Lord Haskins ­ who has been doing "a lot of work for the government" ­ will focus on these consultancy roles as he steps down as chairman of Northern Foods and Express Dairies. Northern Foods chairman designate Peter Blackburn has already been shadowing Haskins as he prepares to take over in early 2002. The FDF chairman who was ceo of Nestlé until June said: "I am looking forward to the challenge of learning more about non-branded business as Nestlé is heavily branded. "This new role is ideal for me. There has always been a link between Northern Foods and Nestlé, as what was then Mackintosh used to hold a 25% stake in Northern Dairies." He added: "When you have been going at 100 miles an hour, you can't just suddenly stop!" As Northern Foods announced its interim results, chief executive Jo Stewart pledged to focus on new product development, particularly premium ranges, ruling out any immediate sales or acquisitions of subsidiary businesses. He said the own label manufacturer wanted to grow its 3% share of the food market by launching new products to main customer Marks and Spencer, which has 30% of its business, as well as Tesco, Sainsbury, Safeway and Asda. At the results presentation Stewart pledged support for GMOs as he welcomed GM advocate Blackburn. But he said the company's products would stay GM-free until consumers were won over. He said: "There is a lack of consumer confidence at the moment. We will continue with the science and keep an open mind on what GMOs can bring the world." Northern Foods' pre-tax profit fell 8.6% to £38.4m, hit by poor summer trade, on sales up 6.2% to £698.2m for the six months to September 30. Outgoing chairman Lord Haskins already chairs the government's Better Regulation Task Force and was appointed rural recovery co-ordinator after the foot and mouth outbreak. He had been head of Express and Northern Foods since they demerged in 1998. He will be replaced in the chair at Express Dairies by Sir David Naish, who was president of the National Farmers' Union between 1991 and 1998. {{NEWS }}