Welcome to the Food Research Directorate
The Food Research Directorate (FRD) consists of two Research Centres: Ashtown Food Research Centre (formerly The National Food Centre), and Moorepark Food Research Centre (formerly Dairy Products Research Centre). Moorepark Technology Ltd., a not-for-profit company offering pilot plant services, is attached to the Moorepark centre. The mission of the FRD is to generate and apply new knowledge for the sustainable development of the food processing industry
The core of our programme is public research, which accounts for over 70% of overall activity. The programme themes and main locations are:
| Moorepark | Ashtown | |
|---|---|---|
| Food Safety | a | aa |
| Foods for Health | aa | a |
| Food Ingredients | aa | a |
| Food Cultures | aa | |
| Meat Research | aa | |
| Dairy Technology | aa | |
| Prepared Foods | aa | |
| Food Industry Department | a | aa |
| Consumer & Market Insights | a |
Currently new research programmes are being developed in Nutraceuticals (non-dairy) at Ashtown, and on Bioactives for Obesity(satiety/adiposity) and Gut Health at Moorepark. These represent a major expansion of staff and non-staff resources, and reflect a new emphasis on Foods for Health research building on our existing strengths in the field.
The Food Research Directorate is Ireland’s largest public food research body. It has an annual budget of €25m, employs 150 research and technical staff and hosts 80 post-graduate students. It derives much of its research funding from competitive programmes of which the most important are: FIRM (Food Institutional Research Measure of the Department of Agriculture and Food), Science Foundation, Enterprise Ireland and E.U Framework programmes. It generates significant income also from research, technical and training services to industry. Income amounts to close to 50% of overall expenditure The Food Directorate research is mission oriented, and is complemented by a structured programme of innovation management and technology transfer. Moorepark Technology Ltd. (MTL) is a key link in the technology transfer chain for the Moorepark Centre. It is a unique entity, being a joint not-for-profit venture with dairy companies and having a commercial ethos and business strategy The FRD is undergoing a process of renewal and change in pursuit of the strategic aims of building greater scientific depth and achieving greater innovation impact Major new research initiatives are being undertaken as part of an expanded programme in foods for health. This involves recruitment of new PIs and investment in new laboratories and equipment. Teagasc’s food centres are equipped to the best international standards and, with the new investments, expect to attain a high international standing building on an already respected international reputation. Simultaneously, the directorate is increasing its focus on intellectual property generation and management as a key component of its overall innovation management strategy.
Teagasc’s food research centres are well linked in to national and international research consortia, a number of which it is playing a leading role in. Examples are the EU Integrated Project, ProSafeBeef, which is co-ordinated by Ashtown and The Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (http://apc.ucc.ie), a major collaborative programme with University College Cork, funded by Science Foundation Ireland which is recognised as one of the foremost programmes in gut microbial research internationally. The directorate is also strongly linked with industry including many of the top research-performing international food companies.
Professor Liam Donnelly
Director of Food Research and Head of Moorepark Food Research Centre
