to design innovation led packaging for red meat, fish & poultry made from material derived from agrifood waste. The issue of waste plastic in the food industry has led to strong consumer demand for producers & retailers to remove single use & reduce hard-to-dispose plastic.

BLINK: BeefLink - Traceability within the beef value chain using rapid DNA fingerprinting
Numerous food scandals in the past decade have opened the eyes of consumers in Europe on the prevalence of fraud in the food industry.

Focus on Farmers
Agricultural technologies and innovations offer significant opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of farm businesses, through optimised yields, reduced environmental impact and increased profitability.

The development of organic supply chains that drive fair, transparent and healthy options for the consumer
The organic food supply system in Europe must rank among one of the most important in terms of trust. Our citizens make purchasing choices around organic food based on a wide range of issues which include sustainability, ethics, food safety and nutrition.

FOOD4SENIOR High nutritional and sensory quality Food innovations for the promotion of Senior Health
Over 65 years citizens represent the single fastest growing demographic group in Europe (30% of people will be over 65 in 2030), a challenge for the food industry as healthy ageing is affected by daily diet choice: we want to live longer and with a better quality of life.

Consumer attitudes towards healthier processed meat products
This project tests the acceptability of novel healthy processed meat products incorporating plant-based ingredients among European consumers.