1. travel
2. tourist destinations
3. australia and new zealand

A PRIL / M AY 2007
N Z ’ S A U T H O R I T Y O N F O O D T E C H N O L O G Y, R E S E A R C H A N D M A N U FA C T U R I N G
FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE:
Laboratory supplies and services
Exhibiting – how to get the best
out of your trade show
Conference Reports:
Allergen Seminar,
Sensory Workshop,
Confectionery Manufacturers’
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
EDITOR’S NOTE
From the Editor
Allergens, confectionery, laboratory services and materials,
biofuels, trade shows – there is certainly a diverse range of
material in this issue – lots of informative reading.
Added to that is our discussion document, which poses the question “What’s in a name” (with apologies to Will
Shakespeare), which will hopefully, get the ball rolling on
an Institute-wide exchange of views exploring ways to build
awareness of food technology in the wider marketplace.
Your journal is one of the vehicles by which we can ‘spread
the word’. Do you know someone who would benefit from
receiving the journal? Please tell our mailing list manager
Dave, david@peppermintpress.co.nz, so he can ensure that
they are on the list.
I’d like to extend a welcome to the Pork Industry Board,
which will run a regular column in the journal. Members of
the Board and pork manufacturers will also begin receiving
the journal.
We are already looking ahead to Conference and its
concurrent Trade Show. That is why I asked Barry Denton,
known to nearly everyone, to share his exhibiting smarts.
Barry’s idiosyncratic style makes good reading and contains
many nuggets of wisdom, for sellers and buyers. We’re all
engaged in selling or buying at some stage in our work, so
trade shows impact on us all.
Occasionally I am asked if I have any trouble finding
enough material for this magazine. It’s quite the reverse, in
fact. I am fortunate in having loyal support from NZIFST
members, who supply much of the material, both unsolicited
and on request. So, thank you, it’s much appreciated. One
area where we occasionally struggle is in photographs, but
Dave Pooch and I have a cunning plan to fix that – more
next issue.
News that GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, the
maker of Ribena, has accepted 15 representative charges
brought by the Commerce Commission relating to a mis-
leading product claim has
had coverage in the daily
media. In fact, the original
Ribena concentrate, which
features in the ‘river of
blackcurrants’
advertisment, does contain significant Vitamin C. However,
the Ribena brand name
has been used on a range
of ready to drink products, which aren’t a good
source of vitamin C.
Anne Scott
As food technologists
we must wonder where the communication breakdown happened? Did the company’s technical staff know the vitamin
C content of the finished product? Did they tell the marketing people? Did anyone think out loud when they looked at
the label statement and laboratory analyses? Are there other
‘Ribenas’ out there?
GlaxoSmithKline have posted their statement on the
case at www.ribena.co.nz. The subject is also discussed on
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena
Unfortunately, for the Ribena brand the damage has
been done.
Later this year Food New Zealand will explore the issue
of communication between marketing and technical departments in food companies; the Ribena case has highlighted an
example where, quite possibly, communication broke down.
Errata: Apologies to Rufus Turner and Carlene McLean
(not Turner) who work at Crop and Food (not HortResearch).
They were misnamed and moved by mistake in the report on
the Functional Foods 2006 Seminar report, last issue.
Anne Scott, Editor
From the President
As always we have a great line up of speakers for our annual
conference in June. The theme is of importance to the future
growth and prosperity of our food industry and the presentations are sure to be interesting and even provocative. There
is a good diversity of sessions and a trade display that will
cater to our members’ needs, so you should be there. There
is sure to be something of interest to you and the networking
opportunities cannot be beaten.
If you are an employer dig deep into your budget and
invest in your business and your staff by sending as many as
possible to conference.
If you are an employee whose employer needs some
encouragement, how about doing a promotion on NZIFST to
your boss? Leave some copies of the Food Journal on their
desk or in the tearoom and read out items when they are
around, give them an NZIFST brochures (your Branch Committee or the Executive Manager can provide copies), get
them added to the Nibbles newsletter email list, show them
2
Food New Zealand
the NZIFST website, highlight key sessions of the
conference
programme
that will be of benefit to
you and the company and
send the conference flyers
around the business and
stick them up where everyone can see them.
So I look forward to
seeing you all at conference, a time to network,
learn, hear the latest and Sally Hasell
honour the successes of
our industry and fellow food scientists and technologists.
And all for a very modest investment!
Sally Hasell, President, NZIFST
Contacts
New Zealand Institute of Food
Science & Technology (Inc.)
Rosemary Hancock, Executive Manager
PO Box 8031, Palmerston North,
New Zealand
Phone: 021 217 8298 or 06 356 1686
Fax: 06 356 1687
Email: rosemary@nzifst.org.nz
Website: www.nzifst.org.nz
NZ’S AUTHORITY ON FOOD TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH AND MANUFACTURING
A PRIL / M AY 2007
Meat Industry Association
of New Zealand
Caryll Shailer, Chief Executive
PO Box 345, Wellington
Phone: 04 473 6465
Fax: 04 473 1731
Email: caryll.shailer@mia.co.nz
2
4
8
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| VOLUME 7, NO. 2 ISSN 1175 – 4621
Editorials
In-brief
Overview: Laboratory materials and services
Allergen Seminar
Anne Scott
18
Trade shows, why show and why go?
Barry Denton
New Zealand Pork
Industry Board
Sam McIvor
Chief Executive Officer
New Zealand Pork Industry Board
DDI: 64 4 917 4754
Fax: 64 4 385 8522
Mob: 029 438 8222
Next editorial and advertising
deadline: 11th May 2006
Features for June issue:
Overview: Cleaning – chemicals and
equipment
NZIFST Conference preview
Report on the Ice Cream Manufacturers
Conference
Cover image, of Philippa Hammond in
the Massey Palmerston North pilot plant,
courtesy of Massey University
20
What’s in a name?
Dave Pooch and Anne Scott
24
Taking care of the business – Mike Rockell, entrepreneur
Anne Scott
26
27
Confectionery Manufacturers’ Conference Report
Oils and Fats news
Laurence Eyres
28
Traveller’s Tale; The feel-good fill up
Neil Betteridge
31
38
NZIFST News
MIA News
46
Careers reports
49
50
Sensory Workshop report
Despatches from our roving reporter
Ali Spencer
Jenny Dee and others
David Pooch
51
Conference Diary
Compiled by David Everett
Peppermint Press
5 Rupi Court, Mt Wellington
P O Box 11 530, Ellerslie, Auckland 1542
New Zealand
Phone/Fax 64 9 527 8449
www.peppermintpress.co.nz
Publisher and Managing Editor
Anne Scott, Peppermint Press Limited
– anne@peppermintpress.co.nz
Director and Writer
David Pooch, Peppermint Press Limited
– david@peppermintpress.co.nz
Advertising
Mike and Sally Dimond
– sales@peppermintpress.co.nz, 09 444 1836
Copyright © 2007 Peppermint Press
No part of this publication may be reproduced or
copied in any form by any means (graphic, electronic, or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping
information retrieval systems, or otherwise) without the
written permission of Peppermint Press. The views
expressed in this journal are those of the writers and do
not necessarily represent the view of the Publisher, the
Scientific review board, NZIFST, or MIA.
Layout
Hart Design – foodnz@hartdesign.co.nz
Regular Contributors
Laurence Eyres, Alison Spencer, Laurie Melton,
Owen McCarthy, Charles Brennan, Lynley
Drummond, David Everett, Sally Hasell
Chairman Scientific Review Board
Dr Owen McCarthy – O.McCarthy@massey.ac.nz
Published by Peppermint Press Limited
Printed by MH Print
Notice to Contributors
When submitting editorial for Food New Zealand
please observe the following, Editorial to be
submitted as plain text files, NO FORMATTING
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Please refer to rate cards or Mike and Sally
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ENDORSED BY THE MEAT INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND & THE PORK INDUSTRY BOARD
April / May 2007
3
IN-BRIEF
In-brief
New Chief
Executive at Zespri
Tony Nowell has assumed the role
of Chief Executive of Zespri.
He has extensive experience
of the Asian and European markets, both important growth areas
for Zespri, having spent 12 years
in general management roles in
Asia, and seventeen years working
for French companies L’Oreal and
Danone. He is an avid supporter
of initiatives to improve New Zealand’s business environment, devoting his time and leadership to
a number of influential New Zea- Tony Nowell
land organisations. He is immediate past Chair of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council,
Chair of the New Zealand Packaging Accord Governing Board
and the ASEAN New Zealand Combined Business Council, CoChair of the Government’s Food and Beverage Task Force and
Deputy Chairman of Leadership New Zealand. He has also recently been appointed as a New Zealand representative to the
APEC Business Advisory Council.
New face at
Advanced
Packaging
Advanced Packaging Systems
Ltd are pleased to announce the
recent appointment of Graeme
Williamson to the role of product manager for the conveyor
belting and Silverson high
shear mixer segments of the
business.
Graeme has 20 years experience in the manufacturing
and sales of specialty mesh
and metal conveyor products. Graeme Williamson
His thorough understanding of
conveying requirements across a wide range of industries
allows him to advise clients on how to best set up or improve their handling of materials on the move. Industries
covered include: frozen foods, bakery, snack foods, poultry, seafood and confectionery industries.
On the Mixing side, Graeme will be promoting and
selling the internationally recognised range of Silverson
high shear mixers. These mixers are used extensively
where the rapid dispersion of powders into solution is required. In some cases, mixing times can be reduced by up
to 90% when compared to conventional stirring methods.
Advanced Packaging Systems Ltd has a range of demonstration mixers available for free trials ranging from the
ability to process a few litres right through to hundreds of
thousands of litres.
4
Food New Zealand
Tate & Lyle ANZ expands
regional presence
From 1 April, Tate & Lyle’s new Australasian subsidiary is
set to assume responsibility from Danisco for the distribution of Krystar crystalline fructose in the region.
The company will also manage the distribution of
Tate & Lyle food ingredients (including modified starches,
polydextrose, sweeteners and acidulants in New Zealand),
previously managed by Bronson & Jacobs.
“Our strategy is to offer the most comprehensive range
of value added ingredients to the Australasian market. This
means wider choice for our customers and new opportunities in ingredients blending.” said Faye Bowyer, general
manager.
The division, which forms part of Tate & Lyle’s Global
Food Ingredients Group, was established to help the ingredients firm focus on the Australian and New Zealand
food and beverage industry. It already distributes ingredients for Nutrinova (sweeteners and sorbates), Wild Flavors (flavours), Innova (savoury flavours) and SunOpta
(fibres).
Nutrition Foundation roles
New Zealand trained Dietitian, Kelsey Woodcock, has returned
from her O.E recently to take up a newly established role at the
New Zealand Nutrition Foundation. The Nutrition Foundation is
expanding to meet the growing need for credible and consistent
nutrition information.
Kelsey worked as a dietitian in both the corporate sector
and public health before heading overseas to broaden her professional experience even further.
The Foundation also welcomes a new Chair. Fiona Carruthers, Nutrition Manager at the New Zealand Beef and Lamb
Marketing Bureau, who moves from her existing Council role to
become the first industry-based Chair.
Kelsey Woodcock
IN-BRIEF
14th HACCP Conference
The 14th Australian HACCP Conference will be held from 30
July to 3 August 2007, on the Gold Coast Queensland. The
HACCP Conference is the premier discussion forum for all food
industry professionals involved in food safety. Each year the
conference attracts a loyal following of those involved in the
development, implementation and maintenance of food safety
programmes.
Some of the topics to be discussed this year include pest
control, criminal law and legal strategies, high risk foods, cleaning for allergen control, packaging, ozone issues and much
more all in the context of food safety.
For further information on the Conference, sponsorship, trade display or the HACCP Awards visit the website
www.haccptown.com, or email conference@haccptown.com
2007 Packaging Council Awards
The CALL FOR ENTRIES for the Packaging Council 2007
Awards for Environmentally Acceptable Packaging is on
NOW!
Every two years the Packaging Council of New Zealand
invites industry to submit entries which demonstrate the environmental standards and initiatives being achieved in New
Zealand by manufacturers, wholesalers, brand owners, retailers, fillers, young designers, users of packaging and those in
the recovery industry.
The Awards programme aims to recognise and reward
those who are making a significant contribution to improve
the environmental performance of packaging, packaging
systems and environmental education, or the operation of
their manufacturing facilities.
More information is available on the Packaging Council’s
website: http://www.packaging.org.nz/awards/awards.php.
Or contact Deb Statham – Awards Project Manager on
d.statham@packaging.org.nz (mobile 021 706 455 /
07 839 7211) or Paul Curtis at the Packaging Council
(p.curtis@packaging.org.nz) if you are interested in entering
or have a customer or supplier who you think should enter.
April / May 2007
5
IN-BRIEF
NORM’S NOTES
Wine Haze Research
Nanotechnology
Put briefly, nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see,
manipulate and manufacture materials at usually between
1 and 100 nanometres. A nanometre is one billionth of a
metre and a human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometres
wide. Although the food industry has been involved with
aspects of nanotechnology for some time, this emerging
science now offers much more in the field of food formulation, processing and packaging.
However, Erich Windhab, a scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s food processing laboratory,
has emphasised the need for caution introducing new
products based on nanotechnology to consumers. Many
may be fearful of the new science in a reaction akin to
that experienced with the introduction of genetically
modified foods and be resentful of having it “pushed
down their throats”.
Already, the Swiss group has used microcapsules with
a size of 50 to 100 microns with Vitamin A, iodine and
iron compounds encapsulated in the size range of about
5 microns (about 5000 nanometres). These nutrients are
missing from the soil and hence the foods grown and
eaten in rural Morocco so the effect of their use in a study
of 159 school children aged between 6 and 14 years of
age was dramatic. There was a significant reduction of
iodine deficiency and anaemia. Work is continuing on
applying similar techniques but at a smaller size to other
foods and processes so that it will be possible to tailor
food microstructures to meet the needs of communities
similar to the Moroccan one.
Other work in nanotechnology includes biopolymers
in solutions, gels, and films. One study found functional
nanostructures can incorporate individual biological molecules, an approach which is useful in the development of
biosensors that can use natural sugars or proteins as targetrecognition groups. Such areas include the development of
functional ingredients such as drugs, vitamins, antimicrobials, antioxidants, flavourings, colourants, and preservatives.
With the application of nanotechnology in the food
industry moving apace, research institutes and governments are looking at regulation of the technology. In doing so, let us not forget the role of that valuable entity,
the consumer.
Norman Lodge
6
Food New Zealand
A Lincoln University summer scholarship has developed new
protocols for characterising the hazes that can form in wines,
opening the way for further work to explain the process of haze
formation.
Lyndon Green, a summer scholar under the supervision of
Dr Roland Harrison established a set of protocols of haze collection by three methods.
These methods were applied to a range of fined and unfined sauvignon blanc wines from five Marlborough vineyards
following a Marlborough Wine Research Centre trial looking at
the relationship between irrigation levels and rates of bentonite
fining.
“Initial results suggest fined wines form less haze and
haziness as measured by nephelometry, compared to unfined
wines,” says Dr Harrison.
Dr Harrison says the next phase of the research is to use
capillary electrophoresis (CE) to investigate the effects of various reagents to disperse haze components. Arrangements have
been made with Marlborough Wine Research Centre in preparation for this.
Haze in wine is a significant issue for the industry. The most
frequent cause is protein-polyphenol interaction. Although a
clear wine can be achieved relatively easily by fining and filtration, the problem for the producer is to ensure that the product
remains “brilliantly” clear for a reasonable period (say, four or
five years). This is usually achieved by carrying out fining trials
to determine the level of bentonite needed to prevent a haze
from forming. Often, and particularly with sauvignon blanc,
standard tests indicate much greater levels of bentonite than the
winemaker feels is desirable, because of the effect on varietalcharacter and the volume of sediment
Lyndon Greening is the latest in a series of post-graduate students from Lincoln University to be awarded a summer
scholarship, which aim to address specific questions with direct application to industry. Lincoln University’s Food and Wine
Group is New Zealand’s major provider of multi-disciplinary
research and teaching for the wine industry.
IN-BRIEF
What’s in a grapefruit?
An NZIFST member recently asked... ‘Many people the world
over – most suffering a heart condition/angina – take medicines with the warning: “do not take/avoid grapefruit and
its juice”.
Why? Is this a food technology or biochemical or pharmaceutical problem? We asked for help from NZIFST members.
In brief, it is all three. First, the biochemical problem is
caused by compounds called furancoumarins that are contained in grapefruit juice. These inhibit an enzyme in the gut
which normally ‘chews’ up drugs taken orally before they are
absorbed into the blood stream, thereby reducing the drug’s
availability.
Secondly, drinking grapefruit juice causes more of a drug
to be absorbed into the blood stream, thereby creating a
(potentially serious or lethal) pharmaceutical problem as
the drugs’ effects and side effects are increased – leading to
toxicity. As an aside, one reader noted, this effect is being
researched as a potential means of better delivery of some
drugs.
How much grapefruit juice would you need to drink to
cause this effect? As another reader noted, you would need
to drink one litre of grapefruit juice per day. (Warning – we
strongly advise that you do not drink grapefruit juice as a way
of trying to lower the dose of the drug you are taking!!)
Thirdly, it is also a food technology problem because, as
a reader noted, the implicated compounds, furancoumarins,
actually give the juice its flavour and ‘some manufacturers
may add furanocoumarin-rich grapefruit oil to boost the flavour.’ Which helps to explain why drinking the grapefruit
juice is usually discussed in the literature rather than the
fresh grapefruit.
So what drugs are affected by grapefruit juice? Our readers sent in a huge list of drugs that could be affected. Most
agreed that blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs
(statins) are particularly implicated. However, we strongly
advise that you consult with your doctor about any possible
effects and side effects grapefruit juice might have on whatever medication you are taking and always read the drug
information sheet.
Finally, one reader raised a whole new question about
whether the grapefruit referred to in all the literature is the
same as our home grown variety: “I understand that [our
grapefruit] is a cultivar derived from a Chinese citrus fruit,
and which probably has quite a different chemical profile…
[and] has often been named as the ‘Poor Man’s Orange’, and
as far as I know has no significant genetic connection with
the US or Caribbean product.”
In conclusion, grapefruit juice contains furancoumarins
that impact on oral pharmaceuticals by inhibiting a gut enzyme thereby causing more of the drug to be absorbed into
the blood stream, leading to potentially lethal drug levels
in our body. Our advice is simple - if you are taking any
medication always err on the side of caution, seek and follow medical guidance. But you may not have to avoid all
citrus fruit and anyway, according to one reader ‘Oranges,
mandarins and tangelos are far superior, especially if they are
grown in New Zealand.’
Cut your mixing time by up to 90%
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2/11/06 1:37:34 PM
April / May 2007
7
LABORATORIES
Laboratories – facilities
and equipment
Laboratory testing is inherent in food manufacturing. Whether in house, where equipment and
consumables must be sourced, or outsourced, when services must be accessed and systems
monitored, a food company needs its laboratory. We have asked suppliers of services and materials
and equipment to tell us about their offerings
Making micro testing easier
The 3M Staph express pack
The 3M Petrifilm™ Staph Express
Count Plate
Food laboratories around the world place high priority on routine Staphylococcus aureus testing since enumeration of this
bacterium is commonly used as an indication of food quality
and safety. Early identification of potential contamination is important since food borne staphylococcal intoxication is recognised as being a leading cause in reported bacterial food borne
illness.
For a long time, the need in the food and beverage industry
was to have a cost effective, easy to use, faster result test for
S. aureus. Based on those needs, 3M Microbiology developed
a test that provides a final result in as little as 22 hours versus
up to 78 hours with the three-plate Baird-Parker agar plus tube
coagulase method.
After inoculation with 1mL of sample and incubation at
35°C, the plate is ready for interpretation. If S. aureus is present,
distinct red-violet colonies appear in as few as 22 hours. When
8
Food New Zealand
colony colours other than red-violet are present, the 3M Petrifilm Staph Express disk is used to distinguish S. aureus from
other suspect colonies.
Easy testing and interpretation means less chance of human
error, and with the time saved in S. aureus testing, laboratory
personnel are freed up for other responsibilities.
3M Petrifilm Staph Express Count plates are available globally allowing multinational food manufacturers and processors
to standardise their test methods.
