Food New Zealand, magazine of NZIFST

December 2023/January 2024

NZ’S AUTHORITY ON FOOD TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH AND MANUFACTURING

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE: Overview: Consulting, Food Safety, Management Services NZFSSRC: Foodborne Disease: How are we tracking?

NZIFST Conference 2024 Call for Abstracts No 2

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INC.

Contents NZ’S AUTHORITY ON FOOD TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH AND MANUFACTURING

DE C EMB ER 2 0 2 3/JA N UA RY 2 0 24 | VO LU ME 2 3, N O. 6 IS S N 274 4 -7 3 08 (ON L I N E) I SSN 1175- 4 6 2 1 ( PR I N T )

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EDITORIAL

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NEWSBITES

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SLIDING ON

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The P-word

Professor John D Brooks, FNZIFST

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NZ FOOD SAFETY

Food recall What does this mean for food businesses?

Vincent Arbuckle, Deputy Director-General, New Zealand Food Safety

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CAREERS

Your career has become a business John Lawson, Lawson Williams Recruitment

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OILS & FATS Oils & Fats News

Laurence Eyres FNZIFST

Contacts Peppermint Press Ltd 5 Rupi Court, Mt Wellington Auckland 1072, New Zealand Phone 64 21 901 884 www.foodnz.co.nz

Food NZ is distributed online to all members of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology.

An online edition is shared internationally.

Visit www.foodnz.co.nz to subscribe.

Copyright © 2023 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 views of the Publisher or NZIFST.

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Food New Zealand

24 Director and Editor Anne Scott, Peppermint Press Limited anne@foodnz.co.nz Director and Writer Dave Pooch, Peppermint Press Limited davep@me.com Advertising Anne Scott, anne@foodnz.co.nz 021 901 884 Design and Layout Johanna Paynter, Pix Design Regular Contributors Esraa El Shall, John D Brooks, Laurence Eyres, Ben Sutherland, Dave Pooch, John Lawson

Published by Peppermint Press Limited Notice to Contributors When submitting editorial for Food New Zealand please observe the following, Editorial to be submitted in an MS Word document with minimal formatting. 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 reproduction may be compromised.

Advertisers Material specification sheet and rate card on website, www.foodnz.co.nz

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OVERVIEW

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NUTRITION

Consultants, auditors, food safety advisors, analytical labs, legal advice and more

Nutritional foods for little people Julie Dalziel, Carlos Montoya, Rachel Anderson: AgResearch

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PACKAGING

Sustainable shift in alcoholic beverage packaging Nerida Kelton, FAIP, Executive Director – AIP, Vice President Sustainability & Save Food - WPO

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NZFSSRC

Foodborne disease: how are we tracking?

Professor Phil Bremer (University of Otago) Vincent Arbuckle, Deputy Director-General, NZ Food Safety

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CONSUMER SCIENCE

To cultivate meat... or not to cultivate meat Professor Joanne Hort

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NZIFST NEWS INCLUDING

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ESSAY COMPETITION

Conference update New members Branch News

Considerations for developing a novel high-fibre functional bread

Inchara Nagamangala Yoganarasimhaswamy, Student, University of Otago

JOIN NZIFST NOW for Executive Manager, Wendy Bayliss PO Box 44322 Pt Chevalier Auckland 1022 New Zealand Phone: 022 549 8483, Email: wendy@nzifst.org.nz Website: www.nzifst.org.nz

Professional Development Networking – connecting with your peers Regular information about your industry Recognition through awards, scholarships, travel grants www.nzifst.org.nz/join/

On the cover Cover image: It’s tomato harvest time again in Hawkes Bay and Gisborne and also Nelson and Canterbury

Next editorial and advertising deadline: January 20th, 2024 Features for February/March 2024 Overview: Laboratory consumables, technology and instrumentation NZIFST Conference 2024 Update – Keynote Speaker preview

December 2023 / January 2024

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Editorial

EDITORIAL From the President It has been four months since we had our 2023 conference and I had the opportunity to share the work that the Board and Executive have been doing around the refreshed strategy and the focus pillars and workstreams for how we intend to bring the strategy to life.

We were overwhelmed by the positive support and enthusiasm that our members gave us and I was personally pleased to see keen members sign up to volunteer for one or more of the workstreams. I thought I would take this chance to provide an update of what the workstreams have been doing.

As a reminder, we're working towards fulfilling our vision to be a supportive and networked community driving a vibrant and sustainable food industry. We aim to do this through advancing the profession of food science and technology by celebrating success, facilitating life-long learning and engaging our members in a collaborative community.

So, where are we at?

If I think about the Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing phases of development: the Forming phase Esraa El Shall MNZIFST, is now complete. We have identified the focus areas, gathered feedback and established workstreams. Currently NZIFST President we are in the Storming phase – working on articulating the goals, identifying resources required, defining our target personas and their needs and establishing meaningful plans for each workstream. The workstreams are also currently working on a short survey to send out to members to help us answer a few questions to guide the focus for the work. I encourage everyone to complete the survey and to reach out with any suggestions or comments.

Here is a summary of each workstream: 1. Networked Community has the aim to develop a strong plan to engage with all our members. It's a plan to draw more people into the Institute and ensure we continue to have focus on creating a strong network for our members to lean on and leverage. The workstream is led by our Vice-President Bob Olayo with his dedicated committee of Mike Boland, elected Executive member, Hamish Conway, Dominic Agyei, Nicola Wilson, Michelle Neyra, Nicky Solomon, and Immediate Past President, Phil Bremer.

2. Vibrant Food Industry – focusing on how we showcase our Institute and how we engage. How we promote food science and technology and undertake industry recognition to ensure we have the right Awards to recognise our members and industry, ensuring they're relevant and build mutually beneficial connections with the food industry. This workstream is led by our elected Executive member, Paulette Elliott and her committee: Neala Hart, Rex Johnston, Daniel Smith, Debbie Hawkes, Alasdair Baxter and Marlon dos Reis.

3. NZIFST Brand is led by our Executive Manager, Wendy Bayliss with her committee, Neala Hart, Megan Sinclair, Aswathi Soni, Jess Chong, John Lawson and Michelle Neyra with support from Charlotte Sullivan, and the main jobs to be done are around what the NZIFST brand is – defining our identity and the role we play in influencing and how we communicate.

4. The Professional Development workstream is the essence of maintaining our professionalism as an Institute and the value it brings to our members. This job is around articulating the role that NZIFST plays, directly and indirectly, to ensure our members have professional development pathways and about building strong partnerships that enable us to achieve that goal. The pillar is currently led by Auckland Branch Chair Jess Chong who is going to be stepping down due to other commitments and will hand over to our elected Executive member, Allan Main. Other members of the team are Megan Sinclair, Clinton Meharry, Fatima Faiqa, Kate Edens, Michelle Neyra and Sarina Carson. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jess for the work she and the team have done so far in forming the workstream and look forward to having Allan on board.

It is truly heart-warming to attend the workstream meetings and to witness the passion, energy, enthusiasm and diversity of thought brought by our volunteer members. Everyone recognises the heritage of our Institute and intend to honour it and do what we can to ensure it continues for years to come. I would like to personally thank all the workstreams for their commitment to bringing our refreshed strategy to life and I look forward to updating you on the Norming and Performing phases in the new year.

Esraa El Shall MNZIFST, NZIFST President

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Food New Zealand

Newsbites

Newsbites Food New Zealand’s round up of news about NZIFST members, associated companies and other items of interest.

Total Diet Study 2024 Have your say The New Zealand Total Diet Study aims to evaluate the risk to New Zealanders from exposure to certain chemical components such as agricultural chemicals, contaminants, and nutrients in a range of foods most commonly eaten in a typical diet. The 2024 NZTDS will focus on New Zealand infants and toddlers, one of our most vulnerable population groups.

The Bluebird ASRS is one of the largest systems of its type in New Zealand and can hold 13,500 pallets of potato chips.

We are seeking feedback on the proposed chemicals selected for monitoring, the proposed key foods list, and overall proposed approach for the 2024 NZTDS.

Sustainability continues to be a priority for Bluebird, with the iconic snack brand continually looking for new ways to reduce its environmental footprint. Currently, more than 90% of all waste materials from the Wiri site are recycled – including dirt, peel, packaging, cardboard and plastic. Water usage has been reduced by 28% over the past five years and the site is powered by 100% renewable energy.

Consultation opens on Wednesday 15 November and closes at 5pm on Friday 15 December 2023. The link is HERE.

Bluebird commissions automated warehouse Wiri-based snack food manufacturer, Bluebird, has celebrated the commissioning stage of its new automated warehouse, featuring a $26.5 million state of the art automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS).

The new system is part of the $40 million invested into the business over the past three years, with upgrading technology, improving employee facilities and enhancing environmental performance of the business being key focus areas.

In April this year Bluebird celebrated its 70-year anniversary. The company was founded in 1953 by young entrepreneur, Les Saussey, who first began selling popcorn at the Western Spring Speedway in Auckland, later moving into potato chips, and fast becoming a Kiwi favourite.

AI enables step change in robotic apple packing speeds Global Pac Technologies, a New Zealand-based company, has worked with Robotics Plus to utilise cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology (AI), to increase apple packing speeds by 40%.

This ground-breaking development in their apple produce packer, Aporo II, is revolutionising the efficiency of apple packing operations worldwide.

The Aporo II has a compact footprint that is ideal for retrofitting, intuitive controls that minimise the need for operator intervention, and a design that prioritises food safety.

“One of the key features of Aporo II is its remarkable versatility. The packer is designed to automatically pack into various materials, including paper, plastic, and fibre trays, as well as offering the option of tray or single-layer carton packing. Additionally, Aporo II leverages the power of AI to precisely identify tray pockets, whether they are composed of fibre, coloured PP, or paper,” says Global Pac Sales Director, Cameron McInness. during the 2023 stone fruit packing season.

Aporo II is now fully integrated with the Internet of Things (IoT) through OPC Unified Architecture (OPC-UA), a machine-tomachine communication protocol which enables the centralised

management of multiple Aporo units. This functionality encompasses mode setting, fault monitoring, and performance reporting, providing operators with greater monitoring and control.

December 2023 / January 2024

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Newsbites

Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer Grant – realise your dream Brett Calton, Callaghan Innovation, Chief Product Officer

Food and beverage trailblazers: we need you – apply for grants now!

New Zealand produces some of the world’s best food and beverages.

Our remarkable growers, producers, brewers and chefs, combined with our world-class innovation ecosystem and our reputation for great ideas, keeps us well ahead of the pack. (You’re reading FoodNZ. you already know this…!)

But we know there are many, many undiscovered Food and Beverage innovators with great ideas out there, who are blazing new trails and sitting on concepts that they haven’t yet had the support, or resources, to bring to market.

The Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer Grant from Callaghan Innovation may just be what is needed to take your nutritious or mouthwatering idea or product to the next level. The first-of-its-kind grant supports world-leading innovation that can deliver benefits beyond the individual business and its customers, by inspiring and enabling others to pursue innovative new ideas and opportunities too.

We’re not talking about wider social, economic or environmental benefits here, even though these may well result from the innovation.

Rather, the focus is on benefits for the wider New Zealand “innovation ecosystem”. That means the network of people, organisations and facilities in New Zealand that together enable innovative ideas to be formed, supported, adopted and spread.

In the first round of applications, three food and beverage companies came forward with their concepts, ready to wow our evaluation panel.

One of the applicants stands out as a perfect example of a trailblazer who’s ready to have a positive impact on the food and beverage industry and ecosystem. Their ground-breaking technology, given the right support, could provide a potential opportunity for every farmer, in every corner of the country, to diversify in a complementary way to their current farming system. It potentially redefines New Zealand’s position in the global agricultural market, positively impacting tens of thousands of farms, and hundreds of thousands of employees. Wow. 6

Food New Zealand

So, Food and Beverage innovators, we are talking to you: if you’re ready to blow us away with the new innovation you’re developing, and you’re ready to positively impact the innovation ecosystem, the Ārohia Full Grant could be for you. This grant could provide up to $4 million along with the recognition and esteem that will come from being awarded the title “Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer”.

What else do you need to know before you make your application?

The grant supports specifically non-R&D activities, and applies to innovation that hasn’t yet been taken to market. There is a huge number of other products available from Callaghan Innovation to support R&D that’s already underway, including the R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI). If your innovation has already been taken to market and the obvious next step is to expand internationally, this grant won’t be for you. But don’t worry. Check out the support available from our friends at New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE).

If you’re not quite ready to have a crack at the Ārohia Full Grant, but with some additional support and funding you would be able to make an application, the Ārohia Seed Grant could be right for you. It could provide up to $25,000 to help advance your innovation and get better prepared to apply for the Full Grant in the future.

Funding available under both grants is provided on a co-funded basis.

This means you must also contribute towards the costs of eligible activities. The Ārohia Full Grant is contestable and eligible applicants will present their idea to our expert evaluation panel, to be in with a chance of being selected.

This is the first time that a grant of this nature has been launched in New Zealand, and while it is based on comparable models overseas, the Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer Grant also includes some features unique to New Zealand such as the focus on innovation ecosystem benefits.

Visit our website to find out more, or get in touch with our team to discuss making an application.

Newsbites

Caldic natural, sustainable and healthy ingredients Caldic is your leading solutions provider for all things natural, sustainable, and healthy – we offer a wide range of products to fit the latest trends. Do you need vegan solutions, such as clean tasting proteins, sustainable functional fibres, protein crisps, natural cheese, beef and chicken flavours or natural antimicrobials?

Are you looking to get more aeration in your ice cream or protein bar and want to trial our hydrolysed pea, soy, and milk proteins?

Or perhaps you are after unique and natural ingredients for emulsification and egg replacement, like our flaxseed powder, or a carrot fibre that binds 26x its weight in water with no high shear mixing required.

Maybe you need our BC30 probiotic, Wellmune® yeast betaglucan or elderberry extract to support immune health, or unique dairy ingredients from lactoferrin through to goat and sheep milk specialties.

You could be looking for natural and stable colour solutions for replacing Carmine or artificial colour or want an alternative to annatto in cheese manufacture that won’t discolour your whey.

Are you interested in organic and tummy friendly prebiotics to improve gut health for your next launch?

Whatever your innovative concept may be, our team of food technologists are here to help you achieve your target. We can offer testing and natural solutions for shelf-life improvement, particularly in relation to oxidation, and technical support on a wide range of ingredient and processing challenges. Our global network throughout 43 countries ensures that we can find the most unique and effective ingredients to bring to New Zealand manufacturers.

December 2023 / January 2024

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Newsbites

The digital twin uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate cell behaviour in bioreactors along oxygen and nutrient supply gradients inside the tanks.

Source: GEA

GEA develops "digital twin" for bioreactor To facilitate the configuration of bioreactors – a key technology for the new food industry – GEA has developed a digital twin for virtual testing prior to construction. The aim is to create an optimum growth environment for cultured cells, which behave differently in mass production volumes than at laboratory scale.

GEA Center of Competence for Bioreactor Technologies due to an impending dramatic capacity shortfall on the bioreactor market.

Validation of large-scale fermenters using a digital twin is a key step in ensuring optimal growth conditions and making it possible to take new food processes successfully to scale.

“A bioreactor is a vessel that has to function like a living body. Inside it, life develops under highly complex conditions. Working on an industrial scale, we have to make living organisms predictable, because we need reliable and replicable performance to go hand in hand with maximum productivity,” explains Daniel Grenov, Product Manager Bioreactor Technologies at GEA. “A digital twin simulates the environment inside bioreactors in a wide variety of scenarios.

