PAUL'S CLIENTS
Industry, trade bodies and government
Here are just a few of Paul's key clients from the food sector. Most of his expert witness cases are confidential, but the the Aldi Case below is a typical example that is in the public domain.
DIT (DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE)
From 2016 to 2020, Paul was Food & Drink Sector Specialist for the UK Government's Department for International Trade. His role was to create world-class business and R&D opportunities for foreign companies operating in the UK or seeking to set up in the UK. He worked in the UK and overseas with multinational companies like Mondelez, PepsiCo and Mars through to specialist companies like Pecan Deluxe and Newly Wed Foods.
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Between 2013 and 2016, he provided the UK Government with specialist advice on Agri-Tech as part of its UK Industrial Strategy for Agricultural Technologies. Check out this video on my role as UKTI's Plant Science Specialist.
He increased overseas inward investment by linking academia and industry to develop world-class R&D and business opportunities in the Agri-tech sector. This involved overseas travel to promote UK Agri-Tech to companies including Monsanto, Bayer CropScience, BASF, Mars Symbioscience, Tate & Lyle, Land O Lakes and General Mills working with UKTI colleagues in our Embassies and Consulates around the world.
HFMA (HEALTH FOOD MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION)
Paul is contracted as the independent Technical Adviser to the HFMA. He advises on technical issues relating to health foods and food supplements, processing, distribution and relevant legislation. Paul advises over 150 Member Companies, including Holland & Barrett, Vitabiotics and Wren Laboratories.
ALDI STORES (IRELAND)
This court case related to a commercial dispute between two rival retailers in Ireland - Aldi and Dunnes Stores.
Paul acted as expert witness for Aldi and examined 20 pairs of products - ranging from tomato sauce to fruit yogurt to orange drinks. He compared each product in terms of nature, substance, quality, provenance, quantity and price. He took particular notice of the characterising ingredients - tomato in tomato sauce and fruit content of fruit yogurts. In virtually all cases he found that the Dunnes product contained significantly less of the characterising ingredient than the Aldi product, resulting in unfair price comparisons.
The case lasted several weeks. Paul was in Dublin High Court for 8 days and in the witness box for 2 days. Judge Cregan ruled in our favour, agreeing with Paul's evidence over that of the Dunnes experts in every case. Click here to see RTE's broadcast on the verdict.
SGS
Paul was consultant at SGS’s Ashby Laboratory which provides advisory, scientific testing and novel IT services for the major UK food retailers. SGS Food - SGS has 1,800 offices and laboratories worldwide. His experience as a Public Analyst was particularly relevant.