3M has completed its acquisition of Biotrace International
PLC. The acquisition will enhance 3M’s core food processing
safety business while also enabling 3M to expand into adjacent
health care markets.
Biotrace specialises in the development and manufacture of
hygiene monitors, tests for salmonella, listeria and e-coli, ATPbased milk sterility tests, and a variety of laboratory supplies for
food testing labs. In addition to food service products, Biotrace
provides rapid tests and laboratory consumables for environmental monitoring and quality control in a wide range of industrial and defence applications.
LABORATORIES
Microbiology at the speed of light
Soleris™ real-time microbiology system
Traditional microbiological testing methods are a time-consuming bottleneck for many processors. This is because most standard methods require preparation of samples, lengthy incubation
and subsequent counting or interpretation of results. Biolab NZ
would like to introduce you to a real-time microbiology system
from Neogen – Soleris™
The Soleris™ system enables you to screen raw materials or
products for early detection of contamination – ensuring higher
quality, longer shelf life and greater value for your brands.
Soleris™ is an ideal tool to help with HACCP compliance.
Problematic spots can be easily identified, monitored and
mapped. By providing trend analysis and multiple format reports with a simple click of the mouse, Soleris™ helps management to ensure that all critical control points are stable and
alerts the user of any deviation.
Soleris™ uses optical assay technology that measures microbial growth by monitoring pH and other biochemical reactions
that generate a colour change as microorganisms in the broth
grow and metabolise. The results are displayed by colour-coded monitoring with an alert on samples out of specification.
Sensitivity of the technology ranges from a single organism per
vial to 107 to 108 CFU/ml (upper limit).
The Soleris™ COLIFORM Test has AOAC certification for a
variety of foods and provides reliable results – usually in hours
instead of days. The system allows you to configure the Soleris
models to test from 1 to 1,024 samples at one time, so it can be
easily upgraded to fit your changing needs.
Available assays: Enterobacteriaceae; Yeasts and moulds;
E.coli; total viable count, lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococcus,
Pseudomonas, Listeria spp, biological indicators and others.
Industrial applications include beverages, wine, nutraceuticals,
meat, dairy, poultry, seafood, fruits and vegetables, environmental swabs, chocolates and candies, eggs and others.
Fort Richard Laboratories –
rapid testing
When most people think “Microbiology”, they think of the clinical markets such as hospital laboratories.
However, with the ever-tightening standards of food hygiene and customer awareness, the onus is on food manufacturers and handlers to ensure their product is free from dangerous
bacteria, toxins and potential allergens. Having the confidence
of knowing your product has been adequately tested can ensure you stay in business.
“There are numerous ways of testing for microbes or contaminants in food, says Fort Richard’s Brendon Clist.
Traditional microbiology is the most accurate way to identify
April / May 2007
9
LABORATORIES
and enumerate any potentially dangerous microorganisms in
your product – this process involves collection of sample, dilution, and then pipetting onto growth media to enable reading
of results in 24-48 hours.
However, this is relatively time consuming, and so rapid
test methods become desirable, especially if your manufacturing and distribution process requires a fast turn around. Neogen
Corporation are the world’s biggest specialist company providing rapid tests not only for pathogenic and spoilage bacteria,
but for many different allergens such as soy, gluten, peanut,
histamine etc. These tests range from simple-to-use lateral flow
strips to quantitative kits with specificity down to 2 ppb.
Of course, for the best results, your food processing equipment must be as clean as possible. So the need for testing the
hygiene of equipment before your manufacturing run is important. For this type of testing there are rapid presence/absence
tests available with a result time of ± 10 minutes. These tests
work simply on detecting traces of food – proteins, sugars etc
that could be harbouring bacteria.
For a more accurate quantitative result, a hygiene check
slide is used. This method will tell you how many bacteria per
cm2 of machinery surface are present – you will get a result in ±
24 hours. There are many options for testing and HACCP verification and you can be assured that the right test with the right
parameters will be available.
Fort Richard Laboratories Ltd supply the complete range of
Neogen food safety solutions, as well as manufacturing all culture
media required for quantitative results in food microbiology.
Laboratory services
The Kiestra cutting-edge microbiology technology system
Automated microbiology at
Agriquality
Consumers today want verification that what they’re eating is
healthy and safe and, as that proof increasingly comes in the
form of scientific evidence, good laboratory testing equals solid,
reliable food quality assurance.
Keeping at the forefront of science-based technological
developments is key to providing first-rate laboratory testing.
That’s why leading food safety and biosecurity company, AgriQuality, has invested seven million dollars in an automation
project known as Kiestra.
Kiestra, a cutting-edge microbiology technology system, has
been put into action at two of AgriQuality’s laboratory sites
– Auckland and Melbourne. The initial installation in Auckland
was the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and quickly confirmed its worth, increasing testing capacity significantly.
The Kiestra automatically calibrated machinery consistently
and aseptically prepares and processes test plates. This not only
notably reduces inconsistencies and the prospect of contamination and human error, but also relieves scientists of much of the
mundane handling of microbiology testing, leaving them free to
interpret results and carry out specialised analyses.
The fully installed Auckland system allows customers to
view photographic images of test plates online. This data,
stored electronically, provides an entirely traceable and permanent record of food testing results.
Laboratory staff say they’re already reaping benefit from the
absolute accuracy that Kiestra provides. The machine scans,
records and counts plates, which offers real-time traceability
and faster results. It has trebled throughput and guarantees improved turnaround times.
AgriQuality’s microbiology laboratories use both traditional
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10
Food New Zealand
LABORATORIES
and modern rapid technologies to offer a range of services including shelf life testing, food poisoning and spoilage investigations, contaminant trace-backs, cost method development and
special projects. They provide national coverage with microbiological testing facilities in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
With a network of eight laboratories across New Zealand
and Australia, each with its own specialised capabilities, AgriQuality is the largest independent food and environmental testing organisation in Australasia.
Method validation for foods at
Cawthron
The New Zealand food industry is growing – and not just in
volume. The number of different products is increasing rapidly, in a drive to add value to foods in local and international
markets.
Commercial contract laboratories are required to provide
accurate results for label claims and active ingredient concentrations that are able to withstand international scrutiny. The
number of different products with a plethora of ingredients poses
a challenge for analytical laboratories. Old methods, developed
and validated for a specific matrix, are often found to produce
erroneous results when applied to these new products.
In most cases it is not possible to fully validate a test for
each individual product. Cawthron operates a comprehensive
system of routine checks designed to provide an early warning to the laboratory staff if a test is not suitable for a specific
product.
Cawthron’s Senior Scientist Dr. Pat Holland, supported by a
team of dedicated method development staff, provides invalu-
Cawthron’s hi-tech laboratory equipment used in food
analyses
able support to our technicians in the routine testing laboratory.
Using Pat’s extensive international experience working in method validation, this unique team is available to help customers
with their method development needs for any product.
Vitamin C in soft drinks, Vitamins A, D, E and K in oils and
fats, inorganic arsenic in food, and glucosamine and chondroitin in dietary supplements, are a few examples of the recently
developed product-specific methods.
From the start of the project, until the final report, our experts remain in close contact with the customer, to ensure their
needs are met.
Materials Characterisation
for the Food Industry
Microstructural analysis?
Contaminant materials?
Cleaning problems?
The Research Centre for Surface and Materials
Science can help with these issues and more.
Using state of the art equipment, backed by
University expertise, RCSMS can:
• identify materials;
• explain surface phenomena such as staining;
• image microstructure – including
dynamic processes such as the salt
crystallization sequence shown on the left.
For more information contact: RCSMS@auckland.ac.nz
April / May 2007
11
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Nutrition labelling is now a mandatory FSANZ requirement for the majority of food
products. The Nutrition Laboratory at Massey University in Palmerston North offers an
extensive range of services including tests for specialised products such as organic or
those with unusual ingredients, not on standard data bases. Computer labelling is an
economical option requiring a list of ingredients and their weights.
“To complement the labelling service the we also offer a range of testing services,
including trans fatty acids. This is an expanding area that is currently being debated
as to whether it should become law to include on all Nutrition Information Panels,”
says Nutrition Laboratory manager, Felicity Jackson.
Shelf life testing is also available along with accelerated shelf life testing for specific products.
Consultancy in product development such as improvements in consistency, taste,
and utilising different ingredients is also available in the Institute of Food, Nutrition &
Human Health both in Palmerston North and Auckland.
Quality results are assured with IANZ accreditation to ISO17025 with participation
in international proficiency programs as part of our routine QA procedures.
The Nutrition Laboratory is a registered MAF transitional facility, routinely accepting samples from other countries.
Local facilities from NZLABS
When choosing an analytical laboratory services provider, there are a number of important points to consider, including the provider’s level of capability and expertise,
physical location of the laboratories and commitment to service.
A major strength for NZLABS is having nationwide coverage through local laboratories. In the food industry turnaround time can be of huge importance and having laboratories in close proximity to you is a major benefit. NZLABS has analytical
services based in:
Auckland – chemistry, general microbiology, pathogen, pharmaceutical and
stability rooms
Hamilton – chemistry, general microbiology, pathogen, agriculture and
horticulture
Hastings – chemistry, general microbiology, pathogen
Christchurch – general microbiology and a fully contained pc2 pathogen
laboratory
We also have two outsourced laboratories in Dunedin and Reefton.
Continuous improvement, IANZ and GMP accreditation means NZLABS is able to
offer the latest in analytical services to you.
NZLABS values its staff; Brian Watson, General manager of NZLABS says “we have
made a commitment to invest in the latest technology and best people,” One such scientist is David Woollard who is world renowned for his work in vitamin testing. Opportunities to grow within the business are also available. Sara Hargraves has been an
integral part of the NZLABS team since the inception of the Christchurch site in 2000.
Her depth of experience, strong client focus and strong business acumen made her
the perfect choice to lead our Business Development Team. Sara says “providing support, information and service to our clients is vital, NZLABS strives to be the best.”
Sorensen Laboratories
Sorensen Laboratories is an independent laboratory specialising in all areas of food technology and consultancy. Principal, Torben Sorensen has a deep understanding of the food
industry and many years of local and international experi- Torben Sorensen
ence. He enjoys a close working relationship with his clients
and their technologists in a range of projects.
Torben’s long involvement in the food industry has given him close working relationships with a group that includes engineers, other technologists and marketing
experts. This team approach has enabled the creation of new products and systems,
which have allowed New Zealand companies to break into markets that have not
been previously accessible.
Services are offered under a number of broad categories:
Product and process development
Quality control
Shelf life extension
Food safety programmes
Claims and disputes
Food technology services
Sorensen Laboratories has won awards for their clients with a number of innovations, including awards for leadership in product and process development and for
food safety.
Now based in Puhoi just north of Auckland, the company is currently working
with clients to bring technology developed overseas into New Zealand, ensuring clients in New Zealand are applying up to date technologies and trends.
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SGS Consumer Testing Services, a division of the SGS Group, is the world’s leading
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SGS Laboratory Services covers food, environmental, ingredient and product testing:
Food: nutritional composition/information, fatty acid profiles, antioxidants,
preservatives. Protein meals and animal/fish by-products analysed for export
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TCLP analysis of leachable contaminants, soil, TPH Pesticide residues, organics
and heavy metals, Timber; Boron, CCA, IPBC, Azoles
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Microbiology: drinking water, dairy, meat, foods, drugs and pharmaceuticals,
cosmetics, perfumes and essential oils.
“Testing complements the findings collected during process assessments and
product inspections and helps to position your private label products in the market,”
says John Harvey, laboratory manager at SGS Penrose, Auckland facility.
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April / May 2007
13
LABORATORIES
cordance with the NZFSA Food Safety Programme, are based
on defined second or third-party schemes such as: GMP, ISO
22000, British Retail Consortium (BRC), Woolworths, Subway,
Costco, Walmart, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). We are
also accredited for Winery Export Certification.
The EurepGAP and Tesco Natures Choice (Fresh Fruit &
Vegetable) protocols describe essential elements and develop
best practice for global production of fresh produce and horticultural products. It demonstrates to customers a company’s
commitment and ability to produce safe and clean food under
an exhaustive system (HACCP) verified by an internationally
recognised independent third party.
SGS Agricultural Services is accredited by Biosecurity New
Zealand (MAF) as an Independent Verification Agency (IVA) to
provide a range of services to Export Certification for Plant and
Plant Products.
RCSMS at the University of
Auckland
The Research Centre for Surface and Materials Science (RCSMS)
is New Zealand’s “one stop shop” for specialist materials and
surface characterisation facilities including: Scanning Electron
Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Atomic Force Microscopy.
Clients from the food processing industry can easily access
the expertise of RCSMS, which is based at the University of
Auckland, for answers to a variety of food processing related
issues. For example, in the case of particulate contamination
of food it is likely that only a tiny sample is present but it is
necessary to determine what the sample is in order to ascertain
its source. RCSMS can identify the material in a non-destructive
manner and requires only the tiniest amount to do so, far exceeding the capabilities of wet-chemistry techniques.
The surface analytical capability of RCSMS, using XPS, can
answer questions that arise during many aspects of food processing. For example issues such as failing adhesion in packaging or
surface staining of product or of process equipment.
In addition, the microstructural, and hence textural, characteristics of food can be investigated using the state-of-the-art
electron microscope facilities at RCSMS. These facilities include
cryo-SEM which was used to create the image of fresh and
bloomed chocolate. Also RCSMS is proud to operate the country’s only environmental SEM, which allows the examination
of hydrated samples in their native state. Soon to be added to
the SEM suite is a tensile tester that can test the mechanical
characteristics of food samples, such as stretchiness of cheese
or crispness of fruit.
δ
Electron microscope cryo-SEM images of chocolate
David Munro Consultants Ltd
Strategic and technology planning
Research and development management
Development of technical people
Dairy and food technology projects and training
David Munro BSc BE(Chem)(Hons) MIChemE FNZIFST
Mobile: 027 484 0952, Email: munrodca@wave.co.nz
14
Food New Zealand
Lab technicians view 3M results
ADVERTORIAL
Bronson and Jacobs
expands its portfolio
A relationship that spans over a decade and has seen 4 companies merge, is once again set to
expand the portfolio at Bronson and Jacobs
In 1995 B&J began representation of Lucas Meyer Lecithin who
A recent Gallop Poll showed 9 out of 10 consumers link
were acquired by Degussa Texturant systems in 2001. Degussa
fibre to intestinal health, yet our average daily fibre intake falls
Texturant Systems have now been fully integrated with their
well short of the recommended daily intake of 30grams. The
new owner, Cargill under the Cargill Texturising Solutions um-
food industry is ready for options to offer consumers the health-
brella. Thus, some innovative new developments are in the of-
ful benefits of fibre in appealing products. Flour, cereal grains
fering at B&J. The most exciting addition is the comprehensive
and certain starches can be replaced by Actistar which boosts
range of starches, complementing a range of hydrocolloids and
the level of resistant starch and dietary fibre. In fact, when
lecithins – which is now one of the largest in the world.
compared to typical fibre, Actistar RM (resistant maltodextrin)
Starch has certainly come a long way since it was first in-
generates a higher level of butyrate, which helps promote the
troduced primarily as a thickener in commercial food products.
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Nowadays, starches are as technically complex as any hydrocol-
breakthrough range also boasts a low GI and Insulenemic re-
loid and cover as diverse a range of applications
sponse, has a smooth mouthfeel and bland flavour. It is ideal
Cargill’s C* starches have been developed to fulfil the versatile
needs of modern food processes. They offer major functional benefits and contribute to the overall quality of food and beverages.
for products such as yoghurt, smoothies, flavoured milks, juices,
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To boost fibre levels further, Bronson and Jacobs can offer
The Cargill C* range consists of both thinned and stabilised
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water holding capacity allowing high levels of inclusions and a
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Bronson & Jacobs, the Vital Ingredient
At Bronson and Jacobs, we don’t just sell ingredients. We create innovative
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Natural and Artifi cial Colours
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Hydrocolloids
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Minerals including ‘Aquamin’
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Phosphates
Polydextrose
Starches
Proteins
Call Us – Together with our team of Food Technologists and Product specialists,
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Tel: 0508 366 363 Fax: 0508 366 364
P.O. Box 8886, Auckland 1035 Email: bjnz.orders@orica.com
Bronson & James 3rd page ad.indd 1
2/11/06 2:16:17 PM
April / May 2007
15
ALLERGEN SEMINAR
Safe food for all
By Anne Scott
The second NZFSA/NZIFST Allergen Seminar, held in Auckland
on 21 March, was a successful combination of technical, clinical and personal information about a food issue affecting an
increasing proportion of our population. Adverse food reactions
are very common and often thought to be allergic in nature but
true food allergy is present in 6 – 8% in children at one year, reducing throughout childhood to around 2.5 - 4% in adulthood.
A milk drink can be life-threatening for a dairy
allergy suffer
The personal
Still widely misunderstood, although not by genuine sufferers,
an allergic reaction is our bodies’ immunological response to a
challenge from a substance perceived as life threatening. Genuine allergens are proteins. For those whose life or quality of life
is at risk due to their response to an allergen, constant vigilance
is required. Kimberly Madden-Snoad, whose daughter is allergic to anything containing dairy, even to the extent of a touch
from a person who has been handling dairy products, gave
the audience a sober account of her family’s risk management
programme. Kimberley’s daughter is also allergic to egg and has
reacted to kiwifruit, walnuts and peas. Now that she is at school
Kimberley’s vigilance must extend to asking the school to help
her daughter keep herself safe. The school’s response? She must
take responsibility – the five-year old, that is.
Kimberley’s daughter is the sort of case that Amber-Parry
Strong, a dietician working with allergic children, sees routinely.
Going beyond the daily struggle to keep these children safe is
the importance of adequate nutrition for children on restrictive
diets – insufficient dietary fat; protein perhaps; micronutrient
intake can be compromised. Consider the case of a dairy allergic child. No buttered (or ‘margarined’) toast for her, she learns
early the delights of dipping bread in olive oil and fried foods
become an essential source of dietary fat. The parents of allergic
children can never assume that a food is safe, consequently a
limited range of foods make up the diet risking deficiencies in
micronutrients.
The clinical
Dr Penny Fitzharris is a specialist physician in clinical immunology in Auckland. Penny presented an excellent paper deepening our knowledge of the allergic world.
She made a strong case for correct diagnosis in food allergy
situations, making use of the standard prick test, (which may
give a false positive result in 50% of cases, but gives a false
negative in only 5% of cases) coupled with extensive interviewing to ascertain the patient’s history. “Skin prick testing, properly done, using appropriate reagents, and correctly read, will
identify specificity in 100% of responses,” she said.
Penny spent some time discussing the related area of nonimmunological food intolerance, which presents largely with
gastrointestinal symptoms. These can generally be alleviated by
dietary modification. She also pointed out that food additives
are commonly suspected but rarely confirmed as the intolerance agent.
The presentation was rounded off with statistics on deaths
from anaphylaxis, noting that about one quarter of these are
16
Food New Zealand
food related and generally caused by respiratory responses. Finally, deaths from anaphylaxis are most often caused by food
in younger people (largest group under 5 years) and mostly
caused by prescribed drugs in the 60 – 75 year age group.
Regulatory
Leigh Henderson, of FSANZ, and Ursula Egan and Janice Attrill,
of NZFSA, reviewed the role of government agencies in allergen
regulation and their management in the food supply.
Leigh reviewed developments in regulation of labelling for
allergens here and overseas, citing the Codex List, which is the
basis for label declaration requirements in the EU, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. (With minor additions in some
countries).
The Codex list:
Cereals containing gluten
Crustacea and their products
Eggs and egg products
Fish and fish products
Peanuts, soybeans and their products
Milk and milk products
Tree nuts and their products
Added Sulphites in concentrations of 10 mg/kg or more.
New Zealand requires foods containing the above list, plus
sesame, to be labelled for the presence of allergens as set out
in Regulation 1.2.3.
FSANZ is currently working on delineating the areas the
upcoming Allergen Review will cover and Leigh discussed the
topics under consideration.
Just how should allergens be declared and what does and
what doesn’t require labelling? Leigh discussed the ‘may contain’ blanket statement, which it seems, may be used by manufacturers simply to protect themselves from the consequences
of unintended contamination, not to inform the consumer.
FSANZ is also looking at requirements relating to foods exempt from labelling, that is, in the broad food service area.