This lets us precisely match the tank design and the mechanical configuration for fine-tuning parameters such as shear stress, temperature, nutrient and oxygen distribution to what the cells need.”

The virtual bioreactor testing is based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which models the growth behaviour of cells as well as the oxygen and nutrient delivery radii inside the reactor. “Experts estimate that, when scaling up bioreactors, uneven distribution of oxygen and nutrients inside the tank often leads to performance losses of up to 30%,” Grenov says.

Developing higher-performance bioreactors is a priority for the

Dynamic Inspection acquired by Fortress Technology Canadian company, Fortress Technology, has acquired New Zealand’s Dynamic Inspection, creating their fourth global manufacturing site.

Dynamic Inspection remains the only manufacturer of in-line food grade metal detectors in New Zealand. Dynamic has been affiliated to Fortress since the Canadian firm’s inception 27 years ago. The two companies share decades of design and application experience.

By formalising this longstanding alliance and transferring ownership to Fortress, customers will benefit from both companies’ respective and innovative expertise. In turn this will help to strengthen and advance food safety culture as a whole.

“Dynamic Inspection has always been aligned with maintaining quality and putting every customer’s needs first,” attests Eric Garr,

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Food New Zealand

This risk can be banished by using CFD simulation and by calculating kinetic models, both of which are powerful product development tools. Combined with physical test rigs to measure bubble sizes, and equipment behaviour, GEA optimises the performance of large-scale bioreactors right on the drawing board.

Regional Sales Manager at Fortress Technology.

Dynamic Inspection Limited was established 25 years ago to supply locally-manufactured metal detection systems. With founders Bob Philpott and Steve Atkins retiring, the acquisition

by Fortress guarantees food safety service and support continuity for countless customers.

As with every Fortress location globally, good customer support has been the backbone of Dynamic’s success and growth. This service continuity will not only remain but be strengthened with additional Fortress global resources. The dedicated Dynamic Inspection family remains committed to serving loyal customers.

Fortress will continue to share the latest advancements in inspection technology to New Zealand, enabling local engineers to adopt identical manufacturing processes. Additionally, the Dynamic team will now have direct access to the Canadian teams’ extensive R&D and global food safety intel.

Hygiene

Fighting Biofilm with AWS Group’s ANK Neutral Anolyte

AWS Group has a number of products formulated specifically to deal with Biofilm in the food processing industry.

Foremost among them is ANK Neutral Anolyte which is classified as neutral electrolysed water as opposed to the acidic and alkaline variations. All three forms are types of electrolysed oxidising water produced by passing an electric current through a saturated saline solution. The most common salt used is sodium chloride, however a mixture of potassium and magnesium chlorides can also be used in the process depending on the end use application.

The three forms differ in pH, Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) and Free Available Chlorine (FAC) with the acidic and neutral versions being the most commonly used for pathogen control in the food industry. The sanitation solution in ANK Neutral Anolyte is produced at the anode. The main active ingredient in the solution is Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL), while the Catholyte (alkaline byproduct) is produced at the cathode, the Catholyte is a weak sodium hydroxide solution, with a short shelf life, so typically used as a cleaning aid within time of manufacture.

The Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) actives function with a similar action to that produced by Sodium Hypochlorite and Chlorine Dioxide but without the inherent safety and environmental issues.

Industry dependence on toxic, dangerous goods type chemistry is no longer the only option.

ANK Neutral Anolyte is not classified as a dangerous good (DG) and therefore results in less extensive handling and training requirements; contributing to improved wellbeing and sustainability in the workplace by; •

Reducing environmental impact

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Reducing waste; especially if produced onsite & on demand

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Improving employee safety

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Minimising toxic waste products.

How does it work?

different types of pathogens. The most common theory is that the high Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) of ANK Neutral Anolyte damages the biofilm though oxidation of the cell wall allowing more than usual active chlorine from the Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) to enter the pathogen. Once inside the cell the Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) reacts with the nucleic acids and destroys key enzymes which destabilises the cells normal metabolic functions.

Other Food Industry Applications for ANK Neutral Anolyte: •

Surface Sanitiser: Successfully used on stainless steel, glass, poly panel and plastics substrates. Like all sanitisers the efficacy is dependent on removing the soiling on the surface and allowing for a sufficient dwell time. ANK Neutral Anolyte has been tested in an accredited laboratory against BS EN1276:2019 and met the requirements (log 5 reduction) at 30 seconds. With a recommended industry standard dwell time of 90 seconds the products broad spectrum characteristics are industry leading.

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Fresh Produce: ANK Neutral Anolyte is currently used in both pre & post-harvest applications. As a strong performer in the presence of soiling and organic matter, ANK Neutral Anolyte is fast becoming the go to alternative to chlorine and is MPI Approved, BioGro certified & independently verified.

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Water & Wastewater: Effective treatment for potable water, process water, tank water, wastewater streams and pools. ANK Neutral Anolyte is a cost-effective, proven solution across multiple industries.

Dependent on scale, requirement and application, ANK Neutral Anolyte supply options range from installing an Envirolyte generator onsite for manufacture on-demand, or dosing from 1000L intermediate bulk container’s (IBC’s), along with various other pack sizes including 5L, 20L and 200L to meet differing operational needs.

AWS Group offer a range of neutral electrolysed products and technology to deliver greener sanitation, whilst maintaining high food safety standards.

Contact us to learn more: www.awsgroup.co.nz or +64 9 622 4601

There are multiple theories on how ANK Neutral Anolyte works on

December 2023 / January 2024

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Newsbites

The new year’s top flavours and colours represent consumer resolve to boldly choose products that appeal to their personal aesthetics and reflect their unique values

2024 Flavour and colour trends In October, ADM, a global leader in human and animal nutrition, announced its outlook on the flavour and colour trends that will drive product innovation in 2024. ADM has identified four trends that illustrate evolving consumer behaviours and will inspire memorable moments.

The colour and flavour trends identified in this report indicate what foods and beverages consumers will reach for on product shelves.

ADM’s colour and flavour experts identified these themes through a deep dive into consumer purchasing behaviour and trends both online and offline, and across industries beyond foods and beverages.

Consumers are defying convention with an emboldened desire to experience fully flavoured and vibrantly coloured foods and beverages.

This trend centres on the curated consumption of products with maximum impact.

Brilliant colour mimicry and flavour authenticity offer visual and

Flour milling skills training in Switzerland Australian and New Zealand bakery and flour manufacturers Allied Pinnacle, and Champion Flour Milling have launched a learning and development programme for their milling teams, sponsoring team members from each company to attend the highly esteemed, world-class grain milling training in Switzerland.

This is the second year the companies have sent staff to the training school.

Joel Tazzyman, Production Manager at Allied Pinnacle, Kensington and Greg Rhodes, Production Manager at Champion Flour Milling, Christchurch have been selected to participate.

From January 2024, both will begin their distance learning before

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Food New Zealand

taste experiences that go beyond the norm to deliver on consumer expectations for natural ingredients, authentic regional cuisines and convincing alternative formulations.

Flavours and colours are powerful cues to support product positioning through consumer associations. Today’s shoppers are seeking out functional foods and beverages that support holistic health, from relaxation to hydration and mental to physical wellness. These associated benefits must be presented without sacrifice to the sensory experience, as consumers view better-for-you products as the norm instead of the exception.

Consumers are clamouring for vivid food and beverage creations.

On the leading edge are hyper-local flavours on a global scale and dazzling rainbow hues that reflect colourful ingredients derived from nature.

Learn more about the four themes and dive further into trend expressions and flavour and colour inspirations here.

travelling to Switzerland in August to attend in-person training.

Champion Flour Milling CEO Chris Anderson says, “This programme will ensure our millers are continuously improving their expertise, so we as a business can remain agile and responsive to both customer and consumer demands.”

The milling industry combines traditional skills with modern technology to produce a wide range of flours. Milling is one of the oldest trades in the world with wheat being one of the most important crops across Australia and New Zealand.

The Swiss School of Milling course covers a wide range of subjects from milling technology, practice of flour milling, to natural science and hands-on laboratory work

Sliding On

Sliding on The P-word

Professor John D Brooks, FNZIFST John Brooks' view of the food world through the lens of a microbiologist.

P for preservatives The European Commission has set new limits for the use of nitrites and nitrates as food additives. Food manufacturers have two years to adapt to the new limits. [1] These chemicals are intended to protect against pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella, and Clostridium botulinum, while the EU limits are aimed at reducing exposure to nitrosamines.

We have long used nitrate and nitrite as preservatives in curing meat.

Nitrate and nitrite are permitted for use in foods in many countries such as Mainland China, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The concern is that nitrate can be converted into nitrite in the gut and then form N-nitroso compounds such as nitrosamines, which may cause cancer in humans, though evidence as to whether nitrate or nitrite per se in food can cause cancer in humans is inadequate or limited. [2]. We need to be very careful before branding food additives as causing human disease. We can find naturally occurring nitrates and nitrates in water and vegetables, especially in leafy and root vegetables such as lettuce, beets, celery, carrots, and more.

There is a group of people who regard preservatives as being unhealthy and added by unscrupulous manufacturers. They want their food to be “all-natural, with minimal processing and no chemicals”. Apart from the fact that this description is meaningless, it got me thinking about additives and specifically preservatives.

The disappearing preservatives As a first step in preparing this edition of Sliding on, I followed standard research principles and surveyed the packaged foods in our kitchen cupboard and read all the ingredient labels - a challenge in itself for anyone with less than 20:20 vision. It came as something of a surprise to find that few of the foods contained anything that I would regard as unnecessary in the food type. Sure, there were acidity regulators and anti-caking agents, salt and the occasional antioxidant, natural colours and flavours, while some of the wines declared sulphur dioxide, but very few mentions of the dreaded preservatives. In fact, the greatest number of additives was in the packaged bacon, where of course sodium nitrate was declared. Many food labels list “Acidity regulator xxx; thickener yyy; natural colour zzz”, making it difficult for the consumer buying food in the supermarket. A list of permitted additives can be found on the New Zealand Government food safety website. [3] From the microbiologist’s point of view, preservatives are added to

prevent the growth of pathogens or spoilage organisms during the shelf life, reducing loss and increasing food safety. Acidulants, organic acids and parabens have all been used, but ‘natural alternatives’ are being increasingly used. Many leafy and root vegetables naturally contain nitrate and nitrite and it is estimated that around 80% of the nitrates and nitrites we consume are naturally occurring from the plants we eat. [4] Nitrite may be formed by reduction of nitrate by bacteria in the food.

While I was at Hong Kong University, I co-supervised a PhD student who was studying the use of extracts of traditional Chinese herbs as food preservatives. Several of the papers that came out of that work have been my most heavily cited and it is clear that there is great interest in these natural chemicals in the preservation of meats and dairy products. However, the potential for reliance on extracts may be limited because of source availability so that synthetic natureidentical versions of the active components may be necessary if natural preservatives are to be used extensively.

Of course, manufacturers will often use chemical additives in conjunction with other preservation processes, such as refrigeration, freeze-drying or UV irradiation. Boiling and addition of sugar, followed by sealing in airtight jars and packages kills bacteria and prevents their regrowth and recontamination.

I have the feeling that consumers generally don’t understand the need for preservatives in food and that perhaps an education programme on food manufacturing is needed. Questions I receive on my food safety blog suggest that some consumers don’t understand that canned foods are processed for long-term shelf stability. We may need to emphasise to consumers that these techniques reduce the risk of foodborne infection and microbial spoilage, preserving the fresh attributes of the food.

[1]. Regulation (EC) no 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Dec 2008. And Annex to Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 as regards food additives nitrites (E 249-250) and nitrates (E 251-252) [2]. Nitrate and Nitrite – To Add or Not to Add? Centre for Food Safety The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Food Safety Focus (185th Issue, December 2021) – Article 2 [3] Identifying Food Additives. ISBN No.: 978-1-99-004303-1 Online). https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/3433/direct [4]. 20/05/2019. Michigan State University. Accessed 09/11/23 December 2023 / January 2024

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Food Safety

Food recall

What does this mean for food businesses?

Vincent Arbuckle, Deputy Director-General, New Zealand Food Safety You may have seen food recall information at supermarkets and other retailers, notifying shoppers that food has been removed from the shelves for food safety reasons. You may also have received food recall notifications from MPI or on social media channels or websites.

These food recalls stop the sale, distribution, and consumption of food when products are unsafe to eat.

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No further action, resolving the problem without the need for a recall. If the problem is neither a food safety nor a suitability problem, businesses can remove product from trade without any NZFS involvement. This is often called a withdrawal. An example might be when wrong colour bottle caps have been used.

But what really goes on behind scenes of a food recall? What does it mean for food businesses and their customers? And how can food businesses be better prepared in the event of a recall?

Behind the scenes of a food recall, we at NZFS are on full alert to support and coordinate food recalls with food businesses. Where there is an issue, we work quickly with businesses to get potentially affected product off the shelves.

New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) works alongside food industry organisations and other regulators to strengthen New Zealand’s food safety system. Recalls are an important part of this system.

If there’s any chance the recalled food has already been sold to consumers, we will tell the public. We publish recall notices on our website, issue media releases and post on our social media accounts.

A world-class system Our food recall system is world-class, but we must stay vigilant. For instance, our Food Compliance Services team at NZFS undertakes daily global surveillance to provide early warnings and insights, completes prompt and robust investigations, and helps food businesses act quickly to manage any unsafe food.

In 2023 there have been 57 consumer level food recalls as of 16 November 2023, and there were 60 in 2022. Reasons for recalls include the possibility of glass in specific batches of cakes, potential for raw milk to contain Listeria. The most common reason for a recall is undeclared allergens in food, such as dairy in corn chips.

The importance of food recalls Recalls are a sign the food safety system is working to protect people.

New Zealand has a robust food safety system, and we applaud the effort food businesses make to ensure the food they produce is safe and suitable. But occasionally things do go wrong, and the public needs to be protected. Having effective systems in place to do that protects people from contaminated food, which can cause serious harm.

What happens during a recall?

A food recall generally occurs if something has gone wrong with a food. We find out most often when someone makes a food complaint, or if the business operator discovers something wrong with the product.

Consumer safety is always the priority when there is a recall.

Businesses must be able to act quickly and accurately to identify and remove at-risk product from shelves.

Successful management of a food recall is a great example of NZFS teams and food businesses working together.

These are the recommended recall steps (depending on the level of risk): 1. Investigate. Gather information, understand the problem, identify affected products, and hold any stock still on hand.

2. Inform. Tell your verifier. If you don’t have a verifier, or can’t make contact with yours, tell NZFS. 3. Assess. Assess the risk, decide if a recall is needed, and at what level (trade or consumer).

4. Check. Check if NZFS agrees with your risk assessment and decision.

5. Communicate. Communicate your decision to recall with affected businesses, and consumers (for a consumer-level recall).

6. Audit. Audit how much product was returned, review and identify corrective actions.

How businesses can get better prepared Our team continues to work with verifiers and businesses on best practice for food recalls.

As part of best practice, simulated or mock recalls enable businesses to test their ability to trace and effectively recall their products, as well as ensure they are prepared if an actual food recall is ever required.

As of 1 July 2023, relevant businesses, registered under the Food Act, Wine Act or Animal Products Act, as well as food importers and exporters, must carry out a simulated recall at least every 12 months (unless they have done a successful actual recall in this period).

The business will need to assess the food’s risk to consumers, then choose what to do:

Groups of similar food businesses can undertake a simulated recall together. On 13 November 2023, 105 wine businesses voluntarily undertook a simulated food recall with the help of NZ Wine and NZFS’s Food Compliance Services. A food safety scenario relevant to the wine industry was provided and each business worked through a simulated recall, ensuring they understood each step needed to have a successful recall and that their recall systems are effective.

