Food New Zealand

Official magazine of the 2020 International Congress of Food Science and Technology F ebruary /M arch 2020

NZ’s Authority on Food Technology, Research and Manufacturing

Featured in this issue: International Congress of Food Science and Technology 2020 Technical Tours and Programme Overview: Food Industry service providers – analytical, food safety, auditing, research and consulting FIET Report: Rapid Freezing of Sheep Milk Conference: Food Safety Summit

The official Journal of The New zealand institute of food science and technology inc.

Contents

NZ’s Authority on Food Technology, Research and Manufacturing

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F ebruary /M arch 2020 | Volume 20, No.1 ISSN 1175 – 4621

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Congress 2020

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Editorial

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In-Brief

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OVERVIEW

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FIET

2020 Vision; Programme and Technical Tours

News, views and information from around and about

Consultants and Services for food manufacturers

Rapid Freezing of Sheep Milk

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Jolin Morel, Richard Archer, Lindsay Robertson

Congress

2020 Congress - Exhibitor Focus Food Tech Solutions Ltd.

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CONFERENCE

NZ Food Safety Summit 2019

Geoff Webster MNZIFST, Webster Food Consultants

Contacts

10 Director and Editor Anne Scott, Peppermint Press Limited anne@foodnz.co.nz

Peppermint Press Ltd 5 Rupi Court, Mt Wellington Auckland 1072, New Zealand Phone 64 21 901 884 www.foodnz.co.nz Food NZ is mailed to 2500 individuals, primarily in New Zealand, and overseas.

A digital edition is shared internationally.

Visit www.foodnz.co.nz to subscribe.

Copyright © 2020 Peppermint Press No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping information retrieval systems, or otherwise) without the written permission of Peppermint Press. The views expressed in this journal are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the view of the Publisher, the Scientific Review Board, NZIFST or MIA.

Director and Writer Dave Pooch, Peppermint Press Limited dave@foodnz.co.nz Advertising Anne Scott, anne@foodnz.co.nz 021 901 884 Design and Layout Johanna Paynter, Pix Design, Regular Contributors Richard Archer, Laurence Eyres, Dave Pooch, David Everett, Rosemary Hancock

Published by Peppermint Press Limited Printed by Print Lounge Auckland Notice to Contributors When submitting editorial for Food New Zealand please observe the following, Editorial to be submitted as plain text files, NO FORMATTING please. Images should be sent as high resolution .jpg or .tiff files. Do not embed images in word documents, send separate files. Any images smaller than 500 kb may not be printed as the clarity of the print may be compromised.

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ENDORSED BY THE MEAT INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND

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Food New Zealand

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Emerging Leaders Network Programme Camilla Riddiford

REVIEW What do we know about Kombucha?

Anthony N Mutukumira, Kay Rutherfurd-Markwick, Xiaolei Wang and Richard Archer

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TRAVELLER'S TALE

FOOD SAFETY FSANZ

Fake Meat isn’t fake news MPI – Do you know your food rules?

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PACKAGING

Australian Institute of Packaging News

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OILS & FATS

A regular round-up of news and opinion from the Oils and Fats Group

Laurence Eyres, FNZIFST

32 NZIFST News, including:

New Members Branch News

On the cover JOIN NZIFST NOW

Networking – connecting with your peers

Consumers deserve and expect safe food.

Our food chain; from the farm, field or greenhouse to the plate includes properly temperature controlled transport and display in stores and supermarkets to ensure that food is delivered safe and wholesome.

Regular information about your industry

next issue:

for Executive Manager, Rosemary Hancock PO Box 5574, Terrace End, Palmerston North 4441, New Zealand Phone: 06 356 1686 or 021 217 8298, Email: rosemary@nzifst.org.nz, Website: www.nzifst.org.nz Meat Industry Association of New Zealand Inc. Tim Ritchie, Chief Executive PO Box 345, Wellington Phone: 04 473 6465, Fax: 04 473 1731

Professional Development

Recognition through awards, scholarships, travel grants www.nzifst.org.nz/join/

Picture kindly supplied by Plant & Food Research

April/May 2020 Next editorial and advertising deadline: March 20th, 2020 Features for April/May 2020 Ingredients for food manufacturers - colours, flavours, modifiers, flavour enhancers, sweeteners: core ingredients: functional and clean label ingredients

February/March 2020

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Congress 2020

2020 Vision Programme

Technical Tours

The Organising and Technical Committees of 2020 Vision: Food for a Changing World are proud to announce that the Programme for the event is now available for review on the website.

New Zealanders are proud of the world leading research and manufacturing facilities that support them in producing and exporting food that feeds 50 million people world wide.

The webmaster has masterfully created a user-friendly system where you can click on the session title within the full programme page and go to a description of the session content, with speaker biographies and photographs and abstracts.

As an added incentive to come to the Congress the committee has organised four technical tours showcasing New Zealand food research and production, around this year's congress.

The preliminary programme is now at https://avenues.eventsair.com/QuickEventWebsitePortal/iufost-2020world-congress-of-food-science-and-technology/agenda/Agenda

These technical tours will give delegates the opportunity to experience various aspects of the New Zealand food science and technology scene including R&D sites, innovation, universities and processing facilities.

The Food Pilot in Palmerston North, one of four Food Innovation Network sites, will be visited by those attending the Palmerston North Technical Tour 4

Food New Zealand

Congress 2020

Auckland Technical Tour - One Day research and innovation

Fish, Aquaculture and Horticulture. Nelson is located at the top of the South Island and hosts research facilities for the fishing and aquaculture industries, hop cultivation for the brewing industry and fruit and berry horticulture.

Visiting a selection of Auckland’s premier innovation, research and food testing sites.

NB: Tours include all land transport, flights if applicable, accommodation if applicable and meals and beverages.

Waikato Technical Tour - One Day ex-Auckland

You can register for these tours at http://www.iufost2020.com/ technical-tours/

Four tours are so far proposed. Other areas may be added if demand is sufficient, please see below:

Dairy focused innovation, manufacturing and quality testing. Waikato is the heart of the New Zealand Dairy Industry. The tour will visit a manufacturing site, the national milk testing facility and an innovation hub.

Palmerston North Technical Tour - Three Days ex-Auckland (overnight in Palmerston North) Palmerston North is a hub of food innovation, food research, food science and technology and primary food manufacturing.

Nelson Technical Tour - Two days ex Auckland

Looking ahead Watch these pages for further exciting news as we progress towards a memorable Congress on August 17th to 21st.

Everyone should plan to visit New Zealand at least once – why not make this Congress your reason to visit?

Sponsors We are proud to have the support of the following key sponsors.

Platinum Partner: Fonterra Cooperative Group Limited Gold Partner: New Zealand Food Safety Silver Partners: AgResearch Limited, Biomérieux, The Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company, Tetra Pak and Zespri Bronze Partners: Cawthron Institute The University of Auckland is the 3MT Thesis partner Riddet Institute is the Young Scientist Award partner A full list of sponsors and exhibitors is available on the website (see QR Code).

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EDITORIAL EDITORIAL Hail the next revolution in food The world’s food industry has done a brilliant job creating a safe and secure food supply but now we are facing a revolution.

Never before has the world fed so many mouths so amply or had so few going short of basic nutrition. In much of the world people can buy food of any ethnic style from stores local to them, at any time of day of night. It is affordable and enjoyable and generally safe. Adulteration is virtually extinct, all ingredients are defined, additives are strictly limited, nutrition content always declared.

Most people can now afford food in abundance. What were once rare treats are now often on the daily menu. If you want to, you can have ice-cream with every meal or carbonated sugary drinks as standard thirst-quenchers – or wine with every evening meal.

Yet, almost everywhere, everyone is gaining a gram a day in weight, much in the form of dangerous visceral fat. Trust in this magnificently performed industrial paragon is evaporating. Why? What can we do?

Our industry operates by taking staple ingredients and refining them into standard components. We impose

Richard Archer, President NZIFST

strict guidelines on growers to ensure each potato is the same, each carcase close to identical – all produce must fit a common specification. Or we throw it out. Then we refine the grains to white flours or extract pure starch streams. We remove bran. We make whey and soy isolates, we extract pectins and gums. We refine and refine and sell our ingredients on composition or on a performance specification.

This is a brilliant system – it removes all variables to ensure that each batch of formulated food product performs exactly the same in all our plants at any time of day or night or time of year, anywhere in the world. Today’s product is always the same as yesterday’s and customers know exactly what they will get.

Time to stop?

But the rich consumers are saying stop! “You are removing micronutrients and fibre that I want!” And the less rich are following fast. This is a sea change that we must respond to. And it will be the Food Scientists, Food Engineers and Food Technologists who will answer the challenge.

How do we reshape our entire food system – ingredients, formulated products – away from this reliance of refining and standardisation? How do we process with flour not starch, crude gums rather than refined, whole legumes and not isolates?

All this means processing with a greater degree of complexity and more variability as more of the raw materials’ structure remains intact.

It will be the life’s work of the new generation of food technologists to couple the new engines of AI, sensors and robots to industrialise this somewhat artisanal approach to handling whole foods in all their glory. The task is simple in concept: simply read the variability and adjust the process and formulation on the fly to get a standard product out the end.

It is the job of the Food Technology educator to see the challenge, frame the solution and guide today’s students to an understanding of their mission. Students will need a respect for the new tools they must pick up and wield – tools that the educator may be unfamiliar with. Hail the revolution!

Richard Archer, FNZIFST, President NZIFST

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Food New Zealand

IN-BRIEF

In-Brief In-brief is Food New Zealand’s pick of the news stories about NZIFST members, about companies with relationships with NZIFST plus items that catch our interest.

Bakels Edible Oils appoints new MD and Chairman After 33 years at the company with most of that time as Managing Director of Bakels Edible Oils (BEO), Mark Caddigan has made the decision to step down from the role and will take up the new role of Chairman, Bakels Edible Oils.

Mark has been the driving force behind BEO since Bakels acquired the original Company, Pacific Proteins, back in 1989. His commitment to BEO and the Bakels Group Internationally has been exemplarily.

Having a technical background, Mark has been involved at all levels of the business and has taken BEO from a rendering company to an industry leader, supplying fats and oils based solutions across the entire spectrum of the food industry. His “can do” attitude is now bred firmly into the Bakels ethos and this will continue to be a value upheld into the future.

Mark will remain part of the Bakels family in his new role as Chairman, ensuring there is a transition of knowledge and ongoing support provided to the industry, customers, employees and the Bakels Group, as we grow and strengthen our business.

Mark Caddigan – Bakels Edible Oils Chairman

With Mark changing his role within the organisation, we are also pleased to announce the appointment of Antony Moess as Managing Director.

Antony comes to BEO with more than 20 years of international experience in the Dairy industry, working in a number of locations including New Zealand, South East Asia and the Middle East.

Recently Antony has been a member of the executive leadership team at Synlait Milk Ltd and was responsible for the company’s manufacturing operations – ten factories across three manufacturing sites.

Antony brings to BEO a wide range of experience at an executive level, including knowledge in the fields of technology, manufacturing, supply chain, and managing customer/supplier relationships, This experience will benefit the ongoing development of the company as Bakels continues to strengthen itself to supply the needs of its customers both in New Zealand and around the world.

Both appointments are effective from 3rd February 2020.

Antony Moess Bakels Edible Oils Managing Director

Oat milk producer plans expansion New Zealand’s first homegrown oat milk producer, Otis Oat Milk has announced ambitious expansion plans in response to surging demand for its homegrown oat milk.

“Demand has exceeded our expectations”, continues Tim, “so we’re going to expand our production capacity and distribution to make oat milk more accessible to Kiwis and then take it to the world.”

Launched nine months ago, Otis is currently sold in 150 cafes throughout New Zealand. This year it plans to treble the number of New Zealand cafes, have Otis available on supermarket shelves and initiate sales in Australia.

“Later this year we’re planning to launch the country’s first processing facility for plant-based dairy alternatives in Dunedin. That’ll grow our productive capacity to 25 million litres per year, allowing us to expand to overseas markets. We see significant growth potential in the Asian markets, especially given the prevalence of lactose intolerance in those regions.”

Managing Director Tim Ryan said the company’s expansion plans were in response to growing demand for its oat milk, uniquely sourced from New Zealand.

New Zealand-grown oats have a high concentration of beta glucan, a natural fibre, that helps lower cholesterol, improves blood sugar control and boosts the immune system.

“Oat milk holds enormous potential for New Zealand farmers who’d like to shift towards producing higher-value and more environmentally sustainable products.”

The global non-dairy milk market is expected to reach revenues of

February/March 2020

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IN-BRIEF

more than US$38 billion by 2024, as consumers continue to make the conscious shift.

A recent Cambridge University study found oat milk production requires significantly lower environmental inputs than dairying. According to the research, producing one litre of oat milk requires 11x less land, 13x less water, 6.5x less fertiliser, and emits 3.5x less greenhouse gas emissions than one litre of dairy milk.

