The new chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium has an unenviable task in many respects - following in the footsteps of a man who defined the role being the most obvious.

On the other hand, Nigel Jenney is stepping into the role at a time that may well prove to be a watershed for the industry in this country and around the world.

If fresh produce is not the major beneficiary - in the food industry - of the expanding drive towards healthy eating and away from obesity then we have all failed. If the industry in this country does not harness the goodwill that is heading in its direction, from virtually every sector of society, and use the government’s new-found generosity to its advantage, it will be looking perhaps the longest ever odds-on gift horse squarely in the mouth.

Jenney recognises this and much more. But the FPC cannot turn the industry around single handedly, it cannot remove many of the negative aspects of the industry overnight, and it cannot save the hides of individual companies that refuse to acknowledge the need for change.

It has to have the backing and understanding of the members it represents. There are many people within this industry that have put varying amounts of mostly unheralded time into making the FPC the organisation it is today. But there are far more who have paid the association far too little attention.

It is dedication of the members - not simply those employed directly by an association - that optimises its relevance and effectiveness. The FPC needs you, but equally you need the FPC.