Antoine Kastler elected as new EFFA President
Date
22 Sep 2017
Sections
Agriculture & Food
The members of the European Flavour Association (EFFA) elected yesterday Antoine Kastler as its new President. Antoine has been in the flavour industry for over a decade. He brings to the role his company and association experience as Vice President of Flavours at Robertet, a flavour house based in France and as representative of the French National Association (SNIAA) at the EFFA Board. He also played an instrumental role for EFFA as its vice-President for four years.
OLD AND NEW PRIORITIES FOR A NEW PRESIDENT
Antoine is very much looking forward to his new role: “I am delighted to take over the role of President of the European Flavour Association (EFFA). I would like to thank my predecessors Jean Robello, Heiner Schaper and Jean Mane, who shaped EFFA what it is today: a dynamic, strong and growing association and a well-respected partner towards European stakeholders. I am looking forward to continuing this work, supporting the EFFA team in Brussels and its very active working groups."
Jean Robello said today: “I am very happy to hand over the role to Antoine, with whom I have worked closely in his role of EFFA Vice President. Now his time to take over the Presidency and I look forward to keeping working with him at the EFFA Board. Jean also took the opportunity to thank all the EFFA members: “To be EFFA's President for 4 years has been in every respect an enriching task. During these years I have been privileged to meet and to work with many exceptional people, volunteers from different companies of all sizes and countries all over Europe to show their commitment to a common objective: making the flavour industry a dynamic and innovative industry".
This is also a priority for Antoine: "It is a pleasure to see experts from small, medium and large companies working together, this is the strength of an association, and I want to keep reinforcing that link between the members, International groups, national associations and SMEs".
Among his objectives for 2018 is to continue improving the positioning of the association, with events such as the Brussels FlavourDay, the newly created Public Affairs Committee and taking advantage of the strong know-how of the association with products such as the EFFA Guidance Document: “There is a lot we can provide to the food and flavour industry, and also to consumers. We know that we are in a very fashionable industry, food is a key element of everyone’s life and we have an important role to play on very relevant topics for both consumers and policy makers such as sustainability or conscious diet and we are open to discussion with our stakeholders”.
EFFA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The announcement of the new EFFA President was made during the annual EFFA General Assembly, which this year took place in London. It was the opportunity to update the members on the work done by the association during 2017 and show an outlook on 2018. The session was followed by a debate on the ‘Potential consequences of Brexit for UK and EU Food Business operators’.
Tim Render from Defra (Department for environment, food and rural affairs), spoke about the implications of EU exit for the food chain and explained the current negotiations and what could come next, and Peter Wilding, who coined the term Brexit, gave an overview of the potential scenarios, including a ‘no-deal’ one. He highlighted " The food industry is facing the direst potential consequences of Brexit, not only in the issues of the sector's continuing relationship with the single market and the customs union but in regard to the future of subsidies and the likelihood of free trade agreements. It is vital to become Brexitproof”.
The EFFA General Assembly will be followed tonight by the London FlavourDay, an event that is part of the European FlavourDays celebrated all over Europe. This event celebrates the 100th anniversary of the UK Flavour Association with a Gala Dinner gathering more than once hundred attendees. Next FlavourDays will be organized in Copenhaguen and Paris.
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CONTACT:
Jimena Gómez de la Flor, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
+32 2 214 20 44, +32 472 29 11 18, jgomezdelaflor@effa.eu
ABOUT EFFA THE EUROPEAN FLAVOUR ASSOCIATION (EFFA)
The original association was established in 1961. its mission is to be the voice of flavourings in Europe, promoting and supporting a Europe-wide strategy on flavourings to the benefit of both the industry and Europe’s consumers.
ABOUT FLAVOURINGS
Variety is the spice of life and flavourings help to bring that variety to consumers in a safe, accessible and affordable way. A flavouring is a food ingredient that provides taste to your food. The flavour industry follows a millennia-old tradition combined with state of the art science and a creative passion for food. Discover more in our website www.effa.eu