The following Centres of Industrial Collaboration can unlock cutting edge technical expertise or the specialist resources this industry needs.

The Food Chain CIC boasts a hygienically designed food pilot plant to enable companies to develop and test new products for commercial viability, and state-of-the-art imaging and microscopes to understand food texture and develop new formulations. The centre is also investigating applications of 'spinning disc' technology, to replace existing methods of product mixing, prevent contamination during production and create new flavour systems for products. Together with the Particle Science and Engineering CIC, the centres are investigating the use of ultrasound in the processing of industrial soft materials.

The CIC also boasts controlled environment rooms to help explore food storage issues and advanced electronics development laboratories. Businesses can benefit from the centre's expertise in the shelf-life of food and cryogenic methods to develop more efficient chilling and freezing processes.

The Food Chain CIC, Environment Technologies CIC and the affiliated Greenchemistry Centre have teamed up to establish an uniquely expert group to work with industry on developing novel processes to convert food waste into high value materials such as fine chemicals, adsorbents, pharmaceuticals or feed stocks for other manufacturing processes.

Expertise in product design within The Design Futures CIC is enabling businesses to achieve higher margins by winning new business, not on low price, but on product differentiation. The centre is working with Robinson Paperboard Packaging to deliver new product concepts. Recent product innovations include COOL-AIRTM, a cooler for wines, the incorporation of RFID (radio frequency identification) tags into paperboard and RIM-FIXTM, a pot for dips that hooks onto the side of a snack tube.

The Digital Print CIC has expertise in printing applications for the food and drink industries, including best-before end labels and time temperature indicator labels.

Business investors in the food and drink sector within Yorkshire and Humber also enjoy the support of the following:

Europe's first Centre of Food Robotics and Automation helps companies like yours capitalise on knowledge and expertise to drive cost savings through process innovation. It offers lean manufacturing opportunities, reducing costs and creating more competitive market positioning, and provides support for the development of industry at every level from the individual small company to international conglomerates.

The Functional Food Forum is a joint venture between The Food Chain Centre for Industrial Collaboration, Food Technology Advisory Service and Yorkshire Forward, and will provide a forum for new ideas and generate research and development opportunities for food and drink companies in both the short and long term.

The European Centre for Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technologies will revolutionise supply chain management in the same way that bar-coding revolutionised retailing. The centre plays a world role in promoting the development and uptake of all automatic identification technologies and contributes to the setting of globally accepted standards for their application.

There is access to the only dedicated Institute of Logistics in the North of England, providing expertise to enable an effective and efficient supply chain, with specific focus on radio frequency tracking and logistics skills to minimise the impact of logistics on unit price.

West Yorkshire's Faraday Packaging Partnership is the UK's largest innovation support network within the packaging arena and helps deliver a new dimension in the design and innovation fast moving packaged consumer goods.

The Central Science Laboratory carries out analytical, diagnostic and consultancy services designed to support the international land-based and food industries. It specialises in the sciences underpinning agriculture for sustainable crop production, environmental management and conservation and in food safety and quality.

The Yorkshire & Humber Seafood Group is the UK's only industry-led body, chaired 'by-the-industry-for-the-industry' to represent the total seafood chain from 'boat to throat'.

The Food Technology Advisory Service has been established to help food businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber grow and thrive. The service delivers advice, support, and manufacturing-related projects in food production environments by providing technologists to work in companies. The support that is offered is industry led and not prescriptive, allowing a high degree of flexibility for companies to find solutions to their individual needs.

It is estimated that the true cost of waste to the food and drink sector is around £500 per tonne and can amount to 4 - 5% of company turnover, directly affecting competitiveness. Recycling Action Yorkshire (RAY) is a new regional 3 year recycling and market development programme initiated by Yorkshire Forward in partnership with key regional and national stakeholders. RAY is looking to support the development of new collection services and facilities for food and drink waste, particularly targeting SME's within industrial estates and business parks, and to pilot the operation of new collection facilities, with the opportunity for existing collectors and/or technology providers to invest and grow.

On the Food Yorkshire website you'll discover what Yorkshire Forward and its partner organisations are doing to help you sustain and grow your business, ensuring our well-established food and drink economy continues as a global production hub.

Our food and drink companies are strategically located to reach 40 million consumers in 4 hours or less by means of the excellent motorway connections. This is complemented by world class companies providing first class transport and logistics to serve the food industry.