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For more details, see these online simulated food recall resources.

If something has gone wrong with a food product, the business may need to recall it from the market. Before a recall takes place, the food business and NZFS follow a set process.

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A consumer-level recall, involving removing affected product from the supply chain and communicating to consumers. This action is recommended if the product has a food safety problem and has been sold to consumers.

A trade-level recall, involving removing affected product from the supply chain. This is recommended if the product has not been sold to consumers.

Food New Zealand

To find out about current recalls, subscribe to food recalls.

Food businesses, please notify NZFS of any recalls, or food safety issues you are concerned about. You can contact us anytime by phoning 0800 00 83 33, or emailing food.recalls@mpi.govt.nz For more information, visit the Food recall guidance for businesses webpage.

Careers

Your career has become a business John Lawson, Lawson Williams Recruitment In 2017, Forbes magazine published an article which included the following statement.

Today’s professional is operating in a shorter-term capacity than the phrase “permanent, full-time employment” suggests. You need to accept that your current job is a project that may or may not last. You need to keep your pipeline of opportunities full and your marketability high, such that you can land the next opportunity when you need it (whether consulting or employed on payroll).

In a future without jobs your career is a business.

At the time there was a huge speculation and discussion about the future world of work. Many people were making predictions about the changes that were coming.

In 2024 your career is a business and you are its CEO

In this part of the world much of it seemed somewhat exaggerated, we struggled to believe fully that the world of work could change so drastically and so rapidly.

Like it or not we have become, or are rapidly becoming, business owners.

Develop a new sense of urgency – remember you are always inbetween projects.

In 2023 and beyond, sustaining your career demands a mindset shift. Regardless of your employment status, whether permanent or entrepreneurial, this awareness is becoming essential in today's dynamic job market. The notion of permanent employment is becoming less likely to guarantee lasting opportunities. It's crucial to cultivate a sense of urgency, driving you to continuously seek stretch assignments and projects that foster growth.

Remember, you are always between projects

What now?

Fast forward to 2023. So, what do we think now?

Who would have believed the changes we would go through in such a short time and the impacts on our lives in general and in the world of work.

The recent Foodtech/Packtech exhibition was another clear example of the rapid pace of change we are experiencing across the food industry. Everywhere you looked you could see the pace and real impacts of Industry 4.0, the internet of things, the importance of data and in the adoption and application of automation.

This rapid pace of change in our industry, as in many others, is changing the job market and it is impacting our career future.

From a career perspective we are being forced to become entrepreneurs.

Moreover, maintaining marketability and a robust network is paramount. Changes in employers or customer bases can happen swiftly, potentially leaving you with limited options. To ensure you're not trapped by circumstance but rather, choose your path, it's vital to cultivate a pipeline of alternative opportunities. By doing so, you stay in your current position because it's the best option, not the only one. In this ever-evolving professional landscape, the key to career sustainability lies in recognising that you are always in a state of transition, and your readiness to seize new opportunities is the bridge to your future success.

Sustaining your career is not about complacency but about constantly nurturing your skills, connections, and mindset to thrive in the increasingly dynamic world of work.

How do you build a long-term career plan with so many influential forces at work and the end results still unclear?

When the only thing you can be certain of is more uncertainty, then you need to build a long-term career plan that maximises your flexibility, adaptability and alternative options We need to view our careers in terms of always looking for and building Career Capital.

John Lawson is founder of Lawson Williams Consulting Group. He initially studied Biotechnology at Massey and is a professional member of NZIFST. He now enjoys leading a team of recruitment consultants, helping people like you develop satisfying careers.

Specialist Recruitment - Permanent and Contract

www.lawsonwilliams.co.nz December 2023 / January 2024

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Oils & Fats

Oils and Fats News Laurence Eyres FNZIFST A regular roundup of news and opinion from the Oils and Fats Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry.

Recently two of Professor Wong’s Albany students, Dr. Rex Yuan and Lucy Yang launched a new venture with a secret tasty batter formulation. This had its debut at the Frankton market, serving delectable fried and battered chicken. I suggested we call it Kool Frankton Chicken but my marketing suggestions were politely ignored

Expert scientists to visit Massey University Professor Selina Wang (UC Davis) and Bertrand Matthaus (Germany) visited New Zealand in November as guests of Professor Marie Wong at Massey Albany. This is not their first visit and they are always welcome to return as they bring the latest science in their fields. Selina has just been awarded the AOCS Timothy Mounts award for 2024.

Royal Society Catalyst funding enabled them to come and link with Professor Marie Wong and her PhD student who will be looking at volatiles and development, or not, of MCPD esters in avocado oil.

MCPD Notes 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) is a chiral molecule naturally existing as a racemic mixture of (R)- and (S)-enantiomers.

It was thoroughly investigated during the 1970s as a male antifertility drug until research was abandoned because of the side effects observed in toxicity studies. More than 20 years later, 3-MCPD, both in the free form and esterified to the fatty acids, was detected in vegetable oil, and discovered to be a widespread contaminant in different processed foods. This review summarises the main toxicological studies on 3-MCPD and its esters. Current knowledge shows that the kidney 14

Food New Zealand

and reproductive system are the primary targets of 3-MCPD toxicity, followed by neurological and immune systems. Bertrand Matthaus has been a prime mover in this field and started his work around 15 years ago.

Selina’s research work on avocado is vital in helping prepare a new standard for Virgin avocado oils, there is now a standard for RBD oil.

All this good work and development on key issues in Food Science is now under threat from restructuring and downsizing proposed by the Massey bureaucracy. It is sad when bureaucracy takes priority over key scientific work necessary for the nation’s development.

Mitigation of MCPD Low pressure Deodorisation Recent published work by De Smet (Belgium) in Inform magazine (October,2023), advises us of new techniques to minimize MCPD. Maximum temperatures of deodorisation/physical refining are maintained at 245° C together with the appropriate steam sparging rate and a low vacuum. These modern deodorizers operate with four stage vacuum ejectors down to a pressure of 1 millimetre of mercury.

Oils & Fats Fourth year Massey Albany student Michael Dihardjo recently presented the results of his project on Oleogels. The project was sponsored by the NZIC Oils and Fats Group with further support from Bakels Edible Oils and Hawkins Watts Ltd. This project looked at the baking and stability properties of oleogels made with monoglycerides, polyglycerol esters and citrated monoglycerides.

Oleogels are a transitional state between a liquid and a solid, possessing both viscous liquid like and elastic solid characteristics and hence display viscoelastic behaviour.

Interesting and significant results were obtained using simple muffins (yum) as the control test product.

It is a far cry from the days of the old-fashioned batch deodorizers which operated at six millimetres of mercury pressure. The best way to avoid the formation of the esters is to control the precursors in the raw material and raw oil before oil processing but also during oil processing different possibilities are available such as oil washing, controlling pH-value or reducing the temperature during deodorization. It is also possible to modify the deodorization by using dual deodorization, short path distillation or the use of additives.

Mitigation of MCPD and glycidyl esters in edible oils AOCS Press, Bertrand Matthäus and Frank Pudel (2022, Pages 23-64)

New monounsaturated cooking oil in the USA High in healthy fats and low in bad fats, Zero Acre’s first cooking oil product made by fermentation is produced using 85% less land than canola oil, emits 86% less CO2 than soybean oil, and requires 99% less water than olive oil. At $29.99 USD it’s significantly more expensive than its vegetable counterpart but replacing just 5% of vegetable oils used in the U.S. with so-called cultured oil, the company claims, would free up 3.1 million acres of land every year.

Co-Founder & CEO, Jeff Nobbs won’t disclose the exact kind of microorganism being used to produce the product, but he says the company works with both non-GMO yeast and microalgae. “We focus on cultures that naturally produce healthy fats, and yeast and microalgae do that efficiently,” he says.

The process starts with a proprietary culture made up of foodproducing microorganisms (yeast or microalgae) that is fed natural plants like sugar beet and sugarcane. (The company doesn’t grow these directly, but both are part of its supply chain.)

Over the course of a few days, the microorganisms convert, or ferment, the natural plant sugars into oils or fats. The resulting mixture is then pressed, and the oil is released, separated, filtered, and cultured oil is born. (Nobbs describes the taste as “lightly buttery,” though you can taste it only if you have it straight.)

It is interesting to note work done by Julian Davies on yeast oil (DSIR NZ) reported in Lipid Technology in 1992.

Brain Diets and Omega-3 update Omega-3, in the form of phospholipids, is increasingly of interest to major study groups for alleviating the deterioration of brain health.

Much work has gone on over the years on the effective diet for brain health. Dementia and neurogenic degenerative disease have been major topics with relation to the human diet. There have been many reports that maintaining healthy cognitive and metabolic functions can be assisted by choosing a correct diet. This includes fruits, vegetables, fish, monounsaturated fats, certain polyunsaturated fats, and appropriate antioxidants. Omega- 3 is needed in the form of phospholipids. A recent article in Inform magazine shows the composition of phospholipids in the brain compared with milk, egg yolk and soybean oil. They report that in both human and animal studies phospholipids supplements can improve and alleviate cognitive decline resulting from stress and aging.

Current Opinion in Lipidology, Volume 34, Number 1, February 2023, pp. 12-21(10) Prospective studies and three new meta-analyses suggest that fish or n-3 PUFA intake are associated with a reduction in development of mild cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in those with mild cognitive impairment showed benefit on cognitive decline, whereas there was no benefit in Alzheimer's disease. In cognitively healthy individuals with clinical coronary artery disease (CAD), 3.36 g EPA and DHA daily slowed cognitive ageing by 2.5 years. Of 15 RCTs in cognitively healthy individuals age more than 55 years, seven reported benefits, whereas eight did not.

Potential mechanisms for differences in outcomes include dose, trial duration, apolipoproteinE genotype, sex, stage and rate of cognitive decline, cognitive testing employed and individual characteristics.

The downstream product of DHA, neuroprotectin D1, may be involved in beneficial effects.

Patients with early memory complaints or a family history of dementia and those with CAD should be counselled on the potential benefits of fish intake and supplementation with n-3 PUFA. ApolipoproteinE4 carriers may especially benefit from DHA supplementation prior to development of cognitive decline.

December 2023 / January 2024

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Services

Overview: Consultants, auditors, food safety advisors, analytical labs, legal advice and more Looking for a consultant to support your food safety or compliance audit? Need help with a new formulation?

Or perhaps you need an analytical laboratory for routine or one-off analysis. It’s all here for you to see.

Assured Food Safety Ltd Providing practical food safety solutions since 2002.

Your business needs always come first.

Whatever your business in the food industry is, you want advisers who understand your reality. You need a practical approach to managing food safety. You need people like us.

We understand that you need to manage food safety compliance and product development in a way that enhances business growth. You must comply with regulatory or key customer requirements and manage risk.

You want peace of mind in these areas so you can focus on your 'real' business.

If you're new to the food industry, or to supplying the major retailers, the myriad of requirements can be confusing.

You may need someone to help guide you through the processes, assist in choosing service providers and getting your food labelling right. The team at Assured Food Safety will help.

Who are we?

We're a New Zealand based team of like-minded food industry professionals who are passionate about food.

Managing Director, Shane Hopgood’s philosophy is to provide food safety advice and food safety solutions that are robust, cost effective and technically credible.

Our broad range of services include: •

Developing and implementing Custom Food Control Plans (FCP), My Food Plans, Risk Management Programmes (RMPs), National Programmes,

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Training your staff in food safety, food labelling, allergen management, HACCP or internal auditing,

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Review and development of product labelling,

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Assisting you to meet food importer requirements,

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Technical support with food recalls,

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New product development,

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Key customer quality assurance requirements.

Our satisfaction comes from helping food businesses meet their customer and regulatory obligations in a practical way.

We have strong food industry networks, in-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements, and a sound working relationship with the Ministry for Primary Industries Get In Touch Now to discuss your requirements 16

Food New Zealand

The BFG’s team, Sam Borgfeldt, Sarah Walter and John Evans

Beverage and Food Gurus Ltd (BFG’s) Beverage and Food Gurus Ltd (BFG’s) was launched in 2021 with the vision to provide a full technical solutions service to the beverage, food and pet food industries. Their goal is to create a one-stop shop for your technical needs with the right people, equipment and capability all in one place.

The principals of BFG’s – Sam Borgfeldt, Sarah Walter and John Evans – are food technologists with over 65 years of combined experience in the food and beverage industry, and they are supported by a team of experienced product development and food technologists from a range of category backgrounds.

BFG’s has a fully equipped product development laboratory in Mt Eden, Auckland, with their services including regulatory compliance, labelling compliance, shelf life and sensory analysis. They deliver to clients’ briefs on time and on budget while working independently with all reputable food and beverage ingredient suppliers. BFG’s also provides unparalleled expertise in technical and FMCG business advice: coaching, food, beverage and pet food technical project management, operations and strategic advice.

As well as this, BFG’s provide technical training via the popular Jumpstart series, run in conjunction with the New Zealand Food Innovation Network.

They work with companies of all sizes, from start-ups to multi-nationals and work closely with their clients to deliver products and solutions in a timely and efficient manner. They are approachable and knowledgeable with experience in a wide range of categories. Get in touch with them today for a no obligation chat.

Services Assured Audits New Zealand Ltd Looking to change your food safety verification agency, or about to apply for registration of your Food Control Plan or National Programme and need the programme evaluated or verified?

and the drivers for success in commercialisation of food technology innovations in large corporations as well as in small start-ups.

If so, Assured Audits can help guide you through the process.

Food technology IP can be a complex area, but no more than in any other high-tech industry. Working with experienced IP practitioners who have the ability to understand the technologies and who have solid track records in assisting New Zealand businesses is paramount.

We're a proudly kiwi owned food industry focused audit company that has been working with small to medium New Zealand businesses since 2002.

We enjoy working with New Zealand scientists and business executives to develop sound IP strategies, capture and protect food technology innovations, and bring their products to the marketplace.

We work throughout New Zealand, bringing strong technical and practical expertise to food safety management programme verifications/evaluations. Our experienced team can provide sectorfocused services covering most food and beverage products and manufacturing processes.

Understanding your business – valuing long term partnerships Being owner operators ourselves, we understand what it means to provide a quality, efficient and personal service.

When you work with us you can expect a seamless evaluation or verification service. This starts with your initial enquiry, right through to completion of the evaluation or verification process.

You will generally deal with the same person from the moment you decide to nominate us as your regulatory auditors/verifiers. That's because we believe in forming strong relationships and want to partner with you over the long term, to achieve your business goals.

IANZ and ISO 17020 Accredited/ MPI Recognised To assure you of our competence and professional standing, we undergo independent annual audits of our food safety management programme auditing systems, quality systems, and auditors.

We hold ISO 17020 accreditation with IANZ as an Inspection Body, together with Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) recognition as Food Act verifiers and evaluators.

Get In Touch Now to discuss your requirements

The global criticality of developing new food technologies aligns very well with the technical expertise and intellectual property experience of some of Catalyst Intellectual Property’s leading patent attorneys and IP lawyers. That experience includes:

Foods Connected is an award-winning cloud-based software platform making waves around the globe. Our end-to-end software solutions simplify the food supply chain, optimise spend and unlock the data food and drink manufacturers, retailers, food service providers and other food businesses need to succeed.

Our tools are utilised by thousands of leading food businesses internationally, including ten of the world’s largest retailers to digitise key business data, enabling greater visibility and real-time insight into their supply chain efficiency and profitability.