Otis has an exclusive partnership with Swedish consultancy firm Cerealiq; world leaders in the development of enzyme technologies that produce nutritiously superior plant-based foods and beverages.

Otis Oat Milk Managing Director, Tim Ryan

These images demonstrate the process of 3D printing ‘living’ plastics. The yellow 3D printed word, RAFT, was exposing to a growth medium. The recipe for the medium contained fluorescent compounds that were bound to the printed RAFT word such that it began to glow blue as it 'grew'

Advances in 3D printing Researchers at the University of Auckland have demonstrated how to 3D print a ‘living’ resin, a novel technique that enables the creation of ‘living’ and ‘self-repairing’ plastics, and could be a game changer in medical implants and the recycling of plastics.

By ‘living’ resin the researchers mean a 3D printable material which can change its properties after it has been produced including the ability to ‘grow’ in size and mass, as well as ‘self-repair’ when damaged, adding a new dimension to the existing 3D printing process.

Honours students Chris Bainbridge, Kyle Engel and third-year undergraduate Briony Daley, under the supervision of Dr Jianyong Jin and Dr Ali Bagheri of the School of Chemical Sciences from the Faculty of Science, accomplished a world-first by producing an example of ‘living’ 3D printing using a technique known as RAFT (reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer) polymerisation.

In 2018, the team came up with the idea of applying the RAFT technique to 3D printing and carried out research to perfect the process, dubbing the project “THING” named after the 1982 movie.

3D printing is commonly done via a polymerisation process in an uncontrolled fashion. This technique advances 3D printing in two 8

Food New Zealand

main ways with the big breakthrough being that the RAFT technique produces objects that Dr Jin calls ‘dormant’. Traditionally 3D printing produces inert objects that cannot change. RAFT-technique objects can 'grow', 'self-repair', and can insert new compounds to alter their properties. The novel technique, in effect, enables the printing of 3D objects with the ability to transform after production. Additionally, traditional 3D printed objects are ‘cured’ or set with ultraviolet light.

The researchers demonstrated the technique by producing the word RAFT as a yellow 3D printed object, and then exposing it to a growth medium. The recipe for the medium contained fluorescent compounds that were bound to the printed RAFT word such that it began to ‘grow’ and glow blue.

The team’s paper was submitted for publication to the Royal Society of Chemistry ‘s flagship polymer journal Polymer Chemistry on 20 September, 2019 and was accepted for publication on 4 November, 2019 (DOI: 10.1039/C9PY01419E).

The University of Auckland team collaborated with researchers from the University of New South Wales and University of Melbourne, and acknowledge support from the Endeavour Fund administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

IN-BRIEF

Massey University Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering student, Nelson Harper, left, with John Hart, Future Foods Manager at Breadcraft

Research into health benefits of Crickets Wairarapa Bakery, Breadcraft has begun working on research, funded by Callaghan Innovation, to explore the benefits of crickets for gut health.

Breadcraft has a Massey University Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering student working on-site for ten weeks during the summer period, funded by a Callaghan Innovation R&D Work Experience Grant.

John Hart, Future Foods Manager at Breadcraft, says this research has been a long-term goal. He is keen to explore what health benefits crickets offer, beyond protein.

"We're excited to take the first steps towards identifying and extracting some of the health-promoting compounds in crickets.

Early overseas research has revealed the potential for crickets to improve gut health, among other benefits. We’re looking forward to seeing what we can achieve through our Callaghan Grant over the next few months,” says John Hart.

Nelson Harper says he is excited about contributing to the innovation happening at Breadcraft. “We’re interested in extracting different compounds from crickets. There is some interest in chitin, a fibre different to those found in fruits and vegetables.

Already we’ve identified other useful products with the potential for development,” says Nelson Harper.

Braden Loveridge, Business Advisor Callaghan Innovation, says their research grants enable more than 1300 university students to work on research and development (R&D) projects. 520 companies around the country are participating over this summer break.

While research into the health benefits of crickets is in the early stages, there is long term potential for a product created from crickets to benefit human gut health.

Innovators of better and safer sanitation solutions • Sustainable chemistry • Less chemical use, less toxicity • Service focused Contact us today for an obligation free site inspection Phone: +64 9 622 4601 • Email: info@awsgroup.co.nz • www.awsgroup.co.nz

February/March 2020

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OVERVIEW

Consultants and Services for food manufacturers Food Industry service providers – analytical, food safety, auditing, research and consulting

AsureQuality Laboratory Advisory Services AsureQuality’s Auckland laboratory is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited and Australasia’s largest and most respected food and dairy testing laboratory. With huge capacity and capability, the laboratory operates 365 days a year and performs up to 10,000 tests per day (more than two million per year) for food and dairy companies in New Zealand and overseas.

With internationally recognised expertise and direct association with AOAC International, ISO, IDF, The Infant Nutrition Council of America (INCA), China Society of Inspection and Quarantine (CSIQ) and CODEX Alimentarius Commission, their specialist team also have extensive hands-on experience and are passionate about sharing this knowledge with customers. Their solution-focused team is perfectly placed to provide technical advice and customised solutions to help their customers achieve the optimum results from their production.

In a recent example, they were called into action by a customer with an unexpected test result that meant their product no longer met overseas market regulations. While the testing was conclusive, there was an export order at risk, and the customer had no idea what had gone wrong. Within three hours, an AsureQuality expert was onsite working alongside the customer and was quickly able to identify and therefore fix this problem.

AsureQuality’s Laboratory Advisory Services are varied and range from root-cause identification for contamination or spoilage, through to Standard Operating Procedure reviews, interpretation of test results and more.

Now New Zealand food businesses can engage an experienced expert to help when it matters most – to optimise systems, to problem-solve and to help them achieve the very best results. www.asurequality.com

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Food New Zealand

Whole Genome Sequencing from ESR ESR offers a service (GenomESR) that combines the use of state-of-art sequencing technology and scientific expertise to help identify sources of bacterial contamination of food and water and identify areas where control measures are needed.

Foodborne illness affects the health of many New Zealanders each year. The potential impact of foodborne outbreaks on a food business can be devastating, bringing serious economic loss and potentially affecting New Zealand’s international reputation as a food-producing nation.

Harmful or pathogenic bacteria can enter the food chain at any point.

Finding the source of pathogenic bacteria in the food chain is important to minimise illness and control outbreaks.

Next-generation sequencing technology provides a fast and costeffective way to determine the entire DNA make-up or “whole genome sequence” (WGS) of a microorganism.

Analysis of genome data can accurately identify microorganism species and explain the genetic relationship between microorganism isolates, improving the ability to detect and trace pathogen sources and help solve contamination problems.

For example, the WGS of Listeria monocytogenes or Cronobacter sakasakii from food can be compared with ingredient and food processing surface samples from other food processing sources.

WGS analysis of samples collected over a longer period can also identify whether a contamination event within a production environment is due to a persistent or new microorganism.

ESR is a partner of PulseNet International (PulseNet Aotearoa), an international network of laboratories dedicated to tracking enteric foodborne infectious diseases and is also partner of the New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Centre.

ESR is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute specialising in science related to communities including food safety. We help safeguard people’s health, protect food-based economies, improve the safety of freshwater and groundwater resources, and contribute expert forensic science to justice systems.

OVERVIEW OVERVIEW The Riddet Institute

(left to right) Cawthron staff members, Emillie Burger, Michael Boundy and Dr Tim Harwood

Cawthron Institute – Experts in food testing and product analysis Cawthron Institute offers an independent testing service for the food and natural products sector, to meet food safety and export requirements. The Institute has a fully-accredited laboratory and specialist research and development teams who develop customised analytical solutions to meet your unique business needs.

One area of specialty is the testing method developed

by Cawthron to detect toxins in shellfish. In partnership with the UK Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Cawthron has led an international study over the past four years to gain validation for the method to detect neurotoxins in shellfish such as clams, mussels, and oysters. The method was developed to include the highest range of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) and is more accurate and faster than current internationally approved methods.

“Ultimately this testing method gives consumers confidence that their seafood products are safe to eat and ensures faster market access for shellfish industries worldwide,” says Cawthron Institute Marine Toxin Chemist, Dr Tim Harwood.

Dr Harwood says the benefits of this method have already been realised by the New Zealand seafood industry. “This was particularly evident during two recent harmful algal bloom events where we were able to respond quickly to provide industry partners with assurance their products were safe for market.”

The project, funded by the New Zealand Seafood Safety research programme and Cefas, was a truly global study, incorporating 21 participating laboratories from five continents.

Dr Andy Turner, Principal Chemist Cefas and Study Director for the project, says this new method gives the user the ability to detect more toxins than any other method.

The Riddet Institute is a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) for fundamental and strategic scientific research in food. Its area of expertise is at the intersection of food material science, novel food processing, gastrointestinal biology and human nutrition. The Institute integrates partner organisations Massey University (host institution), University of Auckland, University of Otago, AgResearch and Plant & Food Research, to provide a national network of expertise within food science, technology, food processing, engineering and nutrition.

The agrifood industry relies on the Riddet Institute’s pivotal role, combined with its science and technology, to meet the challenge of navigating the ever-changing face of global food research, as we move towards a sustainable future. The Institute’s director, Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh, is a world-renowned food scientist who has won many awards, both nationally and internationally, recognising his contribution to food innovation. The Institute’s investigators are drawn from a number of different disciplines, are all recognised internationally in their field and provide the capability to drive innovative, fundamental research in food.

Stakeholder Relationship Manager, Melanie Ruffell, is dedicated to developing long term strategic relationships and supporting partners at the Institute. The Institute forms strategic partnerships with national and international food companies, to solve complex food science problems or transfer cutting edge research and IP through partners and networks, such as Ferri-ProTM technology to Nestlé. The links with industry range from SMEs through to multinationals, strategic research partnerships through to high calibre internships for our doctoral and masters students. Collaboration with colleagues throughout the NZ Food Innovation Network and specifically, the Food Pilot in Palmerston North, helps provide real-world training for the new generation of R&D experts.

Hill Laboratories Innovative testing delivered with speed When it comes to ensuring that you have a safe and clean environment for food processing, swabbing plays a crucial part. As part of food standards regulations, swabbing is required to detect the risk of harmful bacteria and pathogens in your production line. Results from swabbing are time-crucial as businesses often need to receive results before they can proceed with further work or release products.

Hill Laboratories understands the impact this can have on your productivity and profitability and is committed to providing tools to enable you to do better, faster business. TEMPO and PCR methods are well established at Hill Laboratories and can provide turnaround times that are typically 1-2 days faster than traditional methods, giving clients timely results relating to plant and facility hygiene and food safety compliance. The TEMPO and PCR methods are MPI and IANZ accredited, meaning local market providers, importers and exporters are able to confidently use our results to meet their regulatory requirements.

Hill Laboratories also provide sampling equipment, (such as specific swabs for pathogens), easy to follow swabbing instructions and “chilltainers to optimise the life of the swabs.

FOOD TESTING Cawthron delivers industry leading analytical testing, reliable results and market changing insight.

• Method development and validation team • IANZ (ISO) accreditation • Food safety • GMP certified for Nutraceuticals • Export certification • Label claims Ph: +64 3 548 2839 www.cawthron.org.nz

February/March 2020

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OVERVIEW McFoodies turns 20 years old

AgResearch

Cathy McArdle started the consultancy, McFoodies Ltd (McFoodies.co.nz), in January 2000 and now 20 years later it's still going strong, guiding the food industry in all things related to food labelling. While the business started out with contractors working on product development, food safety and labelling, over recent years the business has been re-focused and now works only on food labelling compliance projects.

AgResearch’s science drives economic and environmental sustainability for New Zealand’s food production systems.

McFoodies founder, Cathy McArdle

McFoodies is the go-to service provider in New Zealand for manufacturers, brand owners, importers and retailers seeking a cost-effective and flexible consultancy to calculate label detail or check artwork for compliance with Australian and New Zealand legislation.

Clients also often need help to find the answers to tricky questions about a specific scenario that is not clear in the Food Standards Code (or other regulations). McFoodies provides a friendly navigator of the rules.

On top of direct consultancy, McFoodies also does group training sessions to upskill the food industry about labelling compliance and calculation. These can be public (e.g. via Food Innovation Network) or privately on a client site.

Even more exciting are the online software businesses (Zubi.co.nz and Zigloa.com) that have been developed with (but independently of) McFoodies, as Cathy sought to create opportunities for the industry to take more control over food labelling rather than paying for a consultant to do the task. It may seem a bit backwards to make yourself obsolete but the goal of McFoodies is to educate and alleviate the stress around ensuring labels are correct (plus there will always need a need for the hands-off approach).

A Crown Research Institute, AgResearch has 500 science staff based at four New Zealand campuses – Ruakura (Hamilton), Grasslands (Palmerston North), Lincoln and Invermay (Dunedin). And, in April AgResearch will officially open Te Ohu Rangahau Kai, a nationally and internationally significant centre for food science at Massey University’s Palmerston North campus. The joint facility will see the leading food researchers from AgResearch and the Riddet Institute work as one.

