Re-Appointments to the Food Standards Ageny's Welsh Food Advisory Committee

The Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas has today announced that Dr. Hugh Jones, Mrs Susan Jones and Mr Derek Morgan have been re-appointed to the Food Standards Agency’s Welsh Food Advisory Committee.

Their current terms of appointment end on 30 June 2011. They have agreed to serve a further term of three years, ending on 30 June 2014.

Gwenda Thomas said:"I am pleased that these members have agreed to continue their work Dr Jones, Mrs Jones and Mr Morgan each offer invaluable knowledge and experience to the work of this committee giving advice to the FSA on food matters relating to Wales."

Biographies:

Mr Derek Morgan
Derek is an upland beef and sheep farmer responsible for the day to day running of an upland family farm in the upper Wye Valley; rearing Welsh mountain sheep and pedigree Welsh black cattle. He is Chairman of the Farmers Union of Wales hill farming committee, representing the union on a wide range of stakeholder groups with particular emphasis on issues relating to animal health and welfare, animal traceability, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy’s and food chain information.

Derek is a member and chairman of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Upland Forum advising on issues relating to upland affairs. He was one of the first Technology Interactive Resource Demonstration farm participants. Derek is a Welsh sheep strategy scholar visiting New Zealand in 1999 travelling both islands investigating research programs on a number of farms.

Founder member, director, and present chairman of the Welsh Sheepdog Society, set up in 1997, to save the indigenous Welsh sheepdog. Also a member of the Welsh Assembly Government hyatid project board.

Mrs Sue Jones
In 1983 Sue Jones created Llanboidy Cheesemakers, one of the most successful SME specialist Cheesemakers in Wales, and had a direct involvement with all aspects of the production of milk and the manufacture and marketing of the farmhouse cheeses
She is a director of the cooperative Cheeses from Wales, a member (and past committee member) of the UK Specialist Cheesemakers Association and was awarded an MBE in 2005 for her services to the Welsh Cheese Industry.

A retired dairy farmer; a former President of the Red Poll Cattle Society and a past Chair of the local Narbeth branch of the National Farming Union. Sue has also been a member of the Welsh Assembly Governments’ Dairy Strategy Group since its inception and sits on National Farmers Union Cymru sub group for Food and Marketing. She is also a member of the Women’s farming Union.

Sue was elected an Associate of the Royal Agricultural Society (Wales) several years ago and in 2009 was made a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies (FRAgS)
Sue believes in keeping her feet firmly on the ground with regard to the market place and consumers needs and has a keen interest in promoting the regional identity, safety and quality of Welsh food. During her working life she has had close involvement with the introduction and implementation of food safety legislation.

Dr. Hugh Jones
Hugh Jones is a Senior Lecturer in Genetics and Molecular Biology in the College of Medicine – Institute of Life Science at Swansea University. After going to school in Neath, he read for a Biochemistry degree at the University of Cambridge and followed this with a Ph.D. and a research fellowship. He then moved to Imperial College, London for further post-doctoral work in protein engineering before returning to South Wales to take up an academic position at Swansea University. His research interests are mainly in protein molecular biology; particularly carbohydrate-binding proteins and involve recombinant DNA techniques. He has applied some of this work to glucose biosensors and diabetes diagnostics.

Hugh teaches protein structure/function, genetic manipulation and basic microbiology to students of Genetics, Biochemistry and Biological Sciences degrees. He is a member of the Society for General Microbiology, the Biochemical Society, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Hugh has been involved with promoting the public understanding of science in Wales including helping to organise the Science and Technology exhibition for the visit of the National Eisteddfod to Swansea. As a former School Governor and parent of three children at school and university, he is continually being reminded of the importance of food safety.

• The Welsh Food Advisory Committee was established under the provision of the Food Standards Act 1999, section 5(1). The Welsh Food Advisory Committee is responsible for providing advice and information to the Food Standards Agency about matters concerning its functions including particular matters affecting or otherwise relating to Wales.
  
• The Food Standards Act provides for membership of the Welsh Food Advisory Committee is to consist of a chairman and such other members as may be appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government. A list of current members is attached. Members of the Committee are paid £5,319 per annum reflecting a time commitment of 4 days per month.
  
• Although appointments to the Welsh Food Advisory Committee do not come within the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s remit these re-appointment have been made following a process that takes into account the Commissioner’s Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies as best practice.
  

Further information can be found here