for some good news
It's all too easy these days for any pressure group with even half an axe to grind to bash the food manufacturing industry and generate lots of gory tabloid headlines in the process.
We have seen plenty of examples this year  arguably one of the most cynical being the Lunchboxes from Hell' story that appeared a few months ago courtesy of the self-styled Food Commission.
There is no point in moaning too much about this sorry state of affairs. We know consumers have many genuine concerns about the food they eat and, given the safety scares of recent years, we should not be too surprised that these concerns are ruthlessly exploited to the detriment of the industry. By the same token, we should not be too surprised to find food manufacturers are loathe to raise their heads above the parapet and defend their cause in case they are the next to be targeted.
But I fear that with so much attention being paid to the negative issues surrounding the industry  and with so much nonsense written as a result  we lose sight of the fact that food manufacturing is a fantastic sector about which there is much to be proud.
In particular, the way in which the industry in this country has embraced the whole idea of corporate social responsibility is something worth celebrating. CSR is a fancy new buzzword in the business world, but it is nothing new for food manufacturers who have long recognised the need to be good corporate citizens.
While the cynics will suggest CSR is no more than a clever PR vehicle for big corporations, the food sector can show plenty of examples of projects that have made a real difference to communities across the UK.
That's the thinking behind a new award scheme from the Food and Drink Federation launched in conjunction with this magazine and our sister publication Food Manufacture.The Community Partnership Awards are open for entries and everybody should participate. After all, isn't it about time we have some good news to start shouting about?
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It's all too easy these days for any pressure group with even half an axe to grind to bash the food manufacturing industry and generate lots of gory tabloid headlines in the process.
We have seen plenty of examples this year  arguably one of the most cynical being the Lunchboxes from Hell' story that appeared a few months ago courtesy of the self-styled Food Commission.
There is no point in moaning too much about this sorry state of affairs. We know consumers have many genuine concerns about the food they eat and, given the safety scares of recent years, we should not be too surprised that these concerns are ruthlessly exploited to the detriment of the industry. By the same token, we should not be too surprised to find food manufacturers are loathe to raise their heads above the parapet and defend their cause in case they are the next to be targeted.
But I fear that with so much attention being paid to the negative issues surrounding the industry  and with so much nonsense written as a result  we lose sight of the fact that food manufacturing is a fantastic sector about which there is much to be proud.
In particular, the way in which the industry in this country has embraced the whole idea of corporate social responsibility is something worth celebrating. CSR is a fancy new buzzword in the business world, but it is nothing new for food manufacturers who have long recognised the need to be good corporate citizens.
While the cynics will suggest CSR is no more than a clever PR vehicle for big corporations, the food sector can show plenty of examples of projects that have made a real difference to communities across the UK.
That's the thinking behind a new award scheme from the Food and Drink Federation launched in conjunction with this magazine and our sister publication Food Manufacture.The Community Partnership Awards are open for entries and everybody should participate. After all, isn't it about time we have some good news to start shouting about?
{{COMMENT & LETTERS }}
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