Agriculture and food production make a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy. To ensure it remains resilient, we strive to meet three over-arching goals; to help foster and support prosperous land-based enterprises in New Zealand: produce research that protects and enhances natural resources in a sustainable fashion; contribute scientific understanding to added-value foods and bio-based products that meet constantly evolving consumer demands and needs.

AgResearch has the personnel, national and international networks, and infrastructure to deliver on our Science Plan which is the cornerstone of our organisation’s strategic and operational thinking.

At the heart of our Science Plan are five interconnected, global mega trends which AgResearch is addressing: population growth, climate change, advances in technology, changing diets and consumers who demand consumables produced in sustainable and ethical ways.

New Zealand is a producer of the world’s most sought-after high value food products. Our goal is to help create safe food and biobased products with optimised nutritional, sensory and performance attributes, capturing value through provenance and credible consumer health and wellbeing. We have research expertise in food safety, traceability and food provenance. We develop non-invasive tools to evaluate raw materials and whole foods that differentiate New Zealand from our global competitors.

New Zealand Food Innovation Network Are you looking to develop or commercialise a new food or beverage product? The New Zealand Food Innovation Network (NZFIN) is here to help.

We are a national network of resources created to support the growth and development of New Zealand food and beverage business of all sizes.

NZFIN provides facilities and the expertise needed to develop new products and processes from idea to commercial success and is partially Government-funded through Callaghan Innovation.

The network comprises The FoodBowl in Auckland, Food Pilot in Palmerston North, Food Waikato in Hamilton and Food South in Christchurch.

The FoodBowl offers training and workshops to upskill industry on the hot topics of the day. Currently many of the workshops have a focus on Sustainability with training on topics such as Sustainable Packaging, Culture and The Circular Economy.

For more information, and to contact your local NZFIN Business Development Manager, check out our website, www.foodinnovationnetwork.co.nz.

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Food New Zealand

NZFIN offers open-access food processing facilities for product development and commercialisation

OVERVIEW OVERVIEW

foodinc International Food Marketing Expert, Julian Mellentin has identified 10 mega-trends in food, nutrition and health for 2020. (See FNZ, Dec/Jan pg 8 for more information.) If your goal is to keep up with consumers’ food wants and requirements, you need to constantly reformulate and reimagine your product range. So, what’s it to be, meat-reimagined, sugar reduction, fat reborn, digestive wellness, good carbs/bad carbs or any of the trends that drive consumer spending on foods?

Want to be proactive and improve the Health Star Rating of your food?

If your team lacks new product development expertise, then you may need to work with an independent consultant with these skills.

The foodinc network will probably be able to help.

Should you need support with Food Safety regulatory matters or label or nutrition panel development for your products, there is foodinc consultant with the expertise to help. foodinc is a network of independent food technology consultants, operating since 1997. All members are respected experts in their field and adhere to a strict code of ethics, hence confidentiality is guaranteed. Primarily based in Auckland, they work all over New

Zealand and overseas and can operate as individuals or as a team of experts with complementary skills.

Effective, timely troubleshooting when processes or products go wrong can ensure a business stays in business. Maybe shelflife needs improving for new markets? Compliance is a major concern for food manufacturers. Foodinc consultants’ knowledge can help ensure your plant, systems and products are compliant with regulations including preparation of Food Control Plans and package label regulatory/claims requirements.

Foodinc has a strategic alliance with the FOODBOWL and consultants are available to clients who are considering using this and other Food Innovation Network facilities. foodinc - Your choice of independent food industry experts: Martyn Atack, David Bayliss, Gary Broome, Marion Cumming, Anny Dentener-Boswell, Laurence Eyres, Wolfgang Hiepe, David Lowry, Anne Scott (technical writing) and Lesley Steeples.

Please note that we welcome approaches by other experienced independent food industry consultants who have an interest in joining our supportive network. Visit www.foodinc.co.nz for more information.

Leaders in

Petfood Testing

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February/March 2020

13

OVERVIEW

Plant & Food Research

HACCP Development, training and internal audits.

Science with bite!

QSS can help you develop a Custom Food Control Plan that meets the requirements and principles of HACCP and the requirements of the Food Act.

Companies wanting to develop new plant or marine-based foods, or understand how they can adapt existing products to better meet consumer needs, have access to a wealth of scientific knowledge at Plant & Food Research, a New Zealand-based science company delivering research and innovation to support the plant-based and marine-based food sectors.

Plant & Food Research has a global reputation for excellence in consumer and sensory science, food composition and the design and development of functional foods and beverages.

With more than 900 staff based at 14 sites across New Zealand and a presence in the USA and Australia, Plant & Food Research has the diverse skills and extensive network to provide the research and development necessary to add value to your fruit or vegetable crop or to marine and manufactured food products. Our science spans the full food value chain, from consumer attitudes and perception of food sensory attributes, through food processing technologies and food safety practices to composition, nutritional impact and regulations applying to product health claims.

Plant & Food Research has the science to create a smart green future, and all research is undertaken with a focus on economic and environmental sustainability.

Our total system approach to food offers particular expertise in upgrading by-products and production side-streams to higher-worth outputs. Our research and commercial partnerships integrate a broad spectrum of science, technology and engineering disciplines to focus on the major science and technology challenges faced by our clients in marine- and plant-based food industries.

QSS can develop and deliver training packages to suit your company’s needs. Training includes food safety, HACCP and internal auditing which can be undertaken at a central location or alternatively at your place of business.

MacDonald and Associates Ltd With over 40 years experience, from production management to basic research, Grant MacDonald has wide experience in the food and natural product industries. With his associates he provides accessible technical support to companies to remove barriers for development and growth.

MacDonald and Associates has laboratory and pilot plant facilities for rapid prototyping and has been involved in developing a wide range of products and processes with a focus on creating value for customers and long-term customer relationships. Many of these products and processes have been successfully scaled-up for commercialisation.

Specific areas of expertise are the following: Research and Development, Seafood, Product and process development, Natural product extractions and processing (including freeze drying and super critical fluid CO2 extractions), stabilisation/preservation processes, e.g. Freezing/chilling, drying, hurdle technology, shelf life extension and accelerated testing (foods, natural products, cosmetics) We can also provide Expert Witness services.

Some examples of recent projects include:

We welcome the opportunity to apply our skills to solve your problems and develop a smart green future, together.

• Development of freeze drying protocols for retaining enzyme activity. Increased enzyme activity four-fold for market-leading quality.

Quality Auditing Specialists

• Developed new high-protein, low-carbohydrate crackers with low water activity.

Quality Auditing Specialists Ltd (QAS) offers a range of evaluation and verification services to the food and wine industries nationwide. Maree Haddon leads a team of practical, efficient and objective evaluators and verifiers who offer consistency of interpretation of standards for Multi-sites, Food Control Plans, National Programmes, importers and WSMPs.

• Developed a range of specialty high-value ingredients from local raw materials for restaurants and food manufacturers (e.g. freeze dried black garlic, freeze dried kina roe, saffron flaky salt, liquid saffron extracts, truffle products).

All evaluators/verifiers have a strong background relating to manufacturing, food service, horticulture, retail, storage and transport and are fully qualified to fulfil all your requirements. Our team will work with your business to ensure you are meeting your Food Act or Wine Act compliance requirements while endeavouring to keep the process practical and simple.

We also offer consultancy services through the sister company Quality Systems Specialists (QSS), in a variety of fields relating to Quality Assurance, including Integrated Management Systems, Food Safety,

MPI Exemption Audits | Food MPI Food Safety Audits FoodAuditing Auditing|

• Extraction of high-value natural products from seafood remaining raw materials (i.e. by-products).

• Development of a range of air-dried horticultural products.

• Developed and manufactured high-value seafood tonic.

• Dried honey and bee venom products.

• Accelerated shelf life testing of dried, frozen products and cosmetics. www.macdonaldfood.co.nz

Wine Safety Auditing Wine Safety Auditing

‘Specialising food ‘Specialising in foodinand wineand safety management programme auditing’ wine safety auditing’ P: +64 7 889 3500 | PO Box 168, Morrinsville 3340, NZ | www.qasltd.co.nz 14

Food New Zealand

•• Food and WineinSafety We specialise FoodAuditing and Wine Safety Auditing • Food Safety Programme Management • We are MPI approved for the following; • We are an ISO17020 - Recognised agency Accredited (Food Control Inspection BodyPlans, National Programmes and Wine) • We are aparty MPI verifiers approved food auditing - Third and wine verification have (Food Control Plans,agency; National Programmes MPI approvedand foodWine) safety programme - Evaluators (Food Control Plans) auditors and wine verifiers

FIET

Rapid Freezing of Sheep Milk Jolin Morel1, Lindsay Robertson1, Richard Archer1, 2 1. School of Food & Advanced Technology, Massey University, 2. Riddet Institute

also increased greatly, and the milk became shear-thinning, rather than remaining Newtonian like the milk stored at lower temperatures. The serum Ca2+ level in milk stored at -10°C was lower than in the fresh milk, indicating that the mineral balance of the milk was disrupted at the higher storage temperature.

Storage at lower temperatures clearly led to better quality in the frozen product.

The thermodynamics of freezing sheep milk and the kinetics of protein destabilisation.

Freezing point depression is a well know property of solutions, where the presence of solutes reduces the freezing point of a sample, and increased concentrations decrease the freezing point further. In sheep milk, the equilibrium freezing temperature is decreased from 0°C to -0.57°C by the milk solids normally present.

Richard Archer, Jolin Morel, Lindsay Robertson (of Massey) and Ian Macdonald of Sheep Milk Supply Group

The storage of frozen ovine milk We started this project four years ago in support of the sheep milk industry which was clearly growing at pace but needed help. Both existing and new farmers were scattered around New Zealand, interested in entering the industry. Many aimed at milking only a few hundred sheep to yield under 1000 L of milk per day. But this is far too little to support a spray dryer or a cheese business of significance.

Clearly, for this industry to grow, there needed to be some means of aggregating these small lots of milk in time and space. We needed to preserve milk and transport it safely to central processors. Ideally farmers would have a standardised tradeable method for preserving their milk for sale.

Right from the beginning of the sheep and goat milk industries farmers had frozen their milk usually in plastic bladders of 2 to 10 L, sometimes in pails. This works for the farmer and is convenient. But it means freezing is very slow and thawing is slow. And that compromises quality and makes handling difficult for the processor.

When an ice crystal grows in a solution it forms a stable crystalline structure that tends to reject solutes. Rejected solutes travel into the solution, and further decrease its freezing point. This means that food solutions such as milk freeze progressively, over a wide range of temperatures. This can be studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), where a sample is heated at a fixed rate and the rates of energy flow into and out of the sample are measured. We did this with sheep milk and sheep milk fractions, heating samples from -40°C to 25°C at 1°C/ minute.

A curve from these measurements is shown in Figure 1. We then used the recorded enthalpy data to determine how much latent heat of melting was released at any temperature, and from that we calculated the amount of unfrozen water in the sheep milk.

The DSC measurements also allowed transitions such as the glass transition or melting onset to be detected. A glass transition occurs when a glassy solid becomes rubbery, and a melting onset occurs in highly concentrated solutions, when the viscosity of the solution drops low enough that ice can form (roughly 108 Pa.s). This happens at concentrations and temperatures that vary from solution to solution.

We sought, in this project, to devise an affordable and simple, compact freezing method to form small balls, flakes or pellets of milk ice very rapidly and securely. We hoped that such a freezer could also be useful for other applications like freezing fruit pulps, blood, plasma etc.

The storage of frozen ovine milk We started work by investigating the reported quality losses due to slow freezing. We measured the impact of storage temperature on loss in protein stability by comparing milk samples stored at -10°C, -18°C, and -30°C for 9 weeks. After thawing at 20°C, the samples were centrifuged, and the amount of precipitate measured. There was no sediment noticeable in samples stored at -18°C or at -30°C. However those samples which were stored at -10°C formed a gel, which entrapped fat globules in the milk. The viscosity of milk stored at -10°C

Figure 1: A DSC curve of sheep milk being heated from -40°C to 25°C. Heat flow (black), and the integral (red) of this heat flow (the sample enthalpy) are shown February/March 2020

15

FIET Figure 2: Component fractions in the unfrozen fraction in whole sheep milk during freezing. Xs, the total solid fraction, Xw, the water fraction, and Xi, the lactose fraction. The concentration factor Q* is also shown In whole sheep milk, the melting onset temperature was measured at -25°C. The solids concentration of the unfrozen milk at this point was a massive 85±1.6%. The solids, water, and lactose fractions in the unfrozen fraction of milk for a range of temperatures are shown in Figure 2, as is the concentration factor on a gsolids/gwater basis.

DSC measurements allow a partial phase diagram of sheep milk to be constructed, as shown in Figure 3. The composition of the unfrozen phase, which is shown in Figure 2, and the transitions detected by DSC and shown in Figure 3 can help to explain the kinetics of the protein destabilisation seen during frozen storage.