We also help build safer, stronger supply chains, generating centralised supplier approval data and automating accreditation processes. This gives businesses the power to audit, monitor and track supplier results from any location and build a higher level of compliance.

Founded by industry specialists, we are experts in our field, so we understand your business needs and how to achieve them. Fast to roll out and even simpler to use, our customers call us “innovative”, “adaptable” and “efficient”, because we help them connect with – and give them complete visibility of – each stage of their supply chain journey. Our tools empower businesses to build more successful and sustainable futures.

In the last year, we’ve been nominated for awards for our commitment to sustainability, the industry supply chain and for nurturing emerging talent. Today, we employ over a 100 people across Northern Ireland, the US and Australia – and we’re responding to industry need by continuing to develop new innovative software solutions.

Catalyst Intellectual Property The team at Catalyst Intellectual Property is closely involved with businesses both in New Zealand and off-shore in the protection, strategy development and commercialisation of products and processes in a wide range of technology fields. Food technology is an especially important field for the firm.

Foods Connected: the food industry professionals

Not bad for a company that started with three staff members in 2012.

Partner at Catalyst Intellectual Property, Greg Lynch

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In-house patent attorney experience with Nestlé in Switzerland,

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Managing the protection of food tech-related inventions in the New Zealand university context,

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Participation in New Zealand’s High Value Nutrition National Science Challenge,

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Working with progressive New Zealand food technology companies (including publicly listed companies), and

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Assisting New Zealand research organisations with their foodtech research programmes.

Catalyst Intellectual Property is a progressive intellectual property advisory business with one of the leading teams of chemistry and biotech patent attorneys in New Zealand. The firm has several Masters and PhD-qualified attorneys who understand the research world

Foods Connected software tools offer food businesses greater visibility and real-time insight into their supply chain efficiency and profitability December 2023 / January 2024

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Services Like our nation’s rivers, our laboratories and collection centres across the country intersect and join. The Awanui network gives us our unique approach. Our network gives us scale and allows us to share resources and skills. It ensures the timely flow of accurate and trusted diagnostic and analytical information when it’s needed.

We have the capability and experience to deliver you a commercial advantage.

Houseman Solutions Houseman Solutions’ mission is to save 30-40% of non-value-add time for every main process we improve. We focus on food and manufacturing companies with highly regulated products.

Our successes are measured in reduced operating costs and improved quality management efficiency. We simplify the way your team works together and eliminate wasteful activities and multiple isolated IT systems, significantly reducing the data management and integration costs.

Gribbles Scientific Gribbles Scientific provides expert laboratory testing services, ensuring you have the results you need to optimise your production process and get your product to market quickly and economically.

True science is at the heart of what we do.

Food Hygiene and Microbiology •

Water evaluations

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Hygiene swabs

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Pathogen testing (Salmonella, Campylobacter etc.)

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Product quality and safety testing

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Environmental monitoring (Listeria, Salmonella etc.)

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Shelf-life testing

Chemical Testing Specialists •

Product composition

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Nutritional information panels

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Preservatives and additives

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Minerals, heavy metals, and trace elements

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Food regulation compliance

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Lipid profiles

We partner with a global software provider, focusing on operational excellence. Our software partner is a global leader, with over 300,000 users and 40,000 customers globally.

Grant Houseman, Principal of Houseman Solutions: focusing on operational excellence

One of our customers in the Food Manufacturing sector approached us to support the implementation of a new quality management solution to automate and digitise their Document Management (Master Control), Audit Management, Non-Conformance, Batch Release and Incident Management processes. Together, we eliminated 30-40% of the cost of each of the above processes. This means the team can now spend more time on the value-add process improvement and the quality manager no longer needs to hire another quality assurance team member.

Our capabilities include, •

Audit and risk management

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Process management – automation of workflows across functions

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Project and portfolio management

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Preventative maintenance and asset management

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IT and HR service desk capabilities

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Master document control

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Analytics and portals for internal or external consumption of information

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Vendor management

We are an IANZ and MPI RLP approved laboratory for both microbiology and chemistry testing. We can provide you with accurate results and fast turn-around times (from as little as 24 hours), using state-of-the-art equipment and methodology.

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Product data

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Ideation management

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Training management

Gribbles Scientific is part of the Awanui Group, the largest analytical, human, veterinary laboratory group in New Zealand. We have a dedicated team of over 2,100 people across 25 IANZ accredited laboratories and more than 150 collection centres from as far north as Kerikeri to as far south as Invercargill. Our laboratories have achieved the highest standards of accreditation in their respective fields; IANZ, RLP and GLP.

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Competency management

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Succession management

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Goal management

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Balanced scorecard for strategy deployment

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Statistical process control

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Survey and meeting management.

We are proudly a New Zealand business with owners, NZ Super Fund, Te Pūia Tāpapa and Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, sharing our vision for delivering innovative, client-centred services to the people of New Zealand for generations to come.

Finally, our solution is multi-language, fully integrated, with one database and built in analytics for data drill down and relationships without any need for IT support. This means that operational teams can implement the elements in a priority order step-by-step.

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Food New Zealand

Services Cawthron Laboratories Cawthron Laboratories have provided trusted laboratory testing services to New Zealand’s food and natural products sector for over 40 years, helping our customers meet food safety and export requirements. We deliver cost effective analytical solutions so that products can be released to market in a timely fashion with confidence.

Our fully accredited labs and specialist research and development teams meet each customer’s unique needs, providing tailored testing services with flexible, wrap-around administrative and technical support. The whole team, from our customer service staff to laboratory technicians, are committed to understanding your business.

Cawthron Laboratories provides an array of microbiological and chemistry testing services spanning dairy and micronutrients, toxins, food safety and certification, microalgae analysis, natural products and supplements, shelf life and stability trials.

Our accreditations include: •

IANZ

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Medsafe for GMP

We are also recognized by: •

MPI for RLP and

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TGA for Medsafe accredited GMP testing services.

Technical Support We offer direct access to technical staff with subject matter expertise for advice and support as part of our routine testing services. This support helps find flexible solutions to meet your business needs.

Research and Method Development Our laboratory staff work closely with Cawthron’s dedicated Food and Bioactive Research & Development team, to develop customised analytical solutions to support product development and to validate nutritional content for the food and natural products sector.

Our approach to method development is both flexible and practical, enabling our customers to respond quickly to changing market environments.

Hill Labs Hill Labs offers a large range of accredited microbiology and molecular testing for a variety of different food and beverage sample types, ranging from raw material to finished product, as well as environmental monitoring by swab. Our turnaround times are industry-leading, we offer Listeria Spp. and Salmonella presumptive positive and confirmed negatives next day*.

Our analytical services include:: •

Pathogen testing - Salmonella, Listeria, Cronobacter, Staphylococcus, Bacillus

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General microbial testing - APC, Coliforms/E. coli,

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Environmental swab testing - Pathogen and hygiene monitoring

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Water testing - drinking, potable and wastewater testing

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Challenge testing - tailor-made solutions for your product

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Shelf-life testing - ambient or chilled samples

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Wine testing - Grape leaf roll virus and export wine testing

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Honey testing - Manuka/UMF testing, AFB, C4 sugars

We routinely invest in the latest technologies to provide

robust and sensitive testing. This gives our clients assurance that their products and facilities are free from pathogens and spoilage organisms, to guarantee they comply with food safety requirements. Our methods are MPI and IANZ accredited, meaning local market providers, importers and exporters are able to use our results to meet their regulatory requirements.

If you have any questions about your sampling and analysis needs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

December 2023 / January 2024

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Services Produco Produco provides expert food safety and regulatory support. Our consultancy services cater to a wide range of industries, including dairy, food and beverage, honey, horticulture, meat, seafood, pet food and the transport sectors.

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HACCP Plans | Risk Management Plans | Food Control Plans: Our technical leadership excels at designing new, complete plans for greenfield sites, major changes, updates, reviews and improving existing documentation.

We excel in navigating the intricate landscape of regulations applicable to your products. Our commitment extends to meeting and exceeding industry standards such as FSSC22000, BRC, SQF, ISO9001, and ensuring seamless compliance with both domestic and overseas export regulatory requirements.

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Incident Management | Product Recall: Have a persistent pathogen? Plastic in your product? Leveraging our experience and skills, we facilitate problem solve workshops to address your issues.

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Our team of senior Quality Assurance Managers and Specialist Advisors are agile and capable Project Managers delivering your business-critical projects, filling recruitment gaps, audit requirements, and backfill while staff are on other projects.

New Product Development (NPD): From concept to commercialisation, we specialise in reformulation for cost savings, quality improvements for functionality, nutritional development, flavour development, and ingredient substitution.

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Labelling | Label Translations: Ensure compliance to domestic and export markets. We hold specialist product category knowledge for Infant Formula, Supplemented Foods plus F&B.

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Quality Management Systems | Validation: We inspect the outputs of a system/process to ensure it consistently and reliably meets your business and customer requirements.

Our customers span small family-owned operations to large multinationals across New Zealand and Australia.

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Auditing: Conducting thorough pre-audit inspections and supplier audits, our team evaluates your facility, suppliers, and systems to the required standards. We provide guidance to rectify defects or non-conformances, ensuring compliance and establishing a continuous improvement pathway.

Quality Auditing Specialists

We offer consultancy services through the sister company Quality Systems Specialists (QSS), that include Food Safety, HACCP, Training and Internal audits. We can assist with labels to ensure you meet the Food Standards Code, including PEAL which comes into effect February 2024.

Quality Auditing Specialists Ltd (QAS) offers a range of evaluation and verification services to food and wine industries nationwide.

Managing Director, Maree Haddon, leads a team of practical, efficient and objective evaluators and verifiers who offer consistency of interpretation of standards for MultiSites, Custom and Template Food Control Plans, National Programmes, Importers and WSMPs. 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.

Managing Director, Maree Haddon, leads a team of practical, efficient and objective evaluators and verifiers

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.

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Food New Zealand

Choose Produco for comprehensive, expert consultancy services that elevate your business in compliance and excellence.

QSS can develop and deliver training packages to suit your company’s needs. The training can be undertaken virtually or at your place of business. QSS have developed online webinars focusing on Allergens, Labelling including PEAL, Managing Traceability, Verification and Corrective Actions, Recalls, Self Reviews and Self Checks, Micro Testing and Shelf Life. These can be either one on one or in a team session.

We regularly get excellent feedback from our clients and this was received recently “We get the feeling that they genuinely care for us as a company and want to help us keep improving - rather than coming in to audit waving a big stick which has happened with other companies in years past. They are constructive with their feedback and help us navigate the changes to our industry as they arise. Thank you to QAS, we couldn’t recommend their services highly enough.”

Nutrition

Nutritional foods for little people Authors: Julie Dalziel, Carlos Montoya, Rachel Anderson: AgResearch

Figure 1. Gut to brain communication is two way (Created with Biorender.com)

Introduction The first few months of life (when the brain is undergoing rapid development as neurons form connections) is an opportune time to give youngsters the best start in life (Muhammad et al., 2022).

When human milk needs to be supplemented for the growing infant it is necessary to understand the nutritional benefits that a formula can provide. Determining the optimal formula mix for infants is a challenging space in food research due to the limited ability to carry out studies with this very young age group. Animals can therefore be useful as models for the human infant in terms of gut and brain because they approximate its growth pattern over time. The piglet gut (Calder et al., 2006) and brain (Conrad et al., 2012) develop in a similar manner and time frame to humans, and can therefore help us to understand how optimised infant formulas can support brain growth for optimal cognitive development – the mental ability for thinking, learning and memory. To be able to assess how supplementation of infant formula with different ingredients might affect cognition we wanted to establish a piglet model of cognition for the human infant.

Gut and brain connection We know that the signalling that occurs between the gut and the brain is an important communication mechanism that begins during development and continues throughout life (Fig. 1). Understanding

how the nutritional components of food may act on the gut to influence development during early life is also important to support lifelong health outcomes (Jena et al., 2020).

Remember feeling butterflies in your stomach when nervous?

When anxious, the brain sends signals to the gut that may affect digestion (Fig. 1). The microbiota in our gut is a key influencer of communication between the gut and the brain, such that changes in the gut microbiota are closely mirrored by changes in brain development (Liang et al., 2023). Modulation of the gut microbiota by food helps to regulate gut function and can also affect signalling back to the brain. The food that we eat as infants not only provides nourishment but also feeds our gut microbiota. This community of different types of bacteria produces nutrients, including some that our body cannot make by itself, and are therefore vital to good health.

Different types of bacteria make up the gut microbial community.

They produce substances that act on the gut wall (epithelial cell barrier). This may subsequently affect nerves in the gut wall that connect with the brain. Gut bacteria can secrete bioactive substances such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin (5-HT), tryptamine (Trypt), and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) (Fig. 2) that may activate corresponding membrane receptors, cross the cell layer and activate receptors on neurons that connect with the brain (Muhammad et al., 2022; O'Riordan et al., 2022). Alternatively, they may reach the brain via the circulation and crossing the blood brain barrier.

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Nutrition

Figure 2. Gut microbes secrete substances that act on gut and neural pathways (adapted with permission from Biorender.com) (Dalziel et al., 2021)

Foods to support healthy development of gut Supplementation of infant formula with probiotics, such as Bifidobacterium lactis†Bb12, Bifidobacterium animalis sp. lactis HN019, Lactobacillus fermentum (CECT5716) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), can provide health benefits such as preventing infections, reducing allergies and improving dermatitis (Lemoine et al., 2023). Others are effective at reducing colic and lowering the frequency of antibiotic use (Bifidobacterium lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus) (Saavedra et al., 2004).

When the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HN001 was provided in an infant formula it altered the composition of the gut microbiome and altered the expression of genes in the gut wall (Young et al., 2022). The changes detected were consistent with improved intestinal barrier function and decreased inflammation.

Nutrients in the diet which are not used by the gut microbes can also modulate both gut and brain development. For example, complex lipids in milk such as gangliosides, are vital for the rapidly developing brain and cognitive function (Palmano et al., 2015). They are important in the composition of the neuron cell membrane and can influence membrane fluidity and thereby modulate the function of neurotransmitter receptors that sit in these membranes. When infant formula was supplemented with milk enriched in lipids called milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and fed to twoweek-old infants for 12 months, short-term memory was improved compared to those on a standard formula (Xia et al., 2021).

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Figure 3. The hippocampus of the brain (blue) composed of neurons (pink) is associated with memory and learning (Created with BioRender.com) To understand the mechanism of how this might be effective, a study was done giving MFGM to piglets for three weeks. Results from a piglet model show that the hippocampal lipid profile can be modulated by diet (Fraser et al., 2022). Levels of some complex lipids important for signalling in the brain were increased, specifically in the hippocampus, a region of the brain important for memory (Fig.3) (Fraser et al., 2022).

Nutrition

Piglet model of cognition for the human infant To set up a method to measure which ingredients can improve cognition in infants we used a piglet model of the human infant. From three days of age, weaned piglets are provided with a humanised milk replacer (infant formula) that meets piglets’ nutritional requirements.

Their home pens, with heat pads, blankets, toys and auto-refill bowls met their physical needs while social contact was provided through adjacent playpen time. After four weeks they had grown to over 10 kg and we tested their cognitive ability through a memory test. For this, they were first introduced into an arena with two identical objects for a few minutes. Later, the piglets return to the arena where one of these objects was swapped out. If they can recognise the novel object, they will spend more exploring it, and therefore they would “pass” the memory test (Fig. 4).

References Calder, P.C., Krauss-Etschmann, S., de Jong, E.C., Dupont, C., Frick, J.S., Frokiaer, H., et al. (2006). Early nutrition and immunity Progress and perspectives. British Journal of Nutrition 96(4), 774790. doi: 10.1079/BJN20061917.