There is also the threshold question, greatly complicated by
the difficulty of obtaining data which holds for all allergy suffers, however there are plans in some countries to require declarations only when allergens are above certain levels (which
will be publicised). The question remains, will this help allergy
sufferers?
At NZFSA the work on ensuring the safety of allergen sufferers is being coordinated by a recently set up Internal Allergen
Work Group, which is serving as the central point for a number
governmental organisations’ work in the allergen area, considering the areas of communication, building awareness and
building relationships with all stakeholders on allergen work
being done by NZFSA.
Janice Attrill is Advisor Event and Emergency Response at
NZFSA. Product recalls are part of her work. She had some
interesting statistics for delegates. About one third of all recalls
are due to imported foods. About one third of all recalls are
due to allergens, of which one third are due to dairy, about
22% nuts and soy and 11% eggs. Most are foods contaminated
by, for example, a non-communicated change in an ingredient. Janice recommended the NZFSA website recalls section,
www.nzfsa.govt.nz/recalls/index.htm which contains all you
need to know about recalls – Janice told us so!
Industrial matters
When a company is considering its allergen policy, one of the
areas that needs to be addressed is staff training. Agriquality’s
Lynn Davies made a strong case for the benefits of properly
planned and carried out in-house training of all staff in Allergen management – “awareness is not enough, mindset and attitude are critical” she asserted, “and this can only be developed
through a proper training programme.”
Of course trained staff need tools - allergen test methods
that can be trusted, whether allergen protein traces are being
sought in a food or on equipment. ESR’s Peter Cressey reiter-
ated that ‘true’ food allergens are specific food proteins that
cause an immunological response.
Test methods suitable for food producers’ in-house testing
are the so-called dipstick or lateral flow methods where extracted proteins are captured on coloured particles with antibodies
attached. Particles are allowed to migrate through a support
medium containing a zone of antibodies. A positive result is
visible as a coloured line on a dipstick or test strip.
Users of such ‘kits’ must be aware of their limitations. The
detection level may be too high for security of results, a kit may
not be validated for the substrate being tested. Hydrolysis or
fermentation can modify a protein so it no longer shows a positive. Alternatively, the kit may detect down to levels lower than
even the most sensitive of individuals would react to.
A recently launched range of test kits now offers New Zealand manufacturers a much wider range of ‘quick’ allergen test
proteins. Food Tech Solutions in Auckland is the local distributor and is currently offering sample kits to those who telephone
with a request. Ph (09) 576 7326.
A valuable seminar
This one-day seminar for food manufacturers was well attended
and covered the subject from all perspectives. Chair for the day,
NZIFST President, Sally Hasell, commented in her final remarks
that it was likely to become an annual event, due to the positive
responses received from those attending. The audience gained
significant information plus the seminar allowed NZFSA to obtain direct feedback from industry which could be used in their
work managing regulatory matters relating to allergens.
IMCD New Zealand Ltd
(Formerly Swift New Zealand Limited)
• Functional dietary fibres –
Insoluble fibres: wheat / oat
/ apple / potato from JRS
• Inulin / FOS Soluble fibres
from Sensus
• Rice Derivatives – Starch,
Flour, Syrup,Protein,
Stabilised Rice Bran
• Fruit and Vegetables
powders / flakes
• Yeast Extracts for savoury
enhancement
• Caramel and Natural
Colours
• Dairy concentrate flavours
from Butterbuds
• Food gums and natural
stabilisers
• Natural vegetable and fruit
actives
As of 2 April 2007, Swift New Zealand will take its parent
company name and will be known as IMCD New Zealand.
Call us to discuss our natural and
functional range of ingredients suited for all applications.
Contact: Julie, Lara or Jo on 09 625 6169
April / May 2007
17
ALLERGEN SEMINAR
The technical
TRADE SHOWS
Trade shows,
why show and why go?
By Barry Denton
Wise-man of exhibiting, Barry Denton shares his wit and wisdom on the art of
trade show exhibiting. This is a must-read article if you are considering exhibiting at
the NZIFST conference.
Trade show expert,
Barry Denton
As I started to compose this article, I decided to have a quick
click onto Google to see what popped up to support my conviction that Trade Shows were still relevant in this “World of
Web” of which we now find ourselves to be willing citizens.
To be fair and accurate I entered the word ‘Trade Shows’ rather
than Exhibitions just to make sure I didn’t get the local Community Centre’s finger-painting exhibition or the Women’s Institute
Pressed Flowers and Preserves Show.
Well, in 0.13 seconds Google told me there were 103 million
references to trade shows which convinced me that trade shows
are still valid as a component in the exchange of information about
products and services between sellers and potential buyers.
I have been involved in the New Zealand Exhibition Industry since 1975. My first show was the 1975 National Fieldays.
My company was commissioned to design and build an outdoor exhibit for a client with an automated feeding system for
chicken and pig sheds and apart from the ‘Helium Balloons’
incident, it was a jolly profitable experience for both my company and our clients.
Trade Shows have been a vital part of the exchange of
goods and services cycle for at least two thousand years. There
is mention in the bible of a famous carpenter’s son who got
moderately miffed when he found that one had encroached
into a temple he happened to be visiting for the purpose of
preaching and miracle performance. (I also have incurred the
wrath of certain trade show organisers by extending my client’s
exhibit over the designated threshold, thus showing that it was
ever so.)
Trade shows are created to provide a forum in order for
companies servicing a common industry sector or purchasing
group to show their wares. The reason they group together,
despite the fact that they are often direct competitors, is to give
potential buyers a big enough incentive to disturb their busy
business lives by spending a day at a trade show.
Simply put, companies go to the show to tell and sell and
visitors go to the show to learn and buy. It is seldom taken into
account (by exhibitors or visitors) that trade show visitors are
actually competing within their own industry sector. This is, in
fact, what drives business people through the trade show doors
– they are seeking ways to get ahead of their competitors.
It seems to be a perfect arrangement doesn’t it? It can be if
you do it right.
For the purpose of this article and its sequel in the next issue
of Food New Zealand, I am going to assume that those of you
reading it are tellers and sellers. I will cover trade show selec-
18
Food New Zealand
tion, site selection, trade show budgeting, stand design, stand
staffing and stand staff training, lead generation and follow-up
systems (not necessarily in that order).
When you get it all right you cannot fail to make sales. I’m
going to tell you how to make sure you get the best return out
of your trade show spend.
Why exhibit?
Remember, your competitors exhibit at trade shows for the
same reason you do. To wit; you exhibit to persuade your competitors’ existing clients to consider your products and to capture the attention of their potential clients by showing that your
product and services offers more benefits than theirs, to the
inevitable conclusion of the consummation of the relationship
with the exchange of title of a product to the mutual benefit and
satisfaction of both parties -otherwise known as making a sale. I
have often dealt with clients who are exhibiting at a trade show
just because it is the easy option. Choosing to exhibit should
be the result of careful consideration of the communication options available to your company.
Here’s the list of options.
You can send a letter to the potential customer telling
them about your company and its product with an
invitation, sometimes with an incentive reward, to come
back to your company with an expression of interest. (This
assumes you know their name and you are convinced the
letter will actually get past the “Unsolicited-mail-Nazis” and
onto their desk)
You can make a phone call to the potential customer to introduce your company and its product with the aim of arranging an appointment. (This assumes you know their name)
You can send a company representative to the company.
(This is called cold calling which can work if the person you
need to see is actually available at the time of calling. What
usually happens is the sales representative is asked to call
to make an appointment. The positive result is at least you
have got the name of the actual person you need to contact.
You still end up having to make a phone call and often, as a
result of the call, send a letter with brochures etc.)
You can set up a website and pay Google and arrange
specialist web based directories to feature your site
through paid keyword activated ads. (A good method
because at least you know they are actually looking for
Trade show selection
Trade shows do not happen by accident. They are the result
of persons of like minds and commercial interests servicing a
specific industry sector (suppliers) and persons of like mind
and commercial interest in a specific industry sector (customers) deciding that bringing all of the suppliers together in one
place at a specified time would be advantageous to both the
suppliers and the customers.
Originally trade shows were run by a committee made up of
representatives from the supplier and consumer groups. These
days these special interest groups often use professional trade
show organisers to bring the show together.
If you do decide to exhibit at a trade show, be it in NZ or
offshore, make sure you check-out the show very carefully before signing the contract. Ask the organiser for an exhibitor list
from previous years’ shows and, if possible, to-date bookings
for the show you are considering. This will give you the chance
to see if your competitors also used the exhibition to promote
their company and get a profile of the actual visitors. Most professional exhibition organisers have very sophisticated systems
to generate this information.
Remember the show visitors are the show organiser’s actual
product. By paying to exhibit you are buying access to the show
visitors. The stand space you buy is equal to the space you buy
in a trade magazine - it allows you access to the magazine’s
reader and as with a magazine advertisement, your success will
be directly related to how well you present your product and
services to the show visitor.
Budgeting
Some exhibitors spend $6,000.00 on their exhibit and some
spend $60,000. The biggest budget I have worked on was
$500,000.00. Whatever the spend, the same rule applies when
I design the exhibit: “The stand must make a clearly defined
proposition to the prime prospect and as a result elicit a question from the visitor which will motivate them to come onto the
stand to ask their question”. This is a very important concept.
To illustrate the art of budgeting, I will give you an example
of a client who had considered their promotional options for
getting to their prime prospect and spent $60,000.00 on exhibiting at a trade show even though they actually knew the
names of the two, yes, TWO, companies who were likely to
buy their product. To put the icing on this little cake my client was known by the two, yes, TWO potential consumers. So
that’s two potential consumers at $30,000 a head.
When I asked “why go to the show if you already know
them and they know you?”, the reply was, ‘What else can we
do, we have one competitor for the business and we know they
will be at the show misrepresenting their product and ours?” (or
somesuch comment)
Imagine my dilemma, a $60,000 budget for my company to
spend or I give them other options.
“Well” I said feeling a frisson of righteousness, “You could
spend the money on taking them to see an actual working
installation and give them a chance to talk to an actual user.”
Imagine my relief when they said, “We did think about that but
the nearest installation is in Germany and due to the extent of
our product’s impact on the companies’ methodologies and systems we’d have to take a bus load from each company and that
would cost $600,000 even if we could get them all together at
one time and assuming the German user would allow a couple
of platoons of people from various commercial disciplines descending on their company for a day, handing out greenstone
Objets d’Art and jewellery, whilst asking questions of all and
sundry.”
So they exhibited at the show, both of the potential customers went to the show and one of them bought the multi million
dollar system. The exhibit budget was equal to 1% of the actual
product cost so in this case exhibiting seemed to have been the
right decision.
Next article
Next issue I will cover budgeting in-depth, stand design and
sales- enquiry generation and follow-up.
Barry Denton has been in the Exhibition Industry since 1975. He runs training seminars for clients on exhibition-related topics including
exhibition stand design and stand-staff training seminars. He is still heavily involved in exhibition stand design, manufacture, installation
and removal through ‘Brandstands’. After the excesses of 1980’s and the forced austerities of the early 1990’s he concentrated on
designing, developing and promoting re-usable lightweight portable exhibition collateral to reduce exhibitors’ costs. Should you need to
contact him directly he is available on 021 641 812 or 09 415-4090.
www.peek.co.nz
April / May 2007
19
TRADE SHOWS
information about your product type at the time of entering
the keyword)
You can place a series of advertisements in a specialist
publication (Trade Magazine advertising is effective if used
consistently; one ad in one issue can be easily missed by
the potential customer especially if it is a publication which
gets passed on through a company)
You can run a series of Show-and-tell Seminars and invite
your potential customers. (A great promotional method but
it does rely on you knowing the names of the potential
customers and being able to devise a way of sending them
and invitation you know will get onto their desk)
You can exhibit at a trade show
Exhibitions offer you the chance to show your company to
people who have taken the time out of their busy business lives
to come to a show which promises to offer them ways to do
what they do, better faster or cheaper. The Exhibition Organiser
will have spent real money in a range of media, including websites, direct mail, magazines and billboards to invite potential
visitors to the show, thus saving you spending that money.
Exhibition stands are three-dimensional advertisements that
allow interested parties to at least ask questions about the product and at best actually see your product working.
There are other methods including sponsorships and billboard advertising but these methods are usually considered as
parts of the marketing mix.
DISCUSSION ARTICLE
What’s in a name?
Anne Scott and Dave Pooch
Musing on John Lawson’s article in the February/March issue of Food New Zealand, which reiterated
the shortage of qualified, experienced food technologists in the market, Dave Pooch posed a
question to an NZIFST Auckland branch committee meeting: “Has the meaning of food technology
changed in the wider community?” He was intrigued by the depth of concern expressed by that small
group of active food technologists.
It’s a big question
This article explores the issues raised in that first discussion and
raises several further questions.
So, what is food technology? “It’s a philosophy,” says Dr
Mary Earle, a member of the original team at Massey University
which set up the first degree course in 1960. “The term food
technology encompasses a broad (and sometimes superficial)
knowledge of all facets of food manufacturing; food chemistry
and microbiology, plant and process engineering, the regulatory environment, food safety, food marketing; and their application to problem solving. We gave our students a broad base
of knowledge and taught them to solve problems – overcome
challenges if you want. Many of those teaching them had actively worked in the food industry and so students graduated
with knowledge and tools to tackle whatever they faced in their
jobs and find a solution. This could be as diverse as discovering
which product was the best to put in the market to finding the
best way to pump a viscous liquid.”
But that was forty years ago, you say. Things have changed.
There is now a demand for both food scientists and food tech-
20
Food New Zealand
nologists. There are, however, still food manufacturers who
want the ‘original’ style of food technologist, a broadly skilled
problem solver. Have there been changes in the courses available?
As Dave and I talked with teachers and practitioners of food
technology we generated a list of ‘what has changed’.
More tertiary institutions are offering food science and food
technology courses
Tertiary course structures have changed
Secondary schools’ curricula now include technology
Students’ career expectations have changed
In his article John Lawson said that the market for food technology graduates has become extremely challenging for both
employer and employee alike. The industry is desperately short
of qualified, experienced food technologists but new graduates
are having difficulty finding (their ideal) jobs because time-poor
employers lack the resources needed to get new graduates up-tospeed. So is there something wrong with the available courses?
Lets take a look at the points above.
When Massey opened its doors to food technology undergraduates the only other university teaching a food related course
was Otago, which trained many of our teachers and ‘foodies’
in domestic science matters, via the Home Economics degree,
imparting a good understanding of the science of food. Nutrition played a part in their courses. Building on the nutrition and
food science of those courses, Otago now offers several options
in food science. According to their website “food science builds
upon the basic sciences of biology, chemistry and physics and
it interacts with such diverse scientific disciplines as human nutrition, microbiology, biochemistry, biotechnology and process
engineering. All play an important role in the understanding
of the foods we produce, manufacture and consume. Some of
the topics addressed by food science include: food manufacturing (product development, processing, packaging); what food
is made of (food chemistry and analysis); what has been added
(vitamins, preservatives, colour, flavour); how stable it is (shelf
life, microbiology); safety (food contaminants, food poisoning);
and sensory properties (taste, appearance, smell, texture).”
The University of Auckland website has the following description of the areas studied by its food science students. “Food
science is the study of all aspects of food. The programme covers the structure and composition of foods, their nutritive values, and the properties that make them so attractive - colour,
smell, taste and texture. Recent developments such as functional
foods, including nutraceuticals and foods for personalised nutrition, are studied. The preservation of foods and how they are
altered during processing is an important part of the degree.
Interestingly, a google of ‘food science NZ’ does not ‘find’
Massey University. To get their description of course focus and
course content you have to enter ‘food technology’. Massey’s
course description is: “The purpose of the food technology major is to produce graduates who are professionals with a wide
range of pertinent knowledge and skills. The major comprises
a number of themes or strands, which are developed, strengthened and woven into an integrated whole during the four years
of the course. These themes are food chemistry, food microbiology and safety, quantitative skills, engineering and processing,
marketing and consumer research, business and quality management, and, lastly, integration itself.
All themes seek to develop problem solving skills, critical thinking, reasoning, self-management, the ability to work
in teams, and effective written and oral communication. Prospective employers place great emphasis on these.” – Massey’s
course focus seems little changed over the years.
So it is clear that Massey still considers itself to be teaching
food technology. Graduates from other food science faculties
develop different skill sets. Are employers able to spot the difference? Does it matter? We still see job advertisements looking
for food technologists – how may food science trained graduates fill these positions?
Have courses changed?
Massey University’s Ray Winger asserts that Massey’s philosophy
of teaching applied, broad-based, problem-solving food technology hasn’t changed. “We are working hard to retain our applied, practical, industry-focused style of teaching, in the face of
increasing pressure from government towards a more academic
model. This is a result of Performance Based Research Funding
(PBRF), which doesn’t take into account the value of less highly qualified (academically) but industry experienced lecturers
teaching practical skills for the benefit of industry. Massey still
requires 36 weeks’ work in industry from undergraduates before they complete their degrees.” (The PBRF website, (http://
www.tec.govt.nz/templates/standard.aspx?id=588 ) states that
its “primary goal is to ensure that excellent research in the tertiary education sector is encouraged and rewarded. This entails assessing the research performance of tertiary education
organisations (TEOs) and then funding them on the basis of
their performance.” In practical terms this means that in order
to maintain viable funding levels universities are impelled to
appoint teaching staff at PhD level who are prolific publishers
of research papers. These may not be the best people to teach
an undergraduate the difference between pumping hot jam
versus milk. The University of Auckland and Otago University
pitch their courses at students wanting to study food science.
They have left the teaching of (the philosophy of) food technology to Massey. Has the division become blurred? Are employers seeking food technologists and, on hiring a food scientist,
discovering a whole different set of skills and potential? If so,
how has this happened?
April / May 2007
21
DISCUSSION ARTICLE
More courses to choose from
DISCUSSION ARTICLE
Secondary schools’ technology
curriculum
There is a suspicion, among the many NZIFST members canvassed, that the food technology career option has gained a
false reputation as being for less able students. “The brighter
school students may be put off studying food technology at
university because it is associated with the not-so-academically
inclined students at school level,” was a comment recorded in
the Auckland Branch committee discussion document prepared
by Cathy Merrall of McFoodies.
Sue Parkes, a secondary teacher active in the Home Economics Technology Teachers Association(HETTANZ) and the
Technology Council (TENZ) explains what happened. “In secondary schools, when the technology learning area was being
implemented, many people assumed, incorrectly, that Home
Economics (HE) was renamed as food technology. The technology curriculum is much wider than HE which is a separate
subject in the technology curriculum,” she says.
Is this misunderstanding a factor in the change in perception
of food technology as a career? The term food technology came
into popular parlance to describe the food part of the technology curriculum, which is taught to all Year 7 and 8 students,
and to a proportion of older, secondary students. Do students
choosing a career path lack understanding of the term and ignore the discipline as a career option?
Further research has highlighted another dimension to this
problem, which seems to be a failure of communication. Sue
Parkes again. “The reason I believe that students are not going
to study food related degrees is that there is little information
available (for teachers and pupils) about them. This is one of
the roles of Futureintech facilitators. There are many ways we
can raise awareness of the degrees. NZIFST and Universities
should take advantage of speaking opportunities at, for example Secondary Teacher conferences, have a presence at Genesis Workshops (organised by Rotary). (NZIFST is taking up
this suggestion) Be aware that Year 10 students are about to
chose the direction of their NCEA studies, it’s those youngsters
we need to capture. Year 12 is almost too late and you’ve no
chance at Year 13. I believe sponsorships could be gained from
companies ‘desperate for techologists’ to support these sorts of
initiatives.”
Changing expectations
New Zealand is in the grip of a skills-shortage in many industries. This is a complex issue and there is no quick-fix. Even
though New Zealand’s $25 billion dollar food industry earns
over 50% of the country’s export income, a career in food lacks
22
Food New Zealand
the glamour, or perhaps the earning potential, of a law or commerce degree.
Perhaps the shortage of ‘qualified, experienced food technologists’ has occurred because, as an industry, we are failing
to communicate our ‘value-statement’ to the wider community
– and their children.
Jenny Dee and others are investing a great deal of time in
our career programme, looking towards the medium-to-longterm outcome of greater numbers of academically able students
wishing to study food science and food technology. The resource base is building and genuine progress is being made but
the question remains, is NZIFST doing enough to build awareness in the broader community? Is the Institute mature enough
to develop a higher profile with the general public?