Research suggests that the major causes of protein destabilisation are the physical aggregation of micelles after rejection from growing ice crystals, reduced protein stability at lower temperatures, and the increased concentration of salts in the unfrozen phase. However, the forces which drive protein destabilisation are present in milk stored at lower temperatures as well as in milk stored at -10°C. For example, the concentration factor of milk at -30°C, Q*= 27.7 was larger than that at -10°C, when Q*=13.9, which would increase some reaction rates in absence of an increase in viscosity.

The clear difference between the lower storage temperatures, where milk is more stable, and -10°C is the viscosity of the unfrozen phase.

Assuming the viscosity in the concentrated unfrozen phase follows the Williams-Landel-Ferry model, it will increase rapidly as the temperature decreases to near the glass transition temperature. As discussed above, in whole sheep milk a melting onset is seen at -25°C, and the glass transition will occur at -35°C. This means that the viscosity at -30°C is at least 6 orders of magnitude higher than at -10°C. This large increase in viscosity has several effects. The diffusion of mineral into the gel, which can stabilise protein interlinkages, will be much slower, as diffusion rates are inversely proportional to solvent viscosity. Similarly, fat oxidation will slow down as oxygen diffusion to milk fat is retarded. Proteins within the milk will be much less mobile in the highly viscous environment at -30°C, which will slow any reactions or rearrangements between proteins.

Enzymatic reactions will be slower, so any lipolytic enzymes in the milk will degrade fats less at -30°C; and lactose crystallisation is suppressed, because crystallisation is dependent on solute diffusion to crystal nuclei. Lactose acts as a cryoprotectant in frozen products, so frozen samples which keep lactose in solution will be more stable than those where lactose crystallises out.

Reaction rates which follow Arrhenius kinetics would also be reduced as the temperature decreases from -10°C to -30°C, but the magnitude of this reduction is lower than the magnitude of the viscosity increase.

Freezing methods which rapidly achieve low temperatures can maintain quality better as the milk spends less time at elevated temperatures where unwanted effects like lactose crystallisation or mineral migration can occur. We have observed lactose crystals by cryo-SEM in some slowly frozen samples, but not in rapidly frozen samples.

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Food New Zealand

Figure 3: Partial Phase Diagram for ovine milk. Tg estimated from the Gordon-Taylor equation fits for whole bovine milk. Tf and Tm determined from DSC study, and Xs (Tm) estimated from energy release during the freezing process. Tg estimated from the Gordon-Taylor equation and Xs (Tm)

The ice structure of frozen milk The speed of freezing affects the ice structure, which can affect the milk quality. This was studied in sheep milk by transmission light microscopy. Sheep milk was sandwiched between 2 sheets of glass in a customised microscope stage, and the ice/milk interface was observed at ice growth rates from 0.5µms-1 to 40µms-1.

At low ice growth rates (0.5µms-1) the interface is planar, and milk solids are rejected from the growing ice front, leading to an increased concentration in the unfrozen phase. At high freezing front velocities (above 30 μms-1), the growth is dendritic, with milk solids being trapped in regions between ice crystal branches and no gross separation occurring. The spacing of features in an advancing ice front decreases as the ice front speed increases. This can be seen in the images of ice fronts in Figure 4.

The effect of freezing speed can also be seen in images of milk frozen rapidly and frozen slowly, that were collected by Cryo-SEM (Figure 5). In the slowly frozen samples, solutes have been rejected into thick bands between large ice crystals, and no engulfing of fat globules in ice crystals is seen. In the rapidly frozen samples the bands of solute are thinner and some fat globules are entrapped by ice crystals. The average thickness of milk solids bands differs between the two samples, with the bands being 55± 49 µm thick in slowly frozen samples, compared with 3.2±1.5 µm for rapidly frozen milk samples.

The size of these milk solids bands can influence the size of any protein aggregates formed during frozen storage, affecting sensory acceptability of freeze-thawed milk: soft particles above approximately 80µm in

FIET

Figure 4: Ice front morphologies observed at a range of ice front velocities in skim sheep milk size can be perceived as “gritty”, as can hard particles above 20µm (Guinard & Mazzucchelli, 1996). The slowly frozen samples could indeed form aggregates larger than 80µm, which would be perceptible. However the thinner solids bands in rapidly frozen milk would limit any aggregates to skinny flakes less than 5 µm thick - these would have little effect on perceived texture and would scatter light well enough to give a good white milk on thawing.

The thawing of sheep milk

Figure 5: Comparison between the frozen structure of sheep milk frozen rapidly Of course, freezing and frozen storage (left) and frozen slowly(right) is only part of the challenge. Milk must be thawed if it is to be used for food products, and rapid freezing methods can help the thawing process.

New Zealand’s large cow milk industry could yet be the biggest user, lopping peaks off in the flush and capturing milk from the best Milk that is frozen in large blocks or buckets can take a very long time producers in the herd for two more weeks after the bulk have dried off. to thaw. Tests and simulations have both shown that a 10L bucket filled Or capturing special milks from special farms for occasional processing with frozen milk can take up to 3 days to thaw completely when simply when capacity is available. Watch this space. left in a room at about 20°C. Such long thawing times lead to increased microbial growth. Only frozen milk volumes smaller than 1L can avoid unacceptable microbial growth when thawed at room temperature References (Tribst, Falcade, & de Oliveira, 2019). Long thawing times also result in Guinard, J.-X., & Mazzucchelli, R. (1996). The sensory perception of reduced quality product due to the progressive thawing of components texture and mouthfeel. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 7(7), that have been segregated by the initial slow freezing.

213-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/0924-2244(96)10025-X Rapid freezing in the right equipment can make small chunks of milk Tribst, A. A. L., Falcade, L. T. P., & de Oliveira, M. M. (2019). Strategies ice. Their low characteristic distance lets them thaw in a matter of for raw sheep milk storage in smallholdings: Effect of freezing or longminutes, rather than hours and further reduces the risk of microbial term refrigerated storage on microbial growth. J Dairy Sci 10.3168/ growth and spoilage. jds.2018-15715

The rapid freezer All our work on freezing and thawing of sheep milk has one purpose: to help us develop a rapid freezer for use on or near farms in New Zealand. Here, we have struck gold. After prototyping several approaches, we have found one which meets all our criteria. It is simple, compact and affordable. Cuddon Ltd of Blenheim are currently designing and building the first commercial prototype for a particular sheep milk producer. And another potential ten purchasers are lined up for the next units.

As our work has become more public, a number of companies and industries we had not targeted have come forward and could well make use of units. Rapid freezing and rapid thawing and ease of handling in between seem to be generic goals. And as people start to consider how they might reduce fossil fuel use in favour of renewable energy, a switch from thermal drying to electrical freezing is starting to look more attractive to some.

Food Industry Enabling Technologies (FIET) is funded by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment and its purpose is to support new process developments that have the potential to add significant value to our national economy.

The programme has six partners, Massey University (the host), Riddet Institute, University of Auckland, University of Otago, Plant and Food and AgResearch. Funding is $18m over six years (2015-2021) and targets pre-commercialisation activities. If you are interested in more information, then please contact either Ross Holland (R.Holland1@massey.ac.nz) or Professor Richard Archer, Chief Technologist, (R.H.Archer@massey.ac.nz).

February/March 2020

17

Congress

2020 Congress - Exhibitor Focus Food Tech Solutions Ltd.

Detectamet from Food Tech Solutions Food Tech Solutions has been appointed a New Zealand distributor of the Detectamet range of innovative X-Ray and metal detectable items designed to prevent foreign body contamination of foods and pharmaceutical products. The Detectamet brand is a global leader offering an extensive range of patent protected designs worldwide.

Food Tech Solutions will be promoting Detectamet on their exhibition stand at the International Congress of Food Science and Technology in August.

Re-usuable earplugs

Customers will be able to order a selection of Detectamet products from Food Tech Solutions at https://www.fts.co.nz/detectable-xray-detectable

What is Detectamet?

Since their establishment in the UK in 2003 they have become renowned for their pioneering and proactive approach to the food safety and pharmaceutical manufacturing industry through appointed distributors in many parts of the world.

Elephant Pen - stick style

Detectamet’s long-established reputation for food-safe, innovative detectable items provides food and pharmaceutical producers with the means to push towards complete control of open product areas, with the goal of eliminating contamination of foreign bodies.

Detectamet is an ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001 and ISO 18001 accredited company. They are the tried and tested global market leader in FDA approved colour coded detectable products.

They offer the largest and most comprehensive range of detectable products and are industry leaders in detection to prevent foreign body contamination.

Detectamet are dedicated to continually developing new and innovative solutions. Their key focus is the design, manufacture and supply of X-Ray and Metal detectable products.

Detectamet products are made from various materials, those that offer the best capabilities for food applications that cannot always use a metal alternative. All products in the Detectamet range are detectable visually or

by Metal or X-Ray Detection systems.

Technology of Detectamet Detectable highlighter

18

Food New Zealand

Detectamet products are made with a proportion of a metallic magnetic trace element which is present in most cases throughout the whole object, this is at a size and concentration that allows a homogeneous flow throughout, ensuring that all parts are potentially detectable by metal detection systems

Congress

without changing the physical properties of the object. Other products may have a metallic strip bound to the product or similar.

X-Ray machines have an advantage over metal detectors in being able to detect a wider range of foreign bodies - this is because the foreign body must be significantly different from the food or other material in X-Ray density in order to be detected. In practice an X-Ray machine will be able to detect items such as glass, metal, stones, bone and some denser plastics, for example PVC.

Assorted plasters

Detectamet X-Ray visible plastic has been developed to work in conjunction with metal detection and X-Ray detection systems, using an X-Ray visible trace element which is present throughout the whole object and increases its density, allowing detection of foreign body contamination to the end of the production line.

Detectamet products are all detectable - but there will be a cut off point.

100% percent detection of tiny objects cannot be guaranteed. There will always be a limit as to at what point the Detectamet material (or any detectable material) will stop being detected! If using an X-Ray machine, the density of the product you are manufacturing must be less than the foreign object matter.

Key tags

Detectamet tools and equipment are used by many leading food producers that specify them in order to strengthen their GMP and HACCP management systems, thus demonstrating due diligence in food safety and protection of their corporate brand reputation.

Please call Food Tech Solutions for expert input into preventing foreign material contamination in your products.

Detectamet from Food Tech Solutions World leading Detectamet products are X-Ray and Metal Detectable.

Designed to prevent foreign bodies in food products Purchase online from Food Tech Solutions at https://www.fts.co.nz/detectable-xray-detectable

Elephant Pen Cable ties Elephant Pen - stick style Detectable-Reusable earplugs

Metal Detectable permanent marker pen

Tel: 09 576 7326

Web: www.fts.co.nz

Plastic scoops

Orders/Inquiries: sales@foodtechsolutions.co.nz February/March 2020

19

Conference

NZ Food Safety Summit 2019 Tuesday 10th December, Auckland

Geoff Webster MNZIFST, Webster Food Consultants

Raniera Bassett and his team did a great job of the greeting – mihi – and followed it with a song – waiata. The warm welcome was appropriate given New Zealand Food Safety’s recent launch of the 5-year Food Safety Strategy. One of the priorities is: “We will work in genuine partnership with Maori.”

Setting the scene Ray Smith, Director, General of MPI, opened with a few key facts: • Our annual agricultural and horticultural exports are over $47 billion • We produce enough food for 50 million people We achieve this via an agricultural system with a relatively low environmental impact, and a biosecurity system admired around the world. This gives us advantages in trade and supports our prosperity.

Bryan Wilson, Deputy Director-General of New Zealand Food Safety outlined the 5-year Food Safety Strategy and the accompanying Action Plan. The strategy and action plan were very impressive, as were the brochures and links that support it. You can download them at these links www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/38951-new-zealand-food-safetystrategy and www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/38948/direct (the Action Plan) Dr Nick Roskruge, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Massey University, spoke on forming genuine partnerships with Maori. He emphasised that relationships – whakawhanaungatanga - were the key to getting buy-in and outputs from partnerships.

Food fraud Dr Amy Kircher is Director of the Food Protection and Defence Institute at the University of Minnesota. Prior to 9/11, her title may well have been something else, but terrorism has had a profound effect on food safety in the US. Dr Kirchner’s talk did not cover the accidental contamination of food, but instead concerned crimes in the food system and how to combat them. From the time of the ancient Greeks poisons and pathogens have been used as weapons with military or criminal intent. Athenians used plant-based hellebore to poison the wells and water supply of Kirrha.

From Spain we had the case of olive oil contaminated with cheap industrial rapeseed oil which killed 600 and left thousands debilitated.

