The evaluation food products RS&T funded by the Foundation is based on a survey of food companies and industry associations completed in May/June 2004. The survey targeted end-users of Foundation-funded RS&T in plant and animal/meat products (excluding dairy and seafood). The survey was completed by Andrew Fletcher Consulting.
The Foundation portfolios covered were mainly Product Quality (PQA), Niche Biologicals (NBP), and Innovative Foods (INF), and some New Physical Technologies (NPT). Non-food plant and animal/meat products RS&T were excluded.
The food industry survey was the first in a suite of end-user surveys in 2004/05 focussing on selected areas of Foundation research programmes in the new portfolios. As well as the food products research, surveys cover research in plant and animal production/agri-technology, energy, building and construction, and medical/health services. These will complement the earlier user surveys that focussed on seafood, freshwater management, manufacturing and ecosystem research.
The Foundation research covered by the current surveys is specific to the areas of research scheduled for re-investment in 2005. The findings will also be used to inform future investment strategies by the Foundation, and contribute to accountability reporting to Government.
The conclusions from the food industry survey are summarised here, and the main findings are given in the Appendix. The final report on the survey is available from the Foundation on request.