Is the Institute mature enough to develop
a higher profile with the general public?
What can we conclude?
As an industry we need to put our heads above the parapet;
we need to identify our projects, (career development being
one of them) and work with professional communicators to
develop programmes aimed at raising our Institute’s profile and
the awareness of our roles in industry; of the value of food scientists and food technologists to the economy. Our perception
that mainstream media seldom runs positive or balanced stories
about the food industry or food technologists is probably correct. But this is because they don’t know who to ask to get the
‘good oil’. It’s time to go public!
Remember, that as members of NZIFST we subscribe to the
long term objectives of our Institute which are easily accessed
on the website; http://www.nzifst.org.nz/about-nzifst/philosophy.asp
The first two items in this list are;
to develop and promote the profession of food science
and technology
to promote a technically responsible understanding of
foods and food processing through dissemination of
knowledge to Institute members, other professionals and
the public
Judging by the Auckland branch committee reaction to the
original question, and additional conversations we have had,
many of us have opinions about the issues raised in this article.
Please raise your voice and let us know what you think, by
email, by phone or put pen to paper!
PORK INDUSTRY NEWS
Innovation in the Pork
Industry: 100% New
Zealand Pork – Infused
Shankar Cumarasamay, Pork Industry Board
The New Zealand Pork Industry Board is pleased to become associated with
Food New Zealand. From now on regular articles featuring news and views of
the Pork Industry will be published in the journal.
Introducing the Board
The New Zealand Pork Industry Board (NZPIB) is a body corporate established under the New Zealand Pork Industry Board
Act 1997. It operates in the interest of pig farmers, to attain
the best possible returns for New Zealand pigs and pork products. Sales of domestically produced pigs generate an estimated
$442 million of activity in the processing, distribution, and retail
sectors of the New Zealand economy. Furthermore the wider
industry makes a significant contribution to the New Zealand
economy with total economic activity related to pork exceeding
one billion dollars per annum.
Apple Tender® Trim Pork
The board invests in the development of innovative technologies, both behind and beyond the farm gate. One such development is Apple Tender® Trim Pork, developed in direct response
to consumer demand, which followed a text book development
scenario of recognising a target group issue, developing a product brief to answer their need, developing a product, testing
the developed product with a trained taste panel followed by
in-home blind testing, shelf-life trials, regulatory approvals, development of production guidelines, auditing the production
process, discussing options with retailers, test marketing in one
region, introduction of the product and above-the line advertising after distribution was initiated.
Apple Tender® Trim Pork is the only moisture infused product with a Heart Tick (low fat and sodium) currently in the
New Zealand market that does not contain nitrites, nitrates or
sulphites. The moisture infusion at 11% is lower than any other
pork product in this category. New Zealanders’ love affair with
roast pork and apple sauce has been innovatively transformed
into a product idea giving rise to Apple
Tender® Trim Pork. Providing guaranteed tenderness and juiciness, a unique taste
(reduced pork flavour with sweet and caramelised notes), nutrition (Heart Foundation Tick Approval), convenience (minimal
preparation), versatility and a strong association with New Zealand (manufactured using 100% New Zealand Pork and apple
juice concentrate) this product has been developed to deliver
multiple attributes targeted to exceed consumer expectations
and deliver a satisfying eating experience. Consumer feedback
and sales growth is now beginning to accentuate its winning
qualities.
The development and commercialisation process required
contributions from several science groups; namely Massey University, AgResearch and AgriQuality. Using a trained sensory
panel and instrumental measurements the infusion was limited
to 11% to enable the product to exhibit similar characteristics
to non-infused fresh pork at the uncooked stage and provide
juiciness and tenderness after cooking without any perceived
loss in the integrity of the muscle fibre. The level of apple juice
was perfected through extensive experimentation so that the
pork flavour was reduced but not lost, a slight sweet note was
detected and caramelisation of the product during cooking
contributed to a favourable visual appearance but not considered overly excessive. Added sodium was kept to a minimum
and where possible ingredients with potassium ions were used
without negatively impacting on flavour.
Overseas interest in process
Development of this technology focused totally on the New
Zealand marketplace. The objective was to meet domestic consumer needs whilst also provide differentiation for local product
against imports. After the launch of Apple Tender® Trim Pork
in the New Zealand market NZPIB received several requests
from overseas markets wanting to use this technology. NZPIB
have now secured intellectual property rights in selected countries in Asia and Europe and talks related to commercialisation
are underway.
This product, the transformation of a simple idea to a commercial reality using New Zealand product and skills, is currently undergoing further development to cater for the next
generation of consumer needs. Technologies adopted behind
the farm gate are expected to feed into this system for further
enhancement in the future.
April / May 2007
23
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE
Taking care of the
business – Mike Rockell,
entrepreneur
By Anne Scott
Have you heard of Xenegy? It’s the product that, initially, supported Mike Rockell’s Aseptic Beverage Systems Limited (ABS),
a classic, ‘in-the-garage’ startup company which is now operating out of factory premises and has caught the eye of an international beverage company.
ABS runs a patented low capacity aseptic beverage line filling reclosable single serve packages, which Mike designed and
built for small volume beverage operations.
The idea that began it all
Most recently, Mike has been lecturing at Massey University but
he spent a considerable part of his career in the dairy industry
– including a period in Singapore for the (then) New Zealand
Dairy Board, in ‘Consumer Milks’ and later with New Zealand
Dairy Foods back home.
While in these roles it became evident to him that there
was a considerable gap in the market in terms of aseptic fillers.
Most come from Germany, are very expensive and designed
for a very high throughput. Mike’s plan? He decided to build a
scaled down aseptic filling plant, suitable for companies wanting to use reclosable single serve packages but that didn’t need
the high volume machinery on offer. His production line would
reduce the cost of entry into the marketplace for small beverage companies needing aseptic filling, by contract packing for
them until such time as they had sufficient capital to invest in
the technology themselves.
Mike and his business partners did some preliminary planning and he began working on the project, in his spare time,
in 2004.
Every business owner knows that it takes a significant
amount of capital to establish a viable manufacturing business
– how much more does it take to design, build and patent your
own production line?
Make a plan
Mike has set out his business plan, as one does, in phases;
Phase 1: ‘Do’ the technology and establish the business –
sounds quite simple put like that but it required considerable
determination and commitment to achieve phase 1. “ A business based on new technology is very high risk because you
are building-in uncertainty by establishing a new process, there
is lots of room to make mistakes,” says Mike.
Phase 2: Work with the consumer beverage industry in New
Zealand providing the technology (via contract packing) and
24
Food New Zealand
Mike Rockell
building partnerships. This phase took around 2 years, 2005
and 2006.
Mike comments, wryly, “This is the stage you have to get
through while you wait for the business to make sufficient income for you to work on it full time. You work really hard,
worry a lot, and keep believing. What else can you do? Obtaining venture capital is a real issue for business start-ups, the
Government is better than it was but this was a really stressful
period.”
Phase 2 is now complete – Mike is full-time contract-packing
and also packing and distributing his own product, Xenegy, a low
sugar, flavoured milk drink which sells in school tuck shops.
The company was ‘launched’ last year at the New Zealand
Juice and Beverage Awards; winning the NZ Youth Choice
Award for Xenegy and at Foodtech Packtech, where significant interest in the process was generated. “We’ve been really
busy since then,” says Mike. “At long last we are approaching
the point where the business offers more tangible benefits to
investors.”
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE
Looking to the future
Phase 3: Market the technology internationally. Phase 3 is now
in sight. Mike sees his technology entering two markets. The
high quality, high value, niche product end of the market, both
in equipment and contract sales, has potential for good returns.
On the other side of the coin is the developing world - countries
that have no refrigerated distribution infrastructure. This market
has an entirely different cost structure but Mike’s technology
would be ideal to help develop local dairy industries.
Back to basics
Mike Rockell is another of those whose career since graduating
B Tech (Biotech) in 1981 has followed the sort of path Dick
Earle envisaged for the many students whom he taught - gain
experience, find an idea or niche and make it happen.
Mike’s first job was with the dairy industry. He was a member of the Dairy Research Institute (now Fonterra Research)
team working on whey protein isolates and hydrolysates.
(Described by Kevin Marshall in his J C Andrews Award address
(Food New Zealand, July 06.))
“This was a time where a great deal of entrepreneurial
and creative research was done,” says Mike. “To some extent
the technology was driving product development but we had
enough people with market experience to balance the projects
and derive commercial results. I remember many long discussions about the ‘technical drive’ and the ‘market pull-through’.
The team was very good at spotting the gap in the market and
finding ways to fill it.”
Value of experience
As a technologist with significant industry experience himself,
Mike is very conscious of the value of experience in deciding the direction to take in research and development, arguing
that data analysis takes too long at times. He would like to see
companies put a greater value on experience, citing situations
when 25 year old, highly qualified marketing people ignore the
(technologist’s) voice of experience when making decisions on
product development projects and want the wheel to be reinvented. “The industry needs more food technologists who have
the ability to go from sound science to practical technology and
whose real value to their companies is recognised.
My online dictionary defines an entrepreneur as one who
organises and operates a business, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so. I think Mike Rockell would
fervently endorse this definition. While he will encounter further hurdles in achieving his goals, his commitment has seen
him reach an end and a beginning – going global!
Andrew McKenzie
Chief Executive
NZ Food Safety
Authority
As well as its much-publicised Domestic Food Review which will
see an overhaul of our decades-old food laws, the New Zealand
Food Safety Authority is always looking at specific areas of food
safety that need updating, modernising or bringing into line with
international ‘best practice’
One area is the production of uncooked comminuted fermented meats (UCFM) such as salami and we are currently analysing
submissions on a New Zealand standard for manufacturing these
types of products.
The move comes after NZFSA identified a number of instances
where butchers and processors were unaware of essential manufacturing procedures that ensure the microbial safety of UCFM foods.
These products primarily contain beef and pork meat, salt, nitrite, glucose, spices and seasonings and, ideally, a starter culture
to assist fermentation.
The ingredients are mixed and comminuted (reduced in size) to
produce a batter. This mixture is then stuffed into a casing, fermented and dried (and sometimes smoked) to create the end product.
If the fermentation, maturation and drying steps are not undertaken correctly there are risks that potentially harmful microbial pathogens will not be killed by the process.
NZFSA recently assessed existing data and information on the
way UCFM products are made and whether procedures adequately controlled microbial pathogens, in particular shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC).
STEC can be found in raw meat used in UCFM product – although in New Zealand these STEC levels are generally low. Our
assessment showed that, in a small number of butcher and processor premises, the control levels may be insufficient.
New Zealand has not had any notified human illness cases
attributed to eating UCFM products, and the likelihood of a food
safety issue occurring is relatively low. However, the consequences of STEC infection – particularly for susceptible groups like
young children – can be severe.
Overseas foodborne illness outbreaks of STEC have been
linked to UCFM products. In 1995 one person died and more than
20 children were hospitalised after eating contaminated product
in Australia.
The proposed standard will be in keeping with overseas trends
in salami manufacturing and will help ensure that New Zealanders
are getting a safe product.
Although this is the first proposed standard for UCFM production, NZFSA believes many New Zealand producers are already
using the existing Australian standard or the New Zealand Pork
Quality Improvement Process (PQIP) Code of Practice.
The introduction of a standard would not be a problem for
these producers but could affect smaller producers who may not
have a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system
in place.
However, working to an agreed New Zealand standard would
enable UCFM manufacturers to demonstrate that they produce a
safe product. They would need to show that the fermentation,
maturation and drying processes reduce the microbial load in the
final product to a safe level.
The public discussion document and the proposed standard
was distributed for comment to UCFM producers, including wholesale processors, retail butchers and dual operator butchers, as well
as industry associations and other relevant government agencies.
It can still be viewed on our website: www.nzfsa.govt.nz
Andrew McKenzie
www.nzfsa.govt.nz
April / May 2007
25
CONFERENCE
ConFectioNZ –
2007 Confectionery
Manufacturers’ Conference
Image courtesy of Danisco
Anne Scott
Held at the Millennium Hotel, Rotorua in March, ConFectioNZ promised a wide range of provocative
and informative presentations
New Zealand’s small group of confectionery manufacturers (17,
at last count) use their annual conference as a sort of extended
Annual General Meeting. Speakers are chosen for their expertise in areas which the confectionery industry sees as central
to their operating environment. Discussion is encouraged and
sessions aim to generate consensus when dealing with, in particular, regulatory agencies and media misinformation.
Opening the conference, John Tolmie, CEO of Darryl Lea
Chocolate Shops, Australia, urged members to continue to innovate and actively market confectionery in a responsible manner.
“Confectionery has a rightful place as a permissible treat as part
of a balanced diet” he said. “We must avoid commoditising it by
continually refreshing the offering to consumers. We must ensure
there is a choice of portion sizes, use environmentally friendly
packaging and ensure labelling is correct and information easily
accessible. Overall we must be seen to be responsible.”
He discussed the importance of sustainable manufacturing
processes; while confectionery manufacture does not use large
amounts of water, there are still opportunities to save water and
careful packaging design can improve the sustainability of the
industry.
David Greenwood, CEO of Confectionery Manufacturers
of Australasia discussed the foremost challenges facing manufacturers of confectionery. While it is not (yet) mandatory, he
urged members to consider adopting ‘percentage daily intake’
labelling on products and to participate in the ‘be treatwise’
scheme. “We must be seen to be actively participating in programmes targeting obesity” he said.
Key messages
Robert Bree, executive director of the New Zealand Food Industry Group, has extensive experience of the food and beverage industries, having previously held senior commercial roles
in Restaurant Brands NZ, Ogilvy and Mather’s Consumer Brands
Division, DB Breweries, Griffins Foods Ltd and Coca-Cola NZ
Ltd. He reaffirmed the ‘work together for strength’ principle.
FMCG manufacturers must share ideas or put themselves at real
risk. “Fragmentation of the industry is excellent for retailers and
for pressure groups such as the obesity lobby; divide and rule
holds true there,” he said. “Mention the food industry to politicians and they think dairy, meat and seafood: other industry
sectors don’t feature on their radar. It is very important that you
present a consolidated front when communicating with government. Food manufacturers need a stronger voice. You must
make your efforts visible through careful use of the media. You
26
Food New Zealand
also need to engage directly with Government, they are one of
your target audiences on the road to dispelling the myths.”
Robert suggested several ‘good’ news changes that the confectionery industry could make and talk about;
Voluntarily adopt, as a group, percentage RDI labelling
Develop an industry code of practice regarding advertising
(to children)
Standardise portion size packs
Have a company ‘obesity policy’
Develop clear policies on sponsorships
His strongest message was do the right thing, as a co-operative group, and make sure people know about it.
Partner with your suppliers
The final pre-lunch session was given over to suppliers, with
Quin Scalzo, from Scalzo Food Industries, and Vikki Paterson,
General Manager ANZ of Danisco, taking the stage. They both
urged delegates to partner with suppliers in order to achieve
genuine innovation. Danisco has significant research and development facilities available to customers for new product development work. Scalzo Food Industries is also able to work
closely with customers to develop custom made production
lines. They both reminded their audience that suppliers could
only supply the answers if they knew the full story. It is not
enough to tell a supplier you want a low calorie sweetener for
a new product.
Quin’s and Vikki’s presentations were followed with a
supplier panel discussion, facilitated by David Buisson, which
strengthened the message. If you want the good oil, you have
to share: think of using suppliers as outsourcing a consultant,
they know their products.
The message
The strongest message for members of the Confectionery Manufacturers’ Association was unite to survive. The segment is a
sitting target for the obesity lobby and under threat from retail
cost trimming and, to a lesser extent, from the free trade lobby.
Robert Bree’s advice to develop a shared policy and (carefully)
publicise joint activities is worth considering. As with all sectors of the food industry, the time has come to stand up and
be counted and find a way to counter the incomplete data and
sheer misinformation that consumers grapple with in their dayto-day food choices.
OILS & FATS
Oils and Fats News
Laurence Eyres
Olive Oil Processing Course
Olives NZ are running this 3-day course at Suminovich Olives
Ltd Estate (Bombay) from April 13th – 15th. The course was
oversubscribed and there are no places left. The course is sponsored by Pieralsi of Italy who are providing processing specialists together with local specialists in various fields.
International Trade Fair
Production and processing of oils and fats from renewable resources. This will be held in Munich November 20-22, 2007.
Enjoyable antioxidants
Matt Greenwood of Bell Tea gave a most informative and entertaining talk in Auckland entitled “everything you ever wanted
to know about tea”, and it was enough to attract over 40 keen
people to an evening seminar at Auckland University. Despite
coffee’s ever growing popularity, tea (both black and green) is
enjoying a renaissance. More and more health and wellness papers are being published on the benefits of tea consumption.
An ever increasing majority of soft retail table spreads in Australasia are now trans-free. If trans-fats are eliminated from
yellow-fat spreads, then the normal standard procedure is to
replace them with interesterified mixtures of palm stearine and
a hydrogenated lauric oil such as coconut or palm–kernel oil.
This author’s attention was recently drawn by a number of our
readers, to a recent article by Sundram et al, showing that stearic-acid-rich interesterified fats raise the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio and also elevate plasma glucose levels relative to palm olein
(45% saturated) as a control. Fortunately most “hardstocks” in
Australasia are not stearic-acid-rich but are mixtures of predominantly C16:0, C12:0 and lower molecular weight saturated fatty
acids. However to this author’s knowledge no full clinical trials
have been carried out on zero trans spreads containing these
fatty acids. Also for clarification, the current controversy over
banning trans-fats is concerning products industrially produced
by chemical hydrogenation – not natural trans fats produced by
ruminants in meat or dairy fats.
Typical Spreads in Australasia
Old Style Margarine
New Trans-free
A well known figure in lipid nutrition and a past speaker at
several major New Zealand based conferences, David Kritchevsky has died aged 86. He was a co-author on the first book
on cholesterol in 1958 and on beta-sitosterol in 1981.
Jean-Pierre Dufour
Interesterified fat spreads
Product
David Kritchevsky
Saturates %
Trans %
S&T Total %
19
8-11
27-30
27.5
0 (<1.0)
27-28
N.B. A recent publication “Trans-Fat Reduction” is currently selling for 30,000 euros – published by LMC International Ltd.
Oils & Fats Book
The group has encountered some minor delays in finalising the
content (due to authors’ contributions) for the previously announced book on edible oils in Australasia. We now anticipate
launch sometime in late July/August at a retail price under $100.
Closer to home we were all saddened by the recent sudden
death of Jean-Pierre. He was a good friend personally and was
a supporter of the group with some excellent lipid work originating from Otago over the years. Our deepest sympathies go
to the family and the department who are devastated by his
passing.
Olibra and Fabuless
Royal DSM N.V. have announced that they have purchased
the company Lipid Technologies Provider AB (LTP) a Swedish
company with a technology platform based on formulated lipids from palm and oat specialty lipids. The original product was
called “Olibra” but is now called “Fabuless”. It is reported to
be a revolutionary weight management system utilising novel
lipid ingredients to help in providing satiety. A retail product
“Slim-Shots” being a 7.5 ml. serving of an emulsion containing
the special lipids was launched on the NZ market on March
21st by Gelven Ltd.
See European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2002) 56, 368377 by M.B.E Livingstone et al.
Errata: Rice Bran Oil Spread
We made a couple of unfortunate errors in the last edition. Firstly the product is in a single pack in an attractive sleeve and is
made in New Zealand although the back label has a prominent
box saying the oil is produced in Thailand. The product is a
pleasant soft spread with excellent salt release and low melting
texture. It has a fatty acid composition of 23% saturates, zero
trans, 32% monounsaturated and 25% polyunsaturated.
For interesting background reading on rice bran oil see
“How good is the evidence for effects of rice bran oil on blood
lipid concentrations in humans?”
Lipid Technology 2002,(14) 109-111
April / May 2007
27
TRAVELLER’S TALE
The feel-good fill up
Neil Betteridge
The 2006 Earle Travel Fellowship was awarded to Neil Betteridge, a bioprocess engineer at Fonterra
I used my Fellowship in Technology to attend the 2006 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo in Milwaukee, U.S.A. I
intended to explore innovation associated with both ethanol and
caseinate production by attending the Workshop and visiting a
milk protein manufacturing plant in the U.S.A. The main goal
of this trip was to gain exposure to innovations and knowledge
that can be applied in my role as the Protein and Ethanol Plant
Manager at the Fonterra Reporoa site in New Zealand. The efficient production of bio-fuels within New Zealand is of growing
importance in both the engineering and food technology fields
for the long-term security of New Zealand’s economic growth.
