A NEW initiative for the food industry aims to give 6,000 British companies access to new technologies and expert advice at the touch of a button.

Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom launched the new Food Innovation Network (FIN) during a visit to Fera at Sand Hutton yesterday.

The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) said FIN would give ambitious British entrepreneurs unparalleled access to first-class facilities, such as test kitchens and laboratories to help them launch new products onto the market.

Through an online portal, businesses will be able to tap into expert advice on complex issues such as intellectual property and developing new technology.

A network co-ordinator will also be appointed to act as a ‘matchmaker’, joining up enterprises with the expertise they need for any aspect of their business – from new packaging to waste management.

Mrs Leadsom said: “Our thriving food and drink sector has already helped make Britain more globally competitive through its incredible innovation.

“The UK’s food and farming sector generates over £100 billion a year and employs one in eight people, with the food manufacturing sector bigger than cars and aerospace combined.

“From extending the shelf life of our food to increasing the amount of Vitamin D in our eggs, the Food Innovation Network will help make the sector as forward-looking as possible and push the boundaries of British food production.”

Defra - alongside the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - appointed the Knowledge Transfer Network as the co-ordinator to take forward the project.

David Kerfoot, vice-chairman of the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership, said: “Two of the biggest global challenges we face in the next 100 years are food and energy security. Innovation is essential to address this.

“York, North Yorkshire and the East Riding is ideally placed to be at the heart of this, demonstrating world-class business, internationally renowned assets and industry on a global scale to provide the resilience and opportunity the UK so desperately needs.”