Conrad, M.S., Dilger, R.N., and Johnson, R.W. (2012). Brain growth of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa) from 2 to 24 weeks of age: a longitudinal MRI study. Dev Neurosci 34(4), 291-298. doi: 10.1159/000339311.

Dalziel, J.E., Spencer, N.J., and Young, W. (2021). Microbial signalling in colonic motility. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 134, 105963. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2021.105963.

Fraser, K., Ryan, L., Dilger, R.N., Dunstan, K., Armstrong, K., Peters, J., et al. (2022). Impacts of Formula Supplemented with Milk Fat Globule Membrane on the Neurolipidome of Brain Regions of Piglets. Metabolites 12(8). doi: 10.3390/metabo12080689.

Jena, A., Montoya, C.A., Mullaney, J.A., Dilger, R.N., Young, W., McNabb, W.C., et al. (2020). Gut-Brain Axis in the Early Postnatal Years of Life: A Developmental Perspective. Front Integr Neurosci 14, 44. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2020.00044.

Lemoine, A., Tounian, P., Adel-Patient, K., and Thomas, M. (2023).

Pre-, pro-, syn-, and Postbiotics in Infant Formulas: What Are the Immune Benefits for Infants? Nutrients 15(5). doi: 10.3390/ nu15051231.

Liang, S., Jin, F., and Jia, C. (2023). Editorial: The effect of gut microbiota on the brain structure and function. Front Integr Neurosci 17, 1226664. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2023.1226664.

Figure 4. Cognitive development measured by object recognition memory test (Created with BioRender.com) To measure how the pigs interact with the objects and move about the arena we used video imaging and tracking software called DeepLabCut which utilises a machine-learning algorithm. Our study found that more of the animals could tell that the objects had been changed than not. This provided a sound basis from which to conduct future food intervention studies to determine if this proportion could be increased by a food ingredient, indicating improved cognition.

Following this study, the piglets were rehomed locally.

Conclusion Our piglet model can measure changes in gut physiology, microbiome, and brain lipid biochemistry in response to infant formulae provided from an early age. Through investigating the feasibility of memory testing in conjunction with physiological measures we can obtain data to build a comprehensive picture of the impacts of food components on the developing gut brain axis to better understand how formula ingredients contribute to healthy development in early life. This model can be used for infant formulae and weaning foods.

Acknowledgements

Muhammad, F., Fan, B., Wang, R., Ren, J., Jia, S., Wang, L., et al.

(2022). The Molecular Gut-Brain Axis in Early Brain Development.

Int J Mol Sci 23(23). doi: 10.3390/ijms232315389.

O'Riordan, K.J., Collins, M.K., Moloney, G.M., Knox, E.G., Aburto, M.R., Fulling, C., et al. (2022). Short chain fatty acids: Microbial metabolites for gut-brain axis signalling. Mol Cell Endocrinol 546, 111572. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2022.111572.

Palmano, K., Rowan, A., Guillermo, R., Guan, J., and McJarrow, P. (2015). The role of gangliosides in neurodevelopment. Nutrients 7(5), 3891-3913. doi: 10.3390/nu7053891.

Saavedra, J.M., Abi-Hanna, A., Moore, N., and Yolken, R.H. (2004).

Long-term consumption of infant formulas containing live probiotic bacteria: tolerance and safety. Am J Clin Nutr 79(2), 261-267. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/79.2.261.

Xia, Y., Jiang, B., Zhou, L., Ma, J., Yang, L., Wang, F., et al. (2021).

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of healthy Chinese term infants fed infant formula enriched in bovine milk fat globule membrane for 12 months - A randomized controlled trial. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 30(3), 401-414. doi: 10.6133/apjcn.202109_30(3).0007.

Young, W., Maclean, P., Dunstan, K., Ryan, L., Peters, J., Armstrong, K., et al. (2022). Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HN001 alters the microbiota composition in the cecum but not the feces in a piglet model. Front Nutr 9, 1002369. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1002369.

We thank the project team for the Endeavour Research Programme “Smarter Lives: New opportunities for dairy products across the lifespan” (C10X1706) funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, New Zealand.

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Australian Institute of Packaging Sustainable shift in alcoholic beverage packaging

Nerida Kelton, FAIP, Executive Director – AIP, Vice President Sustainability & Save Food - WPO FAR LEFT: Banrock Station’s 100% recycled PET eco wine bottle is lighter, and achieves significant spatial efficiency

LEFT: The Wine Protector has been developed using Woolpack technology from cross bred sheep waste wool that is unsuitable for the textile industry and destined for landfill Over the past year New Zealand wine producers increased export sales by a record 23%, according to official figures.

Exports surged to NZ$2.4bn (£1.14bn) in the 12 months to 30 June 2023, which represents the largest one-year growth in the industry’s history.

Close to 90% of sales occur outside our home market. The $450 million growth in export value in the past year testifies to the strong consumer demand for New Zealand wine in key markets, particularly Sauvignon Blanc.

Sustainable packaging for wine Through the annual Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) awards the AIP has seen a radical shift in packaging design including more use of PET, incorporating recycled content into PET, the advancement in labels such as washable paper-based adhesives, innovative and sustainable secondary and tertiary packaging options to replace problematic materials such as EPS, stand up pouches for some table wines and the review of materials used in wine bladder bags.

A stand-out design in wine packaging from the 2023 round of the PIDA Awards was the Banrock Station eco bottle.

Banrock Station eco bottle The Banrock Station eco bottle shape has taken a smart crosssectional design of a traditional Bordeaux wine bottle. This means that the bottle has the silhouette of a Bordeaux wine bottle face on, however, when turned to its side, it is flat. This innovative change in shape allows the same volume of wine (750ml) to be packed into a bottle that is 30% more spatially efficient than it’s round, glass predecessor.

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The eco bottles are made from 100% recycled PET, which is sourced in Australia, The design offers significant lightweighting - the new pack is 63g, which is 84% lighter than the average 400g round glass bottle.

In addition, the bottle has a key call out on the front of pack says 'Hey! I'm a 100% recycled bottle'.

The eco bottle uses an active oxygen scavenger barrier technology to offer advanced shelf-life performance over rPET with no barrier. The result is 19 to 21 months shelf-life based on real-time and modelled data.

The pack offers spatial efficiency as the bottle flat packs like books and means wine companies can fit up to 50% more wine on an Australian pallet. The result is 1,152 eco bottles vs 768 round glass bottles now on a pallet. This design feature drastically reduces freight costs, improves materials-handling and transportation efficiencies, and lowers transport-related CO2 emissions.

The eco bottle provides a reduction in energy and emissions through production of the material. Banrock Station stated that virgin PET outperforms glass by producing 77% less GHG emissions and uses 59% less energy to produce.

A wonderful addition to the pack was the sustainable label selection.

The label on the eco bottle increased the recyclability of the rPET bottles as it has been designed as a wash-off label solution which ensures easy separation during the industrial washing process. The label solution is available with both filmic and paper label materials made from recycled content.

The AIP is excited to see the next iteration of innovative sustainable packaging designs for the wine industry that will be entered in to the 2024 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) awards; the exclusive entry point for Australia and New Zealand into the prestigious global WorldStar Packaging Awards.

Packaging

Protect your brand with closure lining Abbie Watson – Director, Wadding Solutions Ltd When searching for the right packaging components for your products, it is essential to have a good understanding of your options.

This is especially true with closure liners: it can be a challenge to interpret their differences, but our packaging experts will guide you to find the right solution.

Closure lining in packaging helps prevent contamination, preserve product freshness, and extend shelf life by minimising exposure to moisture, air, and other external factors. Additionally, closure lining enhances the overall seal integrity, ensuring that the package remains secure during storage and transportation, ultimately maintaining the quality and safety of the packaged product.

At Wadding Solutions we can assist you to trial and validate the various options for your products using our range of sealing equipment at our research and development facility. We can also assist you in choosing the right equipment and have machinery that we rent and sell.

Overall, closure lining enhances product integrity, ensures consumer safety, and presents an opportunity for companies to deliver a higher quality, more reliable product experience.

Closure lining in packaging forms a barrier between the contents and the external environment

We are ISO accredited and with an upgrade to FSSC 22000 it provides a globally recognised framework for food safety management systems.

This certification ensures that a company follows best practices, reducing the risk of foodborne hazards and enhancing consumer confidence in the safety of its products. It's particularly significant for businesses in the food industry, helping them meet regulatory

requirements and access international markets.

If you would like to discuss your design ideas or simply want to learn more about the services our business can offer, reaching out to us is an excellent next step. We are committed to providing exceptional customer service. Contact us sales@waddingsolutions.co.nz or make a call 095708666.

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NZFSSRC

Foodborne disease: how are we tracking?

A commentary by Distinguished Professor Phil Bremer (University of Otago) on the NZ Food Safety 2022 annual report of foodborne disease This article has been written exclusively for the December issue of FoodNZ magazine, by the NZ Food Safety Science and Research Centre The NZ Food Safety (NZFS) annual report of foodborne disease 2022 is extremely comprehensive, and a hard measure of whether all the efforts to improve food safety are working. For the NZ Food Safety Science and Research Centre (the Centre), it is a guide to where future research efforts should be directed.

Distinguished Professor Phil Bremer (University of Otago) is the NZFSSRC Chief Scientist

The 179-page report represents a huge undertaking for several people at ESR* and Tanya Soboleva at NZFS, which commissions the work.

The report has been produced annually since 2006, and it is the trends over time which are most informative. What were the key findings, and what are the implications for the food industry and food safety science and research?

Phil Bremer, the Centre’s Chief Scientist, gives some insight into the wealth of information and graphs showing trends in infections and hospitalisation rates for each pathogen.

Of course, the data is a compilation of reported illness only, for which a pathogen has been identified. As such, the numbers for some pathogens may be the tip of the iceberg. How many times have you had gastroenteritis and not gone to the doctor, or reported your suspicions to the restaurant, host, or public health authority?

Even if the illness is reported and the pathogen identified, it is often not possible to work out the likely food source because people find it hard to recollect what they have eaten, especially for infections like Listeria monocytogenes where the incubation period may be up to 70 days. In addition, even if a source is implicated based on case histories, usually there is no product left to confirm the presence of the pathogen. While the routine use of whole genome sequencing has revolutionised the way in which regulatory authorities can identify, track and control foodborne disease, a verified source of infection is still often impossible to determine.

In 2022, campylobacteriosis, yersiniosis, infection by shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), and salmonellosis were still New Zealand’s top four notified foodborne illnesses.

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The report highlighted the quite marked increase in hospitalisation rates for campylobacteriosis, yersiniosis and STEC (shiga-toxin producing E. coli) infections, the latter associated with the serious sequelae haemolytic uraemic syndrome (the leading cause of acute renal failure in children) that often requires an extended stay in hospital and occasionally involves intensive care.

While the specific reasons for the increase in hospitalisation rates were unknown, the authors speculated that this could have resulted from initial delays in people seeking medical attention, causing their health to deteriorate so much that they required hospitalisation. Such delays may have been in part due to the increased cost of living and a shortage of GPs. A further reason for the increase in hospitalisation rates could have been due to the fact that people living with ‘long COVID’ experienced more severe symptoms. One thing’s for sure, higher rates have placed unwelcome added stress on our health system, as well as adding to the sum total of human misery.

NZFSSRC

Comments from New Zealand Food Safety More about the 2022 report from the Deputy Director-General New Zealand Food Safety Vincent Arbuckle The purpose of the report is to track incidence of foodborne illness. We consider it achieved this purpose and endeavoured to include all relevant information.

Any foodborne illness (FBI) is of concern to New Zealand Food Safety. NZFS receives monthly updates from ESR on case numbers of foodborne illness, which also informs our strategy and risk management activities.

Generally, the notification rates in the 2022 report were within the expected range and trends, although we are pleased to note the rate of salmonellosis remains much lower than in the pre-COVID period. Estimated domestically acquired cases of salmonellosis are at a historical low.

While the 2022 FBI Report shows that most potentially foodborne diseases returned to pre-pandemic levels, NZFS believes that the impact of COVID on the notifiable foodborne illness numbers won’t be fully realised until we assess the 2023 foodborne illness data, as consumer behaviour patterns are still returning to those prior to the COVID pandemic.

It is likely that the lockdowns implemented to control the pandemic reduced people’s potential exposure to hazards, particularly outside the home, for example other people’s homes or restaurants/cafés. Other measures such as an increased emphasis on hand hygiene would also have contributed to good food safety outcomes.

We know that half of all foodborne illnesses originate in the home, so we work hard to reach consumers with clear information about how to reduce the risk for themselves and their families. As part of this we are again planning a consumer education campaign to run during the summer when we know cases of foodborne illness rise.

You can find more information about this work on our website: Safe barbecueing of food | NZ Government (mpi.govt.nz) The bulk of our focus continues to be on the areas we know pose the most current risk such as: <italic>campylobacter <enditalic>from poultry meat; hepatitis A associated with smoothies made from imported frozen berries; salmonellosis associated with imported tahini; vibriosis associated with wild-caught shellfish, and yersiniosis, possibly associated with undercooked pork products.

Since 2006, we’ve reduced foodborne Campylobacter illness in New Zealand by more than half. We’ve set a target for a further 20% reduction target by 2025.

Our Campylobacter Action Plan mainly focuses on the poultry food chain. It continues to identify practices that may increase the risk of campylobacteriosis and also identifies new measures to manage the risk throughout the chain from the farm through to the consumer’s plate. We are focused on: •

Improving controls at farm level and the interface with processors

•

Improving hygiene during primary and secondary processing of food, and re-evaluating the regulatory target for Campylobacter that determines the allowable limit of Campylobacter contamination on chilled chicken carcasses

Deputy Director-General New Zealand Food Safety, Vincent Arbuckle

•

Reducing the level of Campylobacter in or on packages at retail

•

Enhancing consumer education around hygienic food preparation practices.

I’ve established a Campylobacter Action Plan Governance Group comprising our partner agencies and industry stakeholders to oversee this work and provide strategic direction.

Listeriosis remains a high priority. We advise people vulnerable to foodborne illness – the young, the elderly, the pregnant, and the immunocompromised – to be aware of higher risk foods.

More information about this is on our website, here: Food for people with low immunity | NZ Government (mpi.govt.nz) We, alongside the Ministry of Health, have also recently published an updated single source of information on Safe and Healthy Eating in Pregnancy.

NZFS is aware of the potential effects from the current economic situation, that is the high cost of food. For example, people may be eating food past its use-by date, or gathering wild food that could make them sick. To that end, NZFS is conducting a consumer food safety insights survey to obtain information about consumer attitudes, knowledge and behaviours around food safety and suitability matters.

We have updated information on our website about How to read food labels including best-before and use-by dates. We encourage people to be aware of the meaning of best before and use-by dates and use that information to make decisions about how to reduce food waste.

NZFS has also carried out consumer awareness programmes around wild foods and continues to carry out scientific research to better understand the risks and how best to minimise them.

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A strategic priority Reducing human cases of foodborne campylobacteriosis is a strategic priority for New Zealand Food Safety. While overall trends are slowly tracking down it was disappointing, though not entirely unexpected, that the number of cases in 2022 increased compared to 2020 and 2021, during which COVID-related behaviours, such as handwashing, and travel restrictions are thought to have led to additional reductions in the number of cases.

While the consumption of undercooked poultry or poor practices handling raw poultry that result in cross-contamination of other foods, or food handling equipment, are still considered to be the main source of campylobacter infections, the significantly higher number of cases in 2022 and rate of campylobacteriosis in rural areas compared with urban areas, suggest that risk factors other than food, including direct contact with farm animals and exposure to contaminated water, may be assuming greater importance as sources of infection.

