Students whet their appetites for career in food and drink

Hundreds of students are set to have their taste buds tickled at a special event to promote careers and courses in the food and drink industry.

Cooking up a career at CAFRE’s Feed Your Mind event.

The Year 11 pupils from 40 schools across Northern Ireland will attend the three-day “Feed Your Mind” event at CAFRE’s Loughry Campus, Cookstown. They will learn everything from the science of making chocolate to the fermentation process involved in cheese making – and taste a sample or two along the way.

“Food is central to every part of our lives from health and science to sport and education and the career opportunities within the industry for our students are fantastic,” explained Head of Food Education Derek McDowell.

“The Feed You Mind event is an opportunity for us to showcase the excellent facilities and wide range of courses we offer here at the Loughry Campus and to inspire young people to consider pursuing an exciting career in the food and drink industry – one of the largest employers in the UK.”

CAFRE’s hi-tech Food Technology Centre features equipment and facilities for producing food to EU standards including four mini processing areas: meat, dairy, bakery, fruit and vegetable sectors. Their specialist facilities include chemistry and microbiology laboratories, a dedicated food technology facility, food packaging laboratories and a Food Innovation Centre.

“The agri-food industry is very competitive and is constantly changing and using technical innovations to meet consumer demands,” Derek added: “As the world population increases, food technologists need to develop innovative applications in biotechnology and processing of food and we are here at CAFRE to assist the industry do just that, as well as helping provide them with a highly skilled workforce.”

Loughry Campus is also home to the Food Innovation Centre which assists the agri-food sector in creating and developing new food concepts to meet the needs of a dynamic market place and to improve the educational experience for students. The Centre acts as a hub for innovation within the food industry.

Pupils will learn about exciting aspects of food science and manufacture and will also get some hands-on experience when they help with baking bread, making sausages and learn how our senses impact on our taste. Bon appétit!

Notes to editors: 

1. CAFRE, the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise operates from three campuses in Enniskillen, Antrim (Greenmount) and Cookstown (Loughry) offering a range of courses in agriculture, food, horticulture, equine and agri-food business.
2. For more information on courses visit the CAFRE website.
3. The three-day Feed Your Mind event will run from 13 to 15 June. If you wish to send a reporter or photographer to the event please contact DAERA Press Office on 028 9052 4619.
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5. All media enquiries to DAERA Press Office or tel: 028 9052 4619.

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