Food From Britain could be in line for additional money from the government to help the food industry recover from the foot and mouth crisis, according to food and farming minister Lord Whitty. He said: "I can't rule out awarding Food From Britain more money to help the recovery, but we have to work inside constraints such as international competition rules and budgets." He added: "There are lots of different forms of government support and we are looking at what else we can do." Whitty said he hoped to visit the world's biggest food exhibition Anuga, in Frankfurt next month, to support British exhibitors. However, the show coincides with the opening of the new session of the House of Lords and he might be required there. In this case, he said, he hoped a fellow minister would be able to attend Anuga. Whitty was speaking after the formal launch of the £1.7m FMD recovery campaign to help UK speciality food and drink producers, at the Speciality and Fine Food Exhibition at Olympia, London. Last month the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced it was awarding FFB £3m to help restore confidence in UK food after the FMD crisis (The Grocer, August 11). In addition to the £1.7m earmarked for the UK speciality food market, £1.3m will be used to rebuild food exports. Charlotte Lawson, director of business and UK services at FFB, said the additional money would enable FFB to carry out a range of activities on both a national and regional level. The campaign will be carried out in partnership with organisations including the regional food groups in England, the Countryside Agency and the NFU. At a national level it was participating in the Speciality and Fine Food Exhibition and will sponsor the British Cheese Awards at the end of the month. There will also be increased marketing work around FFB's speciality foods website and speciality buyers guides. Regionally work will include meet the buyer events, regional recipe booklets and promotional materials for tourist offices. {{NEWS }}