Food New Zealand, October/November 2022

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Rational Thoughts on Sustainable Packaging

An interview with Gordon Robertson

AND MANUFACTURING

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 | VOLUME 22, NO.5 ISSN 2744-7308 (ONLINE) ISSN 1175-4621 (PRINT)

5 NEWSBITES

News, views and information from around and about

10 RESEARCH BRIEFS

News from the Riddet Institute

12 SLIDING ON Survivors

Professor John D Brooks, FNZIFST

13 CAREERS

Career Planning in 2022

John Lawson, Lawson Williams Consulting Group

14 NZ FOOD SAFETY

Sustainability, it’s happening here!

Ben Sutherland, Principal Food Technologist, Standards & Surveillance, FSANZ

New Zealand Food Safety Update

Vincent Arbuckle, Deputy Director General, NZ Food Safety

16 OILS & FATS

Oils and Fats Update

Laurence Eyres FNZIFST and Mike Eyres

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PACKAGING

STUDENT ESSAY

After several false starts it is finally feeling like spring has arrived and the better weather, coupled with the easing of Covid restrictions has me humming the Nina Simone classic “Feeling Good” (I encourage you to listen to the song if you do not know it). The song’s lyrics include the phrases It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life ….. And this old world is a new world, And a bold world ….. And I'm feeling good.

Reflecting on a new world and a bold world I am hopeful that all of us will have finally had the opportunity to move away from frantically trying to address the immediate Covid induced chaos at hand and been able to cast our thoughts to the future and the opportunities and challenges that we may face over the next few months or years. The future has been on my mind as I recently attended a workshop hosted by the New Zealand Food Safety & Science Research Centre (NZFSSRC) in which speakers, including one with the endearing job title of “Futurist”, were asked to give their opinions of what the world and consequently the food industry may be like in 5, 10 or 20 years’ time. As interesting as the workshop was I do not feel that I can confidently outline to you here what the future will hold, but I can fairly confidently state that some things we currently do in our professional life and many of the foods we currently enjoy will remain more or less the same, while many other aspects of our professional and daily life and the foods we eat will change in ways that will probably surprise us. In fact there is a good chance that when we, or others look back on our current diet in 20 or 40 years’ time, there may be some surprise or even disgust that we actually ate “that”.

If you do not believe how much the world can change over 20 years, cast your mind back to 2002. Apparently, 2002 was the worst year ever in fashion history. For anyone too young or too old to remember, it was the year we decided it was fine to wear scarves as tops, belts as skirts, tank-tops as red carpet attire and to have poorly hidden hair extensions. The top food trends were cupcakes, vitamin water and bubble tea. After the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks food security was a hot issue. The 2nd Gen iPod had just been released with its massive (!) 500 song capacity (iPhones were still 5 years in the future), Avril Lavigne's "Complicated” was the top song in New Zealand, Fonterra had been in existence for 3 months and vegan options were virtually non-existent in our restaurants.

As Isaac Asimov (Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University and Science Fiction writer, (1920-1992) stated “It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.”

Given that change will therefore happen, it is important that the NZIFST and its members continually look to the future and our role in ensuring the best outcome for all New Zealanders and the citizens of the world to whom we have the privilege and responsibility of supplying food. An opportunity for us as an Institute to reflect upon our role in the future of food will be during our Annual Conference in Dunedin from the 4th to 6th July 2023, which has as its theme “Food in a changing world”. I encourage you all to plan to present at, attend, sponsor or otherwise contribute to this event, which will be held in conjunction with a one-day NZFSSRC meeting on Food Safety on July 3rd 2023.

I am also aware that it is important to consider how the NZIFST may need to change to meet the needs of our members. As such I, the other members of the Executive, the members of the board and your local branch committee members welcome your feedback on your vision for the institute.

Phil Bremer, President, NZIFST

Phil Bremer, President NZIFST

Newsbites

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

New Chief Executive at NZFGC

Raewyn Bleakley will be the new Chief Executive of the New Zealand Food & Grocery Council, replacing Katherine Rich who is stepping down after 13½ years.

Raewyn is an experienced and successful senior leader who has worked across and within government for more than 20 years, 6½ years of them in chief executive roles at various industry associations.

Food & Grocery Council Chairman Mike Pretty says Raewyn will bring a wide diversity of experience and skill to the role.

“As she says herself, she has big shoes to fill after Katherine, and that’s true, but we are more than confident she will bring experience and skills to take the grocery supplier sector forward.” He paid tribute to Katherine’s time at FGC.

“She has changed the face of the grocery sector, using her skills along with the connections she acquired during her nine years in Parliament as an MP to turn the council into a voice and a force to be listened to when it came to legislation and regulation affecting the food and grocery industry.

“Her achievements are too many to list, but she will leave before the greatest of them all – and perhaps the biggest change in the history of the grocery supplier industry – is implemented: the grocery code of conduct that will change the way suppliers are treated during negotiations.

Raewyn says she is privileged to be taking over the helm of the Food & Grocery Council at such an important stage in its history.

“There are big changes coming for the sector, and particularly suppliers, and I feel deeply privileged and very excited to be joining the Food & Grocery Council at this time.

“I’m also honoured to be following in the footsteps of Katherine, who has achieved such a massive amount for the food industry and its

members, and particularly her recent work around the Grocery Market Study and the Code of Conduct.

“They’re really big shoes to fill but I’m looking forward to the challenge of bringing my diverse work experiences together along with my commitment to sustainability and background in food and nutrition to continue the Council’s advance across those and other fronts.”

Raewyn will take up her position on October 10.

Food Law Conference 2022

Friday, 2 December, 9.00am to 5.00pm Webinar via Zoom

This must-attend Food Law Conference, now in its 5th Year, brings together FSANZ and key industry leaders to discuss the most topical issues challenging the Australian and New Zealand Food and Beverage industry. Build your understanding of the FSANZ approach to key industry concerns such as ingredient substitution, added sugar and novel food determinations.

Additional areas covered include:

• Insight on the Food-medicine interface.

• Hear first-hand from Australia and New Zealand advertising standards.

• ACCC and CAANZ trends in certain consumer claims.

• Navigate business risks arising from supply change and your IP in new and existing products.

The day concludes with a panel discussion on the growth and development of alternative proteins and other new food technologies.

Legalwise Seminars is a leader in providing high quality, legal-related and accounting continuing professional development (CPD).

Our local office is based in Auckland and our head office is based in Sydney, Australia. We hold programmes across New Zealand, online and overseas to help you:

https://legalwiseseminars.com.au/nz/course-2/?eventtemplate=2514food-law-conference-2022&event=9566

Raewyn Bleakley

Plant-based meat brands in trouble

From Julian Mellentin at New Nutrition Business

Plant-based meat brands are making every mistake in the Failures handbook.

"There are about 10 common causes of failure in the business of nutrition and health," said industry expert Julian Mellentin, author of a new report, titled Failures – and what you can learn from them, published by New Nutrition Business. "And many plant meat makers have made most of them."

As part of its research for the report New Nutrition Business researched the financials of a sample of 100 plant-based meat brands in Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

"Not one was showing any sign of making a profit, even after five or more years in business," Mellentin explained. "And those with the fastest-growing sales also had the fastest-growing losses."

"What they shared is they made several of the most common strategy mistakes," added Mellentin.

These included:

1. They forgot that taste and texture matter most.

2. Jumping straight to mass markets. "This is almost always a bad idea," said Mellentin. "It’s best to start with a beachhead of motivated consumers and expand from there. At present there just isn't a big enough group of consumers in the mainstream. As a result, there’s a long way to go to get the category from the current 1.4% to even 5% of total meat category sales."

3. Over-estimating the size of the opportunity: "Many brands thought they would get straight-line growth. This came from the belief – and it was belief, not evidence-based – that ever-more people would become meat reducers. The lessons from the plant-based meat segment can be applied to any category.

"We have just been through a decade in which hundreds of brands have come to market – often based on badly-thought-out business

models, and often made possible by the exuberance of investors who fell for the "build sales and profits will follow" way of thinking imported from Silicon Valley," said Mellentin. He continued: "As economic challenges bite deeper over the next three-to-five years, the willingness to understand and learn from failures will become a super-power for food industry executives."

Failures – and what you can learn from them is available to buy at https://www.new-nutrition.com/nnbReport/display/253

Find out more at www.new-nutrition.com.

New pathway to help New Zealand breweries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels

EECA (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) is helping New Zealand breweries reduce their energy-related emissions through a newly launched Brewing Decarbonisation Pathway.

The five-step pathway, endorsed by the Brewer’s Guild of New Zealand, supports breweries through knowledge sharing and encourages collective action to reduce the industry’s contribution to climate change.

The pathway takes an energy efficiency first approach. While the end goal is to move away from fossil fuels, the pathway focuses on achievable steps to improve existing processes, equipment and operations that will make the transition simpler and more costeffective.

“In addition to supporting New Zealand’s climate targets, decarbonising will help future-proof the sector, help it innovate, and reduce energy costs.”

Breweries are one of the first sectors to be supported through EECA’s Sector Decarbonisation Programme.

In the average New Zealand brewery (including small and large sites that are not a focus of this pathway), EECA estimates fossil fuel use is currently responsible for around 80% of production-related emissions – mainly through LPG and natural gas use for boiling wort before it is fermented into beer.

“What’s great for brewing is that there is a high proportion of addressable energy-related carbon emissions,” said Sutherland.

New Zealand’s brewing industry is world-class. Last year, the industry contributed around $2.8 billion to the New Zealand economy and supported around 6,632 jobs directly and indirectly.

The Sector Decarbonisation Pathway sits alongside an expanded Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund (GIDI) –which was announced by Government in May.

By signing up, breweries gain free access to bespoke tools, resources, and best-practice advice which can help reduce operational costs and energy-related emissions.

Among the resources on offer is a bespoke ‘Energy Benchmarking Tool’, specifically for New Zealand breweries, that helps to measure energy use and energy intensity and compare these to an industry benchmark.

“We think this is a really great opportunity for brewers to do what they do best. The industry is full of creativity and innovation in the way they develop and market their products,” said Sutherland.

Find out more about the Brewing Decarbonisation Pathway on the EECA website Brewing Decarbonisation Pathway | EECA, https:// www.eeca.govt.nz/co-funding/sector-decarbonisation/brewingdecarbonisation-pathway/

Off-Piste partners with Singapore experts

New Zealand plant-based meat company, Off-Piste Provisions, has embarked on a ground-breaking research and development project in partnership with one of Singapore’s leading Food Science and Technology experts.

The company uses proprietary technology that was developed in partnership with Massey University, Callaghan Innovation and the Ministry for Primary Industries in their current range of plant-based meat alternative products, using pea and fava bean as the main source of protein.

Now Off-Piste Provisions has begun a collaboration with a Singaporebased team led by Professor William Chen, Director of the Food Science and Technology (FST) programme at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), jointly exploring fermentation technology to create products that deliver taste, texture and protein comparable to animal products.

“It’s quite the coup to have aligned ourselves with Professor Chen and his team at NTU,” says Off-Piste Provisions founder and CEO, Jade Gray. “They have an impressive, proven record in the space, and their flexible, driven, pragmatic approach makes them an ideal fit for us.”

According to Professor Chen, the technology he and his team are developing allows users to cultivate a fungi-based food product that could serve as a healthier, better tasting, and greener alternative to plant-based protein.

The sustainability aspect of this technology is, from Gray’s perspective, one of its most exciting features, given its potential to utilise food waste

Off-Piste Provisions founder and CEO, Jade Gray

and by-products of the agriculture and food and beverage industries. Determining how fermentation technology can be applied in a New Zealand setting is a process that Gray says will be undertaken over the next three to five years by Off-Piste Provisions – initially at The Foodbowl “The Foodbowl team have been an integral part of Off-Piste Provisions’ journey from the outset, and we will continue to work with them as we establish the optimum conditions for New Zealand application of the technology developed at NTU.”

FoodSouth extension

A 140m² extension to the FoodSouth Building, located at Lincoln University, was officially opened by FoodSouth Chair, Alan Malcolmson, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on-site on Wednesday 17 August.

The addition features a new low-care room, which will enable FoodSouth to increase its capability to process a wider range of raw materials into high-value ingredients.

FoodSouth CEO John Morgan further commented: “The new space also includes an additional high-care foodsafe processing room, bringing our total number of rooms available for client scale-up and product development to five.

“The larger space will enable our team to easily move FoodSouth’s extensive range of processing equipment to customise each room for client production needs.”

FoodSouth delivers product scale-up support for food and beverage companies from its premises on the Lincoln University campus and is the South Island hub of the New Zealand Food Innovation Network

(NZFIN), a government-funded national network of complementary facilities enabling the growth and development of food and beverage businesses in Aotearoa.

NZFIN provides advice, expertise, equipment and connections for food and beverage businesses to help them innovate, commercialise, scaleup and succeed domestically and internationally.

Lincoln University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Grant Edwards, said that hosting the FoodSouth facility on the Lincoln University campus is a key driver for the University, with its strategic focus on developing meaningful partnerships to advance its reputation as a world-class research and teaching precinct.

“Since much of our research in the food and beverage sector is directed towards innovation, it is hugely beneficial to have FoodSouth’s expertise, knowledge and leading-edge tools on-site to connect our students and researchers with industry.”

FoodSouth Chair, Alan Malcolmson, cuts the ribbon at the opening ceremony

Urschel high-performance dicers are simple to use and have easy to follow steps for maintenance and changeovers

Processing Proteins?

A New Dicer Provides Ultimate Versatility

The new M VersaPro™ dicer can take on the most challenging protein applications and is being described as a next generation protein powerhouse. Building on Urschel’s M and M6 models — the new MVP dicer is built with a purposefully sanitary design and provides ultimate versatility for processors of proteins.

An Urschel representative says the MVP is a result of years of R&D and thanked the processors who shared must-have wish lists and allowing in-house testing of the dicer. A 2-D dicer, this equipment excels at processing of meat, poultry, and alternative proteins. It is ideal for cutting frozen-tempered or fresh-chilled products; and products like hot-cooked beef, pork, protein alternatives, and poultry.

Urschel’s new model dicer has wider belts, optimised cutting, and increased horsepower — and a 33% increased feeding capacity over their standard M6 model. MVP is belt-fed, and capable of 2-dimensional dices, strips, or shreds (from a product of a predetermined thickness) and has been designed for continuous operation and uninterrupted production.

Dice Cuts

Many sizes of cuts are possible when combining various selections of circular knife spacings with different crosscut knife spindles.

Strip Cuts

Strip cuts in a variety of widths can be made by removing either the crosscut knife spindle assembly or the circular knife spindle assembly.

The final thickness of a strip will be the same thickness as the original product.

Shred Cuts

To produce shreds from meat products, the crosscut knife spindle is replaced by a shredding spindle. The length of the shred can be controlled by orientation of the meat fibres of the incoming product and by the use of a circular knife spindle.

As the global leader in food cutting technology, Urschel is the #1 best-selling provider of industrial food cutting equipment in the world. Visit a Heat and Control test facility for a free demonstration.

Established in 1950, Heat and Control is a privately-owned company with a global team that has built an extensive knowledge bank and developed a wealth of experience and expertise. Access to production and technical support from a network of engineers, food technicians, field service technicians, skilled tradespeople, and support teams provide food manufacturers with confidence to achieve production goals.

Riddet Institute Director, Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh welcomes a group of researchers from New Zealand and Singapore to the Proteins and Algae project workshop at the Riddet Institute, Massey University

Research Briefs

Algae superfood research reaches two-year milestone

Work has started on analysing a native seaweed and other microalgae with potential superfood status, in a global research project involving New Zealand and Singapore.

The research project to determine the physio-chemical properties, health benefits and digestibility of the seaweed extracts began in late 2020, with the native seaweed karengo and international microalga Chlorella thought to have value as alternative protein sources.

Karengo is related to nori, which is widely produced and eaten as the seaweed wrap in sushi, while Chlorella is produced and marketed internationally as a health supplement.

Karengo is a traditional food of Māori. It is rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fibre and a range of micronutrients.

The $3M global study is led by New Zealand’s Cawthron Institute, in collaboration with the Riddet Institute, the University of Auckland, Plant & Food Research, Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) and the Bioprocessing Technology Institute.

Riddet Institute Director, Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh says the nation-wide project and collaboration with Singapore could lead to innovative new products.

Workshop co-organiser and Riddet Institute project leader Arup Nag says the project planned to have a face-to-face workshop to bring together international personnel every year of the three-year project, which commenced in September 2020. But Covid-19 pandemic disruptions have meant this year’s workshop was the first.

The next workshop is planned for July 2023, in Singapore, when it is expected the nutritional potential for the seaweeds will be known.

