Declan Ferguson on his role as Technical Director of Co Down’s Finnebrogue Artisan Foods
Tyrone man Declan Ferguson has been in the food industry for over 20 years, having started early with a part-time job packing chickens in Moy Park while studying for his A-Levels. A food science degree at Queens University Belfast followed before he headed to London and took up a role as a technologist for Marks & Spencer, working across product categories including confectionery, produce and meat and poultry.
After 10 years in the role, Declan embarked on a new challenge with Tesco Ireland & Northern Ireland in 2010. “I was the lead technical manager for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland,” Declan explains, “managing the technical and quality teams and developing ‘homegrown’ own label product ranges of Irish and Northern Irish category products such as meat, deli meats, baked goods, salads and poultry, as well as developing and promoting local SME supplier listings in Tesco.” Two years later he moved to Genesis Crafty to take up the role of technical director there. Based in Magherafelt in Co Derry, Genesis Crafty is a company steeped in family heritage and has grown rapidly in recent years. “The company was going through a fantastic and challenging period of growth,” Declan says, “and while I was there we developed a very strong Genesis Crafty brand while also creating a strong own-label supplier proposition in morning goods, Irish breads, in-store bakery and seasonal products such as handcrafted mince pies.”
Since December 2014, Declan has been technical director at Finnebrogue Artisan in Co Down where he is responsible for the delivery of food safety and quality. He also ensures that Finnebrogue is industry-leading in its approach to food safety, quality, innovation and customer satisfaction. “I lead the technical and quality teams and we interact regularly with our retail customers to ensure we are delivering on all aspects, from launching innovative products on time to ensuring that we have a pipeline of technical, product, health and sustainability innovation,” Declan explains.
The company has grown substantially in the last four years and has opened three state-of-the-art factories. Finnebrogue produces a wide range of meat and plant-based products and Declan has been at the heart of developing its Naked Bacon and Naked Ham, both made without nitrites, as well as various plant- based ranges. Both of these new developments are helping to meet consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable foods. Declan’s role is varied and no two days are the same, however there are some key projects that he and the team work on continuously. They include the development of new ranges of plant- based products delivered through the planning and construction of a brand new production facility that will open ahead of Veganuary 2021. Equipping consumers with the knowledge to make more educated buying choices is also a big focus. “We have been working on the development and implementation of product life cycle analyses on foods so consumers can be provided with clear and credible information about the environmental impact of any particular foodstuff,” Declan explains. As part of this Finnebrogue has helped set up an independent charitable organisation called Foundation Earth which will help develop and implement these sustainability or environmental scores. “The sustainability scores go further than just carbon impacts and also include areas such as water usage, soil health and biodiversity impacts. Adding them to the front of packs means consumers can choose foods based on the environment in the same way that they can buy washing machines or refrigerators based on their energy usage.”
As with most businesses across many aspects of life, the sudden appearance of COVID-19 earlier this year has made it one of the main issues that the food manufacturing industry has to deal with. “Within our own company we have had to deal with these challenges head on to ensure that our staff feel safe enough to come to work. We have implemented new procedures and protocols related to personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing, changing manufacturing practices and staff training to ensure we continue to supply products to our retail partners and at increased volumes,” Declan says. “The economic consequences of COVID-19 on global supply chains will, unfortunately, mean that food fraud and food adulteration will once again become a major issue across the global food industry, as criminal elements try to make money amidst the fall out of the pandemic.”
Outside his role at Finnebrogue, Declan is also a member of the safefood Knowledge Network expert group, which aims to help safefood target its research through assessment of food safety concerns and horizon-scanning for future risks, as well as educating small to medium size food businesses on food safety and industry challenges.
In this role, Declan tries to identify the challenges that SME food manufacturers have to deal with in an ever-changing supply chain landscape. He also looks at risk areas where those new to the industry may not understand the elements within a food product or its packaging format that ensure it is safe for the consumer at the point of sale or in the home.
His work with the Knowledge Network is something Declan greatly enjoys as it gives him the opportunity to think about the bigger food industry picture. “I love the fact that when dealing with the group I can park the ongoing challenges of the day job and think more globally about the food safety challenges that are on the horizon and may potentially affect both consumers on the island of Ireland and those SMEs who wish to thrive in the food manufacturing industry.”
ABOUT DECLAN
Where are you from?
I’m from Coalisland in County Tyrone but since leaving university I’ve lived in London, Dublin, Derry and now County Down.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? My wife, our two boys (ages 7 and 8) and I love to get out and about and enjoy the beautiful scenery that we have close to Downpatrick.
Is there a book you’ve read that influences you?
One book that has helped me during my career would have to be Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It discusses seven habits that people and managers can
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