Chair of the Northern Ireland Food Chain Certification (NIFCC) has announced changes to representatives at the group’s AGM in Lisburn.
The NIFCC is the service provider of product certification schemes like the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), Beef and Lamb Scheme, Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS), Brand Reputation through Compliance (BRCGS), and Red Tractor.
NIFCC chair, George Mullan, extended his congratulations to the certification committee’s chair Liam McNeill on his retirement following 14 years in the role.
Changes in the owner's representatives were also reported. Norman Robson now represents the Northern Ireland Pork and Bacon Forum (NIPBF).
Oonagh Chesney has stepped down as the LMC representative, with her replacement to be confirmed.
Gerry Maguire of the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association (NIMEA) has also stepped down. Daryl McLaughlin will take his place.
There were also changes to the certification committee with retail representative, Neil Johnston replacing Aodhan Connolly as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) representative and consumer representative, Sinead Furey has stepped down.
Speaking at the AGM, NIFCC chair Mullan said: “Collaborative ways of working are helping deliver a resilient Northern Irish agri-food industry.
“Our organisation was founded 22-years-ago as a collaboration between farmers, processors, and retailers to deliver audit and certification services to the food industry on a 'not-for-profit' basis.
“As we address the challenges facing our industry, working together is an increasingly important part of the certification process, so that we can continue to provide customers and consumers with the assurance they want, as well as meeting the evolving legislative requirements on the safety, integrity and the sustainability of our produce.”
LMC collaboration
Mullan said NIFCC is collaborating with LMC in the development of it's sustainability project, which has included a research and development project to assess the technology and methodology of carbon surveys.
“Our upgrade of the digital LiveQ inspection and certification system across all schemes and the changeover from using laptops to tablets during inspections is a significant investment to assist the process on farm,” he said.
“I would like to acknowledge the professionalism and diligence of the senior management team in returning NIFCC to a positive financial outcome for the year ending March 2023. This follows a challenging time due to Covid restrictions.
“The board also thanks Valerie McCann (chief executive/company secretary), Pearl Campbell (finance manager), Daphne Brennan (compliance manager) and our two inspections managers, Robert Downey and Catherine O’Melvena for their hard work and on the completion of a successful UKAS accreditation audit.”