Dr Nag says the research collaboration is hoping to extract the protein or carbohydrate components from the seaweeds and then use them as novel food ingredients. “There is high potential for establishing commercial algae farming by start-up ventures if this is confirmed.”

The production and marketing of high-value functional foods with

unique attributes would be next steps. Other goals of the research project are to foster international research relationships and to improve future food security by diversifying food production.

Human clinical trials with the protein-rich extracts will now begin in Singapore and lab/animal trials in New Zealand.

Kiwi food science at the cutting-edge of global innovation

A game-changing technology developed at the Riddet Institute has won an international award recognising its impact on addressing global iron deficiency.

Ferri-Pro™ technology is used in Nestlé’s new Bunyad Iron+ milk powder which won the Innovation in Research & Development –Consumer Nutrition Award at the International World Dairy Summit (organised by International Dairy Federation), held in New Delhi, India, 12-15 September.

Ferri-Pro™ is a patented technology that allows iron fortification in food without adversely affecting taste and product quality. The technology, that targets iron deficiency, was developed by Massey University-based researchers at the Riddet Institute.

The technology was licenced to global food giant Nestlé in 2019 which represented the single biggest commercial deal to emerge from Massey University, both in terms of commercial impact and societal benefits. Nestlé and Riddet Institute teams worked together for more than three years on the scale up, manufacture, applications and regulatory aspects of Ferri-Pro™.

Riddet Institute Director, Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh, who led the research team that developed Ferri-ProTM, says the Riddet Institute is very proud to have had a significant role in addressing one of the most important nutritional deficiencies in the world.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside Nestlé and it is so fulfilling to see the success of the product we helped develop and its application in helping address iron deficiency in vulnerable populations across the globe,” he says.

Earlier this month Ferri-Pro™ also won an Australasian industry award. Massey Ventures Limited was awarded “Best Licensing Deal” at the 2022 KCA Australasian Research Commercialisation Awards in Melbourne on 1 September for the sale of the technology to Nestlé.

Riddet scientists assess milk substitutes

Plant-based beverages are expensive and provide only a small fraction of the nutritional goodness of cow’s milk, according to a new study.

The study, assessed the nutritional profiles of a range of plant-based beverages, such as soy, oat, coconut, almond or rice drinks, and compared them to standard bovine milk. Researchers collected 103 plant-based products from supermarkets in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

The drinks were found to have much lower quantities of the 20 nutrients measured, such as calcium and protein, and were significantly more costly than cow’s milk.

The study was carried out by Riddet Institute scientists, from Massey University, in Palmerston North.

One of the study’s authors, Riddet Institute Professor of Nutritional Sciences, Warren McNabb, says plant-based beverages were often marketed as alternatives to ruminant milks such as cow’s milk, and consumers could easily believe they were nutritionally interchangeable.

He says the new research demonstrated they were not the same and in fact it was “nutritionally risky” for consumers with high nutrient demands like pregnant women and young children to replace cow’s milk with plant-based products.

“Milk as a food supplies 49% of the world’s calcium,” Prof McNabb says. “It’s one of the most important things about milk.”

The independent study first surveyed the prices and nutrition labels of the products and then nutritional content was analysed in an external accredited laboratory. Selected almond, coconut, oat, rice and soy products were tested for their macronutrient and mineral content.

The protein content of cow’s milk was in the range of 3.3-3.9 g per 100 g and Prof McNabb says only soy drink had a comparable content to cow’s milk, with all other plant-based beverages containing less than 1.1 g protein per 100 ml on average.

Most plant products were ultra-processed and fortified with calcium and minerals with additives like sugar, fats, hydrogenated oils, hydrolysed proteins, flavours or thickeners. Oat and almond beverages

The Nestlé team accept the Innovation in Research & Development Award at the International Dairy Foundation Dairy Innovation Awards.

From left, Mayank Trivedi, Head of Strategic Business Unit Dairy, Nestlé; Heike Steiling, Head of Nestlé Product Technology Center Dairy, Nestlé R&D; Himanshu Gupta, Global Head of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs, Strategic Business Unit Dairy, Nestlé R&D

Riddet Institute Professor of Nutritional Sciences Warren McNabb co-authored the milk substitutes study

contained as little as the equivalent of half a cup of oats or six almonds in 250 g of product.

The plant-based beverages were often promoted as having no added sugar, but Prof McNabb says milk also does not have added sugar.

“Lactose (in milk) is also poorly converted to glucose in the body which means milk is quite low in what we commonly call ‘sugar’.”

He says plant-based beverages have plant equivalents to ‘sugar’ that do convert to glucose in the body. “And that is why plant-based beverages often have a natural sweetness and don’t need added sugar. But they cannot be considered low in sugar.”

Prof McNabb says the argument for the alternatives being more environmentally sustainable also did not stack up when considered in the light of how much product would need to be consumed to achieve the same nutritional benefits as conventional milk: With some plantbased beverages you would need to have eighteen serves to get the same amount of protein, for example, as a single serve of milk. This comes at a much higher cost to the environment – and the wallet. But it was not all bad for the alternatives. Prof McNabb says plant-based beverages do supply some nutrients that milk does not, such as fibre.

“Our final conclusion was the plant-based beverages and bovine milk were not nutritionally similar in any way. They are completely different foods. If you want to use alternatives, do so, but do not consume them with the belief that they are nutritionally similar substitutes for cow’s milk.”

This was the first study to analyse the actual content of the plant-based milks available in New Zealand. The study, titled ‘Nutritional assessment of plant-based beverages in comparison to bovine milk’ was published in Frontiers in Nutrition on 8 August 2022.

Sliding On

Sliding on

Survivors

Professor John D Brooks, FNZIFST

John Brooks' view of the food world through the lens of a microbiologist.

OK, that was clickbait, not the title of a new TV series. This edition of Sliding On will look at bacterial spores. These structures are remarkable, in that we can throw just about anything at them and they will survive, even the most rigorous conditions – heat, chemicals, pH, radiation, desiccation, vacuum and high pressure may not destroy them. Bacterial spores can survive for years – viable spores have been recovered from 90-year-old milk powder – yet the triggering of germination may occur in a matter of minutes.

We must not confuse bacterial spores with fungal spores. The former are survival structures, while the latter are a means of spread. Spores are produced by the genera Bacillus and Clostridium and cause significant problems in the food industry in cheeses, canned foods, milk powder and fruit juices. These spore producers may be mesophiles or thermophiles, though psychrotophic Bacillus species may also cause problems in pasteurised milk production.

Environmental conditions towards the end of vegetative growth, such as nutrient limitation and low water activity, stimulate spore formation – a complicated, 7-step process, resulting in a dehydrated multi-layered structure containing the bacterial chromosome. Germination of the spore allows a return to vegetative growth. Germination is also a complicated process and begins at the molecular level, with germinants – low-molecular-weight molecules – which enter the dormant spore and are recognised as a signal that the environment is suitable to support cellular growth and replication.

Worried yet?

spores are found in milk powder, it is because of poor hygiene in the processing equipment and when run times are too long.

Commercial sterility

The canning process is designed to produce commercial sterility of the product. When low acid foods with pH greater than 4.5 are canned, a rigorous thermal process equivalent to 2.52 minutes at 121ºC is required to destroy spores of C. botulinum and ensure safety of the product. G. stearothermophilus has been associated with flatsour spoilage of canned foods. Brevibacillus brevis can survive UHT processing at 130ºC.

Don’t ignore biofilms

Paenibacillus glucanolyticus, isolated from WPC 80 in New Zealand. Credit: Siti Norbaizura Md Zain. PhD student. IFNHH, Massey University, New Zealand and Jordan Taylor, Manawatu Microscopy and Imaging Centre

Both vegetative cells and spores can attach to stainless steel and other materials. Sometimes the rate of spore attachment is actually greater than that of vegetative cells. Thermophilic biofilms may form on processing plant, such as in low flow areas of milk evaporators, growing very rapidly, and spores may be produced and released into the product flow to be found in the finished product (2). The number of thermophilic spores in foulant on heated surfaces can be as high as the numbers of vegetative cells. It is therefore essential that foulant be totally removed during cleaning to avoid rapid re-establishment of a biofilm in the next process run. The thermophiles are not generally regarded as pathogens, but can result in spoilage of products by production of enzymes and acids.

Beware of paper packaging

Spores may also be triggered to germinate by heat. Thus the vegetative cells of Bacillus cereus will be killed by boiling or steaming of rice, but the spores may germinate in those conditions. This is not a problem if the rice is eaten straight after cooking, but if the rice is allowed to cool slowly and is stored until the following day, the outgrowth of vegetative cells may produce enterotoxins. The diarrhoeal toxin is destroyed by reheating, but the emetic toxin is heat-stable.

An extensive survey of 90 foods and ingredients found that most were contaminated by one or more species: Alicyclobacillus, Anoxybacillus flavithermus, Bacillus cereus group, B. licheniformis, B. pumilus, B. sporothermodurans, B. subtilis, Brevibacillus laterosporus, Clostridium, Geobacillus stearothermophilus, Moorella and Paenibacillus species (1). These microorganisms are ubiquitous and contaminate raw materials. Fruits may be contaminated by soil prior to harvest. When cows are fed silage, the outside of the udder may become contaminated, resulting in the presence of spores in the milk. However, there is strong evidence that milk in New Zealand contains very low numbers of thermophilic spores and that if high numbers of

There is a move to replace plastic packaging with paper and cardboard. Bacterial sporeformers can colonise paper-making machines and we need to ensure that the machines are cleaned regularly to avoid food contact surfaces in these packages transferring spores to the food.

A cautionary tale

Perhaps the most infamous example of spore survival comes from the deliberate contamination of Gruinard Island off the northwest coast of Scotland in 1942–1943 with anthrax spores in a test of a germ warfare bomb. Even by 1979 spores could still be detected in a 3-hectare area of the island. In 1986 the area was decontaminated by burning the vegetation and spraying with 280 tonnes of 5% formaldehyde in seawater.

References

1) F. Postollec et al., International Journal of Food Microbiology 158 (2012) 1–8

Food New Zealand12 2) S.A. Burgess et al., International Journal of Food Microbiology 144 (2010) 215–225

Career Planning in 2022

John Lawson, Lawson Williams Consulting Group

If you have ever done any research on career planning, you will know there are numerous models and predictions on the future of work.

Common thought is that the traditional career path or ladder is dead and now we must make our way using portfolio, mosaic, jungle gym, poly-work or hybrid career structures or probably a combination of these.

What is your view of career success?

Despite what career path we follow or what we view as success, for many of us the traditional, linear view of career success has changed. The career realty for most of us now and into the future is likely to be non-linear.

There are many reasons for this and they include the impacts of globalisation, the flattening of traditional work structures, the development of matrixed organisations, the introduction of automation and new technologies, improving equality and diversity, pandemics and the change in the meaning or value of work.

Traditional career paths in many cases have altered and become more challenging to achieve, are disappearing or have already disappeared.

Fundamentals to meet the challenges of career planning

In 2022 the reality is that the development of a career plan is more challenging than in the past.

For everyone, regardless of our definition of career success there are some fundamentals that we should pay attention to. At the best these will enable us to take the steps to action our plan or, at worst, put ourselves in the best position possible to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to us.

1.Awareness

Being informed and connected is essential in today’s world of work and importantly has led to many career development opportunities.

Recommendations

Invest in your industry sector and be active in relevant memberships, i.e. NZIFST.

Build your personal and online networks, a professional LinkedIn profile is essential.

Find a mentor or do some informational interviews. HR-speak for buying someone a coffee and asking about what they do and how they got there.

Don’t forget to prepare your elevator pitch, and be ready to use it.

2. Breadth and Flexibility

Actively focus on the development of a broad range of skills. Understand and work on the behavioural competencies that will be important in the future world of work.

Recommendations

Soft Skills are now better known as “Essential traits”. Team skills, influencing ability etc. are now a given, not an option.

Understand your transferable skills and where you can use them. Understand your skill clusters. Every position requires an ideal group or groups of skills more commonly referred to as clusters.

Tools to define your skill clusters

To gain better understanding of your skill clusters and to compare them against other job titles you can use these sites as a start:

https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/australian-skillsclassification#home

https://www.onetonline.org/

Type in your job title/occupation then type in a title of interest and compare.

3. Self- initiated learning

Unfortunately, due to the pace of change, no employer can provide the amount of learning you will require for a successful or sustainable career.

On-going learning is essential to enable you to plan your career, or at least recognise and seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

Earlier in my career someone said to me, Management is a reward for performance. It is not something that I will chose to do in the future, it is a reward for what I do today.

In 2022 maybe it is more relevant to say:

Management, greater responsibility, career opportunity or the ability to pivot my career is not something that I will chose to do in the future, it is a reward for what I do today which includes being aware, building greater flexibility and breadth in my skill sets and always taking or creating an opportunity to learn.

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

Sustainability, it’s happening here!

Ben Sutherland, Principal Food Technologist | Standards & Surveillance, FSANZ

Bob Stack knew a lot about sustainability. He was Cadbury’s head of human resources, champion of global corporate social responsibility and trustee and non-executive director of Earthwatch Institute, a nonprofit organisation that supports scientific field research and promotes environmental sustainability. It was thanks to Bob I ended up in the cocoa plantations of Ghana helping to do my small part in creating a sustainable future for the local cocoa growers.

Our goal was to enable the return of biodiversity to the cocoa plantations to improve the yield for growers and their families. Restoring the traditional plantations’ biodiversity negates the need for the government to carry out their annual pesticide spraying, thus conferring organic status on the beans and pretty much doubling the income for growers. Biodiversity ensures cocoa plants can produce for 70 years, with improved harvests, in natural tropical rain forest habitat, as opposed to 40 years in open plantations. Furthermore, showing growers how to remove infected or mouldy cocoa pods can stop the spread of fungus.

Ways of monitoring the forest’s health included counting and categorising thousands of cocoa pods and mammal faeces, chasing said mammals, counting all manner of plant species and capturing butterflies, all whilst avoiding the African bees! These were a prime indicator of the forests’ health and of great value to the scientists running the research.

Over the years, the Earthwatch initiative provided many benefits for the cocoa growers, raising incomes and embedding sustainability. Similarly, the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana was busy developing hybrid cocoa varieties, early–fruiting and more suited to growing in an intensive manner under full sunlight. Chocolate manufacturers, Nestlé and Whittaker’s have also launched sustainability and fair trade initiatives as have a many local boutique Chocolatiers. Today there are even moves to separate cocoa production from the land through precision fermentation, demonstrating that sustainability is moving with the times.

Sustainability was also at the forefront of many entries in this year’s New Zealand Food Awards. Manufacturers, large and small, demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and mitigation of impacts on the environment through supply chain, manufacturing processes, packaging and reduction in food waste. The good news is that there’s probably no food manufacturer we could walk into in

New Zealand and suggest sustainability gains: it’s already being done! And it’s not only industry. Universities are churning out sustainabilitysavvy graduates, not only in agri-food and food technology, but other disciplines such as sustainable aquaculture, land based sustainability practices, marketing and business administration. Faced with a hungry population and a warming planet, there’s no way the focus will be taken off sustainability anytime soon.

Regulating sustainability

And we know sustainability is gaining momentum when regulators are being asked to consider it. The European ‘Partnership for Sustainable Food Systems for People’ will support the transition to sustainable terrestrial and aquatic European food systems by 2030. The European Parliament has published a report entitled “Technology options for feeding 10 billion people” and is also proposing a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. In the US, the EPA is promoting sustainable management of food via a systematic approach that seeks to reduce wasted food and its associated impacts over the entire life cycle, focusing on natural resources, manufacturing, sales consumption, recovery or final disposal. There are even now podcasts and virtual events on sustainability in the food supply – it’s everywhere!

If asked, FSANZ could support actions to improve food sustainability. Options on supporting sustainability may include facilitating quick responses to supply chain issues or shortages, guidance around environmental claims on foods, monitoring the food supply or expediting applications in response to climate change. Progress is currently being made in the GM area with proposal P1055 Definitions for gene technology and new breeding techniques, which seeks to clarify definitions to make our regulation better able to accommodate food produced by existing, emerging and future genetic technologies. If FSANZ is directed to focus on sustainability, this would complement the great work currently underway by growers and manufacturers ensuring future food security. After all, we’re all in this together.

Bob passed away the year after I visited Ghana, but his legacy lives on in the cocoa farming families who benefited from his dedication to sustainability. If everyone in the food industry shares his dedication, then a sustainable food future is easily achievable for coming generations. And we can enjoy our favourite chocolate guilt-free!

New Zealand Food Safety Update

New Zealand Food Awards 2022 – Sustainability in the Food Sector

Presented by Vincent Arbuckle, Deputy Director General, NZ Food Safety

We have some amazing food businesses here in New Zealand, who work hard to create high quality products and distinct brands whilst ensuring food safety standards are met.