Dr Kircher listed the ways people make money out of food fraud or theft and how it exposes us to food safety risks: • Using illegal additives like toxic Sudan Red in chilli powder • Dilution or partial replacement of wines or spirits or the like • Substitution or complete replacement e.g. fish • Fraudulent geographical origin e.g. olive oil, wine • Counterfeit products e.g. Heinz sauce 20

Food New Zealand

• Theft and resale, often by the truck or container load • Intentionally selling sub-specification products A new phenomenon has appeared: attacks on food industry computer systems for nefarious reasons. Fortunately, big data can be turned against criminals, so it works both ways.

Food safety, food standards Dr Tim Jackson is VP Food Safety, Regulatory and Social Compliance at Driscolls in the USA, and was previously with Nestle. He gave many examples of food poisoning outbreaks and showed that the relatively new microbiology tool, Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is helping to trace and control the organisms responsible for human illness. This technique was hardly on the radar in 2014, but has exploded since then in the USA and there was even a WGS conference in New Zealand this October.

Dr Jackson is concerned about the lack of harmonisation of food standards around the world and as an example showed several slides of Maximum Residue Limits for various pesticides and herbicides. The limits between countries vary by several orders of magnitude in some cases, and are a barrier to trade. Fixing problems like this is complicated by the number of large international bodies involved.

He gave an interesting account of how to create a strong food safety culture within a company. Through internal leadership, development of competence, and employee involvement, companies can take ownership of their food safety responsibilities.

Food contaminants Dr Steve Hathaway, Chief Scientist, New Zealand Food Safety, spoke about dealing with a lot of emerging issues like microplastics in food, newly discovered chemical contaminants in food, new microbial threats, defending New Zealand’s IP in manuka honey, a change to risk-based meat inspection, and antibiotic resistance. In these fields New Zealand is grappling with the priorities, collecting scientific evidence and reviewing current regulations.

Communication with consumers is critical Dr John Roche, Chief Science Advisor MPI, illustrated the importance of communication to get the truth to consumers in an age where social media and emotive language make this difficult. He made the point that media are so focussed on bad news, that a crisis has to become a “serious crisis” to achieve cut-through. The meat and dairy industries are under attack from well-meaning, but often ill-informed lobbyists.

He showed a variety of ways where a message can be misunderstood or not get through. Science-deniers are an important group, and are responsible for anti-vax, anti-GM, anti-fluoride, anti-chlorine, anti-1080 and similar beliefs that are difficult to deal with. Educating consumers is not the answer. We must tell our “good news” stories, we must engage, be humble and empathetic.

Philip Houlding, Director, International Policy, MPI provided several interesting facts:

Conference

Dr Nick Roskruge, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Massey University: “Whakawhanaungatanga (relationships) are the key to getting buy-in and outputs from partnerships”

Dr Amy Kircher is Director of the Food Protection and Defence Institute at the University of Minnesota. Her presentation discussed food fraud, sharing a number of incidents that were initiated primarily for financial gain

Mike Lee, founder of The Future Market: “Nobody gets out of bed for a 4 out of 10 experience”

Bryan Wilson, DDG of New Zealand Food Safety outlined the 5-year Food Safety Strategy and the accompanying Action Plan

• Food production contributes 23 – 37% of global warming gas emissions

they are a group of New Zealand-based innovators with a vision of a sustainable future, whose farmers focus on growing sustainable crops that are better for their land, better for their customers, and create significantly higher returns. More information here: https://www. leftfieldinnovation.co.nz/about

• Non-tariff barriers to trade takes approximately $9 billion from NZ exports • NZ produces more food per capita than any other country (Denmark is second)

Future Markets A breath of brash New York fresh air blew in with Mike Lee’s talk on the Future Market. He dealt more with food markets and product development with only occasional reference to food safety. He showed there is a move away from “one size fits all” food. Food companies in the US are prepared to target smaller niches and consumers are able to choose from a wider range of foods. Impossible Burger realised it was not necessary to exactly match a beef burger with their plant-based offering. They expertly managed the launch, with Impossible Burger 1.0 quickly followed by a much better 2.0. Mike believes that beef burgers, plant based burgers and those made from cultured meat will all coexist in future, with a bright and continuing future for beef. He also predicts the rise of customised food based on nutrigenomics, proteomics and lipidomics, but they will need to taste great. “Nobody gets out of bed for a 4 out of 10 experience”. Perhaps his most memorable comment about Food Safety is that it’s like the bass player in a band – nobody notices until the bass player stops playing.

John Morgan, Chief Executive, NZ Food Innovation Network, told us about some of the recent successes: • First Light marbled beef is selling well in export markets • Kiwifruit, including the new red variety are selling well • Sunfed Meats “chicken free chicken” is based on pea protein He also discussed Leftfield Innovation. Paraphrasing their website,

Panel discussion The final session was a panel discussion hosted by Kelli Brett, editor Cuisine magazine, with Sue Chetwin, Consumer NZ, Ray McVinnie, chef and food writer, John Hart from Future Food and Neil Smith representing the meat industry. John Hart made the point that consumers don’t regard insect-based foods as a food safety risk, and urged us to try the free samples in the lobby.

Sue Chetwin was concerned that many of our foods are misleadingly labelled, with superfoods a dime a dozen. In other cases the source of a food is not declared or misrepresented. Consumers want country of origin labelling on foods, and want some enforcement to catch cheats.

Ray McVinnie advocated for foods that are sustainably produced, ethically sourced and labelled, and healthy options. His quote of the day was “There is no cheap food – you’ll pay for it sooner or later.”

Neil Smith echoed some of the other speakers in saying that the meat industry in New Zealand had been unfairly targeted over the ecological cost of producing meat. He believes that our grass-fed animals are humanely treated, farm water runoff is being improved and gas emissions can be further reduced from what, compared to our international competitors, is already a low base.

Bryan Wilson rounded out the day with concluding remarks and many of the delegates stayed for a networking session to end the day. Overall, a well-attended and successful event.

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OVERVIEW Traveller’s Tale

Camilla’s Forum Group, Camilla is fourth from left

Emerging Leaders Network Programme - Camilla Riddiford NZIFST sponsors an outstanding young food technologist to attend this programme every year.

The Emerging Leaders Network Programme (ELN) is organised and run by the US Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in conjunction with its Annual Congress in New Orleans in 2019.

Why ELN? I was privileged to be selected by the NZIFST to attend the Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) in June 2019 at IFT19 in New Orleans. The ELN is a highly selective global leadership programme established for new professionals (within the first 10 years of their career) in Food Science and Technology, who are eager to expand their leadership and networking skills to enhance and grow their careers. The programme looks to build leadership capability in four key areas: developing strategy, leading people, leading collaboratively and leading change.

For me personally it offered an opportunity to reflect. I was given the gift of time to think through some of my career questions.

These questions were: • Can I be a successful leader without being a technical expert?

• What is the value of networking?

• How can I build a career that nourishes me?

ELN then provided tools and a community to answer these questions – I will share my answers later in this article.

How does it work?

The core of the community was my forum group. At the start of the conference we were assigned to groups of nine. Forum became home base while I was at the conference. After we had the basic introductions, we were given my favourite ground rule – no small talk, only “big talk”. This ground rule allowed me to speak freely about my career questions. The advice and reflections I received in return were refreshing. I realised that I wasn’t alone as my forum group members were also thinking about the same questions. I remain in touch with my forum group and I’m grateful for the regular WhatsApp calls to discuss ongoing challenges.

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Food New Zealand

Now here are the insights I gained towards answering my questions above.

Question 1: Can I be a successful leader without being a technical expert?

I’ve worked with leaders who value technical expertise over emotional intelligence. I’ve been pondering whether I can be a successful leader who knows a little bit about many different things or whether I need to be a technical specialist.

When we first arrived, we were given the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Jean Greaves and Travis Bradberry. A key statistic from this book is that people with average IQs outperform those with the highest IQs 70% of the time. This is because Emotional Intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of success in all types of jobs. Emotional Intelligence trumps IQ. I realised that if I have a sound technical foundation and high emotional intelligence then I can be a successful leader. I need to focus on knowing myself. If I’m aware of my strengths and weaknesses, then I can build a strong team by hiring individuals who have technical expertise in the areas where I’m weak. Then when I’ve got a strong team, I just need to create the environment for them to thrive.

Question2: What is the value of networking?

Until ELN I always thought that the adage “it’s not what you know but who you know,” was a piece of advice I could happily avoid. This is because in the past I’ve found that that the conversation mainly contains boring chit chat and that my face ends up hurting from smiling too much. Then one of the women bravely asked a career panel of food technologists if they’d ever been laid off and how they got through it. A woman in my forum group shared her story of being laid off a month earlier from a well-known multi-national food company along with five hundred others. Someone else told a similar story and I came to realise mass lay-offs in large corporates aren’t

Traveller’s Tale

Camilla visited Yosemite National Park during her visit to the USA

The IFT opening ceremony was held in the the warehouse where all of the carnival floats for Mardi Gras were stored

exceptions but should be expected. It’s the new normal.

played to these strengths then we’d find that the work was satisfying.

Suddenly my “everything” narrowed. I became more purposeful with each career choice by selecting roles that align with my strengths. As for the wealth of choice? I didn’t need to feel overwhelmed I just needed to pick the first skill that I want to develop. I could then sequence out the rest of my learning. Learning is a marathon and not a sprint.

The discussion which spiralled out of this had a common theme “I got a new job because I spoke to someone in my network” or “I got a new job because I met someone at my local IFT branch event.” I then realised that my career network is my insurance policy.

This changed my mindset around networking. I started to see it as a challenge to learn as much as I could about everyone and then to find a way to help them. It’s all about sharing your knowledge with others.

At the end of the numerous networking events I would gleefully inspect my set of business cards and happily go away to share articles I thought these new contacts might find interesting. Since returning home I’ve also become more grateful for the wonderful events my local Auckland NZIFST branch organises and the community NZIFST offers.

Question 3: How can I build a career that satisfies me?

Our facilitator put the quote “you can do anything but not everything” up on the screen one morning as a thought starter.

I feel like life is a candy shop where I want to try everything. The real question is should I try everything?

We did an exercise to determine our top strengths. Mine were legacy, adventure and drive. We were then told that if we selected a role that

Conclusions I feel so grateful for the answers I received from ELN. I gained some lessons that will stick with me throughout my career.

I learnt that I can be a successful leader without being a technical expert. The most important thing is to build a team that has strengths that balance your weaknesses. I learnt that networking is your insurance policy against restructures and redundancies. And I learnt that you should play to your strengths and then you’ll find a career that satisfies you.

The programme made me feel empowered to craft my own version of success and to pursue it. I still think back to that time and treasure it as my highlight of 2019. I highly recommend anyone who is new in their career in the food industry apply to participate in the ELN programme in 2020.

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REVIEW

What do we know about Kombucha?

Anthony N Mutukumira1, Kay Rutherfurd-Markwick2, Xiaolei Wang1 and Richard Archer1,3 1. School of Food and Advanced Technology, Massey University

2. School of Health Sciences, Massey University University,

3. Riddet Institute

This is the first of two articles on kombucha and its place in the beverage industry today.

What is kombucha?

Kombucha is a sweetish, mildly acidic, sightly alcoholic and sparkling beverage consumed around the world. In New Zealand (NZ), tea kombucha belongs to the brewed soft drink category (FSANZ Act 2.6.2, 2017) and the alcohol content is controlled by law.

Kombucha is thought to have originated from northeast China, then introduced to Japan by the physician, Kombu in 414 A.D. With the expansion of trade routes, kombucha appeared in Russia and other eastern European countries such as Germany, France and Italy around the turn of the 20th century1. For centuries, kombucha was a cottage industry-product made and consumed locally, without packaging and distribution. In early days, kombucha was mainly produced and consumed as a cultural product with no intentions for commercialisation. Today, different flavours of kombucha are sold worldwide, not only in retail food stores, but also through online shopping websites and farmers’ markets. However in NZ, as elsewhere, the kombucha market tends to be dominated by small scale and household artisan producers, probably resulting in products with variable quality.

Process Kombucha beverage is traditionally fermented using an undefined, complex, symbiotic starter culture of yeast and bacteria in a tea (green or black) infusion containing variable amounts of added sugar under aerobic conditions for up to 14 days at 20-28°C2. The microbial composition of kombucha is highly variable as it depends on geographical, cultural and climatic conditions1. However, the most common genera found in kombucha are Acetobacter, Gluconobacter and Saccharomyces spp. and in some cases, small amounts of lactic acid bacteria may be present3. At the end of fermentation, kombucha is characterised by a sour liquid broth (beverage) and a floating pellicle layer which is also called tea fungus (Figure 1) or SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Kombucha tea fungus is a unique floating cellulose network that resembles a surface mould on the undisturbed medium that is produced by acetic acid bacteria4. The fermenting microbial cultures are trapped in the tea fungus but are also present in the fermented broth5, therefore both the tea fungus and the broth can be used as starter cultures for subsequent kombucha fermentation.