Ethanol workshop and seminar
Over 3,500 attended the conference and the sheer enthusiasm
for fuel ethanol of those attendees, presenters and exhibitors
from around the world was inspiring. The biggest gain I have
brought back to New Zealand
from the conference is increased
determination to see fuel ethanol
opportunities realised in New
Zealand. The conference clearly
showed that fuel ethanol is working well for the country, citizens,
producers and the vehicle fleet in
the United States.
The ‘Ethanol 101’ seminar was
very interesting and well presented. The first interesting fact
was that the ‘Ethanol Plant Development Book’, which accompanied the seminar did not include whey as a possible feedstock for ethanol manufacture. This was reiterated throughout
the four days of the fuel ethanol Workshop (FEW). Only a few
people I talked to had heard of ethanol being manufactured
from dairy whey. It must be noted that attendees ranged from
experienced plant managers and equipment suppliers or crop
growers looking at amalgamating to form a new co-op, through
to airline pilots and other investors who knew nothing about
the subject but had funds ready to invest into fuel ethanol.
The entire workshop painted a picture of a large, vibrant
fuel ethanol market in North America; a growing global market
supported by a growing production industry. As of May 2006
there were 100 ethanol plants operating in the U.S with a combined production capacity of 4.5 billion gallons. In addition, 34
more ethanol plants and nine expansions were under construction and will contribute another two billion gallons of production capacity once completed.
The specific presentations of fermentation technologies, advancements in feedstocks and optimisation of energy and yield
were all well presented and interesting. I was impressed with
the degree of process control and optimisation that these plants
are being constructed with. They are very focused on maximising output and followed a common theme of not settling for
second best technology.
28
Food New Zealand
Motors & Brake Motors \ Servo Motors \ Gear Units \ Geared Motors
Drive Electronics \ Industrial Gear Units
Ethanol is BIG in the USA
Ethanol expo
The expo of exhibitors was open for viewing throughout the
last three days of the workshop. Exhibitors covered a hall the
size of four rugby fields. Several companies that we use in New
Zealand were present, such as key equipment suppliers and
process control companies. I gained knowledge regarding the
plant building standards within the U.S. I will be able to utilise some of that information as we go through the process of
certifying our facility to be compliant for the new hazardous
substances act.
TorqLOC Mounting
System
for hollow shaft gear units
Components of the
TorqLOC® shaft
mounting system
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Customer shaft
Clamping ring
Conical bronze bushing
Gear unit hollow shaft
Shrink disc
Conical steel bushing
Fixed cover
Moving ahead with biofuels
As a result of attending the workshop I have presented a business case to the General Manager of Anchor Ethanol with some
options and opportunities for Anchor Ethanol to both lift its
profile in fuel ethanol and to accelerate the introduction of fuel
ethanol at the pump in New Zealand.
New Zealand consumes 6.3 billion litres of petrol and diesel
per annum at a cost of $4.5 billion; (3.4 billion L petrol, 2.9
billion L diesel). Many countries around the world are offering
fuel ethanol blends at the pump ranging from 2.5% ethanol
mixtures up to 85%. Fonterra is aware it cannot play a large
role in filling the fuel ethanol requirement for NZ due to the
sheer volume of ethanol needed. However, there is no reason
we cannot work with the NZ government and fuel companies
to kick-start the supply and education of the benefits of fuel
ethanol to consumers. In 2006 the NZ government announced
that by 2008 it would like 0.25% of fuels to be ethanol or biofuel
based which equates to 16 million litres per annum. By 2012 it
would like to see that raised to 2.25% or 115 million litres per
annum. Additionally, it stated that no excise tax would be paid
on biofuels until 2012.
In February 2007, the government lifted these targets to a
more aggressive 0.53% in 2008 and 3.4% by 2012. This has created a large public media debate as to whether New Zealand is
making a ‘giant mistake’ by embracing biofuels or a great decision for future generations of New Zealanders.
For biofuels to be a successful fuel option for New Zealanders, consumer confidence will need to be raised through
research and education. One of the exhibits I enjoyed most was
that of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).
They are a ‘non profit alliance of ethanol industry leaders that
have come together to grow consumer demand for ethanol as
a viable source of renewable energy through targeted marketing and non political means’. EPIC was formed in 2005. I was
impressed with their efforts to educate their consumers and the
results they are achieving. I believe this is a key area where
New Zealand can improve. One of their main slogans is ‘fill up,
feel good’; very simple but effective marketing, building on the
education of their consumers. U.S.A is a very patriotic country
and EPIC has played on that to a great extent. Another slogan
1
2
3
7
4
5
6
The patented TorqLOC was introduced in late 2002. Due to its anti-corrosive
properties and hollow shaft design, it is highly recommended for use in
wet applications.
TorqLOC requires no key and should remain corrosion free, even after
years of service. It contacts the customer’s solid shaft in only two places at the support bushing which is bronze and will not corrode to steel due to
the nature of dissimilar metals and at the torque bushing which is electro
less nickel plated 1045 carbon steel. Furthermore, the high clamping
forces located at the torque bushing prohibit the presence of oxygen so
oxidation (rust) cannot occur.
SEW-EURODRIVE’s TorqLOC shaft locking system is used for
mounting Helical (F series), Helical-bevel (K series), and Helicalworm (S series) hollow shaft geared motors and geared units. It
is designed to allow mounting onto standard bright steel shafting
without the necessity of machining or cutting keyways. TorqLOC
provides an easy method of assembly to or disassembly from the
machines solid shaft.
Advice, planning & drive calculations. Fast service customised units from
our huge range of in-stock components, 24 hour support
SEW-EURODRIVE (NZ) LTD
TL407
www.sew-eurodrive.co.nz
AUCKLAND
82 Greenmount Drive,
East Tamaki
PO Box 58 428,
Greenmount
Ph: 09-274 5627
Fax: 09-274 0165
PALMERSTON NORTH
Phone: 06- 355 2165
CHRISTCHURCH
10 Settlers Crescent,
Ferrymead
PO Box 19 825,
Woolston
Ph: 03-384 6251
Fax: 03-384 6455
April / May 2007
29
TRAVELLER’S TALE
they utilise is ‘Good for your car, good for your country, better
for the environment’.
Ethanol production creates thousands of jobs across the United States and reduces dependence on foreign oil. Perhaps New
Zealanders are not as easily swayed to change, but we can improve the quantity and quality of the information we portray to
our consumers so they can make their own informed decisions.
Diary Partners of America
In addition to attending the fuel ethanol workshop, I had the
opportunity to visit the biggest direct customer of the protein
products we manufacture at the Reporoa Site. That is the Dairy
Partners of America site in Allerton, north of Kansas City. Fonterra also extended the trip by three days to enable me to visit the
Fonterra USA sales office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Not all work
Aside from the three weeks of engineering learning, during four
jam packed weekends I was able to appreciate and explore
the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Empire State building and
the United Nations in New York, the awesome Art Museum
and Millers brewery in Milwaukee, the Sears Tower and the ‘L’
in Chicago along with visiting an Amish village; James Town,
north of Kansas City.
Benefits of the Fellowship
I believe I have achieved all of my objectives and those of
the Trust. I have viewed this fellowship to be more than just
the three weeks I was out of the country, and will continue to
progress the fuel ethanol options within New Zealand and build
on my milk protein industry leanings.
The fellowship also gives a young engineer or technologist
the chance to experience life outside New Zealand. I would like
to thank the Richard and Mary Earle Technology Trust for this
great opportunity. I am looking forward to making a difference
in both the fuel ethanol and milk protein businesses within New
Zealand. This trip benefited me professionally, along with my
employer and potentially the automotive industry in New Zealand. I thoroughly recommend that NZIFST or IPENZ members
eligible for this Fellowship put their passions on paper and fill
out an application form.
Make it happen, get your application forms in.
Earle Travel Fellowship in Technology
The Earle Travel Fellowship in Technology is for the
support and encouragement of young professional food
technologists and bioprocess engineers to attend overseas conferences, workshops or short courses; or to work
alongside a specialist in a research centre, a company or a
specialist-training establishment.
They gain practical experience in:
Product development and innovation management
Process development in food processing or
bioprocessing
Neil Betteridge, a bioprocess engineer, was awarded
the first Fellowship, his report is on these pages.
Neil is a member of both NZIFST and IPENZ.
Applications for the 2007 Fellowship now open
Members of NZIFST and IPENZ are now encouraged to apply for the 2007 Fellowship.
Mary Earle hopes to see many product developers applying, so that they can travel overseas to see the latest in
food product innovation. New Zealand’s large and small
food companies have to innovate if they are to be successful in food exporting.
Dick Earle was encouraged by last years applicants
who were involved in bioprocessing and asks bioprocess
and food engineers to apply this year.
Applicants need to be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents who have resided in New Zealand for at least
three years proceeding the year of selection. They will be
members of NZIFST or IPENZ, and aged under 40 years but
with a preference to candidates under 35 years. They will
be employed in the NZ technological industries (products or
services), or an associated research organisation.
The trip will be up to 3 months, after which the Fellow
must work in New Zealand for at least 1 year. Payments
will be for travel, accommodation costs and fees, but not
for stipends or salaries. The target maximum value for the
Fellowship is $10,000 but it may be increased under special circumstances to $15,000.
Application forms and conditions for the Fellowship
are available from either the NZIFST web site (www.nzifst.
org.nz) or by contacting Rosemary Hancock, NZIFST Executive Manager, e-mail rosemary@nzifst.org.nz, phone 06
356 1686 Applications close on 10th May 2007, final selection will be by 1st June.
Very cool architecture and engineering design at the Milwaukee Art Museum
30
Food New Zealand
NZIFST
Council News
Sudden death of NZIFST past President
New Zealand’s academic community and
the brewing industry have lost a respected scientist and world-class brewing consultant with the death of Belgium-born
Professor Jean Pierre Dufour on February
26th, while attending an Institute of Brewing and Distillery conference in Nigeria.
Professor Dufour (54), known to most
people as “JP”, was chairman of the Otago/Southland Branch for 5 years before
becoming Vice-President of the NZIFST
in 2001 and President from 2003-2005.
His term as President saw completion of
the amalgamation of NZIFST and DIANZ
after a prolonged membership consultation period. Many of us within the NZIFST
Jean-Pierre Dufour have fond memories of JP: he was a good
will be much
friend, colleague and mentor to many.
missed
JP was a colourful and well-liked
character – popular with his students for
his contagious enthusiasm for research and his quirky sense of
humour. The NZ food industry will sorely miss his style, vision,
and depth of knowledge over a wide variety of subjects.
Professor Dufour had successfully led Food Sciences at the
University of Otago since his arrival 12 years ago.
He initially trained as a chemical engineer before spending
six years as the head of Belgium’s University of Louvain brewing
school. From 1989 to 1995, Professor Dufour was Invited Professor at Portugal’s Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia. The following two years were spent as
Associate Professor at Senghor University, Egypt. He was an internationally respected consultant to both private enterprise and
international organisations, working on European Union and
United Nations programmes during the period 1989 to 1996.
His expertise could be best described as the science of flavour. He was a world leader in applying the latest analytical
techniques to flavour analysis, he loved working in the laboratory – sniffing and analysing the flavours first-hand. He had
published more than 70 scientific papers and presented at numerous national and international conferences. His passion for
good beer was well known and has seen him judge at the New
Zealand Beer Awards (an engagement he was scheduled to repeat this year) and work closely with local micro-breweries,
particularly Emersons in Dunedin. Last year, he received the
BrewNZ Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to
brewing in New Zealand.
New teacher fellows
NZIFST welcomes Helen McCallum, from Waimea Intermediate
in Nelson, Joanne Hutt, from Shirley Boys’ High School in
Christchurch and Angela McKee, from Napier as the 2007 NZ
Science Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellows
Helen McCallum has taught at both primary and secondary level
for over 20 years. During this time she has seen many curriculum changes, from girls-only cooking classes to co-ed Home
Economics, through to the present technology curriculum. The
changes have meant a move from lessons with a predominantly
practical style to a technology base.
Helen applied for her fellowship to enable her to enhance
her own knowledge and understanding of food product development, and to see first hand how this actually happens in the
food industry. Her proposed study is ‘5+ A Day the Technology
Way’. She will be involved with the development of a new food
product through working with ‘fresh-a-peel’ (a local company)
and her professional mentor, Dr Grant MacDonald, from the
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.
A month into her fellowship, Helen said: “I can’t believe the
learning opportunities I have had. So far I have been involved
in trial testing a fruit product for the market; carrying out shelf
life testing, observing microbiological testing, also determining
the yields on raw to processed fruit and then working on the
Helen McCullum
‘up to her elbows’
in fruit
recipe mix and percentage of fruits used in the different mixes.
Other areas of my research have included finding out about
year-round availability of the fruit, finding suitable packaging
and working on all aspects of the costing. Next week I am
going to visit a dried apricot operation in Central Otago and
Barker Fruit Processors in Geraldine. This will further my understanding of the development and processing of fruit and
vegetable products.”
Joanne Hutt, from Shirley Boys’ High School, in Christchurch, is studying ‘Cheese making: Age-old biotechnology in
modern times’, and Angela McKee from Napier, is studying
‘Technological practice: The food basket of Hawke’s Bay (Te
Rourouo Heretaunga)’.
April / May 2007
31
NZIFST
NZIFST Council co-opts
two new members
Jenny Dee and Miang Lim have been co-opted onto the NZIFST Council to represent the careers
programme. They have sent us profiles and outlines of their aspirations for the programme
Jenny Dee
I have been working in the food
processing industry for 26 years. My interest in working with teachers started
in 2003, when I met food technology
teacher (and RSNZ Teacher Fellow)
Carolyn Norquay on the study tour to
Queensland. She was fascinated by
what she saw “inside the food industry”. When she returned to teaching,
Jenny Dee
she asked her local NZIFST branch for
support, and food technologists have been working with her
ever since. Carolyn is now a Beacon Practice food technology
teacher – leading the way for other food technology teachers.
In September 2005, the Hawke’s Bay branch of the Institute started working with Beacon Practice teachers, Carol Rimmer and Kate McLennan, at Havelock North High School. This
led to four young food technologists from Heinz Wattie’s being
trained as Futureintech Ambassadors, and the ball was rolling:
I was hooked.
In February 2006 the Careers Committee was officially
formed. With Phil Bremer. Sue Parkes and Abby Thompson on
the team, and the support of Futureintech and the Royal Society
of New Zealand, we have achieved a great deal. NZIFST and
the food industry have a much higher profile with schools and
teachers than a year ago. We will build on that profile this year,
with the initiatives mentioned in the careers update elsewhere
in this journal. The committee alone could not possibly do all
of this; it’s great to have the support of members of the Institute
who have offered to help with specific initiatives. It’s going to
be another big year for careers, and there are lots of opportunities for members to get involved.
Dr Miang Lim
Dr Miang Lim grew up in Malaysia,
completed her BSc in Canada and obtained her MS and PhD degrees from
the University of California, Davis. She
then worked for seven years at the
headquarters of two US multinational
companies, as a technical application
scientist at M&M/Mars and a product
development project leader at Warner
Miang Lim
Lambert (now Pfizer).
Miang started her academic life at the University of Otago in
1996, developing the industrial project based food product development programme and establishing the Food Science Club.
She was the treasurer and executive committee member of the
Otago/Southland Branch NZIFST from 1998-2005 and the student liaison officer for Otago/Southland Branch (2005).
32
Food New Zealand
As a co-opted member to the NZIFST Executive Committee,
with special responsibility for our students, Miang’s goals as a
Student Liaison Officer are:
Encouraging more student participation in NZIFST
conferences, through industry travel grants, increasing the
number or value of presentation competition prizes and
student social activities.
Encouraging establishment of Food Science Clubs in each
food science department and involving these students with
the local branch activities
Being a direct contact for the student representatives from
each department so that the Institute can work to serve
them better
Encouraging continuing student contact with the Institute
after graduation
Notice of AGM
The 42nd Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand
Institute of Food Science & Technology Inc will be held
Tuesday, 19 June 2006, in the Town Hall, Wellington,
from 4.45pm – 5.30pm. All current financial members are
invited to attend. The Agenda will be mailed in May to
each member’s last known postal address.
Calls for Nominations for Exective officers
Nominations are invited for the following NZIFST officers for 2007-2008, to take office following the AGM in
June 2007:
President
Vice-President
Honorary Treasurer
All nominations are to be signed by a proposer and
a seconder and countersigned by the nominee. Closing
date for nominations is Wednesday 18 April 2007.
Forward nominations to:
Executive Manager, NZIFST
P O Box 8031, Palmerston North
Fax 06 356 1687
Nominations for Fellow of the NZIFST
Nominations are invited for the promotion of NZIFST
Professional Members to the level of Fellow.
Nominations may be made by any group of three Fellows or Professional members of the Institute and must
be accompanied by a written statement outlining the career of the nominee and a supporting statement signed
by the nominators
For details on qualifying conditions please telephone
06 356 1686 or email rosemary@nzifst.org.nz. Closing
date for nominations is Wednesday 18 April 2007.
Forward nominations to:
Executive Manager, NZIFST,
P O Box 8031, Palmerston North
Fax 06 356 1687
NZIFST
Branch News
Food Industry Golf Day
Kim Buckley
The re-emergence of the Food Industry Golf Day after 20 years
was a great success and many thanks to all players, sponsors
and volunteers who supported the day – held at Manakau Golf
Club on Tuesday 6th March 2007.
Invited along for the day were two original golfers from the
first ever Food Industry Golf Days held in the late 1960’s – Harry
Lewin and Mike Thompson. Mike kept us entertained with stories about those days of a rowdy group of eight (Harry, Mike,
Leith Thompson, Bert McCartney, Peter Jarvis, Wolf Neill, Lance
Carrick and Jock Tunicliffe) playing golf on their way to conference. Mike is the son of Leith who donated the original handcrafted wooden rosebowl trophy (unfortunately now lost but
replaced in the 1980’s).
Mike presented this year’s
trophy in memory of his
father, a long-standing
NZIFST member at Tip
Top Ice Cream.
The competition was
an Ambrose Teams event
- we had 14 teams entered and with some
encouragement
they
decked themselves out
in colourful uniforms.
Amid much hilarity, the
golf was surprisingly
competitive with not
much in the scores at the
The Bronson & Jacobs Sandblasters seem to have missed
LawsonWill.pdf
22/3/07
10:15:53 AM
their
cue?
end. Congratulations to the winning team - Stonemill from GS
Hall & Co. – Stephen Findlay, Charles Hall, Scott Robertson,
KC Ng. Runners-up, Carlsberg Cowboys, looking very dangerous in their red shirts, gave it their best shot both on the golf
course and around the drinks cart sampling their own product
(and chatting up the girls from Swift) but were just pipped by a
few putts.
Note from Auckland Branch
We wish to specially recognise our sponsors on the day who
supported generously and contributed to a very impressive prize
table. Sponsors included BASF, Bronson & Jacobs, Inghams, GS
Hall, Horleys, Cleantec, Kerry Ingredients, APS Food & Nutrition,
Barkers Fruit Processors, Hawkins Watts, Heat & Control, Frucor,
Independent Liquor (Carlsberg), Sensient Technologies, Food
Tech Solutions, Peppermint Press (Food NZ Magazine), Swift.
Kim Buckley showed
her experience by organising a smooth running day’s entertainment,
thanks Kim. For some,
the game was incidental,
but all had a great time.
The full list of winners will be posted on the website,
www.nzifst.org.nz along
with photographs.
Brian Stanbury, Harry
Lewin, Mike Thompson
and Gerard Hall – “The
Golden Oldies”
The winners, Team Stonemill, KC Ng, Stephen Findlay,
Charles Hall and Scott Robertson, with Mike Thompson, who
presented the prizes
April / May 2007
33
Gerry Townsend from Heinz Wattie’s presents the 2007
University of Otago Heinz Wattie’s Food Science Scholarship
to first year food science student, Lauren Edmonds
Associate Professor Phil Bremer presents the 2007 NZIFST
Prize to 3rd year food science student, Estee Mathias
With great anticipation and excitement, staff and students from
the Department of Food Science at the University of Otago met
on the evening of Friday March 16 to find out the winners of
several prestigious student awards. This event was co-hosted by
the NZIFST Otago/Southland branch and the Food Science Club
of the University of Otago.