The annual New Zealand Food Awards offer an opportunity to recognise some of these leaders in food industry innovation.

Nominations are open to manufacturers, primary food producers, food service providers and ingredient supply companies, both large and small, that demonstrate excellence across technical capability, consumer acceptability, regulatory compliance and food quality and safety.

The gala dinner will take place on October 13 in Palmerston North, home to leading food-related education and research institution, Massey University. After last year’s event was cancelled due to COVID-19, it will be an especially welcome opportunity to gather with leading experts, producers and businesses from across sector.

This year’s nominees reflect sustainability, an increasingly important theme in our food sector. New Zealand Food Safety is proudly sponsoring the Primary Sector award category which showcases how our food producers are supporting food businesses to thrive while producing safe and suitable food.

Finalists in this group are:

• Hawkes Bay-based family business Beard Brothers, for its handcrafted Beef and Blue Cheese Sausages

• Mt Cook Alpine Salmon’s premium First of Season Malossol Caviar

• Poaka Artisan Cured Meats’ Salami Whole Chorizo, Bellefield Butter Co’s Honey and Lemon Cultured Butter, and

• Bostock Brothers, which is also up for a business innovation award for its free-range organic chicken, produced on New Zealand’s only commercial organic chicken farm.

The judging panel comprises some of New Zealand’s leading industry experts but there is one category where voting is open to members of the public. The People’s Choice Food Hero category, sponsored by Palmerston North City Council, celebrates people or organisations that continuously support our food and beverage supply chain. Finalists for this year are New Zealand Food Network, KiwiHarvest and The Sustainable Food Co.

I look forward to seeing our sector’s leading companies recognised for their hard work in food production and innovation. It will be a pleasure to meet the people behind these companies and learn about their individual business journeys.

Consumer complaints – an essential part of the food safety system goes online

Food businesses already do their best to monitor their own systems and achieve good standards of food safety. But where things might be missed, consumers can help fill the gaps. By lodging a complaint, consumers can help keep all of us safe.

We are continually looking for ways to make that process easier and more accessible. Our online complaints tool went live in July, and provides another access point, alongside contacting us by phone or email.

Anyone who completes an online form will be contacted by a Food Compliance Officer, who will begin a review and triage process.

To make a food complaint, head to our website: Make a food complaint | NZ Government (mpi.govt.nz), call freephone 0800 00 83 33 or email info@mpi.govt.nz

Oils and Fats update

Laurence Eyres FNZIFST and Mike Eyres

News and views from the world of lipids

Avocado oil short course review (on-line)

Avocado Oil Short Course, August 4 - 9th, 2022 (Virtual & live-Zoom Q&A)

Avocado oil producers want to make sure their products are of excellent quality to deliver the best taste and health benefits to the consumers. Professional buyers, importers and distributors want to ensure the products they choose are not only of excellent quality but made of pure avocado oil. In this online course, researchers and experts from University of California, Davis and New Zealand, hopefully helped the participants gain an understanding of factors that affect the chemical parameters of avocado oil and develop skills to interpret the laboratory results so that producers, professional buyers and importers will be equipped to make the best post-harvest, processing and purchasing decisions for their companies.

What was included

Six pre-recorded lectures were made available on July 15th followed by live Zoom Q&A with the instructors. The instructors were Professor Selina Wang, UC Davis, Professor Marie Wong, Massey University, Dr. Allan Woolf, Plant and Food Research, and Dr. Laurence Eyres, ECG and the NZIC Oils and Fats Specialist Group. The Zoom had a choice of three different dates/times in August. The six pre-recorded lectures were then viewed before the live Q&A. There was no expiration date set for the pre-recorded lectures; they could be viewed as many times as wished.

Professor Selina Wang, who impeccably ran the course and kept the New Zealanders, Dr. Allan Woolf, Professor Marie Wong and Dr. Laurence Eyres, focused, said the following, "We successfully wrapped up the first Avocado Oil Short Course on August 15th. There were 29 attendees from the US, Mexico, New Zealand, and Cameroon. In additional to the topics covered in the course, our discussions were diverse and insightful, ranging from food safety, sustainability, and economic feasibility. We look forward to continuing our research on avocado oil and bringing educational materials to the industry worldwide."

UC Davis Publication – Evaluation of Codex purity Standard Avocado Oil Green, H.S. and Wang, S.C. Food Control,143, (2022),109277 Food Control, Volume 143, January 2023, 109277

The very wide ranges in these standards are not much use when it comes to detecting adulteration. One needs to use Sterol and triglyceride compositions simultaneously.

Global Oil Shortages

The latest price increase data shows an overall 14% rise in the price of

cooking oil in the past year. The only other sector of food that's gone up by more is fruit and vegetables.

Indirectly, analysts say, the cooking oil crunch is now likely hitting many other parts of the food chain.

That's because it is such a fundamental staple ingredient. Edible oil is in everything from margarine through to hummus and baked goods, and there is only so much of a price hike that manufacturers through to takeaway shops can absorb.

The current shortage of sunflower oil due to the Ukrainian war is also being exacerbated by the global shunning of palm oil, the almost 100% move away from animal fats and the growing effects of the climate crisis around the world.

Consumers are likely to see prices fluctuate overall because of climate events in other countries that could affect oil imports. For example, drought in South America has caused soybean prices to rise, leading to oil prices at grocery stores to increase.

After Indonesia said it was banning palm-oil exports, prices initially jumped 7% but later eased after it was reported Indonesia was only banning bulk and packaged RBD palm olein. Soybean and canola oils are more commonly used for frying in the US.

After the ban, JPMorgan researchers Tracey Allen and Ruhani Aggarwal wrote in an April note that "we see a sustained environment of elevated food prices for at least over the next 12 to 18 months, possibly longer given the duration of conflict in Ukraine. Extreme uncertainty and elevated prices" will continue. We have seen this before in history and suppliers and customers innovate to find acceptable solutions.

Omega-3 revisited-Dr Jorn Dyerberg

In 1970 3 Danish researchers set off to study the health of native Greenlanders. Since then, and following the first publication on the health benefits of omega-3, interest and publications in this area have grown exponentially. Back in the 1970s the Inuit were still a hunter and fisherman society, living mostly on seal meat and fish. Heart disease mortality accounted for only 5% of deaths among Greenland males aged 45 to 64 compared to their US counterparts, who were eating a vastly different diet where 40% of deaths were due to coronary heart disease [CHD]. The researchers reported favourable blood lipids among the Inuit, but this could not explain the far lower heart disease incidence. They presented their data in The Lancet and from that moment the boom in omega-3 started. Doctor Dyerberg reckons that from the first paper in 1971 there are now some 14,000 published papers on omega-3 including close to 8000 human studies. A landmark paper followed in 1975 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

It was observed that there were remarkable differences in the levels of long chain fatty acids between the Inuit and the Danes. Most notable

New Zealand is proud to host the 10th World Avocado Congress in Auckland, New Zealand in April 2023. The World Avocado Congress provides the opportunity to showcase New Zealand avocados on a world stage and the ability to access innovation, global knowledge, and science to support the growth of the sector.

Taking place from 2-5 April 2023 at the Aotea Centre, Auckland, New Zealand, the World Avocado Congress will include a threeday academic programme with international keynote speakers with regional field days taking place prior to the event. The congress will cover topics including sustainability, production and productivity, breeding and genomics, pest and disease management, extension, agritech post-harvest supply chain, nutrition in human health and international reports.

were the high levels of EPA and DHA. The science explosion has been accompanied by consumer and product take-up with different ratios for EPA and DHA being marketed. The detail work on omega-3 has been taken up by researchers such as Professor Philip Calder in the UK. Controversies now abound as to what chemical species should be ingested and how the levels of oxidation should be closely monitored. Anyhow it's all interesting science and it still seems to be evolving.

New Australian Standard for Squalene/Shark Liver Oil

Shark liver oil is the generic term to describe a mixture of squalene, diacylglyceryl ethers (DAGE) and triacylglycerols (TAG) derived from the livers of certain deep-water dogfish species.

Squalene is the purified distillate from shark liver oil, ≥ 99.85% active ingredient.

Squalene and shark liver oil are used in food products, complementary medicines, nutraceuticals, and other oral supplements.

The hydrogenated product is a very stable water white oil which can be used as a specialty lubricant.

NZ Grant for Olive Oil and Functional Health

He Rourou Whai Painga refers to a basket of nourishing, high-value food and reflects the Māori name gifted to the High-Value Nutrition Science Challenge. Decreasing the burden of metabolic disease, HRWP is a $4 million investment in decreasing the burden of metabolic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

The study is partnering with members of the food and beverage industry, who are taking ownership of New Zealand’s metabolic health issues by investing their own resources into the study. Industry partners range from large producers to SMEs.

The New Zealand avocado community will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to access global avocado experts and apply this knowledge to New Zealand’s unique avocado growing conditions and challenges. In turn, global avocado customers and retailers will learn about the leadership of our systems, our growing practice, and our sustainability.

The World Avocado Congress is anticipated to attract more than a 1000 people from over 50 countries, including international growers, researchers, marketers, retailers, tech innovators and investors.

General tickets are now available on the World Avocado Congress website. Information regarding accommodation, exhibition space, abstract submissions, sponsorship packages and field-day bookings can also be found on the World Avocado Congress website. For more information contact: info@wacnz2023.com

Ensuring benefit for the New Zealand Food and Beverage industry

The vitality and sustainability of the food and beverage sector is of critical importance to the New Zealand economy, and to the health of the population.

HRWP has the potential to increase New Zealand domestic and export markets:

• Supplying high-quality scientific data to tell the story of the unique health benefits of consuming a dietary pattern of New Zealand foods.

• Demonstrating the value of eating a diet of New Zealand grown and produced foods.

• Providing consumers with science-based assurance of the benefits of New Zealand food and beverages.

• The opportunity for industry to be involved in a social enterprise activity that addresses health concerns in New Zealand.

Mouthwash for covid prevention?

The different mouthwashes used in this investigation contained chlorhexidine, ethanol, povidone-iodine, cetylpyridinium chloride, and hydrogen peroxide. The assessment of O’Donnell et al. supported the theory that these mouthwashes could potentially disturb the lipid membrane of the virus and can be used to further halt the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

A study done by Evelina Statkute et al. tested the hypothesis that mouthwashes such as ethanol/essential oils, povidone-iodine, and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) would be able to inactivate COVID-19. They created conditions simulating the oral passages in vitro and found results proving that there could be a substantial reduction in the viral load in the oral cavity following the use of these mouthwashes.

Obituary and Tribute Dr. Grattan Roughan FRSNZ

Phillip Grattan Roughan made fundamental contributions to plant lipid science that now form the core of our understanding of fatty acid metabolism in photosynthetic organisms

Grattan was born July 4, 1937, in Dunedin, but lived mostly in Invercargill while growing up. He graduated from the University of Otago with BSc (1960) and MSc (1962) degrees and received his PhD in Biochemistry from Massey University in 1968.

Between 1962 and 1965, Grattan worked at the Wallaceville Research Centre of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, where he met his future wife, Sally. Grattan and Sally were married 15th February 1963 in Upper Hutt and moved to Palmerston North in 1965, when Grattan accepted a scientist position with the Plant Physiology Division (PPD) of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

During his long career, Grattan worked with a series of collaborators: Roger Slack, Ross Holland, Sue Gardiner, John Browse, and visiting scientists: Jurgen Soll, Ernst Heinz, Guy Thompson, John Cronan,

Ikuo Nishida, John Ohlrogge. Everyone who worked with Grattan came to appreciate the creativity he brought to his research and his scientific productivity.

Grattan developed a biochemical pathway model that is now the textbook paradigm that guides and facilitates our investigation and understanding of membrane lipid synthesis and the many roles that these lipids play in membrane function, cell biology, and life processes of plants. As a tribute to this seminal contribution, a chloroplast fatty acid that is central to the prokaryotic pathway is now named Roughanic acid.

When asked in the early 70s what he did at the lab all day he could say was to only compare his work with playing in the sandpit all day. How lucky was that?

Grattan and Sally were long time members of the Oils and Fats group and were enthusiastic attendees at meetings and get togethers, particularly the AGM which was anarchic and an opportunity for Gratton’s irresistible sense of humour to shine.

Ingredients Overview

Whether you are looking for the perfect flavour, to create the ideal mouthfeel, to add plant protein or maybe reformulate for better health star rating – the ingredient suppliers collated here can help. Browse through their offerings for inspiration or to solve a problem.

AFIS

ADM

Focus on postbiotics

Consumers are paying more attention to the impact their food, beverage and supplement choices may have on their overall wellbeing, and we see them taking proactive measures to support their personal wellness goals. In New Zealand and Australia, 27% of consumers would pay nearly double the price for healthy products containing low/no sugar, natural/no additives, or vitamins and minerals.

ADM helps developers support the health and wellness needs of consumers by enhancing their offerings with a variety of solutions. We do this by incorporating prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics into existing supplements and functional foods and beverages.

For example, ADM’s BPL1™ Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145) and its heat-treated BPL1™ (BPL1™ HT) counterpart, target factors relevant to metabolic health. The postbiotic strain contains nonviable microorganisms, so it can withstand high heat, pasteurisation and other harsh processing conditions. With the ability to be well dispersed in blends without impacting the sensory experience, strains like our BPL1™ HT have the versatility to be used in various product applications and formulations, paving the way for new, cutting-edge solutions that can better fit into consumers’ lifestyles and meet their evolving needs.

At ADM, our ingredients are backed by science through a global network of nutrition scientists, clinical researchers and regulatory experts. Our comprehensive portfolio, from botanicals to microbiome solutions and more, deliver both great taste and science-backed functionality. ADM helps brands meet consumers' changing lifestyles and deliver elevated experiences across many food and beverage applications to not only satisfy the novelty seekers but also addresses modern health and wellness aspirations

Australian Food Ingredient Suppliers (AFIS) is a trusted family Flavour House that has been designing, manufacturing and supplying high quality food ingredients in Sydney, Australia for nearly 40 years.

AFIS also provides a wide range of products readily available for the New Zealand food manufacturing market. We asked AFIS Sales Manager, Hayden Pohio, to highlight a few of the recent trends the company is noticing both in its Australian and New Zealand markets.

"Hard seltzers are the latest alcoholic beverage craze that is making a storm across the world. These alcoholic, mostly fruit-flavoured, sparkling water beverages usually have an alcohol content in the range of 4-6% alcohol by volume (ABV), much like a light beer. Because of their lower alcohol content, hard seltzers tend to be slightly lower in sugar and calories, when compared to other pre-mixed drinks, making them especially appealing to female drinkers in their 20s and 30s.”

"At AFIS we're also noticing a demand for Asian/South Pacific flavours such as Ube, Lychee, Yuzu, Ginger, Macapuno Coconut and Carabao Mango, which are all part of our extensive range of over 300 flavours.”

“AFIS specialise in sweet flavours and our range of Vanilla Bean Pastes continues to be hugely popular as they afford food manufacturers with both premium and affordable options.”

Another recent food manufacturing trend that Hayden identified is the impact COVID has had on the supply chain and cost of ingredients.

“The disruption post-COVID of shipping and subsequent volatility of ingredient costs has also impacted food and beverage manufacturers, both in New Zealand and Australia.

“At AFIS we have experienced an increased demand for our locally made and sourced food ingredients because buying locally saves our New Zealand and Australian food manufacturers both time and money.”

ADM offers ingredients to support a healthy gut

Hard seltzers are the latest alcoholic beverage craze. AFIS markets a range of sweet flavours ideal for this segment

Formula Foods and Scios

Formula Foods took over the Scios business on 30th September 2022.

Scios Ltd (previously owned by Bruce & Margaret Kirk) has been an innovative supplier of specialised functional food ingredients, processing materials and technology across the food and beverage industries.

After 35 years in business, Formula Foods staff are excited to be moving into the area of Natural Oleo Resins, from Robertet Canada, and Natural antioxidants from NMS Israel, ranges previously marketed by Scios.

Oleo resins and extracts

Formula Foods will be representing Robertet Canada, formerly ECOM, one of the worlds very few primary extractors, producing a wide range of oleoresins, extracts and flavours from herbs, spices and other botanicals. The result is a product range limited only by technology and imagination. Spice and herb oleoresins and essential oils have played an important role in the processed

food industry for more than forty years. Makers of prepared foods and food ingredients rely on these natural Oleoresin extracts for consistent and reproducible flavour, aroma, and colour. The advantages of quality oleoresins and oils are widely recognised. Innovative oxidation management in food and feed applications

We are also representing NMS Israel, supplying clean label Natural Antioxidants.

NMS develops innovative natural solutions for anti-oxidation management which improve food quality and enhance health with natural plant extracts.