During fermentation, the sugar, added into kombucha as a carbon source, is first hydrolysed into glucose and fructose by invertase from the yeast. The fructose is then utilised as a substrate to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide via glycolysis by the yeast1,2. Meanwhile, bacteria metabolise fructose and ethanol to acetic acid, while the glucose generated will be further metabolised by acetic acid bacteria (dominated by Gluconacetobacter xylinum) to produce gluconic acid via the pentose phosphate pathway. Glucose is also metabolised by 24

Food New Zealand

Tea fungus

Fermented tea broth

Figure1. Kombucha tea fungus and liquid broth acetic acid bacteria to synthesise the cellulose, which is the main component of the tea fungus formed during fermentation. During kombucha fermentation, production of ethanol by yeast assists in the generation of acetic acid by bacteria, while acetic acid production may further stimulate growth of yeast to produce ethanol.

Production of alcohol The Crabtree effect, which refers to the occurrence of alcoholic fermentation under aerobic conditions in the presence of excess sugar7 can occur during fermentation of kombucha, as most yeast present in the starter cultures belong to the Crabtree-positive group (e.g.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae). In Crabtree-positive yeast, at high glucose concentrations, respiration is usually suppressed. As the glucose content increases, pyruvate produced from glycolysis is shunted away from the citric acid cycle into ethanol and carbon dioxide synthesis. To reduce the Crabtree effect, sugar may be added to the fermentation vessel in small batches at several key stages during fermentation8 .

Flavour profiles The taste of kombucha is significantly affected by fermentation temperature, time and raw materials used for the fermentation1. The taste changes from a pleasant fruity sour-like refreshing flavour after

REVIEW

fermentation for a few days to a mild vinegary-like taste after longer fermentation, due to the accumulation of organic acids which can result in unacceptable acidity levels. Thus, the concentration of added sugar, the fermentation temperature and fermentation time must be well-controlled to produce kombucha with acceptable sensory properties1.

Changes in the chemical and microbial composition during fermentation During fermentation, the pH of the kombucha beverage decreases from around pH 5 to pH 3 due to the production of different organic acids: primarily, acetic acid and gluconic acid1. However, the quantities of organic acids in kombucha beverages vary according to the different substrates utilised as well as fermentation time and temperature and inoculum concentration. The increasingly acidic environment is thought to be responsible for the colour of kombucha beverage becoming lighter as fermentation progresses1, probably due to the degradation or biotransformation of polyphenols by enzymes liberated by bacteria and yeast, in particular, degradation of theaflavins and thearubigin1.

Several studies2 have reported the ethanol content in kombucha initially increases and then decreases during prolonged fermentation. This decrease may be attributed to the oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid by acetic acid bacteria, as in a nutrient-depleted environment, ethanol is used as a source of carbon by acetic bacteria. The aerobic conversion of ethanol to acetic acid depends on the rate of re-oxygenation of the ferment as oxygen is consumed. Re-oxygenation is usually faster with small fermenters with wider mouths. Increasing ethanol levels have also been reported during storage (4°C) of kombucha9, attributed to continued sugar metabolism by yeasts even at low pH. Under anaerobic conditions, yeasts hydrolyse glucose to pyruvate by glycolysis and pyruvate is then metabolised into acetaldehyde and then hydrolysed to ethanol through the fermentation pathway. Clearly, close control over the fermentation and storage processes are required to ensure kombucha products have an alcohol content within the range stipulated by regulatory bodies.

Levels of certain minerals in solution, such as manganese, iron, nickel, copper and zinc increase after kombucha fermentation when compared to levels in the unfermented tea infusion. This is due to the metabolic activity of the kombucha starter culture1. Vitamins B1, B12, B6 and C also increase during kombucha fermentation. The content of these minerals and vitamins may contribute to the health-promoting properties of kombucha.

Conclusion Kombucha is a traditional health-promoting fermented beverage, which is prepared with tea, sugar and a symbiotic consortium of yeast and bacteria. The fermented beverage contains a large number of nutrients from tea, such as polyphenols, minerals, amino acids and alkaloids, which may contribute to the health-promoting effects (antioxidant and antibacterial activities). Fermentation products, such as acetic acid, gluconic acid, ethanol, glycerol and glucose play important roles in the sensory attributes of kombucha. However, the constituents of the final products of kombucha may be significantly affected by fermentation

conditions such as fermentation time, fermentation temperature, and added sugar, thereby compromising their health benefits.

The second article in this series will cover industrial production of kombucha, stability challenges during distribution and storage, regulatory and food safety issues, kombucha analysis, and potential health benefits.

For more information and for the full reference list email: a.n.mutukumira@massey.ac.nz

References 1. Jayabalan, R., Malbaša, R. V., Lončar, E. S., Vitas, J. S., & Sathishkumar, M. (2014). A review on kombucha tea—microbiology, composition, fermentation, beneficial effects, toxicity, and tea fungus.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 13(4), 538550.

2. Malbaša, R. V., Lončar, E. S., & Kolarov, L. A. (2006). Influence of black tea concentrate on kombucha fermentation. Acta Periodica Technologica, (37), 137-143.

3. Hrnjez, D., Vukić, V., Milanović, S., Iličić, M., Kanurić, K., Torbica, A., & Tomić, J. (2014). Nutritive aspects of fermented dairy products obtained by kombucha application. Agro FOOD Industry Hi Tech, 25(2), 70-73.

4. Ramana, K. V., & Batra, H. V. (2015). Occurrence of celluloseproducing Gluconacetobacter spp. in fruit samples and kombucha tea, and production of the biopolymer. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 176(4), 1162-1173.

5. Chen, C., & Liu, B. Y. (2000). Changes in major components of tea fungus metabolites during prolonged fermentation. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 89(5), 834-839.

6. Amazing Healthy Food (2018). Kombucha-Tea of Immortality.

Retrieved from http://amazinghealthyfood.com/kombucha-teaimmortality/ 7. Johnston M, Kim J-H (2005) Glucose as a hormone: receptormediated glucose sensing in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Biochemical Society Transactions 33, 247–252.

8. Pfeiffer, T., & Morley, A. (2014). An evolutionary perspective on the Crabtree effect. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 1, 17.

9. Guzel-Seydim, Z., Seydim, A. C., & Greene, A. K. (2000). Organic Acids and Volatile Flavor Components Evolved During Refrigerated Storage of Kefir. Journal of Dairy Science, 83(2), 275-277.

Dr Tony Mutukumira and Associate Professor Kay Rutherfurd-Markwick are working on kombucha at the Food Fermentations Laboratory, Massey University, Auckland Campus. They have generated some microbiological and chemical analytical methods for the analysis of kombucha to assist producers.

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FOOD SAFETY

Fake Meat isn’t fake news Ben Sutherland, Principal Food Technologist, FSANZ

2020 seemed a long way off until it arrived! Then take 2050, not too far off, along with another 2.5 billion people to feed. And people love to eat meat – so meat demand is expected to increase by 70% – unless there is a huge upsurge in vegetarianism.

Cellular agriculture potentially has enormous benefits for everyone: for their health, the environment, animals and planet. Winston Churchill even wrote about escaping the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by somehow growing these parts separately under a suitable medium. Some claim that cell-cultured meat is safer and healthier and it may also please some to know it doesn’t involve any GM. Others point out it’s logical to grow crops to eat, rather than feed them to something else and then eat that. And it’s kind to animals, as one cellular agriculture start-up states: “Today, a tasty cow-free burger, tomorrow: fewer dead chickens, lambs, pigs and fish.”

So what regulatory considerations are there for FSANZ?

What is the definition of meat?

The Code defines meat as the whole or part of the carcass of certain animals slaughtered other than in a wild state, the flesh of which is allowed various attachments (vegetarians look away), such as rind, fat, nerve, blood vessels to name but a few!

Carcass is undefined in the Code but is in AS4696:2007, implying that absence of life is necessary for meat. However cell based meat is living until cooked, so the amount of live cells present is dependent on how rare you like your meat. So is it not meat prior to cooking but becomes meat when cooked fully – and what about a rare steak? Is it a meat/not meat combination at the same time? Furthermore, the supply chain must maintain the freshness of the cells as once they die, putrefaction sets in, reminding us it’s pretty wise not to eat. And, will it deliver the nutrition associated with various meats, which consumers expect and deserve?

Does the technology used need to be defined?

Then there’s the technology. We’ve all marvelled at the giant tanks producing beer in craft breweries, but do we consider its origins before partaking in our favourite ale. What if they produced meat instead of beer? Would our perception change if we called them cultivators instead of bioreactors and if we considered they were simply domesticating the cells of animals? Sound more appealing?

Another start-up company puts it nicely, “We're blending the ancient art of fermentation with the technology of today to make the protein of the future.”

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Food New Zealand

Scale-up is an issue but there’s a move from traditional batch fermentation to a continuous culture system where cells are produced endlessly and efficiently. There’s a drive to culture cells in serum-free conditions, (i.e. eliminating expensive animal-derived serum) thus providing predictable culturing and really getting the vegans on board.

…and what to we call it?

Then there’s the name. This is not the first time that foods emulating more traditional foods have faced questions about their naming, nondairy milks are a top-of-mind example. In the USA, the Real MEAT Act of 2019 aims to narrow the definition of meat to prevent both cellular agriculture and plant-based companies calling their products meat. According to the bill, cell-cultured and plant-based meats will have to be labelled as imitation meat. In France anything with a meat connotation must have meat in it.

But cell-cultured meat is biochemically somewhat similar to the substance it’s competing with so who will make the rules, who gets to use the word meat and what descriptors will clarify what kind of meat it is? Is it a food or a drug or a supplement made in a lab? How about a symbol of a test tube on the packaging?

Seriously, though We’ve all had a laugh and moved on from Fake meat, Frankenmeat, and the likes, but some serious thinking needs to be done. The USFDA has penned “foods from animal cell culture technology,” while The Good Food Institute has distilled down over 400 names based on appeal, neutrality, descriptiveness and differentiation from traditional or plant based meat. The frontrunners are cultivated meat, cell-cultured meat, cell-based meat and cultured meat. Cultivated meat is leading by a nose at this stage, but how does such a name gain traction? One way is to promote a chosen name as a market category descriptor, that is understandable, appealing and a term which resonates with consumers, then adopting this as a regulatory term.

The name must provide a level playing field for food innovators, free from derogation and protectionism, and also build consumers’ trust through transparency and education. Science communication must engage and inform consumers and by taking them on the science journey, they’ll accept new technologies. Ignore them and risk irreversible controversy and slow uptake. Needless to say FSANZ looks forward to engaging with our stakeholders on the cellular agriculture journey.

MPI

Do you know your food rules?

New Zealand Food Safety (a business unit of the Ministry for Primary Industries/MPI) helps food businesses meet food rules and integrate food safety into their business cultures. If you manufacture food or beverage products, you need to meet certain food safety requirements.

Registration The type of food or drink you manufacture determines the appropriate legislation under which you need to operate: the Food, Wine, or Animal Products (APA) Acts.

There may be people trading in food who haven’t realised they need to register. Even if you were registered under the old Food Act (before 2016), you now need a new type of registration.

Find out today if you need to register, or find out what food rules apply to your business. Go to www.mpi.govt.nz/ myfoodrules to find which Act you need to operate under, and the plan or programme you need to use.

The Food Act recognises that some foods and manufacturing processes pose fewer food safety risks than others. Higher-risk food businesses, such as manufacturers of ready-to-eat salads, need to operate with a written Food Control Plan which sets the steps needed to make products safe (won’t make people sick) and suitable (meets composition and labelling standards and is in the condition the customer expects it to be) food. Lower-risk manufacturers, such as businesses making confectionery, can operate under a National Programme. This means they don't need a written Plan, but must register, control food safety hazards, keep some records, and get checked/verified.

Depending on the Plan or Programme you need, you’ll need to register with your local council or with MPI. Some food businesses that require multiple Food Act registrations, and/or are expanding from making and selling food directly to consumers to manufacturing and supplying to other businesses, could best operate under a custom Food Control Plan. The most flexible option is to develop a custom Food Control Plan from scratch, so long as the business can demonstrate how it produces safe and suitable food. However, this can be time-consuming and expensive (up to nine months and up to $25,000), and requires a lot of technical expertise. An alternative is for a business to build a My Food Plan custom Plan from free pre-evaluated content using www. mpi.govt.nz/myfoodrules.

If you should be registered, but have yet to do so, your business is not compliant. This means MPI and/or local councils could take enforcement action against you. Your customers may refuse to accept your goods or use your services, because they’re unsure whether the food you prepare or produce is safe and suitable.

It’s also important that you source safe inputs and ingredients. An easy way to do this is to check that your suppliers and importers are registered at www.mpi.govt.nz/registers-and-lists.

How does verification work?

Verification is the way that food businesses are independently checked to make sure they are producing and selling safe and suitable food. You will be verified by someone from your local council or an independent

verifier. They will want to see your business in action and discuss how you apply good food-safety practices.

How often businesses are verified depends on the plan or programme they operate under and how well they manage their food safety risks.