Heinz Wattie’s product development manager, Gerry
Townsend, made the long trip south from Hawkes Bay to meet
with the students from Otago and to present a talk on product
development. Heinz Wattie’s has been very generous in supporting students at Otago by the funding of the University of
Otago Heinz Wattie’s Food Science Scholarship.
With barely concealed excitement, acting head of food science, associate professor Phil Bremer, read out the names of the
successful students. The winners of the Heinz Wattie’s scholarship in each year (and the year that their scholarship started)
were: Lauren Edmonds, 1st year student (2007), Roimata Strickland, 2nd year student (2006), Jane Oliver, 3rd year student
(2005), and Selina Lai, 4th year student (2004). This year’s winner, Lauren Edmonds, hails from Lower Hutt, and will receive a
scholarship worth $2500 over two years. She will also have the
opportunity to work at Heinz Wattie’s over the summer after
completing her second year in food science at the University
of Otago.
The food science winners of the Bee Nilson Scholarship in
2007 were Selina Lai, Tasha McCarthy and Gemma Hayward.
These 4th year honours students were awarded stipends of
$6000 each based on their scholastic achievements, and are
currently enrolled in the honours programme in food science
at Otago. Selina is working on a project to utilise anti-microbial
agents and anti-oxidants to extend the shelf-life of pesto. Tasha is working on producing a spread from olive oil. Gemma’s
project is examining plant-based alternatives to calf rennet for
the coagulation of milk to manufacture cheese. The Bee Nilson
award is named after Otago graduate, Amanda Rhoda (Bee)
Nilson, who made an outstanding contribution to the field of
food science and human nutrition.
The winner of the NZIFST prize was Estee Mathias. This
award recognises the highest achiever in second year in food
science, and comes with a prize of $500 and a one-year student membership of NZIFST. The University Bookshop Prize in
Sensory Science winner was Fiona Hedley, Sara Tyrell won the
Brenda Bell Memorial Prize in consumer and food science, and
the J. Cowie Nichols Prize in Food Science was given to Zijia
Chang. Congratulations to all of these students!
The food industry in New Zealand is crying out for skilled
food scientists and practitioners. With the dedication and interest shown by these students, the industry in New Zealand can
rest assured that it will be passed on to capable hands in the
future.
NZIFST Directory
NZIFST
Otago
ADMINISTRATION
DIVISION CONTACTS
EXECUTIVE MANAGER Rosemary Hancock
PO Box 8031, Palmerston North
Ph (06) 356 1686
Fax (06) 356 1687
Mob (021) 217 8298
rosemary@nzifst.org.nz
DAIRY INDUSTRY
Toni Hunt
tonihunt@pcconnect.co.nz
FOOD SAFETY
Campbell Mitchell
cdmitchell@mccain.co.nz
FOOD MARKETING
Tony Garrett
tgarrett@business.otago.ac.nz
NUTRITION
Dave Monro
DaveM@nhf.org.nz
SENSORY
Rebecca Shingleton
Rebecca.shingleton@fonterra.com
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE
PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
TREASURER
34
David Everett, University of Otago
Food New Zealand
Sally Hasell
Ph (04) 475 7989
hasell@netaccess.co.nz
David Munro
Ph (07) 575 7940
munrodca@wave.co.nz
Carol Cullen
Ph (07) 304 9707
lescullen@xtra.co.nz
NOT A MEMBER OF NZIFST THE NEW ZEALAND
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What better way to start the year than to sit in the garden of Tauranga’s best restaurant on a beautiful summer afternoon tasting
cheese and enjoying a glass of wine? Bay of Plenty Branch and
Dairy Division were fortunate to be offered the opportunity to
run a seminar by Juliet Harbutt, New Zealand’s only Master of
Cheese and international cheese expert. The seminar was entitled
‘Developing High Quality, High Value New Zealand Cheese’.
As we worked our way through 11 cheeses (6 of which were
from New Zealand), Juliet gave us a potted history of cheesemaking, a simple and effective cheese classification system, a
summary of factors that affect cheese flavour and quality, a layman’s guide to the cheesemaking process, a quiz on cheese fat
content, and an idea of what to look for in good cheese.
Most of the New Zealand cheeses we tasted compared well
with the imports (two of them topped the tasting), but the range
of cheeses tasted gave us some idea of the variety and complexity of flavours and textures that are possible. Juliet was
critical of our cheesemakers generally for using too much salt
and cream and quite complimentary about many of our small
cheesmakers, our Dutch cheesemakers, and the classic ‘blue
vein’ New Zealand cheese – made since 1951.
I asked Juliet if there was a particular style of cheese New
Zealand should focus on to develop high quality and value.
She said no, but focus on factors that affect the complexity of
cheese flavour, such as region, pasture (not just rye and clover)
and breed of cow (or sheep or goat).
Bay of Plenty Branch would like to thank Juliet for a wonderfully refreshing learning experience, and Rick and Anne of
Somerset Cottage for giving us both the opportunity and a superb environment.
David Munro
For our first meeting of 2007, we invited Professor Laurence
Melton to present his inaugural Professorial lecture, entitled, in
Laurie’s usual quirky style, ‘Gastrophiles and Crapulence’.
As an introduction Laurie talked about the impact of the
orientation of β-D-glucose & α-D-glucose on the properties
of starch and cellulose. Cellulose consists of microfibrils that
are aligned in differently configured arrays. Tamarillo was the
source of the smallest diameter cellulose microfibril measured.
His talk moved into research on plant cell walls (approximately 65% water with dietary fibres composed of cellulose 30%,
hemicellulose 25%, pectin 40% and protein 5%). We learnt that
mealy and fresh, juicy fruit have similar water content but differ
in cell pressure, with the cells in juicy fruit bursting open.
Key messages:
Even with advances in science in recent decades, there is
still much to be learned about the structure of compounds
Ongoing pure research is essential to our understanding of
food and underpins advances and developments in applied
science
The devil is in the detail; critically assess scientific
publications –plant cell wall is very structured in fresh
plant in comparison with prepared material.
As the debate rages about healthy diets and obesity, simple
sugars versus dietary fibres, it is timely to recall a quotation
from Paracelsus - “the poison is in the dose”.
If laughter is the best medicine, the 35 members present
received a healthy dose in what was a stimulating, entertaining
and thought provoking presentation to kick off 2007.
Our congratulations go to Hamish Conway, Goodman Fielder, who was presented with his Professional member certificate.
Marion Cumming
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April / May 2007
35
NZIFST
Bay of Plenty – Cheese seminar
NZIFST
Countdown to conference
Charles Brennan and Miang Lim
Food – the challenges
June 19th – 21st
Wellington Town Hall
With only 3 months left before the
conference opening, the programme
has now been finalised and is a
fascinating mixture of both applied and theoretical science.
Programme
committee
members have been inundated
with offers of oral and poster
presentations and offers of
help, showing the food industry has a vibrant heart and soul.
With over 100 oral presentations
and offers for poster presentations still coming in from students
and academics, the programme is
literally jam-packed this year.
Benefits
Perhaps one of the most important parts of any conference is the opportunity to socialise, to build on our existing
networks and develop new ones.
A conference is also a crucial part of developing future food
technologists and we are lucky in having a large number of
students presenting at the conference (and competing for the
student oral and poster prizes).
Trade display underpins
conference
In support of the formal sessions, there is the renowned trade
display which will highlight recent advancements in processes,
ingredients and quality-prediction equipment for the food industry. This is a vital part of the vibrant conference life, helping
all of us to network with our colleagues.
The core of a conference
So what is on offer and why should you attend ? Well…the
scene is set for us in the first session of the conference on 19th
June with a sparkling cast of Keynote speakers. Andrew Ferrier (CEO of Fonterra) will highlight the role of the food industry to New Zealand’s economy, a theme which will be enlarged
on by Tim Gibson (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise) who
will explore the crucial role of export markets in the growth of
our industry. Well known journalist, analyst and Professor of Innovation, Rod Oram, will then continue the link, analysing the
needs of the industry in terms of future growth. Finally The New
Zealand Food Safety Authority will highlight the importance of
food safety in consumer confidence in the industry.
36
Food New Zealand
Key speakers from the concurrent sessions
include Lisa Oakley discussing pasteurisation technology within the dairy system;
Mike Needham leading us through
the trends and choices of packaging
in order to optimise product quality; Bronwen Smith on using
the microscope to illustrate finer
points of food structure, and
Jean Margerison discussing
manipulation of animal feeds
to develop novel milk bioactive compounds.
Two workshops are also
planned for the first day. The
morning session, led by Chris
Downs, describes how to get the
best out of government assistance
in fine tuning your research and development and product formulation
work. The afternoon workshop (led by
Gerrit Meerdink) explores how culinary
and sensory skills can be effectively employed
to deliver exciting new products for the consumer.
Looking ahead, functional foods
Day two starts bright and early with Geoff Savage and Julian
Mellentin looking at recent global trends and developments in
functional foods in the morning plenary session. In the same
session Marina Carcea and Tom Huppertz will explore the
end points of functional food development and novel processing techniques which may be used to enhance food products.
Later in the morning food safety becomes a strong theme
with a session given over to the hot topic of traceability within
the food industry and the practicalities of recalls. The workshop
on the practicalities of measuring food quality is another must
go-to session.
The afternoon plenary sessions start with Peter Stevens,
of GS1, looking at traceability in the food system and how to
effectively manage this in a real life situation. This is followed
by discussions on the utilisation of antibody assays in the food
industry by Chris Smith of IFST, and the utilisation of real
time assays for food product quality measurements by leading
researcher and entrepreneur Barry McCleary.
Food safety theme continues
Food safety is carried on into the concurrent sessions with a
session devoted to the very topical area of campylobacter in the
food industry. Other afternoon concurrent sessions will explore
the plethora of novel food ingredients that are available to the
food industry in terms of adding nutraceutical benefits to products, and a session identifying trends and product development
within the snack food sector.
The need to understand the consumer is the topic of the morning plenary sessions of the last day of the conference with keynote speakers exploring the differences in culture and tastes in
Japan with Makoto Kinjo, President of ANZCO Foods Japan
Ltd, followed by a talk detailing the possibility of exporting
bioactive compounds and functional foods to the Asian market
by Young Mee Yoon of Comvita New Zealand Limited. The
final keynote speech is given over to Professor Pingfan Roa
who will explore the potential of China as a rapidly expanding
export market for NZ food industry.
Concurrent sessions in the morning bring together advances
in food chemistry, hosted by Laurie Melton. Topics include
novel approaches to processing and product optimisation in
the seafood and fish industry links between crop physiology
and product quality in the fruit and vegetable sector. The final
workshop of the conference will explore the pitfalls of developing your own company.
a paper on how universities and academics can aid product innovation in the food industry by Richard Archer of Massey
University; then how industry can translate blue sky advancements of research from Universities and CRI’s by Geoff Tempest, and a final look at how the government can assist this link
by Paul Bruere of MoRST.
MoRST Roadmap
After the closing ceremony there is an extra workshop run by
MoRST that will explore the RoadMap for developing and growing the food industry through research and innovation. This
session will be a mix of communication of ideas as well as discussion on which areas attention needs to be given in order to
lead to the ongoing success of the New Zealand Food industry.
Don’t miss this event
Development resourcing
I look forward to seeing you all in Wellington in a few weeks
time. I believe that this year’s conference will be one of those
we will remember for many years to come.
The final plenary session marks the end of the conference with
Keynote speakers sampler
Rod Oram
Rod Oram has 30 years’ experience as an international journalist. He is currently Contributing Editor at Unlimited, a columnist for the Sunday Star-Times, a regular broadcaster on
radio and television and a frequent public speaker on business and economic issues. Rod is an adjunct professor in the
New Zealand Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at
Unitec.
Rao Ping-fan
Dr. Rao is Professor and Dean of the College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Fuzhou University,
China. He founded the Institute of Biotechnology
at Fuzhou University in 1993, and leads a group
working on the active ingredients of traditional
Chinese medicine and the industrialisation of traditional Chinese foods. He has published more than
120 papers, holds 8 patents and is the founder of
and advisor to food and biotech companies. He
is vice-president of the Chinese Institute of Food
Science and Technology and on the IUfost governing council. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster and
Queen’s University at Belfast, and co-supervisor of the University of Edinburgh PhD course.
Marina Carcea
Dr. Carcea is a senior Researcher in the Unit of
Studies on Cereals at the National Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition (INRAN) Rome, Italy
which she joined in 1989 following research in
Italian and English Universities and with FAO. She
is the author of more than one hundred scientific
publications. She is a founding member, and on
the executive of the Italian Association of Cereal
Science and Technology. Her scientific opinion
appears in Italian magazines, newspapers and
in TV programmes. In 2004 she was the first woman to be
awarded the international Harald Perten Prize for excellence
in research in cereal science and technology.
Makoto Kinjo
Makoto Kinjo is the President of ANZCO Foods Japan Ltd, a
100% subsidiary of ANZCO Foods Limited, which is a New
Zealand-based multi-national meat processing and marketing company with $1 billion turnover, seven processing sites
throughout New Zealand, and marketing offices in the UK,
Europe, USA, Taiwan and Japan as well as in New Zealand.
Makoto joined ANZCO Foods in October 2000, after assuming various business development roles at Goodman Fielder,
Wattie’s and Tip Top Ice Cream. Makoto has a commerce
degree from Canterbury University.
Barry McCleary
Dr. McCleary is founder and co-owner of Megazyme International. Before founding Megazyme
in 1988, he was Principal Research Scientist with
the New South Wales Department of Agriculture.
He is the author of scientific papers and book
chapters on carbohydrates and enzymes. Many of
the methods he developed are now international
standard methods. He was the recipient of the F.B.
Guthrie Medal “for contributions to Australian Cereal Chemistry in the broadest sense”, and in 2002
of the Harvey W. Wiley medal, AOAC International’s most
prestigious award, for contributions to analytical chemistry.
He is an AACCI and AOPACI Fellow.
Thom Huppertz
Dr Huppertz obtained an MSc in Dairy Science from Wageningen University (The Netherlands) in 1999 and was awarded a PhD at University College Cork (Ireland) in 2003 for
his research on the effects of high pressure processing on
constituents and properties of milk. He performed further
postdoctoral studies at University College Cork on factors affecting milk protein functionality. In July 2006, he joined the
University of Queensland as a senior research officer and is
currently working on a number of topics related to properties and stability of milk proteins and implications thereof for
dairy product functionality.
April / May 2007
37
NZIFST
Understand your market
MIA NEWS
MIA News
Biosecurity research funding responsibilities concern MIA
Funding responsibilities for Biosecurity New Zealand’s proposed
‘biosecurity research strategy for New Zealand’ are of concern
to the Meat Industry Association (MIA), whose meat processing,
marketing and exporting members account for about $5 billion
of export revenue.
While broadly supportive of the strategy outlined in Biosecurity New Zealand’s discussion paper (2006/05) “A Biosecurity
Science, Research & Technology Strategy for New Zealand” that
looks forward over the coming 25 years, MIA states, in a recent
submission, that it does not agree with aspects of the funding
responsibilities outlined in the paper. This is particularly with
regard to funding of biosecurity science into surveillance programmes and diagnostics underpinning New Zealand’s international pest and disease reporting obligations.
Contending that it is too simplistic to propose that the meat
industry should pay for biosecurity science that relates to production diseases, the MIA argues that the paper understates the
potential for the impacts of many diseases to be felt far beyond
the industries involved in production.
“As surveillance for many pests and diseases within New
Zealand is undertaken to verify assurances of animal health
status made by the New Zealand government to the OIE (the
international standard setting organisation) to trade under the
World Trade Organisation framework, we argue this gives surveillance a public benefit character,” explains MIA policy advisor Dave Harrison. “Responsibility for funding and improving
the necessary surveillance programmes should accordingly fall
to the Crown.”
The MIA is also concerned at suggestions that funding responsibilities for surveillance programmes should fall only to
the domestic production industries that are exposed to risks,
rather than recognising that some responsibility should lie with
industries that create risks. “For example, the potential for tourists to introduce and spread pests and diseases or for their introduction via imported produce is outside the meat industry’s
control. We consider that those who engage in the activities that
give rise to biosecurity risks should pay a part of the costs associated with surveillance programmes that manage those risks.”
The MIA does support many of the priorities outlined in the
paper, such as improving collaboration on biosecurity sciences,
and improving the visibility of biosecurity science to improve
uptake and also endorses the need for progress on the strategy to
be regularly measured against meaningful and objective performance indicators. However, it submits that greater priority needs to
be given to the development of surveillance and diagnostic tools
for underpinning New Zealand’s international pest- and diseasefreedom reporting and to furthering understanding of the potential for feral animals to disperse serious pests and diseases.
Harrison says that the MIA supports the 25-year vision contained within the strategy, but believes that it should also emphasise the importance of teamwork as a means of making the
most of limited resources. “It would seem to us that effective
collaboration and co-ordination will be paramount in ensuring
that ‘excellence in science’ is achieved, and that the resulting
science outcomes do, ultimately, better protect New Zealand in
a practical sense. We suggest that effective collaboration and
co-ordination should form an express part of the long-term vision for biosecurity science.”
Challenges that need to be addressed include balancing economic values against social, cultural and environmental values
and also the relatively small pool of resources available to commit to biosecurity research that will require equitable treatment
of the diverse range of interests.
Behavioural science, in determining the role of human behaviour with regard to biosecurity, will have a greater role to
play in the future, the MIA predicts. “Biosecurity science should
also aim to maintain and improve the credibility and robustness of New Zealand’s pest and disease free status, protecting New Zealand’s market advantage as an exporter of quality
products.”
Her Majesty congratulates NZ meat industry
Meat & Wool New
Zealand Chair, Jeff Grant
38
Food New Zealand
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has
written to congratulate the New Zealand meat industry on the anniversary that marks 125 years since the first
frozen meat shipment that left New
Zealand bound for the United Kingdom. The historical venture was the
first step in creating what is now an
export industry contributing $5.5 billion to the New Zealand economy.
In the letter to Meat & Wool New
Zealand chair, Jeff Grant, the Queen
noted her interest in National Lamb
Day on 15 February, celebrating the
125th anniversary and she sent her
“warm, good wishes for a successful and enjoyable celebration.” Jeff
Grant said many people had enjoyed
New Zealand lamb on the 15th, not only in New Zealand and
the UK but other points around the world, thanks to contact
with New Zealand Embassies and High Commissions. Members
of the New Zealand Parliament enjoyed a barbecue at Bellamy’s
hosted by the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon Jim Anderton. Industry partners that supported the event were Retail Meat New
Zealand, Meat & Wool New Zealand, the New Zealand Meat Industry Association and the New Zealand Beef & Lamb Marketing Bureau. There was even a function at Cambridge University
in the UK attended by rugby and rowing club members – historically significant because members of the Cambridge Rowing
Club were among the first to eat the New Zealand meat that
arrived in 1882. Meat & Wool New Zealand also approached the
New Zealand Meat Workers and Related Trades Union Inc with
anniversary information for the meat workers.
Reports from the William Davidson 125 conference will
appear in the next issue of Food New Zealand.
New animal welfare research areas
proposed
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Seven new animal welfare research areas have been proposed
for operational research funding to the New Zealand Ministry
of Agriculture & Forestry in a recent Meat Industry Association
submission.
Gaps in knowledge or where there is a requirement to tighten up the current procedures because of customer stipulations
in New Zealand’s meat markets are detailed in the meat industry’s submission. These are:
1. Scientific standards from stunning to bleeding out in
large animals
2. Objective criteria for determining the impact of
processes on animal welfare
3. Scientific modelling for stock crate design
4. Alternative livestock washing methods
5. Develop/update science for New Zealand conditions
6. Impact on standing stock prior to transportation
7. Establishing the cause of downer cows
With the increasing emphasis placed on animal welfare by
customers, the MIA submits that it is important that New Zealand is able to scientifically demonstrate to both customers and
the various authorities in importing countries that New Zealand’s ritual slaughter processes, particularly Halal slaughter, do
not in any way compromise animal welfare, while still meeting
the religious requirements. The organisation argues that it is
also important to establish what is or is not acceptable in an animal welfare sense by using objective animal welfare measures
rather than relying on more subjective criteria.