The highest notification rate for campylobacteriosis in 2022 was for children aged 1 to 4 years (230.1 per 100,000 population, 559 cases), while the highest hospitalisation rate was for the 70 years and over age group (51.0 admission per 100,000 population, 292).

While there are sound physiological reasons for campylobacteriosis affecting the very young and the very old, a spike in notification and hospitalisations in the 20-29-year age bracket, compared to the year classes either side, could be due to a lack of food safety knowledge when they start to live independently and cook for themselves, and generally riskier lifestyles.

Listeriosis rates still of concern It was notable that the incidence of listeriosis has not decreased over the last 20 years despite extensive efforts by food producers, regulatory authorities, and researchers to reduce the incidence of L. monocytogenes in processed foods. Between 2003 and 2022, the annual number of listeriosis notifications has fluctuated between a low of 19 (2006 and 2013) and a disappointing high of 39 in 2022.

Although the number of cases is low compared to many other pathogens, it is a much more serious illness and the hospitalisation rate (100% in 2022) and fatality rate is extremely high, especially for the frail elderly, immune-compromised people and unborn children (neonates). In 2022, there were seven perinatal cases which caused the deaths of two neonates. A further four deaths occurred in the 70 and over age group.

All cases of listeriosis are attributable to food sources. However, given the effort put into reducing the incidence of L. monocytogenes in processed foods, it is interesting to speculate why this is not resulting in a reduction in the occurrence of disease. A number of interrelated reasons may be at play here. Maybe L. monocytogenes numbers in processed food are already so low that further reductions are leading to no clinical benefit, or maybe the bacteria are gaining an increased ability to colonise the human intestinal tract, either via evolution of its virulence factors, a change in the human gastrointestinal flora, or perhaps some bacteria may be evolving to more effectively infect the host. Alternatively, it could be diet-related, perhaps due to an increase in the consumption of raw/natural/unwashed/uncooked foods, with the increasing number of elderly and immune-compromised individuals in the population also playing a role.

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Phil hopes that cases of listeriosis in pregnant women are not occurring due to a lack of information or a lack of knowledge about foods or practices which should be avoided during pregnancy, as health authorities and New Zealand Food Safety have been very active in communicating this risk.

Vibriosis cases still increasing In 2022 the number of notified cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was 52, which was a continuation of the increase in the number of cases seen in New Zealand over the last few years. While no outbreaks (defined as two or more cases from the same source) were identified in 2022, the report discusses an outbreak in November 2021 of 60 cases, in which 40 people reported eating raw or partially cooked seafood.

As expected, the rate of notification of foodborne illness (though not necessarily the true incidence of illness) varied across demographic groups. Māori and Pacific people had the lowest rate of notification per 100,000 people, which perhaps reflects an unwillingness or inability to seek treatment. However, hospitalisation rates were generally similar for different ethnic groups. The exceptions were for campylobacteriosis, where Māori and Pacific people had the lowest rates of hospitalisation, and for Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection, which disproportionally affects Māori people, presumed to be due to their traditional consumption of raw seafood. In 2022, based on epidemiological and whole genome sequence data, New Zealand Food Safety issued advice to consumers entitled, ‘Collecting shellfish this summer? Cook it to keep your whanau safe from Vibrio’.

Consumer education?

So what is this wealth of information in the report telling us? Certainly, more research needs to be undertaken to understand how sources of infection are changing. What are the impacts of changing consumer lifestyles, food availability and affordability? Are we confident that we are focussing our prevention strategies in the right place? We need to better understand consumer behaviours that are putting them at greater risk of getting sick and develop strategies to modify their behaviour.

Director of the NZ Food Safety Science and Research Centre, Libby Harrison, says the Centre’s science leadership team, industry advisory group and NZ Food Safety meet regularly to decide what research needs to be done that can get to the bottom of some of these statistical anomalies and keep foodborne diseases tracking downwards.

“Communication with the public is the realm of NZFS and health authorities. The Centre’s job is to carry out the underpinning research required to help industry deliver food that is safe at point of purchase, and meets all regulatory requirements, here and overseas. I congratulate NZFS and ESR on their thorough report. *The NZFS annual report of foodborne disease was compiled by Beverley Horn (ESR), Isabelle Pattis (ESR), Peter Cressey (ESR), Bridget Armstrong (ESR), Liza Lopez (ESR) & Tanya Soboleva (NZFS) eISSN: 2624-022X (online)<enditalic>

Consumer Science

To cultivate meat ... or not to cultivate meat What’s at stake? Professor Joanne Hort tests the New Zealand market

Take some brilliant biochemists, billions of angel investment dollars, a few stem cells from a small chunk of animal flesh, just the right nutrient soup, and what do you get? The beginning of one of the most important technological revolutions in the history of Homo Sapiens since the beginning of agriculture 10,000 years ago? Maybe.

Scientists and technologists themselves are strongly divided about the viability of cultivated meat (CM). But the government and our agricultural industries are taking its development very seriously.

“Over the next few decades, cultivated meat and other alternative proteins are predicted to take significant market share from the $1.7 trillion conventional meat and seafood industry.” 1 As part of MBIE-funded research into the ‘Consumer Dimension of Future Foods’, Professor Joanne Hort, Fonterra-Riddet Chair of Consumer and Sensory Science at Massey University, and her postdoctoral researcher Caroline Giezenaar, have tested the response to cultivated (aka cultured or cell-based) meat by New Zealand consumers – albeit without the product itself for them to sample.

Joanne also tested the reactions of NZIFST members, who had some insightful questions and comments. See below.

In the dreams of entrepreneurs and environmentalists The theoretical advantages of replacing farmed with cultivated meat are potentially planet-transforming. Millions upon millions of animal lives, the huge tracts of land needed to feed them, the associated billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and other unwanted effluents, could be saved. Meat could be produced locally, anywhere in the world, and more people could enjoy meat’s nutritional advantages.

There would be less foodborne illness and zoonotic disease, and antibiotics would no longer be needed for farmed animals, helping in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

Is it all pie in the sky?

But how realistic is it to scale up the manufacture of cultivated meat and what’s the timeframe, where is the technology at right now, where will the nutrient feedstock come from, will it be safe or will pathogens happily reproduce along with the meat cells? What will its carbon footprint be, and will it be too costly to ever be more than a ‘virtuesignalling’ novelty for Palo Alto Gen Zs? A key question is: will anyone want to eat it? Can it ever replicate the taste and texture of grass-fed beef and lamb sizzling and spitting on the barbeque? For the majority, taste and price will ultimately trump moral and environmental imperatives, Joanne predicts. More on her team’s research findings below. First, some background information for the uninitiated.

Professor Joanne Hort, Fonterra-Riddet Chair of Consumer and Sensory Science at Massey University

How exactly do they cultivate meat?

Meat – or a loose collection of muscle, fat, and connective tissue cells – is cultivated by extracting stem cells from a matchbox-size sample of live muscle tissue, taken from an animal destined for slaughter. These versatile cells will specialise depending on what chemical stimuli they receive, turning into fat, muscle or connective tissue as required.

The starter cells must be carefully screened to make sure they don’t harbour disease or genetic faults. Fed with the right mix of nutrients – amino acids, sugars, vitamins, etc. – they will multiply exponentially.

Biochemist and tissue engineer, Dr Laura Domigan (The University of Auckland) is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Opo Bio, the first company in New Zealand to sell clean (well-screened for pathogens and robust genetics) starter cells to other researchers and CM start-ups. Despite being a committed pioneer, Laura confessed in an interview with RadioNZ presenter Kim Hill (9 September 2023) that though she is optimistic about the scientific challenges being December 2023 / January 2024

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With many new technologies, the primary descriptor means many things to many people overcome, the future is uncertain, including consumer acceptance.

“You’re selling something completely different,” says Laura. Cultivated meat is at once the same and radically different from the meat we’re used to.

What culture medium do they use to grow the cells?

Mother nature still makes the best available culture medium for growing meat. Fetal bovine serum (FBS) has been widely used to grow meat in vitro. But FBS is too costly to use in commercial production, too variable, may contain human pathogens, and cannot be countenanced from an animal welfare point of view.

A reliable source of information2 on cultivated meat does not mince words in describing the process of extracting FBS, and the huge extent of the trade: “FBS is harvested from a fetal calf any time during the last twothirds of gestation following the discovery of pregnant cows due for slaughter. It has been estimated that up to 8% of cows in the slaughter line may be pregnant, making FBS a by-product of meat processing... sold commercially, at prices exceeding US$1000 per litre (as at July 2019).”

“A single litre of serum requires one to three fetuses, with roughly two million fetal calves used in serum collection annually, totalling approximately 800,000 litres of FBS produced per year.”

Scientists must develop a synthetic replacement which is affordable and sustainable. A big ask, when nature has had millennia to refine such biochemistry. But they’re making progress and will likely succeed, with the Manhattan Project scale of investment.

Food scientist at University of Otago and immediate Past President of NZIFST, Distinguished Professor Phil Bremer, is cautious, “there’s a long, long way to go to commercial viability – for red meat anyway.

The replacement of FBS is just one of the challenges. There are a whole lot of unknowns, a lot of fundamental knowledge still missing.

It’s incredibly complex.” As chief scientist for the NZ Food Safety 30

Food New Zealand

Science and Research Centre, Phil is particularly interested in the safety aspects of CM, which were traversed in a recent FAO report.

Phil says that while the full range of food safety challenges will not be apparent until the means of producing CM on a commercial scale is better understood, it is important to appreciate that while the products produced may be new, many of the potential food safety issues are not new. Food safety issues will include microbial contamination and the presence of allergens or residues from either the medium, the scaffolds or the compounds (enzymes, chemicals) used to facilitate harvesting. Even concerns around epigenetic drift and its potential to cause new allergenicity issues, or to activate biochemical pathways that may trigger adverse reactions, are ones that researchers know how to monitor and control.

He says a hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) approach, whereby potential risks are identified, and processes put in place to mitigate them, will be key. This approach will need to be complemented by good hygienic practices and the effective application of risk analysis. Phil’s advice for people interested in producing cell-based products is to start discussing the issues with relevant stakeholders, including regulatory authorities (MPI, FSANZ), food safety research providers, equipment designers and manufacturers, and the public, from a very early stage in the development process.

Who will eat cultivated meat in New Zealand?

In Feast’s 2023 survey of 572 Gen X (41-55) and Millennial New Zealanders (25-40) they made sure all participants had the same background information prior to the survey.

The scenario they outlined to participants was: “Cultivated meat does not require any further animal material after the removal of cells from the animal” (which gets round the fraught FBS issue that has to be solved before CM can be commercialised).

“The price of CM is identical to that of conventional meat.” (Price will, of course, be a key driver in purchasing decisions ultimately. It will have to be competitive.)

Consumer Science

“Animal meat and cultivated meat look, cook, and taste identical because they are both made of animal muscle . . . The nutritional benefits of cultivated meat are expected to be equal or better than animal meats.” (For example, the fat content can be determined)

safe for human consumption?”

•

“Vegetarian products never take into account the number of animals and insects killed in growing and harvesting their crops. There are no guilt-free products available. Maybe cell cultures can do this. But what are the ingredients? Where do they come from?”

•

“My choice of protein is based on global sustainability. I need to know how production of cell-cultured meat impacts on sustainability to rank it alongside other protein sources before deciding to consume it on a regular basis.”

•

“Unsure [about] the price of cell-cultured meat and its taste. . .”

“CM could produce 80,000 burgers from tissue the size of a sesame seed, where conventional farming requires 100 cows.” (Wow!) A standout result from the survey is that the more respondents knew about cultivated meat, the more likely they were to accept the concept, and be prepared give it a try. Awareness of cultivated meat is lower in New Zealand compared with other countries, and we have a generally more conservative attitude to novel food processing techniques. As yet, we have no CM start-ups, except for Opo Bio’s starter cell line business, so there is less about it in our media.

Young educated males who were already low consumers of meat, or conversely relatively high consumers of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs), were the most positive about CM; older people were generally more negative. However, interestingly, 91% were either neutral (51%) or happy to eat it (40%).

Assuming a feedstock for the meat which doesn’t involve animal products like fetal bovine serum, participants could readily see how CM would improve animal welfare and environmental sustainability – provided it was consumed as an alternative to conventional meat, and not as a replacement for PBMAs. However, that may well be the case to some extent, as regular consumers of PBMAs thought that CM would be a tastier alternative to conventional meat than PBMAs. Joanne was not surprised by this finding which likely reflected current general consumer dissatisfaction with PBMAs. Overall, says Joanne, the survey showed that there will have to be a lot more consumer education about cultivated meat. And there’ll be plenty more consumer research to be done when the actual product becomes available.

What did NZIFST members have to say?

Joanne distributed an informal survey to NZIFST members at the Institute’s conference in July. Although the response rate was fairly low at 47 (members were too busy rushing to presentations and catching up with colleagues), the optional comments they made point to important questions and issues, and the diversity of opinion, ranging from: •

•

“Can’t wait to try it! The potential is so great. Will it be able to mimic different muscle groups as meat does, for example chicken thigh versus chicken breast, or slow-cooked cuts?”, and …

“It definitely has its place in all the world’s future and I have no doubt it will get better and better.”

And the last words go to this thoughtful respondent: “I think that a limitation is the fats in the meat, at least from my understanding. Also, it would be interesting to know what medium they would be grown in and where that would come from or be produced. The main limitation for conventional meat is GHG emissions (methane), whereas you probably have better water quality outcomes compared to growing vegetables, although on a per hectare basis, not a per kg of produce basis. In terms of welfare, it’s always going to be better to not kill animals. We are also having ethical questions around GHG mitigations for methane in animals, which will make the GHG thing harder. The plant-based meats are quite good, and I’m not sure vegetarians would want to eat cell-based meat.

Currently it is incredibly expensive to grow cell meat and sounds as though they are having trouble scaling up. A lot of the questions were hard to answer because my answers would be dependent on the price and taste of the product in the future. I like to try new things, but I also usually buy on price.”

“I guess my main question is how could New Zealand transition to the cell cultured meat supply chain, and how could we utilise our hilly landscapes? Would be great if we could use sugars from pine tree waste as a growth medium but presumably it would be too expensive.

We have a lot of infrastructure set up for pastoral farming, and do it well, so would make sense to utilise this somehow.”

“From a processing point of view, with the reduction in dairy cow numbers and increasing constraints on environmental regulation on farm, presumably Fonterra will have some excess stainless steel in the next couple of years. Problem is that the dairy farmers own the company and theoretically manage it, so they would need to buy into the idea. Quite hard considering as most of them see it as a threat, not an opportunity.”

On behalf of the Feast Laboratory team, Joanne thanks all the NZIFST members who took the time to participate in the survey.

You can find Feast’s main research paper3 here. Joanne gratefully acknowledges the funding from MBIE’s Future Foods Catalyst grant (MAUX2001) that made this research project possible.

to: •

•

“Strongly disagree with this [cultured meat] . . . who knows what horrible diseases will result from it in the future.

Sustainably farmed New Zealand meat is a great product with healthy protein. “ “Muscles exist to move animals around. I find it hard to believe a muscle in a petri dish that has not done any exercise would taste the same as something from an animal.”

And many questions, ifs and buts: •

“Not sure if cell-cultured meat contains more nutrients than protein.”

•

“and how [do they] make sure cell-cultured meat is completely

Notes 1. https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cultivatedmeat/#:~:text=How%20is%20cultivated%20meat%20 made,at%20high%20densities%20and%20volumes.