The verifier’s visit is also a chance to ask about aspects of food safety you might not be sure about. If they find you are not following your plan or programme, they will discuss this with you and give you the chance to put things right. Council or New Zealand Food Safety compliance officers may get involved if your verifier identifies a critical food safety issue.

If your business is located in a remote part of New Zealand and you have a Food Act National Programme, you may be eligible for Remote Verification. Instead of travelling to your business location, your verifier can connect with you via Skype on your phone or laptop, saving you the cost of the verifier’s travel.

For more about verification.

verification,

visit

www.mpi.govt.nz/food-biz-

What about labelling?

The composition of your products and associated labelling must meet the rules in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, if sold in New Zealand or Australia.

The majority of food sold in New Zealand shops must be labelled.

Labelling and composition information, in English, helps consumers to make an informed decision about what to buy, whether it meets their dietary needs, and, if they have a known food allergy, it can help them choose foods that do not contain that food allergen.

If you are a manufacturer, importer, packer, or seller, you must make sure you meet the requirements to help keep consumers safe. Incorrect labelling is a major cause of recalls – which can be expensive and damage your business’s reputation. To help, New Zealand Food Safety has produced labelling guides, including for hemp seed products, alcoholic drinks and honey – available at www.foodsafety.govt.nz/ toolkit.

What about importing and exporting?

If you want to import food, whether it’s to sell it or to use as an ingredient in your business, you must be registered with MPI as a food importer, or you can use an agent who is registered. Find out more at www.mpi.govt.nz/importing-food.

To get help with exporting, contact our Exporter Regulatory Advice Service whose staff work with businesses, and help make it easier to understand exporting requirements. Find out more at www.mpi.govt. nz/exporting-food.

Questions?

For questions about food rules, contact your local council, email foodactinfo@mpi.govt.nz or call 0800 00 83 33.

February/March 2020

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AIP

Australian Institute of Packaging News Fundamentals of Packaging Technology residential programme In today’s challenging packaging environment, you can’t afford to make mistakes or overlook the critical details that cost precious time and money. You need the knowledge – from materials properties and selection to transport packaging issues – that can help you make better decisions regarding your company’s packaging dollars. And you need them now.

The Fundamentals of Packaging Technology course is developed in consultation with packaging subject matter experts at leading global consumer packaged goods companies who face packaging challenges just like yours.

Undertake the complete course and learn about all the major segments of packaging – and beyond.

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), in partnership with the IoPP, are bringing the Fundamentals of Packaging Technology course to Australasia as a residential course for the first time in 2020. The residential course is divided into semesters to provide maximum flexibility around your work schedule. This course is also the basis for the examination side of the Certified Packaging Professional Designation; bringing you one step closer to becoming an internationally recognised CPP. 1. Take the entire course Participate in the full Fundamentals of Packaging Technology residential course which will be broken up into eight classroom days as four semesters over 12 months.

OR 2. Attend Semesters relating to your subject-interests or knowledge gaps Content is divided into four Two-Day Semesters with each semester focused on specific areas of packaging. You have the choice to enrol in one semester, or as many as you wish, based on your professional development needs and knowledge gaps.

The Fundamentals of Packaging Technology Residential course will be broken up into four Two-Day Semesters over a 12 month period. An extensive array of packaging topics will be covered including graphic design, market research, printing, lithography, gravure, labelling, barcoding, paperboard, folding cartons, corrugate fibreboard, box compression, supply chain and logistics, polymers, extrusion moulding, flexible packaging, thermoforming, blow moulding, injection moulding, closures, bottle design, metal cans, adhesives, containers, glass packaging, packaging machinery, filling machinery, production line equipment and more.

Programme Fundamentals of Packaging Technology Residential Course Semester One Day One – 29 April Day Two – 30 April Viewpoint, St Kilda, Melbourne Semester Two Day One – 22 July Day Two – 23 July Semester Three Day One –16 September Day Two – 17 September Semester Four Day One – 18 November Day Two – 19 November Book your place today as spaces are limited per Semester http://aipack.com.au/event-registration/?ee=253 28

Food New Zealand

April 1-2, Crown Promenade, Melbourne The 2020 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference will attract delegates from all facets of food, beverage, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and packaging industries, including packaging technologists, designers and engineers, sustainability managers, marketing, sales, production, design agencies to equipment suppliers, raw material providers, users of packaging, retailers and consumers, environmental managers, procurement, quality teams, government and councils and waste and recycling companies.

The 2020 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference is designed to deliver a two-day educational programme that will cover a broad range of topics relating to the theme PACKAGING: FIT FOR THE FUTURE. The biennial AIP Australasian Packaging Conference is the largest packaging and processing conference of its kind in Australia and New Zealand. Run by industry for industry, the AIP Australasian Packaging Conference has been leading the way in professional and personal development for over two decades.

The packaging industry is facing many challenges at the moment with global plastic pollution and recycling issues and transformational changes to value and supply-chain models, resulting in negative government and consumer perceptions. These challenges are requiring packaging companies, manufacturers and retailers to re-think their approaches and undertake strategic changes to address the challenges of meeting global and domestic Sustainable Packaging, National Packaging Targets and transform supply chains; all the while having clear parameters for driving the 4R’s. The packaging industry globally is looking towards true circular value chains and ensuring that recyclability of packaging, recycled content, reducing packaging wherever possible, replacing problematic materials, designing with new materials, looking at how packaging can be reused and developing closed looped programmes are the new normal for packaging design.

Now more than ever is the time to collaborate, share ideas and success stories, discuss the challenges and journeys the industry is facing openly and what we can do collectively to work towards the same targets. http://aipack.com.au/event-registration/?ee=248

AIP OVER

2020 WorldStar Packaging Awards Australian and NZ packaging innovations recognised

Aptamil and Karicare Infant Formula ranges for sale in Australia and New Zealand (Food)

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is pleased to announce that eleven Australian and New Zealand companies have been internationally recognised with thirteen wins across six categories in the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards, which are run by the World Packaging Organisation. The categories include food, beverage, labelling and decoration, health and personal care, household, packaging materials and components.

Winners from Australia and New Zealand also received the third highest number of WorldStar Packaging Awards in the world behind Japan and China. This is an incredible recognition for the annual Packaging Innovation and Design (PIDA) Awards programme which is the exclusive feeder programme for the two countries into the WorldStar Packaging Awards.

OJI Fibre Solutions for RJ’s Licorice open top and open front Shelf Friendly Packaging that was designed to withstand export from New Zealand to Australia as well as handle stacking from pallet displays straight into supermarkets. (Food)

The 2020 WorldStar Packaging Award winners for ANZ are: Impact International for the Sarah, Craig and Margorie 100% recycled PE and sugar cane PE tubes. (Health and Personal Care) Nulon Products Australia and Caps and Closures for the Nulon EZY-SQUEEZE fluid transfer system which replaces the traditional rigid packaging with a flexible pouch and applicator that has made accessing hard-to-reach fill points on a car quick and easy. (Household) Currie Group for their new transformational printing technology for packaging that showcases high-end printing, finishing, coding, marking and AR technology driving awareness to The Australian Rhino Project (TARP). (Labelling and Decoration) PACT Group for the New Zealand brand Lewis Road Creamery post-consumer sourced PCR, 100% recycled rPET milk bottle range.

(Beverages) Stay tray for their reusable drink tray that is designed with 100% recycled material sourced from Australian businesses to reduce single use (Beverages) Danone ELN NZ Supply Point for their sachet multipack for both

Hazeldene's Chicken Farm and Sealed Air for Cryovac Darfresh on Tray vacuum skin technology that can provide an increase of shelf life by 25% over existing MAP applications. Food waste reduction is further facilitated by the fact that the packaging is easy-to-open as the tear tab and peel able top film allows for easy product access. (Food) Moana New Zealand and Sealed Air for Cryovac® Grip and Tear® (including 'small tab') was designed to foster ease-of-use for packaged meat, poultry, seafood products for processors, food service and retail markets. (Food) Plantic Technologies for the NEAT Meat Tray using PLANTIC™ RV high barrier Skin Pack recyclable material to replace their previous non-recyclable tray made from black HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) (Food) Woolworths have undertaken a major project in replacing their previous black plastic non-recyclable plastic trays with a renewable sourced pulp/plant-based fibre sourced from unbleached bamboo (40%) and unbleached sugarcane (60%). (Food) Punchbowl Packaging for the Kaituna Blueberries peel-able, resealable, tamper-proof top seal fibre punnets. Punchbowl’s design approach was to deliver a simple, practical and sustainable solution for customers, while ensuring a range of ‘end of life’ options for the packaging. (Food and Packaging Materials and Components = two Worldstar Awards) The Australia and New Zealand winners will be able to collect their trophies at the 2020 WorldStar Packaging Awards at Interpack in Duesseldorf, Germany on the 8th of May. The 2020 PIDA Awards are now open for submissions and entry forms and criteria can be accessed through http://aipack.com.au/education/ pida/

MARK THESE DATES IN YOUR DIARY

April

info@aipack.com.au

www.aipack.com.au

1 & 2 2020

Melbourne, Australia February/March 2020

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OILS & FATS

Oils and Fats news Laurence Eyres, FNZIFST A regular round-up of news and opinion from the Oils and Fats Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry.

New MD at Bakels Edible Oils We have received news that Mark Caddigan, the managing director of Bakels Edible Oils (BEO) in Tauranga is stepping down and assuming the role of Chairman. He will be replaced by Anthony Moess, ex. Synlait.

WCOF 2020 Sydney Don’t miss out!

The conference is chock full of the latest science on lipids and related compounds.

Bushfires are currently affecting some parts of Australia. Like everyone, our hearts go out to the families and communities who are impacted by the bushfires. Gratitude for the frontline services facing the fires headon cannot be expressed deeply enough. Most destinations in Australia remain safe and continue to welcome visitors. All international airports in Australia are operating as normal. Rain has just fallen and in quite heavy quantities so now a lot of the fires are out. Sydney remains safe to travel to and the WCOF 2020 Committee appreciate the uncertainty that media coverage may have generated but can assure all confirmed and potential delegates that WCOF 2020 will be a benchmark Congress.

The Scientific Programme Committee have been working hard to showcase the best that the Oils and Fats Industry has to offer. The programme has been finalised with our invited speakers, with the Kaufmann Award winner and abstract presenters.

Plan your Congress by viewing the WCOF 2020 Programme.

Don’t miss the informative seminars on Infant Nutrition and Frying oils which occur on the days before the conference formally starts.

It’s not too late to Register for the Congress and if you would like to see more of Sydney while you are here, don’t forget to book for the optional Harbour Cruise on the Monday night!

We encourage all travellers visiting Australia to seek the most up-todate information for their planned itinerary prior to departure, and remain informed about changing conditions while in Australia. For up to date information from Tourism Australia on your upcoming visit please see the Tourism Australia website Plan your Congress by viewing the WCOF 2020 Program here https:// www.wcofsydney2020.com/program-overview.php 30

Food New Zealand

Mark has been the driving force behind BEO since Bakels acquired the original company, Pacific Proteins, back in 1989. His commitment to BEO and the Bakels Group internationally has been exemplary. This writer has known Mark since he was a technical member of the Meat Industry Research (MIRINZ) association back in 1986. He was and still is well versed in the New Zealand process of low temperature rendering of animal tissues. This led to his building a plant for refining tallow and then onto the large market-dominant business that is BEO today.

Mark has always been interested in oils and fats and ever since we formed the Oils & Fats group in 1983 he has been a major supporter with projects, conference backing and publication support. If he was not one already, we would make him a life member. We wish him well in his new role.

A startling discovery A discovery made at the Christchurch Clinical School of Medicine 33 years ago may provide the key to treating Alzheimer's disease.

Back in 1986, the Christchurch team of medical researchers was fascinated by cholesterol and heart disease. They had little interest in Alzheimer's disease.

The Christchurch researchers wondered why some people have high levels of cholesterol and fat in their blood and why this led to an increased risk of premature heart attacks.

Then one day a patient with extraordinarily high cholesterol and fat in his blood turned up in a clinic run by Ed Janus and Robin Fraser at Christchurch Hospital. The patient had a mutated form of lipoprotein called ApoE. They suggested that ApoE-Christchurch would not stick to cells as well as the common forms of ApoE. Their study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigations in 1987.

The researchers showed that ApoE sticks to sugary molecules that coat brain cells. Forms of ApoE that are associated with Alzheimer's disease stick strongly, while those least associated with the disease stick less well. ApoE Christchurch barely sticks at all.

This finding is reminiscent of the earlier results from Christchurch.

They speculate that when ApoE sticks to brain cells it allows the toxic

OILS & FATS

tangled proteins in affected cells to spread to healthy brain cells.

In this way, ApoE may seed the demise of individual brain cells and slowly destroy the brain. Led by Tony Kettle, a research professor at the University of Otago, Christchurch, researchers are now keen to find out whether drugs can prevent ApoE sticking to brain cells, just like ApoE Christchurch.

