Food Health Ireland CEO delivers seminar in Invent DCU - 25th February 2010

Invent DCU was delighted to welcome Jens Bleiel, CEO of Food Health Ireland (FHI) to Invent DCU on 25th February 2010 to give a talk entitled: Food health Ireland: How to Make Functional Foods a Market Success?
In taking up this role initially, Jens looked at the top world trends and their impact on society as a whole and in particular on nutrition. Trends such as the growing obesity crisis, increase in the number of men cooking, on-the–go snacking due to busy lifestyles, among many others were studied. According to Jens, all of these trends create challenges along with major innovation opportunities for the food industry and for ingredient suppliers. People are now looking for enjoyable healthy food with functional benefits. It was in this context that Food Health Ireland was established.

FHI is a partnership among public research organisations and the Irish food industry. It is funded by Enterprise Ireland and industry partners and has a total budget € 22.5 million. It has an industry-led research agenda which has identified specific health pillars and is solely dairy-based. The four Irish dairy companies include Carbery Group, Dairygold Co-operative Society Ltd, Glanbia plc and Kerry Group plc. These all have a strong market position, excellent manufacturing capabilities and the ability to scale up their operations. The research organisations include University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Teagasc.

Dublin City University is also involved in the FHI project. DCU researchers are working on determining the effect of milk biopeptides on immune function and on inflammatory mediators involved in chronic inflammatory disease, using a combination of in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation.  This approach will systematically identify any possible health effects as well as categorically demonstrate and define the mechanistic aspects of functional heath promoting milk biopeptides.

 The FHI is focusing on the top mega trends which include

• Overweight and obesity
• Heart health
• Immunity and resistance
• Health growing of kids

FHI is a unique centre aimed at developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling functional food products to improve people’s health, wellness and quality of life through world class innovation in food.

Jens Bleiel is German national and a business economist by training. He started his career at a management consultant company in Germany in the business segments of strategy, organisation and personnel. After 5 years, he joined Dutch company Numico and held several management and executive functions in the baby food branch of the company (Cow&Gate, amongst other brands). His assignments brought him to Argentina, Germany and the Netherlands. His last function was Global Marketing Director Infant Milks. After 10 years in this business with the nicest customers of the world – babies – Jens Bleiel joined Dutch multinational DSM, world market leader in vitamins and other food ingredients. As Senior Vice President Metabolic Health Products, he built up the functional food business in the area of metabolic health products, one of the biggest health concerns in the world today.
On August 17, 2009, Jens Bleiel was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Food for Health Ireland and moved over to Ireland.

Food for Health Ireland (FHI) is a new organisation, located at the campus of UCC. Supported by Enterprise Ireland, FHI unites four of Ireland’s public research organizations (University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Teagasc) and four Irish dairy companies (Carbery Group, Dairygold Co-operative Society Ltd, Glanbia plc. and Kerry Group plc.) in a single research centre aimed at developing functional food products to improve people’s health and wellness.