Operating its own well-equipped laboratory for tests and new applications, NMS specialises in detecting and tracking oxidation processes in food systems and in developing methods for analysing oxidation.

Now, well established in Australia, Formula Foods Australia Pty Ltd will expand its offering with the addition of these products.

Brenntag Food and Nutrition

Brenntag is the industry’s leading distributor and service provider for food ingredients. Whether you are looking for flavours, colours, enzymes, hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, stabilisers, sweeteners or health ingredients, we support your every need.

Linking product quality, formulation expertise and market knowledge to deliver the best performance in a product’s taste, texture, nutritional composition and shelf-life is our daily business. Our experts work with our customers to choose the right ingredients for their products. At the same time, our specialists develop solutions that are tailor-made for each customer’s unique and specific needs. From dairy to meat products, from bakery to beverages, from confectionery to convenience food, our teams are geared to turning category defining trends into marketable products. With experts in all relevant market sectors we can offer expertise and knowledge in each of these categories.

With two fully equipped application and development centres and a dedicated nutrition team of industry experts across Australia and New

Zealand, we offer specialised technical service capabilities and excellent service: this is what defines Brenntag Food & Nutrition. No matter how small or large our customer's needs are, we provide innovative and smart approaches for food products that appeal to all senses. We deliver on Brenntag's safety and sustainability promise and reduce your compliance burdens with support from our regulatory experts.

We are dedicated to better nutrition, and always take getting the right texture of the finished product, food safety and the shelf-life of the product into consideration. We do all of this while creating attractive products that succeed in terms of colour and taste. We are constantly looking for healthier options and nutritious formulations that satisfy every appetite.

Brenntag Food & Nutrition brings together everything from creation excellence to exceptional distribution capabilities and merges with the legacy of Brenntag. It is true value and our ambition to bring the future of food and nutrition onto the dinner table.

Ingredients

EXBERRY® Colouring Foods from GNT

Discover the benefits of colouring food with food

Exberry Colouring Foods are plant-based concentrates that can be used to create colourful food and drink while maintaining completely clean and clear labels.

Exberry colours are created from edible fruit, vegetables and plants using only gentle physical methods such as chopping, boiling and filtering. As a result, they are actually food concentrates and can be described on ingredient lists in a way that is simple for consumers to understand.

Our range of shades spans the full rainbow and our colours are available in a range of formats to suit different project requirements.

Exberry Colouring Foods can be used in practically all food and drink, including confectionery, dairy and bakery products, soft and alcoholic beverages, savoury applications, and plant-based products.

We also offer a newly expanded range of Exberry Organics colours in both liquid and powder formats. Our liquids are available in yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue and green and typically provide the ideal solution for applications such as beverages, confectionery and dairy. This year, we expanded our range of liquids with two new products. Made from organic safflower, they can deliver yellow and green shades in a wide variety of applications. Our powders, meanwhile, are available in yellow, red, pink, purple and blue. They can be used in dry applications such as instant beverages, seasonings, and cake mixes.

Making the switch to Exberry is easy. We offer our customers highly

Caldic

professional support, ranging from strategic product development to production integration and regulatory advice. Used by more than 2,000 food and beverage companies worldwide, EXBERRY® is a future-proof colouring solution that can deliver exceptional results in almost any product.

Caldic offer inspiring solutions in food science and specialty chemicals across 40 countries. We identify key market trends to source unique ingredients from around the world, then take care to understand our customers’ needs in order to offer the optimal solution. In New Zealand, our food sales and technical team all have food technology backgrounds, so are well placed to support your next project. Examples of the solutions we offer include:

• Functional fibres for fat replacement, emulsification and thickening in a range of clean label applications.

• Plant based proteins for nutrition, water and oil binding, emulsification, foaming/ aeration and gelation. Organic, textured, and clear/colourless solutions also available.

• Natural flavours, flavour modifiers and plant-based flavours from Kerry, produced in Australia.

• Natural colours and colouring foodstuffs from the world’s leading supplier Oterra (formerly Chr Hansen).

• Plant based portfolio for texture, flavour, shelf-life extension, and fat replacement.

• Natural antimicrobial solutions.

• Dadex® Antioxidant and Damin-Aide® Vitamin and mineral premixes produced at our North American site.

• Probiotics and Prebiotic solutions for optimal gut health.

• Nutritional extracts with clinical research to improve immunity, gut health, oral health, or specific conditions.

• Savoury and bakery premixes to suit customers’ applications.

• Enzymes, emulsifiers, hydrocolloids, starches, humectants, fat powders, sweeteners.

Our sister company at Clark products can also support with cleaning and sanitisation solutions produced in Napier. They currently supply many of New Zealand’s leading food and beverage manufacturers.

For your next development, technical or supply chain challenge please give Caldic a call, we would love to partner with you!

Heilala is the good vanilla

After a cyclone hit the Kingdom of Tonga, in 2002, retired dairy farmer John Ross assisted with the clean up one of the islands – Vava’u. Humbled by his help, a local family gifted John a plot of land on the island in exchange for him providing employment to the local community. Vanilla was the crop John decided on and ever since, Heilala have been producing and delivering award winning vanilla beans, extracts, pastes, and more.

Heilala is involved in every process of its vanilla production – from planting, growing and harvesting to processing and marketing. Shepherding the product from “bean to bottle” guarantees quality, controls sustainability and keeps its mission of supporting Tongan families at Heilala’s heart. The range of highly concentrated vanilla products all have a uniquely profound flavour favoured by chefs and gourmet food manufacturers to achieve a consistent, well rounded flavour profile that adds depth to final creations.

As demand for Heilala’s vanilla has grown – thanks to its consistent quality, uniquely profound flavour and ethical sourcing and growing practices – grower partnerships have extended throughout Tonga. Heilala truly is “the good vanilla”. Not only is it the world’s most awarded vanilla – chosen by top chefs around the world – it’s also the first vanilla producer to measure its impact as a certified B Corp. B Corp is a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Certified B Corporations consider how their decisions impact their workers, suppliers, customers, community and environment.

Ingredion

Ingredion Incorporated is expanding its supporting infrastructure for its “next generation” of tapioca starches, aimed at meeting manufacturers’ product development and sustainability needs.

Following 10 years of agricultural innovation, Ingredion has unveiled a tapioca starch that addresses extreme food manufacturing requirements and supports sustainability trends. The company is now unveiling additional tools to help product manufacturers leverage the new ingredients.

With its newly launched digital library, Ingredion aims to drive understanding – from the ways tapioca can help food manufacturers overcome flavour and texture challenges to the business benefit of using tapioca. The company has developed a

IFF: Feed with Purpose

2022 is a year of major transformation for the food industry, where changing consumer preferences and the emergence of new technologies play pivotal roles in food and beverage innovations. For example, the awareness of climate change and the impact of food on the environment is fuelling the “Reducetarian/Flexitarian” movement. Also, the need for convenience and hyper personalisation is growing and is visible in our changing food delivery system and through the uptake of personalised meal plans.

Our newly combined taste, food and beverage division, Nourish, combines innovation, agility and leading-edge insights to meet ever evolving consumer needs. We are well-positioned to provide solutions to our customers utilising IFF’s best-in-class talent, industry leading technology and innovation. Whether a detox hybrid drink or a plantbased burger patty, we can provide the desired viscosity, flavour, texture, and function to food and beverages loved by consumers through the most extensive portfolio in the industry.

At IFF, we're united by one common goal: to apply science and creativity for a better world. IFF Nourish Division will continue collaborating with our customers to "Do More Good" for our people, consumers, and communities. To ourselves, we will keep practicing our "Feed with Purpose" commitment and work together with our partners to facilitate complete product designs that meet the desires of the evolving consumer market.

short video and eBook offering insights into changing consumer behaviours that are driving market developments.

The latest tapioca development generates fewer greenhouse gases, requires less electricity and creates less wastewater in production, and the pulp by-product can be used as a biofuel. Ingredion is looking beyond ingredients as options and more as sustainable solutions.

Ingredion will also add content and expand its sustainability section to highlight the rapidly growing conversation around the topic.

Beneo

Plant-based alternatives: How food manufacturers can benefit from functional ingredients to create the recipe for success

Author: Christian Philippsen, Managing Director, BENEO, Asia Pacific

The “plant-based” movement has reached the mainstream, which isn’t surprising as the pandemic has placed health at the top of consumers’ agendas. At the same time they are increasingly aware of sustainability issues, with 60% of consumers now more attentive to the impact their food and drink consumption has on the environment.

The introduction of more plant-based options is driven by flexitarians – people who are primarily vegetarian but occasionally consume meat and fish. A recent consumer survey showed that one in four consumers globally now identify as flexitarians (24%). Understanding this target group is important for manufacturers of plant-based products looking to tap into the opportunities in the market.

New advances have enabled food manufacturers to produce plantbased meat, fish or dairy alternatives that are increasingly similar to the original taste and texture – a key factor for consumers when choosing plant-based options in the supermarket.

For example, textured wheat proteins give meat-free products such as burger patties, sausages, or even dim sum fillings a stable and authentic bite. In addition, these proteins can also be flavoured with herbs and spices, making them an optimal meat substitute.

Rice, a common staple of Asian households, is another source for functional ingredients such as rice starch, flour or syrup. Specialty rice ingredients allow producers of plant-based foods to meet clean label

Plant-based tacos enhanced with ingredients from Beneo. ©Toos Vergote

requirements and to support transparent ingredient lists. Roughly 7 out of 10 flexitarians see rice as an appealing source for dairy alternatives. Furthermore, rice starch and flour offer sensory properties that create stable and creamy textures with a soft, smooth mouthfeel.

With flexitarianism on the rise, food manufacturers can meet consumer demand by leveraging ingredients derived from natural sources like rice and wheat, especially at a time when health and wellness concerns are at an all-time high.

Invita

Global Reach, Local Delivery

We are passionate about New Zealand and the people, companies and brands that make our market one-ofa-kind.

At Invita, we are proud of the ingredients we promote, and we will only work with reputable suppliers who we deem to be the very best for our market. Our food and beverage industry is renowned for quality products representative of our tastes, and we are delighted to continue our 34-year strong contribution.

Invita works with you to select the right ingredients but what we do goes far beyond. Our experienced Auckland-based team offers you a uniquely holistic service inclusive of technical and regulatory expertise accompanied by invaluable customer service.

Ingredients sourced from around the globe are often associated with long lead times, seemingly unattainable or cumbersome to procure. Our range of locally held products simplifies this process by reducing lead times to expedite your delivery.

We are a New Zealand-owned company with global reach and exclusive distribution arrangements, welcoming the opportunity to share our market intelligence and ingredient innovation, ensuring you are always at the forefront of industry developments.

If reliability, transparency and an extensive selection of premium ingredients are what you value, then you can certainly count on us.

Sensient Technologies New Zealand

Sensient Technologies are a leading manufacturer and supplier of natural extracts, colours, flavours and specialty sauces.

Sensient’s innovative technologies create fresh, unique solutions that are tailored to meet the needs of New Zealand consumers.

With local R&D, Auckland based manufacturing, and nation-wide account management, Sensient are your local solution.

Sensient are passionate about the development of the local food industry, and the success of their customers.

Nicolas Sawyer is the Sales Director for Sensient New Zealand.

Hibiscus Solutions

Hibiscus Solutions – Delivering success for New Zealand’s quality food manufacturers.

As an established business with over 25 years of serving New Zealand manufacturers, the team at Hibiscus Solutions have proven experience in the co-creation of quality foods for the New Zealand market. As a trusted partner in complete product development services, Hibiscus Solutions has locally-based industry specialists to support you in ingredient and process applications, nutrition, procurement, quality assurance, supply chain development and more.

Hibiscus Solution’s food and nutrition specialists work closely with customers to provide tailor-made solutions for their specific needs. If you are looking to give your brand a unique identity, sourcing the right combination of high performance ingredients to fit into your production line doesn’t need to be challenging if you have the Hibiscus Solutions team beside you.

Whether you are looking to scale-up a new idea, improve the performance of a product, review your ingredients costs or something else related to a food product, their team of qualified and industry trained professionals work in an open and collaborative way with clients and principle supply partners to provide the best possible solutions.

And with large MPI approved warehousing capacity, a dedicated food

storage site, a chilled facility for storage of goods below warehouse temperature and ISO 22000 certification, Hibiscus Solutions are perfectly positioned to help you scale up your business.

Hibiscus Solutions is a proudly New Zealand owned and operated business headquartered in Auckland with teams in Wellington and Christchurch.

Ingredients

Sherratt Ingredients

Sherratt Ingredients – Providing local solutions from con cept to final product

JC Sherratt Ingredients Ltd is a New Zealand owned and operated company that has been serving the New Zealand food industry for over 35 years. The company is a reliable and trustworthy partner that will help and guide you to optimise your processes with a customised solution. We not only supply ingredients imported from trusted international manufacturers, but we can also value-add these ingredients to produce an easy-to-use premix. Our BRC certified production site in Hobsonville, Auckland, features development kitchens where our technically qualified food technologists create final products to bring recipes to life. Through research and collaboration with our partners, we also develop concepts based on international and local trends.

Consumers aiming to eat less animal-based foods continue to drive the plant-based, non-dairy, and egg-free food trends. Key to meeting these trends is the combination of animal and plant protein or vegetables. It is important to use the appropriate blend of emulsifiers, stabilisers, and flavours to obtain an enjoyable final product. Correct selection of food ingredients allows the complete or partial replacement of animal protein. Our innovation team have already developed plant-based burgers, coated plant-based chicken nuggets and tenderloins.

In line with the trends, our newly developed non-dairy based sauce and dessert premixes are convenient for production. Simply add liquid to

create a dairy-free cheese sauce, custard, or mousse.

Fermented products are a growing trend. Talk to us about our cleanlabel shelf-life extenders created from fermentation.

Improve your meat yields? Replace or reduce eggs in a bakery formulation? Decrease E-numbers? Prevent syneresis? Replace HVP or MSG? Let us introduce to you our innovations in line with global and local trends and help you with ingredients and premixes from concept to final product.

Taiyo

Taiyo GmbH is a pioneer in the research and manufacture of functional ingredients for the food, beverage, medical food and pharmaceutical industries. Taiyo focuses on the development of innovative ingredients derived from natural sources to support health. Since its foundation in 1946, Taiyo has established itself as a leader in the development and production of emulsifiers, stabilisers, egg and tea-based ingredients, and highly functional ingredients for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Today, Taiyo manufactures more than 2000 food formulations, processed eggs, fruit preparations, flavourings, emulsifiers, stabilisers and functional ingredients at various manufacturing facilities around the world. With its own Research and Application Competence Centre (Taiyo RACE), Taiyo GmbH is able to create new and innovative formulations based on its most recent studies.

New products include Moringa Extract S which contains the glucosinolate glucomoringin (GMG); a so-called genetic switch that activates natural physiological mechanisms which help the body to produce more energy. The positive effects of GMG have been proven in numerous studies, including its anti-inflammatory properties and ability to protect against neurodegenerative diseases.

Also noteworthy is CherryShield™ fruit powder from the Stevnsbaer cherry. The prebiotic effect of CherryShield™ is enhanced by the ISO-certified dietary fibre Sunfiber®. And as CherryShield™ premium and organic fruit powders do not contain maltodextrin, "no added sugar" and "rich in dietary fibre" claims are also possible. The colourless, odourless and tasteless non-viscous dietary fibre, Sunfiber® performs technological functions that negate the need for additives. These fruit powders have excellent water solubility thanks to their porous, agglomerate structure, and are gluten-free, and certified non- GMO and vegan. To ensure the highest possible purity, these products are also tested for polyphenols and DNA under the Canadian TRU-ID certification programme.

NZFSSRC News

New NZFSSRC Director promises ‘best science’ support for NZ food companies

The NZ Food Safety Science and Research Centre (the Centre) has a new director. Dr Libby Harrison has come from an eventful 7 years at ESR, respectively as General Manager of Environmental Science, and Health and Environment, with many more years in industry, government and governance roles behind her. She says the opportunity to lead the Centre appealed because of the collaboration required and the people contact that involves. It is not a desk job. She is getting used to leaving home in the dark, and Koru Club snacks for dinner. She knows enough about neuroscience to appreciate how we thrive on connection with other people, and that the outcome of any issue is better after collaboration.

Libby was born and raised south of Liverpool on the peninsula they

call the Wirral, between the Mersey and Dee Rivers – a short ferry ride from Liverpool “cross the Mersey”, made famous by Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1964. The conscientious daughter of schoolteachers, Libby won a place at St Anne’s College, Oxford, on her considerable academic merit (she says her brothers would call her ‘a swot’). An entomologist by training, her PhD concerned the biological control of insects and so she started her career developing “environmentally friendly”, next generation crop protection chemicals for Shell and other northern hemisphere chemical industries. Then followed a stint at the OECD in Paris (2000-2002), before a relationship brought her to New Zealand.

