24 July 2014
WHO KNEW? FOOD INNOVATION
A well-designed modern facility in the maze of roads surrounding Auckland airport stands out from the other industrial sheds. It is the Foodbowl, a state of the art resource where our people are leading with some of the world’s food innovation and development projects. With gleaming stainless steel benches, modern high tech equipment, a highly developed security system and access to experts and food scientists, it provides a national web of science and technology resources created to support the growth of food and beverage businesses.
We all hear mutterings of new foods, but the New Zealand Food Innovation Network is forging ahead helping small producers with great ideas to get some clever products into the international and local markets. As Angus Brown, manager of the Foodbowl explained, New Zealand can’t feed the world from our tiny islands, but we can provide premium products that will earn more export dollars than simply exporting the raw materials we grow so well. It is all about adding value and providing the food solutions the world seeks.
Products like the healthful beverages of the Homegrown Juice Company which are raw-cold pasteurised so that taste and nutrition are not diminished and the natural flavours seem to leap from the bottle, or Genevieve Knight’s smooth gourmet pâtés and her latest creamy Mahurangi oyster mousse, Henry McKenzie’s IAMSAUCE, a tasty seasoning sauce relatively low in salt with no additives, preservatives or added sugar and a two year best by date, and the superb Fresh As range of freeze dried fruits have all been developed here. And a host of others as both large and start-up food companies take advantage of the facilities during the development stage of their new and exciting food products.
Additionally there are experts to assist and advise with food safety requirements, documentation, packaging and export marketing. Most importantly confidentiality is guaranteed so that no-one else can gain from the intellectual property that is the result of the development process.
Food Innovation Network, funded by regional councils, central government and Callaghan Innovation, is the umbrella for work being carried out at Food Waikato, Food Hawkes Bay, the Food Pilot at Massey University and the associated Riddet Institute, and Food South Island. Each of the territories and four regional food product development centres has a different focus depending on the needs, maturity, strengths and capabilities of local businesses. Between them, they offer a complementary suite of services. The Innovation Network also works alongside Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to get our value added foods into overseas market - proudly supporting New Zealand grown and made.