Sean McGlynn appointed as new chairperson of Food Fortress Ltd
Sean McGlynn, managing director of Co. Longford-based Kieran Milling, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the board of Food Fortress Ltd.
He succeeds Dr. Keith Agnew, who now assumes the role of chief executive.
Food Fortress is a collaboration of businesses committed to improving the safety and security of the food chain.
It has a bespoke remit for testing and analysing over eight million tonnes of compound animal feed annually across the UK and Ireland.
Sean McGlynn said: “Food Fortress has done a tremendous job in delivering analytical security for the compound animal feed sector operating across the island of Ireland.
“It has a world-leading reputation. Our aim is to build on this for the future.”
Both of the new appointees bring extensive experience from the animal feed compounding sector and share a commitment to advancing Food Fortress’ mission of ensuring feed and food safety through rigorous contaminant testing and analysis.
The appointments were confirmed during a recent board meeting, which included visits to the Institute of Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and Belfast-based Precision Analysis.
During the event, the new chairperson paid tribute to outgoing chief executive Robin Irvine, who played a pivotal role in shaping Food Fortress since its inception.
“Robin was a driving force in establishing Food Fortress as an organisation that has delivered true reassurance in identifying contaminants within compound animal feeds and raw materials,” McGlynn said.
“His leadership following the dioxin crisis of 2008 was instrumental in developing a world-leading testing service that continues to safeguard livestock and food production across the UK and Ireland.
“The feed sector owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude.”
Food Fortress coordinates the testing of compound animal feeds for four major contaminant classes: mycotoxins; dioxins and PCBs; heavy metals; and pesticides.
Its membership includes feed compounders and raw material suppliers from Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland, with full alignment across Northern Ireland’s feed industry.
At the board meeting, the new chief executive, Dr. Keith Agnew highlighted the organisation’s central role in safeguarding the food supply chain.
He said: “We deliver an all-embracing testing and analysis service, officially recognised by DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) in Northern Ireland and UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme) at UK level.
“Our work complements raw material suppliers’ own testing, providing a fully comprehensive early-warning system should these contaminants enter the feed production chain.”
Food Fortress’s testing programme involves the annual analysis of around 800 tests on compound feed samples, carried out at QUB’s Global Institute of Food Technology and supported by Precision Analysis.
Findings, combined with supplier data, are shared with members on an anonymised basis to ensure sector-wide access to vital risk information.
Agnew added: "We are delivering a risk management system recognised worldwide as best in class.
"With 80% of livestock products from the island of Ireland destined for export, maintaining feed safety is vital to protecting the agri-food economy.
“As regulatory standards tighten, Food Fortress will continue to play a key role in helping manufacturers meet evolving requirements.”