She arrived soon after the turn-of-the-century Royal Commission on

This article is written exclusively for Food New Zealand magazine, by science writer, Glenda Lewis, for the NZ Food Safety Science & Research Centre

Dr Libby Harrison is the new director of the NZ Food Safety Science and Research Centre

Genetic Modification – a memorable time in New Zealand science history – and worked for the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) as Leader of the New Organisms Team and the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) as General Manager New Organisms. She went on to help establish the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in 2011. Libby also worked in science investments at MBIE for a couple of years prior to joining ESR.

The Centre now stands to benefit from all these experiences, which had difficult public, political, and media dimensions that scientists were then quite unused to. There is a clear blueprint for her new role in the form of the recently published National Food Safety Science Plan that MPI commissioned the Centre to produce (in consultation with all the players).

Industry leaders in food safety with whom Libby talked, informally, before she was appointed, were very complimentary about the Centre. In general, they said that successive directors Nigel French and Cath McLeod, and acting director Phil Bremer, with able management support from Wendy Newport-Smith, have listened to industry, and responded quickly and pragmatically to their “right here and now” concerns as well as scanning, on their behalf, for future risks and emerging technologies through ERIS (Emergency Risk Identification System), managed by ESR’s Nicola (Nikki) King. Most companies do not have the resources to do this, and lately have just been worried about keeping things going day to day. The Centre has assisted them through the pandemic, with specific advice on PPE and a constant watch for any sign of foodborne transmission of the virus.

“These outstanding directors are hard acts to follow,” says Libby. Phil Bremer now moves to the role of acting chief scientist, while Cath McLeod fills the new role of chief scientist at the Cawthron Institute and Nigel French takes up co-directorship of the new Infectious Diseases Research Platform, with which the Centre plans to have a close connection. “What if the next pandemic is a foodborne virus? We must have a plan at the ready for that,” she cautions

NZFSSRC Industry Group

The high participation in the industry group formed by the Centre, chaired by Dr Philip Wescombe from Oceania Dairy, is a good indicator of how things are going. A futures forum the Centre organised on 8 September has given further direction as to how the Centre might expand its research remit. (More on those fascinating, fasten-your-seatbelt futures in the next FoodNZ instalment.)

One of Libby’s priorities is to build relationships with the booming Māori agri-business sector and with Māori communities. The Centre has just completed two projects for Wakatū Incorporation, which has an associated whānau-owned Māori food and beverage producer, Kono, an artisan producer and exporter of award-winning wine,

cider, craft beer, seafood, fruit and natural fruit bars. Another entity, AuOra, focuses on the development of high-value nutrition, health and wellbeing solutions that are underpinned by customary knowledge and practices. AuOra leads a strong research and development programme for Wakatū and has a keen interest in novel foods and emerging food safety technologies. Wakatū Inc. is a big employer in the Te Tauihu (top of the South Island) region. It takes justifiable pride on its website in having “grown its $11 million asset base in 1977 to its current value of $350 million. It is owned by approximately 4000 descendants of the customary land owners from four iwi, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama and Te Atiawa”. Their landholdings extend 1394 hectares across Nelson, Motueka and Golden Bay.

Wakatū expressed interest in finding ways to assess food safety risks that don’t involve testing on animals, which in New Zealand usually means rats and mice, our genetic look-alikes. They consider nonanimal models to be a more culturally appropriate approach to any scientific testing that involves indigenous species, which are revered as taonga (treasures). They also recognise, as seen with cosmetic products and ingredients, that consumer demand for non-animal methods of scientific testing will drive rapid changes with respect to food safety science and that Aotearoa New Zealand has an opportunity to be ahead of the game in this regard.

Risk assessment of chemicals in food

Peter Cressey and Belinda Cridge, two experienced chemical human-health risk assessors at ESR, along with Mike Boundy and Tim Harwood from Cawthron Institute, were commissioned by the Centre to lead an investigation into strategies for risk assessment of chemicals in food. This was co-funded by Fonterra, Wakatū and MPI. They talked to leaders in this area internationally and concluded that change is coming, but is at least 10 years away. New Zealand is tied to international regulatory practices. Says Peter, “All food safety regulatory frameworks are currently based on animal testing, and whilst there is a strong push in Europe and the US to move to alternative methods, these will take time to be developed and validated. We can’t just go off and do our own thing if we want to export to these countries. However, change will happen.”

What are the possible alternatives to using animal testing for chemical risk assessment? One approach is to infer the toxicity of molecules from other molecules with a similar structure – in chemistry terms, common functional groups. These approaches are known as computational or “in silico” methods. Or, say if adverse effect on the liver is suspected, scientists could observe the response of liver cells to the chemical under consideration ‘in vitro’ (in a petri dish or test tube). This would have the advantage of speeding up the testing process – you could carry out hundreds of tests in the lab simultaneously, and far more cheaply than “in vivo” (in a living animal).

Another approach is to use animal testing more judiciously. Tim says that if you know the sequence of events leading to toxic effects, the so called “adverse outcome pathway”, you can stop administering the test material as soon as they appear. This potentially requires lower numbers of animals and a “non-lethal approach” to their involvement.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he says, “and New Zealand companies and regulators will want to be early adopters of change. There will also be a strong push from consumers. Animal welfare is front and centre of product choice for many people now, and that can only be a good thing.”

Alternative chemical risk assessment

The second project the Centre has carried out for Wakatū is related to alternative chemical risk assessment – it’s to do with processes to ensure the safety of novel foods prior to them coming onto the market. This project is aligned to Te Anga Whakamua (The Way Forward), a Wakatū-led programme of work to develop a highvalue, environmentally sustainable innovation pathway for bioactive ingredients and functional foods, including the culturally appropriate development of new health-enhancing bioactive products from native species in their rohe – both plant and animal. A Cawthron Institute team including Tim Harwood, Matt Miller and Hannah Hampton, led the novel foods project. They created an online tool (https://www.nzfssrc. org.nz/tools/online-traditional-food-assessment-tool/#) that allows a subjective assessment of a food or food ingredient. It has a clear series

of steps to help guide the user through the FSANZ regulatory pathway to determine whether a food or food ingredient is non-traditional. If you can provide sufficient evidence (oral or written) that the food has been used traditionally, without causing harm, then it will probably not be classified as “novel”. Novel food applications are subject to a statutory assessment by FSANZ that includes a risk-based public health and safety assessment, which is likely to involve a chemical risk assessment. This process ensures the safety of novel foods before they can be sold as a food, or as an ingredient in a food for retail, in New Zealand (and Australia).

Much of the research the Centre has undertaken for members is in what they call the “pre-competitive space”, and can be shared by companies in the same sector for the benefit of all. Members of the Centre such as Fonterra and Zespri have been generous in this regard. This open sharing has been a factor in the Centre’s success, and has further capitalised on the government’s investment. Libby says, “Of course it makes good business sense too, because if one player in the market has an issue, it affects everyone’s reputation.”

For the future

There are some food safety issues that no company can really justify researching, for whatever reason. One wish the Centre has is for targeted core funding to address food production and processing issues of relevance to public health. Owing to the need to obtain industry cofunding for the research it carries out, Centre researchers are generally restricted to investigating specific and immediate food safety issues or concerns. The provision of targeted core funding would enable Centre researchers to more fully engage with researchers working in public health and hence to more comprehensively explore the role that farmed animals and food production plays in the incidence of human diseases such as Salmonella, Campylobacter or E. coli. A better understanding of the role of animals and food to the incidence of diseases of public health significance will enable the development of more effective and efficient control strategies and educational campaigns to prevent people from getting sick.

As the pandemic subsides and gives us all a chance to breathe, we can finally give due attention to the challenge of the century – climate change – bold capitals, underlined, on Libby’s action agenda. It frames everything. Warming seas, too much water, not enough water, crop damage, changing land use, new pathogens, seemingly impossible government and consumer pressures to reduce carbon emissions, changing diets, recycling imperatives, the costs of energy conversion, food insecurity. Libby promises “to provide members with whatever help the Centre can in the form of the best science New Zealand has to offer, and I can assure everyone after my years at ESR, that is also some of the best science in the world.”

Peter Cressey, left, from ESR and Tim Harwood from Cawthron Institute were members of the team commissioned by the Centre to lead an investigation into strategies for risk assessment of chemicals in food

Cloud technology

Mobile data and cloud technology

Using mobile data collection and cloud technology to manage food safety, process automation and process control

Foods Connected

Foods Connected is a transformative Supply Chain Management Software created by food professionals, for food professionals. Our solutions give customers the control to manage and track performance across their food business, ensuring that they have the right supplier, the right product and the right quality, at the best price possible.

The Foods Connected platform is compiled from 7 intuitive solutions across Food Safety and Quality, CSR, Procurement and Supply Chain, Reporting and Analytics, Specifications and NPD, Supplier Compliance and Traceability.

Each of our solutions is fully configurable and designed to work independently but with the ability to integrate with the rest of the system as well as your existing ERP’s and other internal systems.

Foods Connected is 100% paperless and mobile, allowing users to view the status of checks, manage supplier information and analyse real time reports on the go, whether on-site or in the office, without masses of paper. Additionally, our powerful BI dashboards provide the insight customers need, when they need it in a visual, user-friendly format.

Our 60+ years of combined experience working with food manufacturers, food retailers and food service providers of all sizes, means we understand the challenges that the food industry faces and have designed ready-made, simple but innovative solutions to quickly deliver value. As well as this we have a team of dedicated implementation managers to ensure that the transition of your data onto our digital platform is a breeze.

With a global customer base, we deliver a system that is driving modern food businesses forward, increasing efficiency and keeping food operations as simple as possible!

Pervidi

Mobile data to improve food safety

Food safety is always a hot topic. Ensuring the community remains food safe, that inspectors are efficient and audits are thorough is vital. To date, many organisations have conducted inspections using paper, pen and a clipboard resulting in substantial doubling up of paperwork, data entry, reporting and manual follow-up both on site and back in the office. It works, but it's inefficient... Could the partnership of mobile data collection and automation be the answer?

Mobile data collection is the process of collecting information via a mobile device (e.g. smartphone or tablet). This method of collection offers a wealth of advantages. It reduces the risk of human error, is fast, efficient and portable and allows for personalisation and consistency.

Foods Connected supplier compliance dashboard mock up

The result of digitised data being collected in the field is real timereporting and analysis, available both on the Environmental Health Officer’s device, and back in the office. Required actions can therefore be implemented promptly, at the same time ensuring transparency and accuracy.

Pairing a mobile device with automation software such as the Pervidi paperless Inspection app offers many benefits to the user, their team and the community they support. From automated scheduling and allocation of jobs, to increased productivity rates, reduction in lead times and better planning opportunities through automating aspects of the process, data quality and consistency will increase, along with reliability, performance and an overall reduction in cost.

By combining the tools of mobile data collection and automation, food safety inspectors and the community can achieve a safer food future for all.

Are you still using paper checklists for food safety inspections? Given all the benefits above, and given that there are few good reasons not to embrace the digital era, why wait to go paperless with your food inspections?

iMonitor

Smart manufacturing software designed for the food industry

Most New Zealand food manufacturers still rely on manual quality recordings on the shop floor to ensure product quality. These prevailing paper-based checks bind resources, allow manual errors and the forging of data. Food manufacturers can now digitise their CCP checks and integrate them into smart production workflows to increase efficiencies, eliminate mixing errors and accelerate product release times.

The iMonitor manufacturing solution combines the functionality of a quality management and manufacturing execution software solution that gives manufacturers real-time visibility of what is happening on the shop floor along with full operational control of their quality and production management.

Faster product release times

With the help of iMonitor, digital checks can now happen inline, enabling quality assurance staff to sign off a completed batch without delay. These inline quality checks and automatic alerts accelerate product releases from an average of 4 days to one day or less.

Total traceability

iMonitor gives management and quality assurance staff full visibility

Cloud technology

of all quality and safety data during production. As all quality and compliance data is centrally stored in the cloud, traceability exercises can be executed within seconds, instantly revealing all relevant data on the product, such as its ingredients, allergens, equipment or operators.

Less wastage

iMonitor’s app guides factory floor operators step by step through the production stages, helping them to select the right ingredients and correct amounts. By automating batch calculations, mixing errors can easily be prevented. The app’s barcode scanning capability prevents operators from picking the wrong ingredients and QR codes and locator beacons prevent fake data entries.

Increased efficiencies

The iMonitor platform creates a single source of truth and reduces repetitive data entries for the same batch. Manufacturers can instantly decrease data duplication by at least 30% just by digitising their paper forms. As a result, operators in the control room are less occupied with filling out multiple paper forms and can, therefore, concentrate on more important tasks.

By digitising their quality and production management, food manufacturers make their factory floor more efficient and ensure that their products consistently meet quality requirements.

Production floor schematic – inline, digital recording of quality data improves operational efficiency

Food authenticity/adulteration and fraud – Part 1

Tamara Coory and Steve Flint (Massey University)

This is the first in a series of two articles looking at the problem of food authenticity, adulteration and fraud. The second article will look at methods to ensure authenticity and prevent food fraud.

Abstract

Reported food fraud cases are increasing, costing legitimate businesses money and potentially harming consumers. Currently there is no worldwide agreed definition for food fraud terms, leading to challenges in legislation. Recent examples of food fraud are fraudulent olive oil, horse meat and alcohol. Fraudsters are also taking advantage of ongoing global issues such as COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. The Global Food Safety Initiative implemented vulnerability assessment critical control point (VACCP) in 2018, raising fthe food industry's awareness of food fraud. Quick response (QR) codes on packaging can be used by consumers to confirm the authenticity of products. Analytical detection technologies are also available. However, they are costly, and often require a well-equipped laboratory. As technology advances, smaller hand-held devices which can be taken into the field are being developed. These, together with stringent food fraud legislation, will help in the fight against food fraud.

Introduction

Food fraud is thought to cost the food industry globally around €30 billion annually (FAO, 2021). Opportunities for food fraud are created by the globalised food supply chain which at present often has insufficient traceability, creating blind spots where fraud can occur (FAO, 2021).

Another opportunity for food fraud is food E-commerce, which is seeing significant growth (FAO, 2021). These foods are more vulnerable as consumers cannot see the product or the people selling the goods prior to purchasing (FAO, 2021).

Current global challenges, such as COVID-19 are creating an ‘ideal climate’ for food fraud, proven by the large increase seen in the last quarter of 2020 (Sanderson, 2021). The increase can be seen in Figures 1 and 2.

Concerningly it is thought that due to the lack of control and standardised prevention measures, internationally around 10% of food products may be subject to fraud (Brooks et al., 2021).

Due to the complexity and globalisation of food fraud, combatting food fraud will require a team effort, both globally, between governments, and up and down the supply chain (Smith et al., 2021). The need for a team effort and further investment into genetic authenticity and other food fraud tools is emphasised by the fact that industries are seeing repeat fraud in foods known to be vulnerable, therefore corrective actions and deterrents put in place are not sufficient (Smith et al., 2021).

Food fraud threats can be both internal and external of companies

(SSAFE, 2015). Because control over food fraud decreases the longer the supply chain, ideally supply chains should be kept as short as possible. However, often ingredients must be sourced globally.

Food fraud can be attractive to criminals as they may see that the potential profit to be made greatly outweighs the risk of being caught, as penalties for food fraud are often less than other criminal activities (Smith et al., 2021).

This paper will cover definitions of food fraud, authenticity and adulteration, cover examples of recent food fraud issues and review methods which can be used to prevent food fraud occurring as well as methods to ensure authenticity.

Inadequate definitions

Definition of food fraud, food authenticity and food adulteration

Smith et al. (2021) states that globally the food marketplace is evolving, and that regulations and standards internationally are evolving simultaneously. Also raised is that terms and definitions relating to food fraud are often conflicting and confusing, such as those for food fraud and authenticity (Smith et al., 2021).

Collaboration is in progress to standardise terminology, including International Food Authenticity Assurance Organisation and Codex along with research institutions in the EU (Smith et al., 2021).

Figure 3 shows a hierarchy of definitions, covered in more detail below.

a. Food fraud

As mentioned, there are various definitions, one example being “food fraud is a collective term used to encompass the deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, food ingredients, or food packaging; or false or misleading statements made about a product, for economic gain” (Yang et al., 2022). Another definition, provided by GFSI “a collective term encompassing the deliberate or intentional substitution, addition or misrepresentation of food, food ingredients or food packaging, labelling, product information or false or misleading statements made about a product for economic gain that could impact a customer’s health” (Regethermic, 2020).

b. Food authenticity

Food authenticity can be defined as a “match between the food product characteristics and the corresponding food product claims” (Robson et al., 2021). In basic terms food is authentic when it is what it says it is

Figure 1. Increasing cases of food fraud (Sanderson, 2021)

Figure 3. Definitions hierarchy (Robson et al., 2021).