2020, in the journal Endocrinology, compared mice fed three different diets high in fat: soybean oil, soybean oil modified to be low in linoleic acid, and coconut oil.

There is now real hope of finding a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

The same UCR research team found in 2015 that soybean oil induces obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and fatty liver in mice. Then in a 2017 study, the same group learned that if soybean oil is engineered to be low in linoleic acid, it induces less obesity and insulin resistance.

Authenticity of Edible Oils—Food Fraud

However, in the study released this month, researchers did not find any difference between the modified and unmodified soybean oils' effects on the brain. Specifically, the scientists found pronounced effects of the oil on the hypothalamus, where several critical processes take place.

Bertrand Mathaus is the co-author of this special issue of the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology.

Food fraud is a phenomenon that has existed since people have been doing business in food. This kind of fraud started with measures that today seem to be very simple. Examples from that early time of food fraud are addition of water to wine, mixing of sand to flour, or incorrect weights of food. In parallel to food fraud, methods were developed to check food products for authenticity. At the beginning, these methods were limited to sensory tests, microscopic observations and simple analytical tests such as the detection of acids by the colour change of plant extracts.

Food adulteration is not only of concern as a criminal act of fraud, but also in terms of a serious safety issue for consumers. Examples are the Toxic Oil Syndrome in 1981, when rapeseed oil denatured by the addition of aniline was illegally sold as “olive oil” on street markets, or the mixing of melamine into milk. Thus, not only the economic loss is an important aspect but also safety of consumers when discussing about food fraud.

In the present special issue, several of these different analytical methods are described not only for olive oil but also for other edible oils to differentiate olive oil qualities, to identify heat‐treatment or addition of heat‐treated oil to olive oil, to differentiate different geographical origins of olive oils, or to differentiate different argan oil qualities. In addition, the tasks and structure of the recently established German National Reference Centre for Authentic Food are described.

Bertrand will be a keynote speaker at the WCOF in Sydney in February

Lipids article of the month (AOCS) An assessment of blood fatty acid analysis.

Dried blood spots (DBS) have become a popular method of blood collection for fatty acid profiling, and particularly for the determination of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA).

This month, Lipids editor-in-chief, Eric Murphy, chose the article "Interlaboratory assessment of dried blood spot fatty acid compositions" which addresses the inter-laboratory consistency for this type of analysis. The Rapid Communication by Metherel et al., at the University of Toronto presents a standardised reporting protocol that reduces variability between laboratories along with the coefficient of variation for key fatty acids of interest in human health and disease.

This article will strengthen the overall results in clinical studies as well as their interpretation, Lipids (2019) 54:755–761DOI 10.1002/lipd.12203

Marine phospholipids for brain Researchers from the University of Otago have done a comprehensive review of the science of marine phospholipids. They point out that whilst valuable they are often discarded as fish waste or are destroyed in rendering. In Europe omega-3 phospholipids were extracted from salmon skin and were for a short time marketed commercially. We have also seen the growth of krill oil as a dietary supplement.

Frying Oils – soybean oil

The review’s publication details are: M.K. Ahmmed, University of Otago, Dept. of Food Sciences

Used for fast food frying, added to packaged foods, and fed to livestock, soybean oil is by far the most widely produced and consumed edible oil in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In all likelihood, it is not healthy for humans.

Marine Omega-3 (N-3) Phospholipids: A Comprehensive Review of Their Properties, Sources, Bioavailability, and Relation to Brain Health.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 2019; Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food - onlinelibrary. wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1541-4337)

It certainly is not good for mice. The new study, published on January 8,

February/March 2020

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NZIFST

NZIFST News

New Year's Honour Former Fellow of NZIFST, Dr Mike Matthews, was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year’s Honours list.

Mike’s first degree was gained at Massey University and he then earned his PhD in the US, conducting research in the use of membrane filtration for protein extraction. Back in New Zealand he was a member of the creative team that pioneered the application of ultra-filtration technology in dairy applications, particularly in the extraction of whey protein. Their work was the basis of an annual $1billion contribution to New Zealand’s Dairy industry.

During his time as CEO of Tatua Co-op Dairy Company from 1995 to 2008, he was instrumental in developing Tatua’s focus on value-added dairy products.

He served on the Prime Minister's Science and Innovation Advisory Council, the Fast Forward Board, and the Board of Food Industry Enabling Technologies. As a consultant, he assisted the formation of the Food Innovation Network and advised on several projects funded by the Primary Growth Partnership. He has published 25 peer-reviewed technical papers and made numerous presentations at international conferences. Dr Matthews continues to provide mentoring assistance to young food technologists.

Congratulations Mike!

Mike Matthews, CNZM was made a Fellow of NZIFST in 2005

NZIFST Directory executive manager

president

Rosemary Hancock P O Box 5574, Terrace End, Palmerston North, 4441 Ph (06) 356 1686 Mob 021 217 8298 rosemary@nzifst.org.nz Richard Archer r.h.archer@massey.ac.nz

vice president Phil Bremer phil.bremer@otago.ac.nz TREASURER

Grant Boston grant@boston.net.nz

As a member of NZIFST you will benefit from Professional development programmes Networking at regular branch meetings, seminars and the Annual Conference

and gain Information through ‘Food New Zealand’, ‘Nibbles’ and our website Recognition through awards, scholarships and travel grants

JOIN NZIFST NOW! https://nzifst.org.nz/join-us

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Food New Zealand

NZIFST

Massey Albany Degree Show 2019 The School of Food and Advanced Technology once again hosted a highly successful annual Engineering and Food Technology Degree Show on the Massey Auckland campus in November to celebrate the completion of their studies with the final year students.

The final 4th year Bachelor of Food Technology (Hons) and Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) students had the opportunity to present their posters from two year-long projects completed this year.

Who’s gone where?

NZIFST members who are changing jobs, moving overseas, starting their own businesses...

For the Food Technology students, posters were presented on their group capstone projects for their Innovative Food Design and Development course and for their individual research projects.

Danielle Appleton is now the owner and director of D&S Industries - specialist Consultants and Contractors. Danielle is available to help people with food innovation, processing and building their business, with a particular interest in helping smaller companies with their Operations Management, and technology-based opportunities. She also speaks and writes on the future of NZ Agriculture. You can contact Danielle through LinkedIn

Awards Tania Thamrin won the prize for the Best Oral Presentation for the Individual Project at the Auckland campus sponsored by the NZIFST. Sumedha Garg won the prize for the Best Poster for the individual project sponsored by the School of Food and Advanced Technology. The Kai Kreations group won the prize for Best Food Technology Capstone Design Project sponsored by FoodStuffs (North Island).

The Degree show is annual event that showcases the projects and the capabilities of our final year students at Massey University, Auckland to family, friends and industry sponsors. Massey University is grateful to the support given by our sponsors.

Tania Thamrin, winner of the Best Oral Presentation for the Individual Project with Auckland Branch Chair of NZIFST, Margie Hunt

New Members NZIFST welcomes the following new members and welcomes and congratulates those who have joined or been upgraded to Professional Membership. Welcome also to new student and Graduate members.

Kathryn Manning has started her own Food Safety Consulting Company; Kathryn Manning Consulting Ltd t/a Food Act Consulting & Training Services …..FACTS….love a good acronym!

NZIFST is now on LinkedIn and Facebook.

New Professional Members Jane Coad

Massey University

Professor

Palmerston North

Sumon Saha

Ziwi Limited

R & D Technologist

Mt Maunganui

Angela Yang

Ministry for Primary Industries

Systems Auditor

Wellington

Have you joined us on Linked in yet?

NZIFST has a group page.

New Members Valerie Adams

All Systems Go

Director

Auckland

Vladimir Blazek

ADM Nutrition

National Sales Director

Auckland

Shelina Buddoo

Newly Weds Foods Asia Pacific Technical Manager

Auckland

Rebecca Doidge

FSQS New Zealand Ltd

Director

Mt Manganui

Mark Horner

Fonterra

Technical Account Executive

Auckland

Edward Marks

bioMérieux

Technical Applications Manager

Tauranga

Angela Newton

Bakels Edible Oils NZ

Technical and Innovation Manager Mt Manganui

New Student Member Merit Mathew

Massey University

Have you “friended” us on Facebook yet? Our page address is https:// www.facebook.com/groups/Food.

New.Zealand/ This moderated group page is available for all members of NZIFST to upload and comment on media misinformation, and for branches to share upcoming events and activities. Come and join in.

Links to both LinkedIn and FB are on the NZIFST home page.

February/March 2020

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NZIFST

Branch News

Waikato branch members pictured outside the Coca-Cola Amatil Pump Water plant at Putaruru in November

Waikato Coca-Cola Amatil bottling plant Eighteen NZIFST Waikato Branch members toured the newlyrefurbished Coca-Cola Amatil Pump water bottling plant in Putaruru on the afternoon of 14th November. After a quick history of the plant from manufacturing manager Graeme Urbahn, we were able to follow the process path from incoming spring water through the various systems that prepare the water for final sterile bottling.

The water comes from the Blue Spring, which is the source of the Waihou river, emerging at the base of the Mamaku Ranges after spending at least one hundred years underground. The flow-rate of the spring is 42,000 litres per minute – enough to instantly create a small river. The water is pristine, with no detectable suspended solids, various minerals in solution and at four degrees Celsius it is too cold to swim in but great to drink. It is piped via the town reservoir to three different bottling facilities in Putaruru. CCA’s process is activated carbon filtration, trap filtration, UV sterilization, pre-filtration, sterile filtration, ozonation and then the product is bottled in a blow-fill system into sterile bottles. The Krohnes blow-fill system can accommodate a range of bottle sizes up to 1.25 litres. Bottles are blown from pre-formers within the enclosure and immediately filled and capped. Caps are rinsed with ozonated water to sterilize and the residual ozone ensures sterility is maintained. By the time the water gets to the consumer the ozone has dissipated but the sealed bottle remains sterile. Production can run 24/7 depending on seasonal demand. Most of the product goes to sale in New Zealand. Tankers of the water are also sent to CCA’s Oasis plant in Auckland for bottling when demand is high.

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Food New Zealand

We also saw the QA systems, cartoning, palletising and outward dispatch. Great to tour a state-of-the-art bottling facility and members were very impressed with the operation.

Over the Moon Cheese School Around the corner in Putaruru is the Over the Moon cheese factory and cheese-makers’ school. After a brief history of the establishment from founder Sue Arthur, members were treated to a Mozzarella making demonstration with Neil Willman, cheese-maker, cheese judge, cheese educator and cheese guru.

Neil started with plain wholemilk and demonstrated how to produce Moz in a bowl, how to keep it stretchy and how to store it. He faced a barrage of questions from members around micro, shelf life, flavour profiles, casein chemistry, mineral levels and the influence of fats. The variability in milk supply was well demonstrated when the yield was not quite as Neil expected. It was a good way to see how a cheesemaker has to modify processes subtly to accommodate seasonal and sometimes daily changes in both the milk, the local conditions and the other components of the process such as enzymes, acidifiers and in some cheeses, the bacterial starters.

Sue spoke about the various techniques OtM uses to develop flavour.

Ranging from surface moulds, intra-block moulds, herbal flavourings, brining, aging processes to storage temperatures, the cheese-maker's palette is extended by all these possible modifiers to bring different flavours and textures to the consumer. Of course, we had a cheese tasting; black truffle infused, smoked paprika dusted, blue, soft, hard.

Naturally, quite of lot of cheese was purchased in the shop after the tour.

Again, well-attended and valuable time spent looking at the wide

NZIFST

Canterbury branch members enjoyed their preChristmas dinner and quiz night on 26 November

Waikato branch members enjoyed a pre-Christmas gathering at Absolute Café in Cambridge

Canterbury Branch Over the Moon factory shop display variety of food and beverage processing going on in the Waikato.

Attendees from industry, education and supplier bodies benefited from networking and learning. Many new faces: it’s good to see so many young members at these events and it augurs well for the future of the industry and the branch.

Thanks to both CCA and Over the Moon for their hospitality and expertise.

Christmas gathering The branch enjoyed a pre-Christmas gathering at Absolute Café in Cambridge. Again, a good turn-out, with some new faces, including a new member, James Natzka from Dominion Salt.

Wind-up Christmas Dinner On 26th November a group of about 30 members and partners gathered at “The Good Home” restaurant at Wigram for our end of year Christmas dinner and quiz night. The quiz had been put together

by Jono Cox and produced the usual discussion and challenges. Great prizes were sponsored by Meadow Mushrooms, Auburn Marketing, Dairyworks and Matt Solutions. The meal was delicious, the company convivial, and the occasion ended a very interesting year with many regular meetings.

We will meet again after the summer break on 16 February 2020 for our usual family BBQ at the Halswell Quarry (no. 1 site) between 12.00 and 4.00pm.

Winna Harvey, FNZIFST February/March 2020

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COME TO NEW ZEALAND IN AUGUST 2020 AND DISCOVER WORLD-LEADING FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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Food New Zealand

www.iufost2020.com