Stock-crate design is a complex procedure as several parameters are in play including ventilation, roofing, loading densities, animal size, head height, temperature and time/length of
travel and the MIA believes that creating and using a model for
the design would help to optimise animal welfare.
Another stressful point for livestock is washing prior to
slaughter and while a number of improved methods have already been introduced to replace swim washing, the submission
asks for scientific evidence to show the impact of alternative
washing procedures on stress pre-slaughter.
Developing and updating New Zealand animal welfare
science is critical for the meat industry, the MIA says, as its
members’ overseas customers – retailers, fast-food chains and
supermarket chains – have rapidly changing requirements, often based on overseas farming practices that are not relevant to
New Zealand environment. “It is becoming more difficult to defend the New Zealand practices due to new requirements and
dated (New Zealand) science,” the submission argues, especially in areas like the provision of bedding straw in trucks and
pens, the vocalisation test (and criteria), the roofing of crates
and feeding of animals after 12 hours.
Scientifically determining the best duration, from an animal
welfare perspective, to stand stock off feed prior to transport
requires to be established. This, the MIA believes, will give
farmers supplying stock confidence in the current requirements
which urge them to stop their livestock eating four to eight
hours prior to transport to improve stock cleanliness, reduce
cross-contamination during the freighting of livestock and to
minimise the amount of effluent spilling onto roads from stock
trucks.
Finally, the MIA submits that operational research is needed
to solve the mystery of why apparently fit lactating dairy cows
go down either on the truck on arrival or soon after unloading at the plant. Establishing the cause of “downer cows” will
help to educate dairy farmers “to understand the requirements
of handling cattle prior to delivery and prevent any metabolic
disorder that may occur.”
April / May 2007
39
MIA NEWS
New executive assistant at MIA
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Win moved to New Zealand while
young and was raised in Wellington. Her EA/PA career in New
Zealand and London, has given her a strong administrative and
office management background and she’s looking forward to
the challenge of a new industry to broaden her skills further.
Win has worked in varied fields, including Berry & Walker accountants, the Ministry of Justice, Hutt Valley District Health
Board and computer software company, Rebus. She has been
married twice and has three adult children and four grandchildren and, in her spare time, enjoys self-development, reading,
movies and walking.
Win de Beaumont is
Caryll Shailer’s new
executive assistant and
replaces Jane Davie
Recent MIA submissions
Other recent MIA reports, available for download at
www.mia.co.nz/submissions, include submissions to:
The Department of Labour on Quality Flexible Work:
Increasing Availability and Take Up in New Zealand
(20/12/06)
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority on Cost
Recovery Proposals under the Animal Products Act
1999 (15/12/06)
The Transport and Industrial Relations Select
Committee on the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation
and Compensation Amendment Bill (13/12/06)
The Inland Revenue Department on Business Tax
Review; Skills Training Tax Credits (30/11/06);
Research and Development Tax Credits (30/11/06);
Market Development Tax Credits (30/11/06)
The Department of Labour on Proposed Amendments
to Schedule 2 of the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation
and Compensation Act 2001 (30/11/06)
Affco adds dairy to product offering
Meat processor and exporter Affco Holdings
Ltd is adding dairy to its product portfolio,
with its recent announcement that it is to set
up a new wholly owned company, Dairy
Trust Ltd.
“Having considered growth options for
the company for some time, the board had
identified the New Zealand dairy sector as
one which has strong investment potential,”
Affco chairman Sam Lewis says.
“New Zealand dairy products enjoy a first
class reputation globally for quality and price
competitiveness and the Affco board regards Affco Chairman,
Sam Lewis
it as an attractive sector for investment.”
While there are synergies for the new company with Affco’s
existing business, Lewis says that Affco’s role will be as investor only and Dairy Trust will operate with its own management
and board and will, quite quickly, have a wider share-holding
base than Affco. While remaining a decision for the Dairy Trust
board, the intention is for the company to seek a listing on the
New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) in 2008.
Dairy Trust is intended to be a dairy processor, developing,
owning and managing a small number of dairy plants around
the country. Initially, it will acquire three sites from Affco in
Wanganui, Northland and Waikato that are “surplus to Affco’s
meat processing operations” and will also be looking for a
fourth site in Southland. The acquisition of the Affco sites, together with certain buildings, plant, equipment and with rights
to existing effluent and water treatment facilities, is significant
as it will speed up processes as obtaining consent to develop its
own facilities would be difficult and costly, the company says.
Milk powder will probably form part of the early offering
from the company, though considerable work remains to determine the optimum product mix, scale and design for the
sites, which will be prioritised following the establishment and
capitalisation of Dairy Trust, the company says.
Established in 1904, Affco is the only meat company that is
listed on the NZX. Now, together with Dairy Trust, it is part of
the Motueka-based Talley family food empire that also owns
fishing trawlers, seafood and vegetable processors, an ice-cream
plant and a cheese company.
40
Food New Zealand
MIA NEWS
Meaty Morsels
Snippets from the vast array of research, technical, market and policy information
received by the Meat Industry Association.
New Zealand Ambassador
Chef, Graham Brown,
takes a US culinary class
New Zealand Lamb Oscar
winner Peter Irvine with his
grand champion Texels
“Lamb Oscars” hit high
gear – Peter and Susan
Irvine from Timaru are
the first New Zealand
Lamb Oscar Grand Champions. Their Texel lamb was
chosen as the tenderest, tastiest lamb from a line up of six
finalists. Runners-up were Robert and Rosemary Gardyne
from Winton with a Perendale/Texel cross. Farmers
selected their best lambs before having them processed
and scanned for yield at Alliance’s Mataura plant near
Invercargill. The six meatiest lambs out of 2,500 entries
were selected and went forward to the final ‘taste-off’.
Three cuts; lamb rump, neck fillet and mid-loin chop,
were taken from the finalist carcasses. They were cooked
and tasted by a panel of judges who were looking for
tenderness, aroma, flavour, texture and juiciness. Although
only a pilot trial this year, it is intended the competition
goes nation-wide in 2008.
Steak of Origin returns – The challenge is on again to
find New Zealand’s best tasting steak as the fifth Steak of
Origin competition opens its doors. Farmers are currently
preparing their stock for entry. A sirloin steak from each
entrant is analysed at Lincoln University for tenderness,
pH, percentage of marbling and percentage cooking loss.
The tenderest steaks will go through to the semi-final for a
taste-test before the top four steaks are selected in each of
the four classes. The final, to select the Grand Champion,
will be held on Monday, 14th May at the Beef Expo in
Palmerston North.
Collaborative New Zealand culinary classes in US –
New Zealand lamb, Cervena, Greenshell Mussels and New
Zealand wines are going to be presented to US culinary
scholars in an exciting new collaborative effort by Meat &
Wool New Zealand, Deer Industry New Zealand, the NZ
Mussel Industry Council and Pernod-Ricard Ltd. Starting in
March, New Zealand Ambassador Chef, Graham Brown,
will teach classes of chefs-in-waiting, giving them key
Greg Murphy judging the
grand champion lamb
nutritional facts and product
qualities, and preparation information for each of the
products in a series of interactive demonstrations for
students on both coasts of the US.
AgResearch signs agreement with Aussie national
science agency – Agresearch signed a Heads of
Agreement document with the Livestock Industries Division
of Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO),
in February. CSIRO is one of the world’s largest and
most diverse research agencies and AgResearch is New
Zealand’s largest Crown research institute. The agreement
will formalise a working relationship built up over the past
18 months and extend it to involve more collaborative
research projects. The relationship has already generated
some results including the successful sequencing of the
bovine genome, completed last year in collaboration with
several other prestigious research organisations in North
America and Europe. The arrangement will give the two
organisations competitive advantage in strengthening
their animal bioscience capabilities and will result in more
efficient use of government and industry R&D resources, a
CSIRO spokesman said.
AgResearch customer relationship manager – Brian
Dingwall is AgResearch’s new customer relationship
manager. He brings a wealth of international experience to
the role, which will assist the CRI to work more effectively
with its clients. Dingwall has significant experience in
the New Zealand meat industry and in developing and
marketing functional foods and nutraceuticals. He was
previously employed at meat processor-exporter Affco as
development director, sales and marketing manager (beef),
international business development director and marketing
manager, before moving to bio-tech start-up, Stolle
Biologics, as CEO.
For further information on any of the above items contact the Meat Industry Association on 04 473 6465 or by
email info@mia.co.nz. Visit the web-site www.mia.co.nz.
April / May 2007
41
MIA NEWS
Career in the Life of:
Stewart Barnett
Industry veteran, Stewart Barnett, has now stepped down from the
Council of the Meat Industry Association (MIA), following his retirement
in April as chief executive officer of this country’s largest meat
processing company, the farmer co-operative PPCS. We look at his
career and contribution to the MIA and the New Zealand meat food
industry over the past half century.
Born in Darfield in the 1940s, Stewart Barnett started his meat
industry career 47 years ago as a Dalgety stock agent in Canterbury. He joined PPCS in 1972 as a lamb drafter and over the
next decade or so moved steadily through marketing roles in
New Zealand and the UK to become chief executive in 1986. In
that time, he has seen the meat industry turn from commoditydominated, Board-controlled entity processing sheep and cattle
into carcasses, into a thriving, commercial, market-driven, high
technology food industry that contributes over $5 billion of export revenue annually to the New Zealand economy.
Passionate about the industry
Paying tribute to Stewart Barnett’s contribution to the New Zealand meat industry over the term of his career, MIA chair Bill
Falconer notes that Barnett was a founder member of the MIA
and was a staunch supporter of it as the process/export sector’s
‘trade body’. Barnett also played a big part in its predecessor
bodies, including the Meat Exporters Council. He sat on the
Meat Planning Council, the MIRINZ Board (for six years) and
was the MIA representative on the New Zealand Meat Board
for a number of years. In addition, he served on a myriad of
other boards including the New Zealand Lamb Company, Deer
Industry New Zealand, the New Zealand-US Council and biotechnology company, Global Technologies NZ Ltd.
“Stewart was always passionate about the industry and even
more so about his company’s role in it. He was at the helm
during all of the industry’s major changes and made a singular
contribution to it,” Falconer says.
Graeme Lowe of Lowe Corporation, another founding member of the MIA Council, has worked alongside Barnett over the
past 40 years. “In the time that I have known him he has been
a staunch advocate for the New Zealand meat industry and has
stuck to his principles and fought to improve the returns to
farmers and shareholders alike.”
Able to wear many ‘hats’
Wishing Barnett well in his retirement, Lowe adds,”With his retirement, it looks like I will be the only one of the old guard left.”
John Upton, executive director of Mathias International, has
been a fellow MIA Council member since 1996 and says that
Barnett has contributed an immense amount of knowledge to
the MIA and the wider industry during his career. Even though
sometimes Barnett might sit in a meeting with three ‘hats’ on,
Upton commended him on his ability to “distinguish very clear-
42
Food New Zealand
Stewart Barnett
ly between them. He could quite readily take one hat off and
look at an issue from another point of view.”
In an industry with a reputation for hardness, Barnett has
earned respect for his business acumen and drive which has
seen Dunedin-based PPCS grow from a South Island business
with a $245 million turnover, when he became CEO in 1996, to
over $2 billion today, with 24 meat processing plants throughout New Zealand. Companies like Fortex, Waitaki, Canterbury
Frozen Meats (CFM), and Richmond New Zealand, along with
Mair Venison, have been purchased by PPCS during his tenure.
The company also wholly owns the Norwich-based British meat
processor, PPCS Brooks, (formerly known as Brooks of Norwich) which has given it processing flexibility within the UK
close to its huge supermarket customers.
A strategic grasp of the sector
Barnett was an MIA Council member for the whole of former
MIA Executive Director, Brian Lynch’s, 11 year term. Lynch says
he had the pleasure of meeting many industry personnel at
all levels. “Three industry leaders stood-out from the rest for
their obvious strategic grasp of the meat processing and export
sector and where it might be taken in the right circumstances.
Indisputably, Stewart was one of those three.”
“He was one of the earliest to perceive the advantages for
New Zealand to be extracted from the ‘guaranteed market access long-term’ that emerged from the Uruguay Round; the opportunities to move out of the frozen carcass trade towards
chilled product in response to shifts in consumer expectations
and lifestyles and the new technology available to do it; and the
ramifications along the supply chain from farm to supermarket, of evolving the industry from a seasonal one to providing
added value product near year-round.
Stewart Barnett could be single-minded and strict but that
was no bad thing, he recalls. “It reminded one always of the
need to scan a policy or expenditure proposal and think, ‘Is this
robust enough to withstand Stewart’s scrutiny?’. I was grateful
for the ready access he granted when I needed it. Once his
word was given it stuck.”
His sense of humour was commented on by several. “Behind that sometimes dour exterior lurked a wicked sense of
irreverent humour,” Lynch says. “He could be brusque when he
wanted to get a message across, but also totally charming. He
was a constant reminder of the saying ‘never confuse education
and intelligence’. Stewart did not have a string of letters after his
name, but he is one of the most intelligent and articulate people
I’ve had the pleasure to work with.”
MIA NEWS
A straight talker
Barnett’s straight-talking manner, particularly to the farmers he
understood so well, is legendary. In the 1980s, when farmers
were earning $15-18 off a lamb, one told him, “I need $30 a
lamb”. He reply is reputed to have been, “Well then, you’ll have
to staple the bastards together.”
Chairman of Meat & Wool New Zealand, Jeff Grant, appreciated his working manner and is reported, by farmer journal
Country-wide, to have said that “You always knew where you
were with him. He made a solid contribution in his time as the
MIA representative on the (Meat New Zealand) board….and (I)
always found him enlightening to work with.
Matching product to market
“PPCS fought long and hard to move ahead in the industry.
Stewart led the way. It wasn’t an easy path through the difficult
times of the industrial relations and climatic demands. Stewart
matched product into the market. That was a huge driver for
co-operatives to perform.”
Matching product to market was key to PPCS success, along
with keeping an eye on the traditionally low margins in meat
processing and restricting overhead costs. While building farmer ownership of the New Zealand meat industry was a primary
goal behind PPCS’ tussle for ownership of Richmond New Zealand, (achieved finally in 2004) another reason for the purchase
was so that the company could offer New Zealand Lamb for a
longer season to its Northern Hemisphere customers, where it
perfectly matches the production gap left by their own domestic
producers.
Meat brands now processed by PPCS, and sold into retail
chains around the world, include Silver Fern, Canterbury Frozen
Meat (CFM), Mayfield, Windward, Mair and Richmond. Products
offered in the range include, lamb, mutton, beef and venison.
A quieter future
Stewart Barnett is moving on to a number of different projects,
one of which no doubt will be spending more time with his
wife Jocelyn – who is said to have never missed an MIA conference and to have done wonders to soften that occasional stern
public image – their two adult daughters and two grandchildren. Meanwhile, Keith Cooper picks up the PPCS CEO’s reins
and will join the MIA Council in his place.
Career points
1944
Born, Darfield, Canterbury
Darfield High School,
1960
Stock agent with Dalgety in Canterbury
1972-75 Lamb drafter PPCS, Alexandra
1975-78 Marketing position PPCS head office
1978-82 Manager PPCS UK Ltd
1982-86 Manager PPCS marketing
1985
Joined the MIA Council
1986
CEO PPCS
2007
Retired
April / May 2007
43
MIA NEWS
Major award for
AgResearch scientist
Dr Mike North, Senior Food Engineer in AgResearch’s Food Metabolism & Microbiology
Section, is the 2007 Emerging Biotechnologist of the Year.
Dr Mike North (left) receiving his award from Robin
Congreve, chair of Neuren Pharmaceuticals
The award recognises scientists under the age of 35 whose
achievements clearly demonstrate potential for future leadership in biotechnology and was presented to Dr North at the
NZBio conference awards dinner in early March.
Dr North leads the meat quality and safety team based at the
former Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand (MIRINZ),
which is part of AgResearch’s Ruakura campus in Hamilton.
Dr North says he was surprised when he was told that he
had won the award. “I was driving and pulled over to answer
my phone. I was shocked but delighted to hear that I had won
as my work is in an area that is not probably considered ‘traditional’ biotechnology.
The meat processing industry is one of the most important
biological industries for the country and technology has been
instrumental in New Zealand’s international success.”
AgResearch Chief Executive Officer, Dr Andrew West, nominated Dr North for the award and says his work has generated
significant commercial benefit for the meat and food industries
of New Zealand.
“His ongoing research has the potential to revolutionise the
meat industry. His team of researchers will play a key role in
ensuring that New Zealand’s red meat industry remains internationally competitive.”
Dr North completed a B.Tech (Hons) in Food Technology
from Massey University in Palmerston North in 1996 and in 2001
was awarded a PhD in Food Engineering by the same institution.
In May 2000, he accepted a permanent position at AgResearch MIRINZ as a researcher and took on the leadership of a
research project on modelling industrial cooking processes and
measuring thermal properties of foods at elevated temperatures,
carried out under contract to Meat & Wool New Zealand and
44
Food New Zealand
the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST).
As part of this work Dr North was chosen by AgResearch to
spend six weeks at the University of California Davis, to study
state-of-the-art food modelling techniques.
AgResearch Food Metabolism & Microbiology Section Manager, Dr Warren McNabb, says Dr North not only learnt a lot
from the trip but also passed his knowledge on to industry in
New Zealand.
“The models of cooking processes developed by Dr North
have been passed on to New Zealand meat and food companies. These design tools have helped to ensure the achievement
of high quality and appropriate safety outcomes with minimum
cost and maximum product yield.”
Since July 2002 Dr North has led the Advanced Food
Processing objective of the FRST-funded programme ‘Foods
that Delight’. The goal of this programme is to add value to the
New Zealand food industry through new knowledge and novel
technologies that can customise foods’ organoleptic properties
to market requirements.
Dr North’s Advanced Food Processing objective has developed advanced design tools and implementation techniques to
enable food-manufacturing industries to create new premium
foods. One example is the expansion of Food Product Modeller™ v.3, a user-friendly software package for the design of new
food processes, and innovative fundamental models to predict
thermal properties of complex food structures.
In July 2004, he took up leadership of a programme funded by
FRST and Meat & Wool New Zealand that measures and predicts
meat quality attributes on-line using near infrared spectrometry.
“This technology has the potential to revolutionise the meat
processing industry by non-destructively measuring the eating
and keeping quality of all meat cuts on-line, in the processing
plant – a feat never before achieved,” says Dr McNabb.
He says the work has been very successful to date, with
a prototype spectrophotometer developed and calibrations
against important meat quality attributes under development.
Dr North has been responsible for managing thirty staff over
the last 18 months in the areas of meat science, food safety, and
food engineering. He is Deputy Chair of the New Zealand International Institute of Refrigeration, an industry body that advises
Government and private sector organisations.
“Under Mike’s leadership the section strengthened its relationship with the New Zealand meat industry by running the
inaugural AgResearch MIRINZ Industry Workshop, which disseminates the findings of new research,” says Dr McNabb.
The previous two winners of the award, Dr Adrian Cookson
and Dr Sue McCoard, were also members of AgResearch’s Food
Metabolism & Microbiology Section. “I have some fantastically
talented colleagues who make working here very stimulating,”
says Dr North.
RESEARCH
Technology to improve
bread quality
The laser ‘eye’ visible on a loaf of bread
The on-line laser measuring and recording setup
R & D partnerships
Business manager with Crop & Food Research, Tim Lindley,
says small research grants from the Baking Industry Research
Trust are helping members of the industry understand the benefits of R & D as well as the benefits of partnerships.
“These types of projects allow people in the industry to use
their imaginations and deliver solutions that might not otherwise have been thought of.”
He says a recent example of such a project is likely to bring
cost savings to the industry.
The project involved the use of laser technology to measure
physical attributes of individual loaves of bread as they travel
along a production line. Enormous numbers of measurements
can be taken, allowing for quick detection of what is commonly known in the industry as sidewall collapse and/or top
cave. Production staff are thus able to quickly detect changes
and modify production parameters as required to minimise or
eliminate the problem.
Benefiting the baker
The project was funded by the Baking Industry Research Trust
and managed by Duane Trotter from Goodman Fielder’s technical support team.