Figure 2. 2019-2020 International food fraud incidents (Brooks et al., 2021)

(Robson et al., 2021). There is also a longer definition found in the Elliot Review: “food authenticity is about ensuring that food offered for sale or sold is of nature, substance, and quality expected by the purchaser” (Robson et al., 2021). Food authenticity activities are both intentional and unintentional (Robson et al., 2021).

c. Food adulteration

Adulteration can be both unintentional and intentional. The intentional adulterants are related to food fraud as these are added for economic gain (Thakur et al., 2020). Intentional adulteration can be defined as “fraudulent, intentional substitution or addition of a substance in a product for the purpose of increasing the apparent value of the product or reducing the cost of production” (Spink, 2019).

Recent issues

In today’s global market incidents of food fraud are a common occurrence. Certain commodities are at higher risk than others to be affected by fraud. Recent food fraud issues can be found on the free database “Food Fraud Advisors’ Food Fraud Risk Information

Database.”

Of concern are the repeated food fraud offences in products known to be at high risk to fraud such as olive oil, horsemeat and alcohol. As analytical technologies become more affordable, increased testing may deter fraudsters.

a. Ukraine

The war in Ukraine raises food fraud concerns. This was highlighted when at a Codex meeting, Ukraine raised issues occurring (Whitworth, 2022). Officials from Ukraine stated that food fraud was being committed by Russia as they were taking and repacking agricultural products and keeping the profits (Whitworth, 2022).

Other countries also raised food security and safety concerns (Whitworth, 2022). The ability for official controls to be maintained is being challenged in some areas due to the war (Whitworth, 2022).

80% of the global supply of sunflower oil is exported by Ukraine and Russia (Johnson, 2022). With the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine and the lack of fertiliser, the sunflower oil shortage is likely to worsen (Morrison, 2022). This will push up the price of sunflower oil, making it attractive to fraudsters.

Sunflower oil is not the only concern. Wheat, corn, pulses, honey, fish, and fertiliser are also likely to be targeted by fraudsters (Johnson, 2022).

b. Olive oil

Another recent and ongoing issue is mislabelled olive oil. Olive oil is one of the most frequently targeted products by fraudsters.

Italian authorities carried out an investigation looking at 183 olive oil importers (DeAndreis, 2022). Of the samples tested, 27% were found not to meet extra virgin olive oil standards (DeAndreis, 2022). This led to the seizure of 2.3 million litres of olive oil with a value of €170,000 (DeAndreis, 2022). In total, fines of €10 million were distributed to those who carried out the violations (DeAndreis, 2022).

Also recently, supermarkets in Brazil removed 24 brands of olive oil from their shelves after they were found to be fraudulent (Food Fraud Risk Information, 2022a). Potentially three companies were packing oils which were not olive oil into olive oil bottles (Food Fraud Risk Information, 2022a).

Another example of olive oil sold as extra virgin olive oil was in 2019, when Europol seized 150,000 litres of fraudulent olive oil (Smith et al., 2021). This product was estimated to be making the fraudsters $12 million a year (Smith et al., 2021).

c. Horsemeat

As with olive oil, fraudulent selling of horsemeat is an ongoing issue. Horsegate, the original scandal involving horsemeat, was first discovered in 2013 (Brooks et al., 2021). Recently, on 3 June 2022, it was reported that authorities in Belgium were questioning six people about changing the identity of horses and diverting them to the food chain (Food Safety News, 2022).

Table 1. Comparison of food fraud incidents Jan-Jun 2019-2020 (Frera et al., 2021).

Of the 230 horse passports reviewed by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain reviewed 35 were found to be falsified (Food Safety News, 2022).

Horsemeat fraud has also been linked to COVID-19 issues (Brooks et al., 2021).

d. COVID-19

Although many businesses were impacted by COVID-19, food fraudsters were not (Tolu, 2021). It was said that COVID-19 provided the perfect storm for food fraud (Tolu, 2021). This was helped by the lockdowns, which prevented in-person checks and relied on paper documentation which can be counterfeit (Tolu, 2021). Another contributing factor was the stretch on the supply chain (Brooks et al., 2021). Furthermore, staff who normally carry out checks at businesses may also have been required to isolate and work from home (Brooks et al., 2021).

The percentage increases in food fraud seen in Table 1 can be deceiving as small numbers of fraud cases can equal large percentages (Frera et al., 2021).

COVID-19 led to an increase in purchasing food online (Tolu, 2021). As mentioned fraudsters have seen this increase as a new channel to sell fraudulent products (Tolu, 2021).

Although many fraudulent food products have been found, the actual extent of fraud due to COVID-19 issues is unknown (Brooks et al., 2021). Even now COVID-19 disruptions are still causing supply chain issues.

e. Alcohol

In INTERPOL and Europol’s annual operation OPSON X, which ran from December 2020 to June 2021, illicit alcoholic drinks were the top of the list of seized items (Tolu, 2021). The previous year they were listed second (Tolu, 2021).

In Mexico and the Dominion Republic alcohol containing methanol was able to be sold due to precautions in place to try and stop the spread of COVID-19 (Brooks et al., 2021). This unfortunately led to the death of 282 people (Brooks et al., 2021).

Conclusion

In today’s world with many issues affecting the supply of food, intensified by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, data shows food fraud is increasing. Working together to define food fraud, and agree on mitigation strategies, including preferred analytical techniques for food types, will enhance the fight against food fraud.

Collaboration to ensure global knowledge sharing is beneficial in preventing and detecting fraudulent activities. This is important as fraudulent activities are costing legitimate companies money in lost sales, and potentially, especially if customers are harmed, brand damage.

In an effort to prevent food fraud, in 2018 GFSI implemented the requirement for companies to introduce VACCP, ensuring they carry out a food fraud vulnerability review and implement a mitigation plan to prevent the identified vulnerabilities.

It is important that once implemented, VACCP documentation is viewed as a living document with businesses constantly scanning the horizon for potential issues which relate to their industry. Analytical testing is likely to be a growing part of companies’ VACCP plans as test prices decrease.

There are various analytical techniques which can be used to detect food fraud, with currently no single method suitable for all food types. Next-generation genetic sequencing (NGS) testing is likely to be implemented by more companies going forward due to its ability to analyse many species at once.

Analytical testing to detect food fraud is still in its infancy with the cost of currently available techniques being prohibitive to most companies. Available techniques will require inter-laboratory comparisons to be established to ensure consistency around the world.

As the fight against food fraud is a team effort, developing sector specific food fraud prevention and mitigation documentation will help all companies, especially those which do not have resources, to focus on areas of most risk.

References

Brooks, C., Parr, L., Smith, C. M., Buchanan, D., Snioch, D., & Hebishy, E. (2021). A review of food fraud and food authenticity across the food supply chain, with an examination of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit on food industry. Food Control. (130), 108171 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.108171

DeAndreis, P. (2022, May 9). Italian police seize €170,000 of mislabelled olive oil. Olive Oil Times. https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/business/ italian-police-seize-e170000-of-mislabeled- olive-oil/108251

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). (2021). Food fraud- intention, detection and management. https://www.fao. org/3/cb2863en/cb2863en.pdf

Food Fraud Risk Information. (2022a). Olive Oil. https://trello.com/c/ GHwJnQGp/369-olive-oil

Food Safety News. (2022). Arrests made in horse meat fraud investigation in Belgium. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/06/ arrests-made-in-horse-meat-fraud- investigation-in-belgium/ Frera, M., Elahi, S., Woolfe, M., Crew, S., & Spink, J. (2021). Has COVID-19 caused a significant increase in observed food fraud incidents? Institute of Food Science + Technology. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsat.3510_1.x Johnson, A. (2022). Food fraud and the Ukraine war. Food Manufacture. https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2022/03/28/Food-fraudand-the- Ukraine-war

Morrison, O. (2022). ‘This is the time fraudsters kick in’: food fraud warnings as sunflower oil runs dry. FoodNavigator. https://www. foodnavigator.com/Article/2022/04/27/This-is-the-time-fraudsters- kickin-Food-fraud-warnings-as-sunflower-oil-runs-dry Regethermic. (2020). Introducing TACCP and VACCP. https:// regethermic.com.au/introducing-taccp-vaccp/ Robson, K., Dean, M., Haughey, S., & Elliott, C. (2021). A comprehensive review of food fraud terminologies and food fraud mitigation strategies. Food Control. 120 (107516) https://doi-org.ezproxy.massey. ac.nz/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107516

Sanderson, R. (2021). Challenges of 2020-create an ‘ideal climate’ for food fraud. Food Manufacture. https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/ Article/2021/02/05/Challenges-of-2020- create-an-ideal-climate-forfood-fraud?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_ campaign=copyright

Smith, M., Ashraf, M., Austin, C., & Lester, R. (2021). Product fraud: impacts on Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries. AgriFutures National Rural Issues. https://www.agrifutures.com.au/ wpcontent/uploads/2021/11/21-039.pdf

Spink, J. W. (2018, July 19). Untitled SSAFE 6 14 2018 edit 7 18 2018 b video one overview and introduction. [Video]. YouTube. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=NLsDmo7Talo&t=254s

Spink, J. W. (2019). Food fraud prevention: Introduction, implementation, and management. Springer. https://link-springercom.ezproxy.massey.ac.nz/content/pdf/10.1007/978-1-4939-9621-6.pdf

Supply Safe Affordable Food Everywhere (SSAFE). (2015). Food fraud vulnerability assessment tool. https://www.ssafe-food.org/tools/foodfraud-vulnerability-assessment-tool

Thakur, M., Sharma, K. D., & Verma, M. L. (2020). An overview of potential toxicity of food adulterants and adulteration act. In M. L. Verma (Ed). Biotechnological Approaches in Food Adulterants. (pp 26-48). CRC Press. https://doi-org.ezproxy.massey.ac.nz/10.1201/9780429354557

Tolu, A. (2021). Why the pandemic was ‘the perfect storm’ for food fraud. Quality Assurance Magazine. https://www.qualityassurancemag. com/article/why-the-pandemic-was-the-perfect-storm-for-food-fraud/ Whitworth, J. (2022, May 25). Ukraine raises food safety and fraud concerns at Codex meeting. Food Safety News. https://www. foodsafetynews.com/2022/05/ukraine-raises-food-safety-and-fraudconcerns-at-codex-meeting/

Yang, Z., Zhou, Q., Wu, W., Zhang, D., Mo, L., Liu, J., & Yang, X. (2022). Food fraud vulnerability assessment in the edible vegetable oil supply chain: a perspective of Chinese enterprises. Food Control. 138. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.109005

Gordon Robertson: Rational thoughts on Sustainable Packaging

Gordon Robertson’s unique blend of experiences in industry and academia has given him a view of food packaging science that is both realistic and nuanced.

As Foundation Professor of Packaging Technology at Massey University in New Zealand, Robertson taught food packaging to students for 21 years. And as vice president for environmental and external affairs for Tetra Pak at its Asia regional headquarters during the ‘90s, the New Zealand native focused on sustainability initiatives. His landmark textbook, Food Packaging: Principles and Practice, has been a staple at universities and within the industry since 1992 and is now in its third edition in three languages.

For the past 15 years, he has continued to contribute to the food packaging industry as adjunct professor in the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the University of Queensland in Australia and during this time has taught more than 600 students through food packaging and shelf life workshops in 10-plus countries. He recently spoke to Food Technology about the realities of developing sustainable food packaging, sharing his ideas on the most important food packaging challenges and research opportunities right now.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: Where do you think food packaging researchers should be focusing their efforts during the next five years?

Robertson: After eight years as associate editor of Packaging Technology and Science, if I see another paper on biobased, biodegradable films, antimicrobial films containing essential oils, or nanocomposites in plastics, I will probably scream. There is so much repetition in today’s published food packaging papers. If real meaningful advances are to be made, innovative ideas and research approaches are sorely needed.

Academics need to get out and mix with food packaging professionals to understand what the real challenges are today.

Important areas like modified atmosphere packaging, aseptic packaging and microwaveable packaging are well-established, and now new areas such as MATS (microwave-assisted thermal sterilisation) are being commercialised. The excellent collaboration between MATS food engineers and packaging suppliers to develop optimal packaging is an outstanding example that should be followed by others.

In addition, there have been many, many attempts to develop economically viable shelf-life indicators for primary packaging to guide consumers on what product is safe to eat and prevent food waste. However, few have performed reliably at a commercially acceptable cost. This area must continue to be a research priority.

Q: What exactly is it about biodegradable food packaging research that makes you want to let loose and scream?

Robertson: Many academics appear to think that they can help the environment by developing a biobased, biodegradable film, and many of their graduate students have been set this task—which is not that difficult. However, converting a laboratory-developed film into a commercially viable packaging material is hugely expensive and timeconsuming. To appreciate this effort and expense, we can reflect on the development of polyethylene furanoate, a wonderful, biobased polymer that is close to market release after almost 20 years of intense work.

It always surprises me that so many food science researchers in academia start from the position that biodegradation is essential for any packaging material, without critically examining the basis of this assumption. Glass and metal packaging materials do not biodegrade, and neither do most plastics. Biodegradation and composting of packaging materials result in the conversion of a solid into greenhouse gases, in sharp contrast to conserving packaging material via recycling.

Q: With your blend of industry and academic experience, you are quite refreshingly rational in terms of thinking about developing more sustainable food packaging. Why do you think a more rational approach can be successful here?

Robertson: Sustainable packaging is the topic du jour that dominates

Claire Koelsch Sand, Food Technology

This article is reprinted, with permission, from Food Technology Magazine, published by the Institute of Food Technologists. Food Technology, May 2022

Gordon Robertson, recognised food packaging expert, lifelong member of NZIFST and Past President (1975 –1977)

conferences, trade magazines, published literature, and social media. Despite attempts by many to provide a meaningful definition, it essentially means whatever the current user of the term wants it to mean. This has led to huge confusion (much of it intentional, I suspect) concerning plastics, bioplastics, and compostable packaging.

The paper industry has been quick to capitalise on this irrational hatred of plastics by offering paper substitutes that often don’t provide the same barrier properties as plastics and thus result in a reduced shelf life. So they are not viable replacements for plastic. The sheer quantity of greenwashing in this area is out of control, and the Federal Trade Commission really needs to step up and put a stop to it.

Adopting simplistic approaches to sustainable packaging is not helpful and can actually be counterproductive. For example, last year a company that marketed a package made from 100% recycled PET [polyethylene terephthalate] received an international award for having developed a sustainable package. If only it was that simple!

When a UK supermarket recently switched from HDPE [high-density polyethylene] bottles to cartons for milk, there was online outrage because the cartons have a much lower recycling rate than the HDPE bottles. However, recycling rate is not a reliable indicator of environmental impacts such as carbon footprint. A life cycle assessment confirms that 90% of the impacts occur before end of life (EOL) options such as recycling.

While there is much talk about a circular economy, the brutal reality is that most used packages have a negative value at their EOL, and therefore money (and energy) is required to collect, sort, and recycle them. At the risk of being accused of heresy, disposing of them in a modern sanitary landfill is the most environmental and economical option in many cases. Achieving high recycling rates for most

packaging materials will require huge subsidies, which ultimately will be paid for by consumers. And the environmental and economic costs may exceed any benefits.

Q: Do you think the renewed extended producer responsibility (EPR) movement within the United States and Canada will lead to improved packaging sustainability?

Robertson: Extended producer responsibility is the term used to describe laws that mandate responsibilities for manufacturers/brand owners for EOL management of their products. EPR shifts EOL financial – and sometimes physical – responsibility upstream to the producers and away from the public sector, and it can provide incentives to producers to incorporate environmental considerations into the design of their products and packaging. According to proponents of EPR, the benefits can include dedicated, nontaxpayer funding to sustainably support recovery and recycling, and a more consistent and predictable system that enables states to take a more unified approach to strategic planning around recycling. It typically leads to increased investment in end markets and recycling infrastructure, but at heart it is often little more than a subsidy of municipal waste management by industry.

Relieving consumers of responsibility in the disposal of used packaging and making producers responsible, decouples consumers from the environmental aspects associated with product selection. Indeed, the EPR concept does not apply to all waste, e.g., chicken farmers do not have to pay for the disposal of chicken bones, nor clothing manufacturers for the disposal of used clothing. Despite these criticisms, EPR is an established concept for packaging in the European Union and is being actively promoted in several other countries.

Q: How did you originally discover the field of food packaging?