2. (https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cultivated-meat/deep-divecultivated-meat-cell-culture-media/ 3. Perceptions of Cultivated Meat in Millennial and Generation X Consumers Resident in Aotearoa New Zealand, Giezenaar, C; Godfrey, A.J.R.; Ogilvie, O.J.; Coetzee, P.; Weerawarna, N.R.P; Foster, M.; Hort, J. Sustainability 2023, 15, 4009. https://doi. org/10.3390/su15054009 December 2023 / January 2024

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NZIFST News Conference 2024 Conference Chair, Rob Archibald, and his committee are making excellent progress developing the programme for 2024 conference and it's going to be memorable as always with quality speakers, lots of social events and chat and exhibitors to share their expertise.

Call for Abstracts The call for abstracts is now open for this Conference.

The theme of the conference is Diversity in the food industry. And our industry is amazingly diverse, from the products, to the processing technologies, to the markets and how our products reach our markets and much more.

We invite you to submit an abstract and make a contribution to the programme. All abstracts will be reviewed and submitters notified of acceptance. We encourage representatives from industry, students, post docs and others who want to share the results of their work or experience.

Conference session themes will cover: •

Innovation

•

Food waste

•

Sustainability

•

R & D funding

•

Partnerships

•

Misinformation and/or Media relations

•

Career opportunities

•

Genetic Engineering

•

Local production

•

Market diversity

•

Packaging

•

AI & ML

•

Novel foods

•

New processes

•

Rapid food analysis

•

Membrane applications

•

Nutrition

•

Automation.

NZIFST Directory EXECUTIVE MANAGER Wendy Bayliss PO Box 44322, Pt Chevalier Auckland 1022 New Zealand

For more information on submitting an abstract and to make a submission, follow the QR code below or go to the portal HERE

Phone: 022 549 8483, Email: wendy@nzifst.org.nz PRESIDENT

Esraa El Shall esraaelshall@gmail.com

VICE PRESIDENT

Bob Olayo bob@matt.nz

TREASURER

Call for abstracts now open

Grant Boston grant@boston.net.nz

Scan the QR code to access the abstracts portal 32

Food New Zealand

NZIFST

Branch News Careers in the Food Industry: Guiding Students Toward Dynamic and Rewarding Paths in Food Science

Bob Olayo, Vice-President of NZIFST, enthralled his audience of 110 students at the Careers Evening On the 16th of August, an impactful Food Industry Careers Information Evening unfolded at Te Wao Nui, located in the Otago Business School, Dunedin. This collaborative event, organised by the dedicated teams of our NZIFST Otago Southland branch committee and the Department of Food Science at the University of Otago, drew a crowd of approximately 110 enthusiastic students. The evening proved to be a resounding success, providing invaluable insights and opportunities for those aspiring to carve out careers in the dynamic and rewarding field of food science.

The event showcased all facets of food industry careers, spanning both manufacturing and academia. Two distinguished guest speakers, Bob Olayo (NZIFST VP) of Matt Solutions and Bailee Kirtlan from Fisher and Paykel Appliances, shared inspiring insights and emphasised the positive aspects of their respective career journeys.

Complementing these engaging talks was a line-up of 12 booths, each manned by industry representatives offering diverse perspectives on the multifaceted landscape of a food industry career. The event successfully fostered a positive and informative atmosphere, empowering students with a comprehensive understanding of the exciting opportunities within this dynamic field.

Enthralling Insights from Bob Olayo Bob's engaging presentation, 'A Job from an Employer's Perspective,' captivated the audience, delving into specific job roles and the necessary ingredients for a successful career, beginning with the process of job applications. A significant takeaway from his talk was the emphasis on the realisation that achievement is not solely about the end results, but equally about the preparation and execution of the job at hand.

Bob also highlighted several qualities crucial in any role: •

Communication: The ability to effectively converse and comprehend others.

•

Listening: Acknowledging the significance of active listening in

understanding needs and resolving issues.

•

Learning: Continuous learning, embracing fresh ideas, networks, and pathways is fundamental for success.

Addressing the job application process, Bob stressed the importance of authenticity and the strength found in individuality. Encouraging everyone to embrace their uniqueness, he emphasised that distinct qualities and diverse pathways contribute to personal success and should be proudly showcased. The underlying message conveyed was that the journey is as significant as the destination. By laying a strong foundation from the outset, positive outcomes will naturally follow.

Inspiring Perspectives shared by Bailee Kirtlan Bailee is the Functional Leader of the Refrigeration Product Performance team at Fisher & Paykel Appliances. In her presentation, she spoke about her journey starting out as a summer intern, working through the graduate programme to now leading a team of food scientists responsible for using scientific insights, methodology and test procedures to ensure premium food preservation outcomes for customers.

Centred around their values of curiosity, innovation, sustainability, trust and generosity, the team's work involves analysing the temperature performance, product preservation, microbial and sensory impacts of refrigeration on food and beverages.

Bailee spoke about the role of food science at Fisher & Paykel and how scientific understanding of food preservation is crucial to their mission of mastering temperature control. Bailee also shared specific examples of her team’s work, demonstrating how students could apply the knowledge they are building during their university studies to life in the industry – something Bailee struggled with herself during her studies and is passionate about sharing with students.

Fisher & Paykel offers paid internship and graduate positions each year, located in both Auckland & Dunedin. Applications open in May, get in touch to find out more.

December 2023 / January 2024

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NZIFST

Networking After the presentations from our guest speakers, we transitioned into the introduction of our networkers. Representatives from each company stepped forward, offering concise yet insightful glimpses into their backgrounds, their companies, and the accomplished teams they had brought along.

Delectable nibbles and drinks were served, setting the stage for the networking segment, conducted in a 'speed dating style.' This proved to be a resounding success, as students had the invaluable opportunity to engage with industry representatives on a personal level. Students eagerly lined up to engage in face-to-face conversations with our networkers, seeking guidance on postgraduate studies, navigating the job market, understanding the nuances of various roles, including science roles, consultant food technologists, roles in food rescue and beyond. The event covered diverse areas such as transitioning from food science to food microbiology, exploring roles in NPD for bioengineering companies, packaging, quality assurance, flavours, brewing, and much more. It was a truly enriching experience for both students and industry professionals alike.

Prof. Miranda Mirosa: Head of the Department of Food Science at the University of Otago.

Prof. Craig Bunt: Professor and Director of Agricultural Innovation at Otago University.

Food-Science and Agriculture Student Association Exec Team (FASA).

Ellie Pritchard: Food Technologist at Fisher and Paykel Appliances.

Lynley Soper (Otago Career Hub): Career development practitioner and coach.

Grace Esterman and Kenzie Dowson: Startup Dunedin members committed to empowering aspiring entrepreneurs through mentorship, funding, and networking.

Grace Clare: PhD student at the University of Otago actively contributing to Food Waste Innovation.

Jamie Scrimgeour: Technical and Quality Brewer at Emerson's Brewery in Dunedin.

Our networkers were:

In conclusion

Joanne Theodores (FSQ Specialist at Kraft Heinz): Holding a BSc in Food Science with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Otago, Joanne is passionate about sustainable food processing and ensuring safe, healthy food.

All attendees of this career showcase departed with a renewed sense of inspiration and motivation, ready to embark on their journey towards achieving their career goals. We eagerly anticipate witnessing this group of young scientists and technologists transition into their respective roles within the promising landscape of the food industry in the near future!

Tiffany Corbett (Kraft Heinz): A Food Science graduate from the University of Otago, with 4+ years as an R&D Technologist at Kraft Heinz, overseeing product and packaging in Dunedin.

Dr. Devonia Kruimer, Roxanne Ng, Sam Christensen (Oritain Global): Oritain's dynamic team specialises in forensic science verification, ensuring traceability in supply chains.

Dr. Karen Lusk (Group Grading and Sensory Manager) and Ella Zwagerman (Food Technologist): Key contributors at Silver Fern Farms, enriching the food technology and sensory evaluation landscape.

A big thank you to the speakers, all attendees, and industry professionals. Special thanks to our excellent host Supriya Sally, organisers, Fiona Nyhof and Aladin Bekhit, and the entire branch committee.

Article contributed by members of the Otago/Southland branch committee.

New Members NZIFST welcomes the following new members and new Student and Graduate members.

Standard Member Juliet Bilkey

Field to Food Specialist

Leaft Foods

Christina Clark

Food Safety and Quality Manager

Bakels Edible Oils

Yvette Harrison

Principal Consultant / Director

Yvette Harrison

Anna Hinstridge

Business Manager

Alchemy Agencies Ltd

Mansi Limbad

Senior R&D Technologist

Arnotts New Zealand

Claire Morgan

Senior Quality Specialist

Woolworths

Sally Roundhill

Regulatory Principal

Fonterra

Jayden Vutukuri

Arnotts New Zealand

Graduate Ben Jourdain

Associate R&D Technologist

Arnotts New Zealand

Roselle Samaratunga

Applications Technologist

Zymus International Ltd

Students Lincoln University: Rilcy Mathew, Anbarasan Muniyan, Ashley Sui University of Auckland: Xueyang Wang University of Otago: Salome Dini, Natalya Skelton

34

Food New Zealand

NZIFST

Branch News Left: Members and guests, left to right, Elise Waddell, Neala Hart, Anne Hong, Chelsea Whiteman and Ashlee Gen, at the Auckland Branch “Peek Behind the Scenes” event Below: Just some of the finalist products in the Food Awards that members and guests tasted at the Auckland Branch event

Auckland Auckland NZIFST has had some great events in the past few months, with an exciting end of year gathering planned to celebrate the year that has been!

Peek Behind the Scenes On the 31st of October, we had a peek Behind the Scenes of the New Zealand Food Awards for 2023. Attendees were invited to taste delicious samples from the Award winners, whilst committee member Anny Dentener led us through the awards that were presented, and the judges’ comments on each product.

Members listened to guest speaker Kay McMath, the Chief Judge, discuss the awards and the judging process itself, which was enlightening for our members. We also had the pleasure of hearing other guest speakers talk about their products: Chelsea Whiteman, a Development Technologist for Cultured from Fonterra Brands NZ; Taylor Wittle, a Development Technologist from The Collective; and Garth Bogiss, the R&D Manager of Heilaila, Supreme Winner for 2023 with Heilala Alcohol Free Vanilla Paste.

It was a fantastic evening enjoyed by everyone, with time for members to network and connect with each other.

A huge thank you to our guest speakers for giving up their time to attend and participate in our event, and to our committee for putting together another incredible event for our Branch!

Unfortunately, our other two events that were due to happen in the last couple of months were postponed until 2024, but we do have an exciting end of year holiday gathering coming up on the 27th of November! We will be doing a painting class where members will learn painting techniques and come away with their very own masterpiece.

The Auckland Branch has had a very successful 2023, with plans to have an even better 2024! Thank you to our many guests this year, to our Branch members for participating and supporting us with our events, and to our fantastic committee for their hard work and dedication.

Committee Members for 2023/24 Jessica Chong (Chair), Clinton Meharry (Vice-Chair), Rebecca Fok (Secretary), Neala Hart, Sarah Leakey, Grace Queenin, Anny Dentener-Boswell, Esraa El Shall, Julia Ling, Linda Yan, Jo KellyTuckey, Violet Xu, Christine Jian, Madz Spence, Sabah Hanspal (Massey University Student Representative) Gabrielle Lobo (Massey University Student Representative), Samantha Martin (AUT Student Representative), Nicholas Vince (AUT Student Representative), Erin Lau (UoA Student Representative), Juliane Gillespie (UoA Student Representative)

Jess Chong

Canterbury-Westland Meadow Mushrooms Plant Tour Another “sell-out” tour as 14 members of the Canterbury-Westland branch visited Meadow Mushrooms in Wigram Christchurch to discover the lifecycle of these fungal “fruits”.

Kiri Armstrong (QA Manager) shared some of the history of Meadow Mushrooms (NZ’s largest mushroom grower) plus an overview of the current site before we crossed the yard to one of the 72 growing rooms.

The compost, a mix of wheat straw, chicken manure and gypsum, is prepared and pasteurised at a rural site.

December 2023 / January 2024

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NZIFST

Canterbury-Westland members after their Meadow Mushrooms factory tour, with our three hosts The original wooden trays are gone and now the mushrooms are grown in aluminium racks (6 high). A carpet conveyor system allows the racks to be filled with the compost and emptied much more quickly than forklift dependent trays.

Kiri then explained the growing steps from inoculation of the spawn into the compost through to picking, and the importance of moisture, temperature and carbon dioxide levels.

White button, Swiss Browns and Portobello mushrooms are grown currently. Shiitake has been grown in the past but was stopped at the end of September.

Next we visited the packing areas and saw the packing of 3 formats for supermarket supply; bulk trays, punnets and retail form-fill-seal bags; bulk trays for supplying food processors and finally the food service f-f-s packs of sliced mushrooms, many of the latter destined for pizzas.

Thank you to Kiri and her tour assistant, Victoria d’Souza. We really appreciated you taking the time to inform us about mushroom cultivation and to see your pride in this site and its developments.

We now see mushrooms in a whole new light especially after being reminded, that despite being considered vegetables in the culinary world, mushrooms are more closely related to animals in terms of physiology.

Margot Richards

Lincoln Student Careers/Networking Evening A turnout of approximately 60 Lincoln University students joined branch members in late September for a panel discussion on careers in the food industry.

Our four volunteer panellists were: David Guo – Food Technologist at Midlands Nutrition Jane Damian – Food Technology and Hospitality Teacher at Burnside High School D. Anil Kaw – GM Innovation at Westland Milk Products Kevin Parish – General Manager at Walnuts NZ Co-operative With an MC-ing “tag team” of Robyn Marshall and Charlotte Sullivan from the local branch committee, our panellists talked about their study paths and entering the food industry, described a typical day in their working lives and shared advice for those just embarking on their careers. It was clear that there are many different routes in a food industry career and much variety in the day to day work.

The key points of the evening for the students were: •

Get your foot in the door with any job in the food industry – a factory floor job may not seem very appealing but is a highly valuable learning experience and a useful addition to your CV.

•

Seek out networking opportunities. You never know who your next employer or mentor may be, and you need to be active to make those contacts.

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Food New Zealand

We appreciate David, Jane, Anil and Kevin taking the time to share their experiences, knowledge and enthusiasm with the next generation of food technologists.

Margot Richards

Central Decarbonising the New Zealand Food Industry There is no doubt that the global food industry, and so by association our local food producers, face horrendous challenges in our immediate future. Foremost amongst these is the necessity to adequately feed a global population approaching 10 billion using fewer resources – water, energy, material inputs – than we currently use to inadequately feed 8 billion. That’s 25% more food output with a reduced planetary burden. No small challenge and particularly onerous for our nation that has evolved into a larder for many times our own population yet is remote from most of its consumers.

This predicament was the driver for a talk titled “Decarbonising the Food Industry” presented on October 11 as a combined national webinar and our Central Branch meeting by Prof Don Cleland, Professor of Process Engineering at Massey University’s School of Engineering and Advanced Technology. Don has held the process engineering chair since 2018 and was head-of-school for a decade before that, having developed an international reputation in energy efficiency of food processes, particularly refrigeration. That expertise means that Don is well-placed to provide deep insights on how the food processing industry might enhance its long-term sustainability through reducing its environmental footprints.