When reflecting on his project, Mr Trotter echoes the
thoughts of Dr Lindley. “Baking is not an exact science,” he
says. “When a less-than-perfect loaf comes off the end of a line,
you have to consider any number of things that might have
changed in the baking process.
“What we did was use laser technology to measure each loaf
of bread for side collapse and top cave as they moved along
the conveyor rather than physically measure each loaf. The information was captured directly on a computer. “It meant we
could quickly pick up on anomalies or patterns and track them
back to corresponding bakery equipment or process.
“I think the best part of the research is that it can be done in
real-time. We can get valuable information that can be analysed
straight away.”
Mr Trotter says Crop & Food Researcher Arran Wilson, who
developed the software, was a crucial partner. “I couldn’t have
done it without the support of Arran who brought his wealth of
experience in baking research to the project.”
Fine detail
Dr Lindley says that in the factory where the equipment was
tested, the data revealed patterns leading the researchers to
conclude that the strap system, where tins of baking dough are
placed side by side in rows in the oven, was not optimal.
“Given this sort of data, it becomes a cost/benefit question,”
Dr Lindley says. “It may be that the anomaly in the loaf is minor and does not justify the expense of changing the strap or
it may be that capital reinvestment is well worth the expense.
Ultimately, this technology will help managers make that sort of
crucial decision. In the long run the data at least help them to
quickly isolate the problem.”
April / May 2007
45
NZIFST CAREERS
Update on Careers
Initiatives
Jenny Dee
Our careers initiatives have got off to a flying start for the year
CREST
Careers brochure
Last year Council supported a proposal from Abby Thompson that NZIFST approach its members to provide grants for
students doing Silver or Gold CREST projects related to food.
CREST (Creativity in Science and Technology) is a nationally
recognised awards framework, supported by the Royal Society
of New Zealand, which fosters interest in, and rewards excellence in Science and Technology amongst primary and secondary students. The awards are non-competitive – all students
whose projects meet the criteria achieve the award. Abby has
been working with Jessie McKenzie of CREST and Carol Pound,
CREST Gold Assessor, to work out the details. On the facing
page you will find a request for your support for this initiative. The latest CREST newsletter, which highlights some of last
year’s CREST awards, has been posted on our website www.
nzifst.org.nz.
One of our highest priorities for the year is to develop and print
a careers brochure. Once again, Futureintech is helping us with
this, and we hope to have it ready for distribution in April. We
are currently seeking profiles and professional photos of young
graduates at work in the food industry, to feature in the brochure.
Please contact Rosemary Hancock, rosemary@nzifst.org.nz if you
can contribute.
ChemEd Conference presentation
Bronwen Smith, from the University of Auckland, Department
of Chemistry, has agreed to do a presentation about careers in
the food industry, and run a workshop for teachers on the science of ice cream at the ChemEd 007 Conference in Auckland
in July. ChemEd007 is the biennial conference for chemistry
educators at secondary and tertiary level.
Scholarship proposal
Phil Bremer is putting the finishing touches to a proposal that
NZIFST approach its members to provide first year scholarships
to the value of $500, to students enrolled in science, technology
or engineering degrees relevant to the food industry.
Enhancing visibility
Thanks to the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ), the Institute
has been allocated a page in each issue this year of NZ Science
Teacher, the Journal of the NZ Association of Science Educators.
The articles, titled “Just for Starters…” will provide snippets of
information about the food industry. Our goal is to make teachers more aware of the application of science, technology and
engineering in our industry. Hamish Conway from Goodman
Fielder has offered to write the articles on our behalf.
The RSNZ also offered us the opportunity to publish an
Alpha brochure profiling young graduates pursuing science,
technology and engineering careers in the food industry. Gerrit Meerdink from Massey University has offered to co-ordinate
collection of the profiles. Angela Christie from Futureintech and
Jessie McKenzie have agreed to help select the profiles that best
represent the wide variety of graduates we employ and careers
they pursue, and Futureintech will write the profiles in such a
way that they will appeal to our target audience – secondary
students and their parents.
46
Food New Zealand
Teacher fellows
Two 2007 NZ Science Mathematics and Technology Teacher
Fellows have accepted our offer of complimentary NZIFST
membership. We welcome Jo Hutt from Christchurch and Helen
McCallum from Nelson, and look forward to working with them
throughout the year. We have already received requests from
two teachers for support with their applications for Teacher Fellowships for 2008.
All eight of the TechLink Beacon Practice Teachers accepted
our offer of complimentary copies of Food NZ, and asked to be
added to their respective branch email lists. We look forward
to meeting them.
Futureintech relationship
Our relationship with Futureintech has been strengthened. In
March I started working part time as a Futureintech Facilitator in Hawke’s Bay. In this role I am responsible for facilitating support, from young scientists, engineers and technologists
working in local industry, for students and maths, science, technology and careers teachers, at ten local schools. I am expecting this work to generate a lot more ideas about how NZIFST
can support schools and get involved in promoting careers in
the food industry.
NZIFST CAREERS
NZIFST seeks grants for
CREST Projects
Abby Thompson
NZIFST seeks the support of its members and
their employers for a new careers initiative - to
offer grants to students doing CREST projects
within the general areas of food science and
technology
The National Careers Committee and Executive would like to
strongly encourage you to consider supporting this inexpensive
but worthwhile initiative to foster the young scientists and technologists of the future.
Outline of awards structure
CREST (Creativity in Science and Technology) is a nationally recognised awards framework, supported by the Royal Society of
New Zealand (RSNZ), which fosters interest and rewards excellence in science and technology amongst secondary students.
Students doing CREST projects are given authentic experience in scientific and technological practice, working with experts from industry to complete projects focused on finding
creative solutions to practical problems that are of real significance. They learn a wide range of skills, including creativity,
innovation, goal setting, problem-solving, risk management and
perseverance. The students involved in the CREST scheme are
highly motivated and academically sound individuals who wish
to stretch themselves through undertaking a constructive and
challenging project with the support of top-quality scientists
and technologists. By providing the opportunity for the students
to apply for grants to help fund projects, which have a significant food science or technology, focus, we hope to encourage
more secondary students to choose food related projects. This
will help reinforce to these talented students (and their teachers, classmates and parents) that food science and technology
is challenging and exciting, and offers a rewarding and professional career path.
CREST students work with a mentor on their specific project,
usually a scientist or technologist who has some experience in the
general topic area. Ideally, we would like the company providing
the grant to also provide a mentor, so a personal relationship is
established between the student and the food industry. Mentoring is not an onerous job, providing the opportunity for both the
student and mentor to have a rewarding experience through the
completion of the project, and is expected to take 2 or 3 hours
per month. Where a company is unable to supply a mentor, a
local NZIFST member will be approached to fill this role.
As well as participating in their CREST award, students often
enter their CREST projects in their local science fairs, with a
high degree of success. The successes of such projects provide
further opportunities to publicise food science and technology
in a positive light within the wider community. At the completion of their project, all sponsored students will be invited to
attend a meeting of their local NZIFST branch to give a presentation on their project.
Grant application evaluation
Any student undertaking a Silver, Team Silver, Gold or Team
Gold CREST project who has had their project approved by
CREST and completed their first progress check may apply to
be considered for a $250 grant. It is expected the recipient will
spend this money on the purchase of equipment or consumables required to undertake and complete a CREST project. It
may also be used to pay for specialist consultation or for testing or analysis that cannot realistically be performed by the
student.
Grants will be awarded through a competitive process,
where a panel of NZIFST, CREST and industry members will
assess submitted projects in terms of their overall potential to
demonstrate innovative and high-quality food technology or
science. Each grant will be sponsored by a specific company
involved in the New Zealand food industry, and where possible, successful projects will be matched with the sponsoring
company most likely to be able to offer practical advice to the
student on the project area.
Applications for funding will be considered twice each year;
in 2007 the close off dates are 30 April and 30 September. Planning for the first round is well underway, with information on
the grants distributed to the high schools involved in the CREST
scheme in early March, and one application already received.
The Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health at Massey
University has also started the sponsorship ball rolling, with the
first offer to provide a grant and mentor.
If you are interested in offering a grant and/or mentor, please
advise Rosemary Hancock, rosemary@nzifst.org.nz. Rosemary will
keep a register of potential sponsors. The assessment panel will
allocate projects and students to the most appropriate sponsors.
April / May 2007
47
NZIFST CAREERS
Working as a Futureintech
Ambassador
Anna Smith
I currently work for Fonterra Brands NZ Ltd as a Development
Technologist. Some of our main brands include Anchor, Fresh
‘n’ Fruity, Calci-yum, Country Goodness and Mainland. In my
day-to-day activities I work on many different aspects of developing a product, from formulation development to running
trials in the factory.
As a Futureintech Ambassador, I was asked to present to
Papatoetoe West School 7-8 year-olds who were working on a
unit about milk. The students had just learnt about pasteurisation and homogenisation of fresh milk and I was asked to explain the changes that occur to milk to make a dairy product. I
decided to talk about the process we use to make yoghurt.
I talked about the ingredients used to make yoghurt, their
particular functions, and also the processing, fermentation (including the cultures used) and packaging. Along with discussing the types of packaging, I explained what was required for
Fonterra Brands’ Anna Smith at Papatoetoe West School
48
Food New Zealand
labelling, storage and transport. I made the presentation as interactive as I could for the children, by asking questions where
appropriate, and asking for their ideas; for example I asked
what their favourite flavours were and what I should develop
next. Strawberry was a clear favourite, and some new ideas included chocolate chip, kiwifruit and cookies and cream.
I think the presentation was great for all involved. Sometimes ‘seeing is believing’, or in this case, hearing about what
I do and how things are made, reinforced and extended what
they had already learnt. My presentation showed them that the
processes of pasteurisation and homogenisation were not just
applicable to fresh milk, and that the basic science principles
they are taught at school are applicable in the “real world” of
the food processing industry. Hopefully I have sparked an interest in learning more about the processing of foods in some of
the students.
– the First New Zealand/Australia Sensory
Network Symposium, January 2007
Down-to-earth science
The unspoken theme of the first Annual New Zealand/Australia
Sensory Network Symposium, held at Shakespear Regional Park
just North of Auckland, was ‘down-to-earth science delivering a
comprehensible and useful message’.
This is not easy to achieve when working in the realm of
statistical analysis but keynote speaker and internationally acclaimed statistician Tom Carr managed to capture the imaginations and commitment of 47 sensory practitioners on Day 1 of
the symposium. He made it very clear that they were to ‘interpret, not explain’ the data carefully generated to paint a detailed
picture of the product being profiled.
As participants made their way through the challenges of
Key Drivers/Preference Mapping and Thurstonian Scaling in
the Sensory Statistics Workshop, Mr. Carr consistently brought
them back to earth with specific examples of their use in making product development decisions, marketing decisions or in
tracking and understanding the change in perception of a particular sample over time.
Research reports
Day 2 of the symposium was devoted to research presentations from the field and covered topics from factors affecting
the motivation of trained panelists to the use of principal components analysis (PCA) for monitoring beer flavour consistency,
with other presentations on sensory issues surrounding wine,
baked goods, hop essential oils and the sourness of fruit. Several
presenters highlighted the statistical principles and techniques
covered by Mr. Carr that they were applying in their current
research, which reinforced the previous day’s learning. Several
presentations were by students from the University of Otago and
offered industry representatives an insight into the interests and
capabilities of up-and-coming talent.
An informal atmosphere
According to the organisers, the symposium was ‘intended to be
informal in nature and designed for maximum networking and
interaction with other sensory professionals.’ This intention was
clearly realised as sensory practitioners from research institutes
as well as the wine, beer, dairy, snack food, beverage and spice
industries found common ground in their work as well as their
play. Generous sponsorship by several food companies ensured
participants did not go hungry or thirsty and made certain that
the dialogue would keep flowing. The modest accommodation
with shared facilities guaranteed an unpretentious setting in
which experts as well as newcomers to the field could swap
questions and answers, both during sessions as well as while
walking on the nearby beach in break sessions. And to top it all
off, the weather couldn’t have been more glorious that week,
dazzling the American and Australian visitors into thinking New
Zealand really is the paradise touted abroad.
2007 Symposium
Next year it will be the Australians who host the 2nd Annual
New Zealand/Australia Sensory Network Symposium. Possible
locations are Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide and more information will be available by July or August 2007.
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April / May 2007
49
SENSORY SYMPOSIUM
Conference report
ROVING REPORTER
Despatches from our
roving reporter
By Dave Pooch
The South Pacific connection
The Institute’s Food Safety DVD got a tropical airing recently.
I used it as a resource on a recent trip to Tonga to give a
one-week training course on Food Processing in the capital,
Nuku’alofa.
Tonga’s Director of the new Food Division in their Ministry
of Agriculture, Mr Manaia Halafihi, is keen to develop food
processing in Tonga and asked NZAid, (within our Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade) to fund some training.
Tonga is New Zealand’s near neighbour to the North East,
marginally closer than Fiji and thoroughly tropical. With its fertile soils and strong agricultural base, Tonga produces an excess of food. While some root crops like taro and cassava are
exported fresh, there is little done by way of processing. Mr
Halafihi hopes this will change!
Roving reporter note. Off season, flights to Tonga are quite
reasonable and it makes for an interesting and less-visited tourist destination.
They’re watching our Food Safety DVD here!
The Thailand connection
Hathairat Rimkeeree is a Thai.
No surprise then that I found
her to be endlessly polite and
helpful. What’s more, she is a
food technologist and one of the
many that Dr Mary Earle trained
at Massey. She studied at Palmerston North for her Masters and
PhD in product development at
Massey 1989 to 1994 then went
back home to teach at the Department of Product Development in Kasetsart University in
Bangkok. Recently your roving
reporter was in Bangkok and
Hathairat Rimkeeree of
visited Kasetsart.
Kasetsart University in
The food technology connecBangkok
tion between New Zealand and
Thailand goes back many years
and I was curious about the
link and the nature of study in
Thailand.
Kasetsart is a long established university in suburban Bangkok with a student population of 20,000. The main campus is
in the same general area as Don Muang, Bangkok’s old airport
that many Kiwis will have been through. Mary Earle helped
establish their four-year BSc (Food Technology) degree in 1980
and today there are about 100 students in each year, of whom
about 30 do post graduate studies.
Students are 80% female and new graduates go to familiar
50
Food New Zealand
sounding jobs in industry; production supervisor, research and
development and quality control. Others go to family owned
businesses, sales or post graduate studies. Like their kiwi counterparts, Thai students pay fees; about $NZ500 per semester and
there is a student loan scheme. This sounds very reasonable
but new graduates earn some $NZ600 per month so repaying a
student loan is an issue, as it is here.
The degree course has a novel feature in the final year. The
class forms a group that prepares a detailed submission to the
university to get funding to make a food product (usually a
bakery item) on a commercial basis. The students allocate the
roles; production, marketing, finance etc. When they get the
funding, the students make the product, sell it and get to keep
the profits.
Food processing is one of Thailand’s success stories. It has
become the world’s biggest producer of canned tuna and second biggest of frozen shrimps. Other Thai products such as
canned coconut cream, chili sauce and pan coated confectionery products are now readily available in New Zealand supermarkets; not so when Mary Earle first went there!
Currently around 52 institutions in Thailand teach food technology (Thailand has a population of some 61 million and area
just twice that of New Zealand). Demand for food technologists
is growing steadily despite other parts of the Thai economy
having had some ups and downs over the last 10 years. This has
reassured students about their chances of finding a job. Perhaps
like New Zealand, most new graduates like to work around the
capital or another large city and are less keen on the rural based
agri-processing facilities.
EVENTS
Conference Diary
List compiled by Dr David Everett, University of Otago
May 6-10, 2007
June 16-20, 2007
July 28 - August 1, 2007
31st International Congress of the
European Brewery Convention
Venice, Italy
www.ebc-nl.com
71st Annual Meeting: American Society
of Brewing Chemists
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
meeting.asbcnet.org
Institute of Food Technologists
Chicago, Illinois, USA
www.ift.org
May 9-11, 2007
June 17-22, 2007
Food & Feed Extrusion Short Course
Massey University, Palmerston North
15th International Federation of Fruit
Juice Producers Congress
The Hague, The Netherlands
www.ifu2007.com
ICoMST 2007 – 53rd International
Congress of Meat Science and
Technology
Beijing, China
www.icomstchina53.org.cn/Themeet/
invitation.jsp
June 19-21, 2007
August 7-9, 2007
NZIFST Conference: FOOD - the
challenges
Wellington
www.nzifst.org.nz
Food Ingredients South America 2007
Sao Paulo, Brazil
south-america.fi-events.com/content/default.
aspx
May 9-11, 2007
Functional Foods in Europe:
International Developments in Science
and Health Claims
Malta
europe.ilsi.org/events/upcoming/
functionalfoods.htm
May 13-16, 2007
98th AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo
Including session on Food Structure &
Functionality
Québec City, Canada
www.aocs.org/meetings/annual_mtg/
May 14-18, 2007
August 12-16, 2007
June 19-22, 2007
13th International Conference for Grain
and Oil Science & Technology
China
www.icc.or.at/newsletter/2006-11-30
IDF Symposium on Lactose and Lactose
Derivatives
Moscow, Russia
www.fil-idf.org
www.lactose.ru
June 21-25, 2007
May 15-17, 2007
June 24-27, 2007
Ingredients and Ingredient Functionality
Workshop
Lincoln, NE, USA
fpc.unl.edu/Workshops/ingredients.shtml
40th Anniversary Annual AIFST
Convention
Celebrating 40 years with 20/20 visioin
Melbourne, Australia
www.airfst.asn.au
May 17, 2007
IDF Regional Conference on Fermented
Milks - Technology and Nutrition
Moscow, Russia
www.fil-idf.org
May 21-25, 2007
IDF/ISO Analytical Week
Munich, Germany
www.fil-idf.org
May 21-25, 2007
12th IUPAC Symposium on Mycotoxins
and Phycotoxins
Istanbul, Turkey
www.atal.tubitak.gov.tr/iupac2007mycotoxin/
June 13-15, 2007
5th NIZO Dairy Conference: Prospects
for Flavour Formation and Perception
Papendal, Arnhem, Netherlands
www.NIZOdairyconf.elsevier.com
June 14-15, 2007
2nd World Congress on Prevention and
Therapies against Obesity: Innovation
and Perspectives in the Obesity Field
Paris, France
www.isanh.com/anti-obesity
August 5-10, 2007
2007 Annual Meeting: BEMA - The
Baking Industry Suppliers Association
San Diego, CA, USA
www.bema.org
June 27-29, 2007
Natural Products Expo Asia
Hong Kong, China
www.naturalproductsasia.com/eng_main.
php
June 28-30, 2007
GiFEX 2007 (China Guangzhou
International Western Food Culture
Expo)
Guangzhou, China
www.gifex.cn
July 8-11, 2007
The International Association for Food
Protection 94th Annual Meeting
Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA
www.foodprotection.org
July 8-12, 2007
American Dairy Science Association
San Antonio, Texas, USA
www.adsa.org
July 10-13, 2007
FENS 2007 - 10th European Nutrition
Conference, Palais des Congrès de Paris
Paris, France
www.fens2007.org:80
7th Pangborn Sensory Science
Symposium
Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, USA
www.pangborn2007.com
August 30 - September 4, 2007
Food Micro 2008 (sic)
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
I.ogden@abdn.ac.uk
September 3-5, 2007
Linnaeus 2007: International Conference
on Food and Nutrition
Uppsala, Sweden
www.linnaeus2007.se
September 12-14, 2007
1st International Symposium on Gluten
Free Cereal Products and Beverages
Ireland
www.icc.or.at/newsletter/2006-11-30
September 12-13, 2007
China International Food Safety &
Quality Conference 2007
Beijing, China
www.chinafoodsafety.com
September 17-18, 2007
Principles of Extruder Die Design short
course
Sydney, Australia. Organised by FoodStream
Pty Ltd.
http://www.foodstream.com.au/
diedesigncourse/
September 17-19, 2007
Symbiosis - 13th European Congress on
Biotechnology
Barcelona, Spain
www.ecb13.eu
September 19-20, 2007
LMC Congress 2007: Innovations in
Food Technology
Copenhagen, Denmark
www.lmc.dk/english/congress2007
If you would like us to include your course or conference in this listing contact Dr David Everett, everett@paradise.net.nz
April / May 2007
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