Robertson: When I was appointed a lecturer in food processing at Massey University in 1971, the first lectures I gave were on food packaging. As I started preparing them, I realised that it was impossible to do justice to the topic in just six lectures, and so I increased it to 12 the following year and even further in subsequent years. The more involved I got, the more I came to appreciate just what a critical role food packaging plays in the food industry.

Gordon Robertson’s classic textbook, first published in 1992 and now in its third edition, is available in three languages

“The industry needs to publicise welldocumented case studies that demonstrate the positive role of packaging in preventing and minimising food waste.”

Packaging

Q: In your textbook Food Packaging: Principles and Practice, why was it important to provide chapters on choosing packaging for specific kinds of food?

Robertson: One of the features of the book that has contributed to its popularity is that there are chapters on selecting the most appropriate packaging for many types of food groups. It’s very important to know about packaging materials, but to really understand how the desired shelf life can be achieved, knowledge of how foods deteriorate and which packaging systems might prevent or slow down the deterioration is needed. To highlight the important relationship between packaging and shelf life, in 2010, I edited a book titled Food Packaging and Shelf Life, which has also been well-received. I also convinced the publisher, Elsevier, that a journal of the same title would be viable and wellsupported, and so it has proved.

Q: Looking ahead, what do you see as some of the biggest sustainability challenges facing the global food packaging industry?

Robertson: There is a push to incorporate recycled plastic and paper in food contact packaging materials to fuel the circular economy. However, there is a need to have a better understanding of the risks from undesirable contaminants in the food packaging made from the recyclate. While the tracking and analytical challenges to screen for contaminants in recyclate are formidable, this analysis is imperative from a food safety standpoint. If due diligence to identify and then remove contaminants from recyclate is not performed, consumer and industry trust in recycled packaging will erode, and this will ultimately reduce the use of—and thereby the market for—recycled content.

An associated challenge is convincing consumers and policymakers that packaging prevents food waste. The industry needs to publicise well-documented case studies that demonstrate the positive role of packaging in preventing and minimising food waste. Only negative stories about excessive packaging ever seem to reach consumers.

Another challenge relates to EOL options for food packaging. Chemical recycling is being scaled up, and regenerative gasification may yet prove to be a cost-effective process. Reuse is being promoted by some advocates, and while the theoretical advantages are impressive, changing well-ingrained consumer habits to reduce or eliminate packaging they use now will present immense challenges.

The circular economy is being heavily promoted by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and food packaging scientists in industry must get involved in the discussions on this important topic to ensure that common sense and food safety prevail. FT

Article author, Claire Koelsch Sand, PhD, is contributing editor to FT and the CEO of Packaging Technology and Research, and an adjunct professor, Michigan State Univ. and California Polytechnic State Univ. (claire@ packagingtechnologyandresearch.com).

Gordon has shared his knowledge and passion for food packaging with numerous students

“While there is much talk about a circular economy, the brutal reality is that most used packages have a negative value at their end of life.”

Professor Pienaar receives Packaging Hall of Fame Award

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is pleased to advise that Professor Pierre Pienaar FAIP, CPP, Education Director for the Institute and President for the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) has been recognised by the PMMI in the United States with a Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame award.

The Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame recognises career packaging and processing professionals for their significant contributions to the industry and education. The honour, which PMMI coordinates, has been awarded since 1971.

Past inductees are packaging leaders who have dedicated themselves to the industry through expanding knowledge and volunteer leadership and have personally advanced the field of packaging.

Pierre Pienaar’s interest in packaging started in 1984 after having studied pharmacy. Soon after joining a large pharmaceutical company, he became concerned about a number of packaging-related issues in the pharmaceutical world. This combined field has taken him to the far corners of the world, always involving one or other aspects of research in packaging.

Pierre took over from the late Emeritus Prof. Harry Lovell OAM, FAIP as the AIP Education Director 14 years ago and is responsible for the Education Team who manage the Diploma in Packaging Technology, the Certificate in Packaging, the Fundamentals in Packaging Technology, the Certified Packaging Professional programme, the Master of Food & Packaging Innovation, the extensive portfolio of training courses and all of the student programmes across the multiple Universities that the Institute works with.

Outside of his role with the AIP, Pierre also lectures in the technology and science of packaging at 11 universities and institutions around the world. Pierre has a Master of Science Degree (Packaging Engineering/ Technology) from Brunel University, UK. He also has a Master of Manufacturing and Production Degree from University of Hertfordshire, UK. He is a registered Certified Packaging Professional, a Past President of the AIP and a Founders Award winner in the Australasian Region.

When asked how he felt about being recognised for his significant contributions to the industry and education he said “It is humbling. But this is also a proud moment to be honoured by one’s international peers. What I value most from this accolade is that it gives me more opportunities to persuade the global packaging industry that we must become more sustainable, as there is no Plan B,”

“Whatever packaging course you follow, Packaging education is where our future lies. As more people become knowledgeable in

International Packaging expert, Professor Pierre Pienaar

packaging, they willl produce better decisions in packaging technology, which leads to more innovation and better quality of life, through better packaging for more people around the world,” he said.

The AIP congratulates Prof. Pienaar FAIP, CPP on this remarkable recognition for the significant and long-standing contributions that he has made and continues to make to further packaging training and education across the world. The AIP are proud to have him as our Education Director.

Advances in beverage packaging

Nerida Kelton MAIP, Executive Director – AIP

During the recent 2022 Australasian Packaging & Innovation Design (PIDA) Awards the Beverage Packaging Design of the Year category had two winning designs that stood out above the rest.

These innovative and intuitive packs were Synlait Swappa Bottle and Coles Urban Coffee Culture organic home compostable coffee capsule, which received gold and silver respectively.

Whilst the packaging could not be more different, there was one guiding packaging design principle that was heavily embedded in both – sustainability.

Synlait Swappa Bottle

Coming from a Refillable and Reusable perspective, the Synlait Swappa Bottle has been designed to change the way that milk packaging is used and ultimately reused, repeatedly. They also wanted to design a unique pack that their customers could embrace for its sustainability credentials.

Synlait Milk Limited believes that there is an opportunity for reusable products to play a much bigger role in New Zealanders' milk-drinking future.

From the outset they imagined a bottle designed with clean lines and retro style with broad shoulders, a large easy pour mouth, featuring an embossed Synlait brand logo and ergonomic finger holds, allowing optimal hand placement.

The Synlait Swappa Bottle has been designed to be sealed with a recyclable closure and the material of choice is food grade stainless steel, selected for its durability, cleanability and, by its very nature, providing light protection. Physical dimensions were purposely designed to fit refrigerator doors with the finger holds positioned for ease of reach. The footprint suits industry-standardised milk crates, supply chain and manufacturing assets.

To encourage consumer engagement, Swappa Bottle developed an interactive website that allows consumers to join the sustainability journey of the product they have purchased. This includes a dynamic map element where visitors can find participating supermarkets near them.

In addition, each bottle has a unique bottle identifier using a laser etched QR code protected within a recessed base. Integrated QR code functionality allows consumers to scan the code on the base of each bottle to be directed to the ‘swappabottle’ website. It tracks the bottle’s

The Synlait Swappa Bottle

journey and displays live information on the specific bottle – where it was filled, the Best Before Date and shows how many times the bottle has been reused. Most importantly consumers can also find out how many single-use plastic bottles each Swappa Bottle it has offset.

The Swappa Bottle is branded with a recyclable cardboard sleeve providing shelf presence in chilled supermarket aisles. The sleeve contains important information about the product including the nutritional panel, barcode and QR code information. Inks used are all vegetable based.

Coles coffee capsules

Coles on the other hand were looking to eliminate difficult-to-recycle materials from their coffee capsules and make end-of-life easier for consumers at home.

Coles Home Compostable Coffee Capsules were developed just as the pandemic sparked a major shift in coffee-drinking habits, with more people opting for convenience while working from home. Coles has seen an increase in coffee capsule sales over the last two years and wanted to help their customers find a more sustainable way to dispose of coffee capsules at home.

The new compostable coffee capsules can be home composted in ambient temperatures and are compliant with Australian Standard AS5810, French NF T51 800 (2015), as well as ISO 16929. The capsules are designed to have a biobased carbon content of 100%, in compliance with the ASTM D6866 standard (Standard Test Methods for Determining the Biobased Content of Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using Radiocarbon Analysis).

A bio-based, compostable, oxygen barrier and non-tearable filter top lid is present on the capsules to ensure perfect extraction and best result in the cup. These capsules are designed to be compatible with machines designed for Nespresso™ style coffee capsules.

The Coles Urban Coffee Culture Organic Home Compostable Capsule cardboard box is made of recyclable paperboard, housing ten of the

compostable coffee capsules and is designed to be resealed easily. There is clear instruction on pack 'OPEN HERE' and perforations are provided for the reseal tab. This design feature also provides tamper evidence in the packaging.

The pack has been designed to ensure that customers can easily identify that the product contains home compostable capsules, as it is highlighted prominently in a black band on the front of pack. The ease of home composting these capsules is showcased on the back of pack, which explains that the capsules break down at the same time as an orange peel in their home compost bin.

On front of pack, customers can also easily identify that the coffee within this product is ACO Certified Organic and Rainforest Alliance Certified due to the clearly positioned logos on the front of pack. The Australian Bioplastics Association (ABA) Home Compostable logo is also present on the front of pack. A black 'Nespresso machine compatibility' strip contrasts clearly against the green band.

Lowering environmental impacts

What is evident from the Synlait Swappa Bottle and the Coles Urban Coffee Culture Organic Home Compostable Coffee Capsules is that re-thinking packaging to offer lower environmental impacts, eliminate problematic materials and single-use packaging is front of mind for packaging designers and technologists. Designing out the waste at the start and considering the recoverability and recyclability of the materials is now paramount to all new packs being placed on the market.

Added to that is the improved manner that both packs are effectively communicating to consumers on and off-pack. On-pack through the Australasian Recycling logo, ABA compostable certifications and logos, intuitive explanations on how to use and open and then off-pack through interactive and dynamic QR codes and websites.

Both designs are innovative and intuitive and take the customer on the sustainable journey with the brand.

Coles Compostable Coffee Capsules pack

NZIFST Conference 2023 – update

Conference committee chair, Dr Graham Eyres, is in the process of forming the conference committee to develop the programme of our 59th annual meeting, the first to be held in Ōtepoti | Dunedin since 2001. The conference will be held on the historic campus of Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo | University of Otago, New Zealand’s oldest university, founded in 1869.

The new conference logo represents the

2023 NZIFST Conference Committee Chair, Graham Eyres

theme, “Food in a Changing World”, which recognises that the food industry is operating in an environment where the only constant is change. New Zealand is a small nation at the edge of the globe, yet we are strongly affected by the global environment and external pressures, such as disruptions to supply chains, work force shortages, climate change, sustainability targets, political unrest, and ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The conference theme aims to understand these challenges and to facilitate the discussion on how the food industry and NZIFST can respond.

If you have any topics of interest or would like to get involved with the organising committee, please contact Graham, graham.eyres@otago.ac.nz.

We hope to welcome you to sunny Dunedin next year!

Professional

As

New Members

New Professional Members

Samuel Heenan

Senior Research Advisory Manager University of Otago

Shaun LaFranco Food Innovation Consultant The Food Alchemist

Nicholas Shea Managing Director Bucher-Alimentech Ltd

New Standard Members

Fiona Alder Senior Food Technologist Silver Fern Farms

Robyn Beesley Senior Account Manager Transchem

Dale Bowie Development chef The Development Kitchen LP

Hoi Tung Chiu Food technologist Lincoln University

John Cox Not working currently

Gavin Fantastic Business Development Manager Hibiscus Solutions

Mike Gin NPD Programme Manager Silver Fern Farms

Sharon Hall Senior Pack Tech Silver Fern Farms

Shreya Kola Food Technologist Kauri NZ Ltd

Hannah Lee Biochemistry Lecturer Lincoln University

Isabella Njohana Business Support Associate Plant and Food Research

Scott Pickford Associate Process Engineer Beca

Inna Shuman Quality Facilitator Champion Flour Milling

Chantelle Swanepoel Business Manager IMCD

Rika Takeda Food Technologist Barker Fruit Processors

Luodan Xu Product Development Technologist Griffins Food Limited

Peng Zhang Senior Technologist Synlait Milk Limited

Vera Zhang Regulatory Specialist The a2 Milk Company

New Graduate members

Bernadette Blackburn

Caleb Dawson Sales matt solutions

Samuel Gomez Student Massey University

Jessica Hampton Graduate Lincoln University

Yiying Huang Postdoctoral Scientist Massey University

New Student Members

AUT: Yifan Dai, Emily Drage, Emma Lockie, Samantha Martin

Lincoln: Grace Cater, Zak Cummings, Elizabeth Ham, Yujing Li, Chenxi Li, Antonia Luthi, Joseph McNeill, Suhasna Palihakkara, Isobel Pope, Doreen Prasad, Ayana Saizen, Jinghong Wang, Yiwen Yeoh, Massey University

Sayali Kedari, Pranshu Kulshrestha, Ama Oduro, Estelle Parker, Georgia Thompson, Jinxin Zhang

The University of Auckland: Neil Birrell, Chuanjie Chen, Yilan Huang, Pattaramon Kitprachum, Jiecheng Li, Yuyang Lin, Jade Nguyen, Ailee Pham, Hannah Robb, Zifan Su, May May Teoh, Zhiyong (Adrian) Zhang, ,

University of Otago: Parise Adadi, Shuva Bhowmik, Elizabeth Cunliffe, Nicholas Horlacher, Sarathadevi Rajendran, Stella Zou, Casey Pond,

Branch News

Auckland Student Careers Evening

The student careers evening was a fantastic event. It was held at the Auckland University of Technology the Auckland CBD. We had a good turnout of students attending, and I’m sure they’ve all come away with some helpful tips and a renewed passion for the food industry.

We had a presentation from Sophie Wiltshier from Callaghan Innovation, explaining what they do and how students can get involved in internships and work experience opportunities with their assistance.

We also had a presentation from Yvette Harrison on job interview skills and CV tips, which was useful even for someone who’s been in the industry for a few years.

We then split the students off into different groups, each with a different industry professional to chat to them about their career journeys so far. This year we had product development technologists, a packaging manager, a technical manager, a quality manager, and finally a business director, which was great variety for our students. After each professional finished their stories, the students had a chance to ask questions, which led to some interesting discussions!

To end we had some food and networking time for the students to get to know each other, as well as the industry professionals who had volunteered to help out for the evening.

A huge thanks to all who got involved. Thank you to the subcommittee for organising the event, and to all of the speakers for the time you gave to us to speak to the students, we really appreciate your support. Special thanks to Don Otter and AUT for hosting the event, as well as for all the help of your fantastic team. We couldn’t have done it without all of you, and we are so grateful for your generosity and your support of the next generation of professionals in the food industry.

Speed Mentoring

We had our annual speed mentoring event in person for the first time in a while in September. It was a great success.

Our evening began with a brief introduction from each mentor on their areas of expertise and their career. This was quite helpful for the mentees, as a lot of them weren’t completely familiar with each of the mentors’ experience. There were ten mentors for the evening, which was a great turn out.

We then had a presentation from John Lawson, of Lawson Williams Consulting Group, about understanding your skills and knowledge to enhance and grow your career. The mentees learned that broadening their skillset will help to give them more opportunities in the industry, and to look at not just ‘moving up the ladder’ but looking to move sideways too. [See page 13 for John’s presentation. Ed]

After John’s presentation, we had some food, then each mentor sat

The Auckland branch team who shared their knowledge with students at the Student Careers Evening

Mentees and Mentors in serious discussion at the Auckland Branch Speed Mentoring Evening

down with a mentee to have a quick chat. The event was set in the spirit of speed dating: each mentor/mentee pair would chat for six minutes, then the mentee would move on to another mentor. Each mentee was able to pre-book with two mentors during the registration, which allowed mentees to chat specifically with mentors whose advice they sought after most.

There was a lot of learning the mentees took away from the evening, and we’re incredibly grateful to the mentors for giving up their evenings to help guide the younger members of the industry. A huge thank you to the mentors, and special thanks to the committee for organising the event.

Jess Chong, Auckland Branch Chair

Canterbury/Westland

Student presentation and networking evening with Lincoln University

This was a well-attended in-person event for the Canterbury Westland branch with over 40 attendees from Lincoln University and local food industry professionals. The evening started with drinks, nibbles and networking, followed by four short presentations from students and lecturers on research currently being undertaken.

The topics included pasta enriched with vegetable ingredients, green and herbaceous notes in pinot noir wines, consumer expectations created by product packaging systems and virtual and augmented

reality in food tasting. The presentations were informative and well prepared, with numerous questions and discussion following.