Don’s presentation opened by summarising familiar doomsday statistics indicating an existential risk through the pending climate catastrophe attributable to humanity’s profligate appetite for planetary resources. As further context Don sketched the New Zealand situation which founds the operating environment from which we are obligated (Paris 2016 responsibilities) to reduce emissions to 41% below our 2005 levels by 2030. Within that context food production (primary agriculture and secondary processing) comprises over half of our national emissions burden and so improvements there are fundamental to New Zealand’s success in delivering our Paris obligations. The proportionate impact of agriculture on our national GHG is a real issue in local terms but when distributed across the volume of food produced the global relevance is not so clear cut. Our lower intensity pastoral grazing systems means that animals leave the farm with an emissions profile substantially lower than almost all other producers, so offering a prospective relative advantage for our exports in an increasingly carbon-conscious global market place; an export offer of best-in-class carbon footprints of animal primary produce (meat, milk and fibre).

Dawning awareness of that market advantage frames a predicament for New Zealand addressing its decarbonising responsibilities; with

NZIFST exemplar of a meat processing and rendering plant.

Don’s was a most thought-provoking talk, particularly given the context of a parallel conversation being embarked upon by Massey University who are consulting on a plan to disestablish teaching engineering at the university. As would have been evident to all in attendance, the New Zealand food industry has major challenges on its near horizon and food engineering research and implementation will be critical for our industry to contribute to delivering our more sustainable future. With its foundational standing in food technology, Massey should be at the forefront of this initiative but it seems they plan to abandon the industry at its time of greatest need. Already key people are leaving the university in response to the plan.

Let’s hope that Massey sees the lunacy of this plan and recommits to leadership in food engineering to support industry with solutions that keep the New Zealand food manufacturing viable in a new world where sustainability is as critical as the quality and safety of food.

Prof. Don Cleland presented his insights on how the New Zealand food industry could contribute to reducing its emissions for a decarbonised future agriculture being the primary source of New Zealand’s emissions ledger, the sector cannot be excused BUT while global markets continue to demand meat and dairy products, sourcing from New Zealand is the most emissions-efficient solution for the planet. The tension between the local necessity and global relativity presents one of the greatest political management dilemmas in New Zealand’s path towards decarbonising.

However Prof Cleland’s presentation left that conundrum to others to resolve and instead directed us to opportunities for decarbonising beyond the farm gate, specifically energy-efficient conversion of farm primary produce into consumable food. While a less significant contributor to our emissions profile than on-farm activities, processing of farm produce still provides a fertile ground for reducing our footprint whilst enhancing the low carbon credentials of our food exports.

When looking at food processing in isolation the key decarbonising traction point is thermal processing, i.e. heating and cooling.

Process heating across all sectors (i.e. all industries) accounts for about one third of New Zealand’s energy consumption (second only to transportation), with around 56% of that generated from non-renewable energy supplies, so this facet of our national GHG footprint commends attention and provides a significant opportunity to contribute to necessary improvements.

Otago-Southland The Otago/Southland Branch organised a well-attended Quick Brown Fox coffee liqueur and Harpoon cold brew tasting event on the 2nd of November. Quick Brown Fox (QBF) is a Dunedinbased company specialising in cold brew coffee and coffee liqueurs.

During the event, Arjun Haszard, the co-owner, gave an engaging talk guiding the audience through the company's history, cold brew processing, recent success stories, internationally award-winning coffee liqueurs, and their business/marketing strategies. Throughout his presentation, the audience had the chance to taste cold brew coffee and coffee liqueurs in coordination with the development history of the products, guiding the audience through the journey.

Arjun discussed the challenges of being a startup business, the difficulties they encountered along the way, how they learned from them, and the business and marketing aspects of their recent success, especially with the Flat White Coffee Liqueur. He shared insights into the challenges he and his colleagues faced and the lessons learned.

The event was highly successful, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Arjun and his colleagues at QBF for sharing their amazing story and giving us the opportunity to taste their tasty products.

Biniam Kebede MNZIFST, OS Branch Secretary

So what are the food industries’ decarbonising options? Don summarised seven categories of approach that could, in theory, improve the GHG profile of the food processing industry ranging through market retrenchment (reducing manufacture irrespective of demand), emerging technology solutions (across all aspects of the value chain), alternative energy sources (e.g. biofuels, high renewable electricity) and improved energy efficiencies (maximising energy recovery). There is no single silver bullet with combinations of these approaches looking most likely to minimise the GHG intensity of converting primary farm products into consumable food. Particularly promising is the use of heat pumps (in a high renewables electricity environment) to provide the low- and medium-grade heating and cooling demands of the food processing industry. In the short-term, where more extreme thermal processing is necessitated, then the additional heating can be sourced from more traditional energy sources having banked the benefits from upstream efficiencies. For the longer-term, emerging improvements to heat pump technologies hold promise for all but the most extreme thermal treatments required by the food industry.

In conclusion Don demonstrated how substantial energy efficiencies might be achieved by applying the principles of his talk using the

The Invitation to this enjoyable Otago Branch event December 2023 / January 2024

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Essay Competition

The Food Tech Solutions Student Essay Competition 2023 Considerations for developing a novel high-fibre functional bread

Inchara Nagamangala Yoganarasimhaswamy, Student, University of Otago This article was awarded third prize in the Food Tech Solutions NZIFST Undergraduate Writing Competition 2023. The annual competition is open to undergraduate food science and food technology students who are invited to write on any technical subject or latest development in the food science and technology field that may be important to the consumer.

Introduction Bread is a popular and convenient food that is commonly consumed daily around the world, particularly in Western countries (Preedy Victor & Watson Ronald Ross, 2019). The chief ingredient for baking conventional bread is wheat or refined flour. This has drawbacks such as low fibre content and low glycemic index (GI), which leads to obesity and diabetes. According to the Ministry of Health in New Zealand, non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes are increasing, with high rates of obesity (32.5%) and an estimated 250,000 people with diabetes. A novel approach to improve the nutritional aspect of conventional bread is substituting a part of flour with legumes. This would increase fibre content, reduce GI, and provide additional nutritional and health benefits to overcome obesity and diabetes for consumers. According to The Adult Dietary Habits New Zealand health survey (2018-2020), nearly half of New Zealand adults (54.0%) ate few or no legumes. Hence, the "novel idea" of introducing legume-based bread offers a nutrient-packed, high in fibre, low glycemic index option and has positive environmental effects. This is expected to promote satiety, aid in weight management, improve digestive health, maintain stable blood sugar levels, and support overall health. New Zealand produces a variety of beans, including navy beans, kidney beans, borlotti beans, black beans, and adzuki beans. The availability of legumes in the market makes it more accessible and economically friendly to consumers, promoting local agriculture and bringing people closer to a healthy diet.

A nutritional guide Humans have been consuming legumes for thousands of years in developing countries (Plant Proteins from Legumes 2019). However, the use of legumes in Western countries is very minimal. According to The Adult Dietary Habits New Zealand health survey (20182020), nearly half of New Zealand adults (54.0%) ate few or no legumes. One effective way to increase the consumption of legumes in the Western world is to incorporate legumes into bread, as it is commonly consumed daily (Tas & Shah, 2021). Legumes such as fava beans, lima beans, and peas are a rich and inexpensive source of plant-based protein and complex carbohydrates (Geil & Anderson, 1997). They are also low in fat content with wholesome macro and micronutrients.

Protein composition in legumes might be equivalent to meat protein which contributes around 14-45% of essential amino acids, approximately 30g of protein/100g legume, which includes a wellbalanced and high concentration of amino acids, making it an exceptional plant protein source (Margier et al., 2018) 38

Food New Zealand

Carbohydrates are the main sources of energy for the body.

Carbohydrates in legumes are primarily resistant starch (50-55%) and dietary fibre(10-20%) (Millar et al., 2019). Additionally, legumes contain starch with a low glycaemic index (GI) and help to gradually release sugars into the bloodstream, aiding in easy digestion that consequently helps in weight management and also benefits in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The lipid profile of legumes such as fava beans, lima beans and peas comprises low fat, cholesterol-free, mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids and aids in reducing potential risks such as ischemic heart condition (Palupi et al., 2021). Considering legumes’ wide range of health benefits, substituting legume flour with wheat or refined flour could add greater nutritional value to bread.

How legumes promote satiety Homeostatic mechanisms are involved in regulating satiety based on the protein content of one’s diet (Rebello et al., 2014). Legumes are high in fibre and protein content which can help promote feelings of fullness and satiety. Thus, legumes can help regulate appetite and reduce calorie intake, leading to weight loss and improved overall health.

Legumes also have a low GI, which means they are digested slowly and provide a steady energy source. This can help prevent spikes in blood sugar levels and keep you feeling fuller for longer (Venn & Mann, 2004).

In addition to their fibre and protein content, legumes contain other nutrients that can contribute to feelings of satiety, such as resistant starch and antioxidants. Resistant starch is a carbohydrate not digested in the small intestine but instead is fermented in the large intestine, producing short-chain fatty acids that can help reduce appetite and improve gut health (Lockyer & Nugent, 2017).

Incorporating legume-based bread into our diet can effectively promote satiety as it helps avoid overeating and support your overall health and wellness.

How legumes benefit the environment Incorporating legumes into agriculture systems can have numerous environmental benefits, making them a sustainable choice for farmers and consumers. With their ability to convert nitrogen from the air into a form that plants can use, legumes are considered one of the most environmentally friendly crops worldwide. This reduces the need for nitrogen fertilisers, which can be energy-intensive to produce and can lead to water pollution (Bohlool et al., 1992). Legumes have a lesser carbon footprint compared to other crops, as they require fewer

Essay Competition References Bohlool, B.B. (Hawaii Univ., Paia, HI (USA). NifTAL Project), Ladha, J. K., Garrity, D. P., & George, T. (1992). Biological nitrogen fixation for sustainable agriculture: a perspective. Plant and Soil,141(1-2), 1-11.

10.1007/BF00011307 Catassi, C., Bearzi, I., & Holmes, G. K. T. (2005). Association of celiac disease and intestinal lymphomas and other cancers. Gastroenterology (New York, N.Y. 1943), 128(4), S79-S86. 10.1053/j.gastro.2005.02.027 Forbes, S., Bicknell, E., Guilovica, L., Wingrove, K., & Charlton, K. (2021).

A Rapid Review of the Environmental Impacts Associated with Food Consumption in Australia and New Zealand. Current Nutrition Reports, 10(4), 334-351. 10.1007/s13668-021-00374-0 Geil, P. B., & Anderson, J. W. (1997), Dry beans: nutrition and health implications. Michigan Dry Bean Digest, 21, 2-6. https://agris.fao.org/ agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201302917055 Heusala, H., Sinkko, T., Sözer, N., Hytönen, E., Mogensen, L., & Knudsen, M. T. (2020). Carbon footprint and land use of oat and fava bean protein concentrates using a life cycle assessment approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242, 118376. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118376 Jeske, S., Zannini, E., & Arendt, E. K. (2018). Past, present and future: The strength of plant-based dairy substitutes based on gluten-free raw materials. Food Research International, 110, 42-51. 10.1016/j. foodres.2017.03.045 Lockyer, S., & Nugent, A. P. (2017). Health effects of resistant starch.

Nutrition Bulletin, 42(1), 10-41. 10.1111/nbu.12244

inputs like fertiliser and pesticides, thus reducing carbon footprint (Heusala et al., 2020). Most legumes require less water than many other crops, which can be especially important in water-scarce areas.

(Siddiqui et al., 2022).

Growing market demand Conventional bread has been a “staple food” in many parts of the world for several years; however, its nutritive value is considered minimal compared to legume-based bread. As discussed earlier, there is a significant demand for high-fibre and novel protein products because of the widespread awareness among individuals worldwide about better health (Potter et al., 2014). Opting for healthier nutritious foods is becoming more intense every day, raising consumers' need for lifestyle change. The global trend of incorporating traditional ingredients is gaining popularity due to their abundant nutritional and health advantages. There is a growing interest among today’s generation in consuming novel protein sources and foods rich in fibre, recognising their potential benefits. The inclusion of traditional ingredients such as legumes is being embraced for their hidden nutritional properties, like innovative protein and high-fibre foods.

Trendy brands in the New Zealand market are bringing healthy bread options using maize, rice, soy and tapioca starch to the community.

However, these ingredients’ protein and fibre compositions could be grim compared to the other legumes. Considering these facts and introducing legume-based bread to the community may help with healthier living and healthier choices. Most healthy fortified products are expensive, but legume-based bread could be made affordable, considering the easy availability of legumes worldwide.

Conclusion As a staple, bread plays a crucial role in our diets, and creating a more affordable and nutrient-rich option would benefit the general public.

Incorporating traditional ingredients such as legumes increases nutritional benefits as it is rich in fibre and novel protein content.

Legume-based bread can potentially promote better health outcomes by reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases. Introducing this innovative concept to the market can potentially improve the health of current and future generations while also benefiting the environment.

Margier, M., Georgé, S., Hafnaoui, N., Remond, D., Nowicki, M., Du Chaffaut, L., Amiot, M., & Reboul, E. (2018). Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Content of Legumes: Characterization of Pulses Frequently Consumed in France and Effect of the Cooking Method. Nutrients, 10(11), 1668. 10.3390/nu10111668 Millar, K. A., Gallagher, E., Burke, R., McCarthy, S., & Barry-Ryan, C. (2019). Proximate composition and anti-nutritional factors of fava-bean (Vicia faba), green-pea and yellow-pea (Pisum sativum) flour. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 82, 103233. 10.1016/j.jfca.2019.103233 Mormile, R. (2013). Celiac Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease: What is the Link? Journal of Clinical & Cellular Immunology, 4(6)10.4172/21559899.1000173 Palupi, H. T., Estiasih, T., Yunianta, & Sutrisno, A. (2021). Characterization of nutritional and functional properties of Lima bean flour (Phaseolus Lunatus L.). IOP Conference Series. Earth and Environmental Science, 924(1), 12033. 10.1088/1755-1315/924/1/012033 Physical properties, sensory acceptance, postprandial glycemic response, and satiety of cereal based foods enriched with legume flours: a review.

Plant Proteins from Legumes (2019).

Potter, R., Stojceska, V., & Plunkett, A. (2014). An investigation of the consumer perception on the quality of the gluten and wheat free breads available on the UK market. Journal of Food Measurement & Characterization, 8(4), 362-372. 10.1007/s11694-014-9199-y Preedy Victor, R., & Watson Ronald Ross. (2019). Trends in Science of Doughs and Bread Quality. Flour and Breads and Their Fortification in Health and Disease Prevention (2nd Edition ed., pp. 1). Elsevier. 10.1016/ B978-0-12-814639-2.00026-5 Rebello, C., Greenway, F., & Dhurandhar, N. (2014). Functional foods to promote weight loss and satiety. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 17(6), 596-604. 10.1097/ MCO.0000000000000110 Siddiqui, S. A., Mahmud, M. M. C., Abdi, G., Wanich, U., Farooqi, M. Q. U., Settapramote, N., Khan, S., & Wani, S. A. (2022). New alternatives from sustainable sources to wheat in bakery foods: Science, technology, and challenges. Journal of Food Biochemistry, 46(9), e14185-n/a. 10.1111/ jfbc.14185 Tas, A. A., & Shah, A. U. (2021). The replacement of cereals by legumes in extruded snack foods: Science, technology and challenges. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 116, 701-711. 10.1016/j.tifs.2021.08.016 Troncone, R., & Jabri, B. (2011). Coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity.

Journal of Internal Medicine, 269(6), 582-590. 10.1111/j.13652796.2011.02385.x Venn, B. J., & Mann, J. I. (2004). Cereal grains, legumes and diabetes.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 58(11), 1443-1461. 10.1038/ sj.ejcn.1601995

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