This was an important event for the branch to enhance connections with the students and lecturers from Lincoln, for industry to see the topics and quality of research work being conducted. Amongst all the introductions, chatter and connections on LinkedIn we know beneficial relationships will be formed.

Robyn Marshall

Lincoln University Senior Lecturer, Dr Damir Torrico, talks to Canterbury/Westland branch members at the event

Central

Fermentation 101

After a Covid-induced hiatus, it’s great to be approaching normality (even if it is a new “normal”) and for in-person Central Branch Meetings to be on the slate once again.

On the evening of September 7, Central Branch members met at our usual venues in Palmerston North (18 members) and Wellington (10 members) to hear Prof. Richard Archer provide an overview of the impact, past-present-future, of fermentation technologies on the foods we consume. That this technology is ubiquitous there is no denying, and as if to prove the point, on arrival we were met with our usual fermented fare – wine, craft beer (from the Massey micro-brewery), cheese (from Fonterra’s RDC) bread and crackers (OK fermented crackers are rare these days … but who knows?).

In an inspired decision our new branch committee has committed to a series of meetings to explore the impact that fermentation has, and will have on our food supply. This, the first session, was pitched as the “scene-setter” to be followed by “deep dives” into specific themes with particular focus on emerging applications and emerging technologies like cellular agriculture.

Richard opened his discussion with a disclaimer “I am no subject expert and 15% of what I say may well be rubbish … you decide!” We wonder if he destabilises his students the same way.

Richard’s initial commentary provided a rapid romp through humanity’s historical dependence on fermentation. Until relatively recently these relied on adventitious inoculations. Evolution of so many fermented foods – wines, beers, breads, vinegar, salamis, yoghurts, cheese and most other traditional fermented foods from multiple (ethnic) cultures – first-phase artisanal ferments, predate our human understanding of their microbial causation. Their successful effect came about from accidental and benign contaminations coupled with observations of situations that abetted favourable outcomes. Over time these were “tamed” into what we modern food technologists would call “standard operating procedures”. When it succeeds, fermentation is nature’s means to preserve food. When it fails it can provide a short cut to illness, debilitation, even death, so there was every incentive for artisans to use past success to inform current action.

Being reliant on universal biological processes, there should be little surprise that fermentations are independently evident in the traditions across geographically discrete indigenous groups. Consequently we see records of bread-making and mead-brewing in Egyptian pyramids, residual evidence of fermented rice and cabbage (the first sauerkraut?) in pre-history China, and an extensive set of traditional fermented foods in Africa comprising dairy, cereal and root crops. Māori too found use for fermentation with poisonous karaka berries rendered safe to eat through a long, slow fermentation in flowing water and kai moana similarly preserved for storage. Once Europeans brought grain (particularly maize) to Aotearoa, Māori extended their fermentation protocols to this substrate to produce kānga pirau (fermented corn, aka “rotten corn” due to the strong aroma that develops).

Fermentation is truly a universal food technology inherited from prehistory.

After centuries, and in some instances millennia, of artisanal fermentations, the research of one Louis Pasteur, a little more than a century ago, provided the technological disruption that introduced the second phase of fermented foods. That sea-change occurred when Pasteur was able to attribute the magic that is fermentation to microbes rather than spontaneous creation as was conventionally inferred. This knowledge opened the door to a leap in fermentation control, not the least being the foundation of an industry of microbe isolation/

selection and culture supply. Foods that had evolved under accidental inoculations were now fully controllable through the science of applied microbiology, and consistency of quality was the outcome. And so the diversity of fermented foods in the food chain mushroomed as the new era of controlled fermentations combined with an enthusiasm for new food experiences.

A glaring irony is that today there is a “new” fashion for reverting to the opportunistic adventitious process in many artisanal foods (e.g. wild ferment wines, “natural” sourdoughs) despite our having a very precise understanding of how to invoke and navigate fermentations to controlled outcomes. It’s as if some food producers have a risk fetish exercised through relinquishing control aspiring to nebulous ambitions of “sensory complexity”.

Today we are at the dawn of a new phase in food fermentations with technologies developed for the medical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries now permeating into foods. Terms like “cellular agriculture”, “precision fermentation” and “in vitro manufacture” are now commonplace in the lexicon of food futurists, with genetic technologies being key enablers. These will be the focus of future Branch meetings but Richard provided a teaser by touching on many of the drivers for this anticipated transition (sustainability, animal welfare, resource limitations …) and identifying a few of the hurdles facing new fermentation technologies (cost, up-scaling, sourcing carbon-rich substrates, essential growth factors, delivering full foods rather than molecular components, waste management …).

If Prof Archer’s starter-for-ten introduction to fermentation signals the scope of presentations pending, we are in for quite a ride!

Allan Main FNZIFST

Otago/Southland

NZIFST/University of Otago Careers Event

On August 18, the NZIFST and University of Otago Department of Food Science held a Careers Event that was highly successful. Students had the opportunity to hear and network with a wide range of industry representatives and recent graduates, both in person and via Zoom, to get careers advice and useful job-hunting tips. Bei Campbell (FrucorSuntory and Otago alumnus) gave an inspirational keynote talk with great guidance for students who are planning the start to their careers. Quote of the evening was “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on!” (Sheryl Sandberg). An online address was also provided from Dr Pankash Sharma, General Manager Innovation at Open Country Dairy. Other guests were networkers from Silver Fern Farms (Anne Gatenby, Zara Wilson, Ella Zwagerman, and sensory specialist, Karen Lusk), Fisher and Paykel’s Ellie Pritchard, Danone’s Wendy Setyadi, Harraways Ltd general manager Henry Hawkins, marketing manager Peter Cox and intern food technologist, Stella Green. Online we had Dr Farnaz Faridnia from Caldic NZ, Peter Rowe from GForce recruitment in Australia, and Alice Crawford from Lion Australia. Career support advice was provided by University of Otago’s Lynley Soper and NZIFST resources and networking was represented by Otago-Southland chairperson Pat Silcock and branch secretary Graham Eyres. Our MC for the event was Supriya Sally, currently studying for her food science degree. Supriya and Fiona Nyhof did most of the organisation for this fantastic event, with support from branch members, Associate Professor Aladin Bekhit, Dr Erin Young and Professor Indrawati Oey. Many thanks to everyone involved.

Science Fair Judging

Local branch members have also been busy providing judges for the Aurora Energy Otago Science & Technology Fair (15-16 August) and the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Southland Science and Technology

Fair (6-9 September). See Fiona’s report below for more details on the winning entries. Thanks to Fiona Nyhof and her team of judges for the Otago Fair and to Matt Steven (Mataura Valley Milk) for coordinating the Southland Fair judging. Special thanks go to Andrew Samson and Seperex Nutritionals for generously supporting prize sponsorship in conjunction with the NZIFST. Your commitment to supporting the continued growth of food science and technology in Otago-Southland is very much appreciated.

International Dinner (9th September 2022)

After a three-year hiatus, the Otago-Southland branch and Department of Food Science finally held their “annual” International Dinner this year. A smaller group than usual came to celebrate and share kai, with the standard of dishes consistently excellent. The prize for the best main dish was awarded to Ari Hayati for her delicious beef rendang (Indonesia). The dessert prize went to Faiqa and Taskeen Fatima for their Gajar ka halwa (carrot halwa) from India. We look forward to continuing this great tradition in 2023!

Dr Graham Eyres MNZIFST and Fiona Nyhof FNZIFST

Science Fairs 2022 in Otago and Southland

In August and September, Otago-Southland branch members judged and awarded prizes for food science and technology related projects at the school science fairs. It is always inspiring to view the creative and relevant research topics that appeal to students in Years 7 to 13. As usual, most of the food science and technology entries were from children in Years 7 and 8. The intermediate level schools do a great job promoting the science fair to their enthusiastic students, some of whom reach outstanding levels of achievement and remember their ‘project’ for years to come!

This year our NZIFST award prize money of $150 was well and truly boosted with generous sponsorship support from Seperex Nutritionals. Seperex Nutritionals are a Dunedin-based Functional Food Ingredient

company. To show their commitment to supporting the continued growth of Food Science and Technology in the Otago-Southland region, Seperex awarded $500 in prize money and have committed to do this for the next three years.

There was a noticeable increase in interest in food waste reduction and sustainable packaging related investigations this year. At the Aurora Energy Otago Science and Technology fair, the top $200 award and prize cup went to Merryn Foster, a Year 7 student from Mt Aspiring College for her “You eat with your eyes” project, aimed at addressing food waste issues by studying how liking of food is influenced by its appearance. The study employed sensory science methods to test her hypothesis that consumers may dislike a food just because of its appearance. A further 8 awards of $25 each were made for a diverse range of projects looking at compostable packaging, chemical properties of manuka honey, fruit juice sugar measurement and many more.

Our judges were organised into two independent teams, who each volunteered three to four hours of their time to select from 254 entries from 20 schools (total of 276 students) representing the Otago region, including Central Otago. Twenty-five projects were selected as eligible for our prizes and from that we awarded our top ‘outstanding’ project and eight more ‘excellent’ project awards.

Fiona Nyhof, FNZIFST

More news next issue from the Southland team, who judged in the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Southland Science and Technology Fair (6-9 September)!

At the Aurora Energy Otago Science and Technology fair, the top $200 award and prize cup went to Merryn Foster, for “You eat with your eyes”

Two types of Pandesal, a Filipino bread baked by Brian Thong and James Encarnado - pandan pandesal with coconut filling, and ube (purple yam) pandesal with cheese filling.

The future of brewers spent grain – beyond crackers

Sian Menson, Department of Food Science, University of Otago

This article was awarded second prize in the Food Tech Solutions NZIFST Undergraduate Writing Competition 2022. 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

New Zealanders consumed 292 million litres of beer in 2021, making it the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the country. This is significantly more than the consumption of wine and cider (107 ML), or spirits including RTD beverages (100 ML) over the same period (Stats NZ, 2022).

Large-scale production of beer uses a lot of barley, yeast and hops in the brewing process and produces three major by-products; spent grain, spent yeast, and spent hops. Spent grain makes up the largest quantity of these waste streams, with approximately 20 kg produced for every 100 L of beer brewed (Mussatto et al., 2006). That’s a lot of waste and begs the question; what can be done with it?

In New Zealand, current commercial endeavours to upcycle spent grain only apply minimal processing. These include upcycled crackers, muesli bars, bread, and beer made from ‘waste’ bread (Callaghan Innovation, 2021; Rutherford & Meyer, n.d.). However, these projects alone will not be able to tackle the millions of tonnes of spent grain New Zealand produces yearly. To do this, researchers need to think bigger and go beyond crackers.

What’s left after brewing?

Spent grain primarily consists of the husk of the barley grain, as most of the carbohydrate is extracted into the beer wort to feed the fermentation process. It is retrieved from the brewing process after the mash and contains approximately 80% water. When dried, spent grain is mainly fibre (70%), and protein (20%), but this will vary depending on the barley type, the type of beer brewed, and the brewery equipment and its efficiency (Mussatto et al., 2006).

The fibre in spent grain is lignocellulosic and made up of three major components, arabinoxylan, cellulose, and lignin (Lynch et al., 2016). The protein fraction is made up of hordeins, glutelins, and globulins, with the proteins being particularly high in essential amino acids (30%). Spent grain also contains small amounts of lipid (4%) and minerals (4%) (Lynch et al., 2016).

How bad is it?

Wet spent grain contains some residual sugars from the carbohydrate extraction process and a lot of excess moisture. This makes it an excellent substrate for microbial growth and spoilage, resulting in wet spent grain having a short shelf life (El-Shafey et al., 2004). These

factors also make wet spent grain a particularly impactful product on the environment, with 503 kg of CO2 or equivalent gases produced by every tonne of spent grain in landfill (Kavalopoulos et al., 2021). However, the process of drying spent grain to mitigate these problems can also be harmful, with large amounts of energy needed to remove the excess moisture, and fossil fuels required for transport to or from processing facilities.

The now

Currently, most spent grain from craft breweries is either sold to farmers as livestock feed or composted, with only a fraction of breweries disposing of it in landfill. These are the two most cost-efficient ways to dispose of spent grain as they have minimal food safety requirements and require no further processing. Some large commercial breweries dry spent grain on-site to produce spent grain flour (Sahin et al., 2021), which can be sold for use in baking, creating nutritionally enhanced goods due to its high fibre and protein content.

The downside of using spent grain flour, and the likely reason why it is not commonplace in baked goods as a nutritional additive, is because of its negative impact on product quality. Studies have shown that incorporation of spent grain flour can adversely impact on the textural properties of grain-based products (Nocente et al., 2019; Sahin et al., 2021; Stojceska et al., 2008). Furthermore, the steps involved in the liberation of the health promoting components in spent grain for use as ingredients can have a detrimental environmental impact owing to the need to use strong acids and large amounts of energy (Sganzerla et al., 2021).

Beyond crackers?

While current efforts to tackle spent grain are important both for nutritional reasons and to promote awareness of the issue of food waste, they alone cannot deal with the sheer quantity of spent grain produced each year.

Emerging research has demonstrated how spent grain can be utilised in biorefineries as a biomass feedstock. By breaking down the lignocellulose in spent grain into constituent components such as sugars, refining them to remove compounds of value, and then feeding what remains to specialised microbes, it is possible to produce a range of valuable products including biofuels, xylitol, and bioactive compounds (Sganzerla et al., 2021).

The establishment of a commercial biorefinery in New Zealand, a

Approximately 20 kg of spent grain is produced for every 100 L of beer brewed

concept that is familiar in Europe, would provide a scalable processing facility for spent grain that small, medium, or large breweries could use. This would facilitate widespread participation in waste reduction efforts and could even assist in the move towards cleaner energy, which can be achieved in biorefineries through the conversion of spent grain to bioethanol (Sganzerla et al., 2021).

Conclusion

To achieve maximum utilisation of spent grain, it is essential that additional valorisation pathways are established. Current innovations using spent grain as a foodstuff are excellent, as they provide both a food product and an opportunity to promote upcycling. However, these pathways should exist alongside larger scale solutions such as biorefineries, which have the capacity to process greater quantities of spent grain into products, thus having a better impact for the environment and the economy in New Zealand.

References

Callaghan Innovation. (2021, June). Breaking bread. https://www. callaghaninnovation.govt.nz/customer-stories/breaking-bread

El-Shafey, E.I., Gameiro, M.L.F., Correia, P.F.M., & Carvalho, J.M.R.d. (2004). Dewatering of Brewer’s Spent Grain Using a Membrane Filter Press: A Pilot Plant Study. Separation Science and Technology, 39(14), 3237-3261. https://doi.org/10.1081/SS-200028775

Kavalopoulos, M., Stoumpou, V., Christofi, A., Mai, S., Barampouti, E.M., Moustakas, K., Malamis, D., & Loizidou, M. (2021). Sustainable valorisation pathways mitigating environmental pollution from brewers’ spent grains. Environmental Pollution, 270, 116069. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116069

Lynch, K.M., Steffen, E.J., & Arendt, E.K. (2016). Brewers' spent grain: a

review with an emphasis on food and health. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 122(4), 553-568. https://doi.org/10.1002/jib.363

Mussatto, S.I., Dragone, G., & Roberto, I.C. (2006). Brewers' spent grain: generation, characteristics and potential applications. Journal of Cereal Science, 43(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2005.06.001

Nocente, F., Taddei, F., Galassi, E., & Gazza, L. (2019). Upcycling of brewers’ spent grain by production of dry pasta with higher nutritional potential. LWT, 114, 108421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2019.108421

Rutherford & Meyer. (n.d.). Rutherford & Meyer Upcycled Grain Project Retrieved 10 January, 2022 from https://rutherfordandmeyer.co.nz/ collections/upcycledgrainproject

Sahin, A.W., Hardiman, K., Atzler, J.J., Vogelsang-O'Dwyer, M., Valdeperez, D., Münch, S., Cattaneo, G., O'Riordan, P., & Arendt, E.K. (2021). Rejuvenated Brewer's Spent Grain: The impact of two BSGderived ingredients on techno-functional and nutritional characteristics of fibre-enriched pasta. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 68, 102633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2021.102633

Sganzerla, W.G., Ampese, L.C., Mussatto, S.I., & Forster-Carneiro, T. (2021). A bibliometric analysis on potential uses of brewer's spent grains in a biorefinery for the circular economy transition of the beer industry. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 15(6), 1965-1988. https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.2290

Stats NZ. (2022, February). Alcohol available for consumption: Year ended December 2021. https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/ alcohol-available-for-consumption-year-ended-december-2021 Stojceska, V., Ainsworth, P., Plunkett, A., & İbanogˇlu, S. (2008). The recycling of brewer's processing by-product into ready-to-eat snacks using extrusion technology. Journal of Cereal Science, 47(3), 469-479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2007.05.016

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