Nibbles Newsbites Food NZ

NIBBLES NEWSBITES

October issue of FoodNZ out next week

Features for October/November 2011 Issue

• Ingredients Overview plus preview of INGREDIO exhibitor preview

• Foods for Satiety: Paper from NZIFST Conference outlining research at Plant & Food Research with Massey University and University of Auckland

• Packaging: Modified Atmosphere, seal integrity checking, thermal containers for chilled produce

• Preview of NZ Food Innovation Showcase, Auckland 16 - 18 October

Call for comment on processing aid to reduce the risk of Listeria

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has invited submissions on an application for a processing aid to reduce the risk of the food poisoning bacteria Listeria. EBI Food Safety Ltd has applied for permission to use a bacteriophage preparation called P100 as a processing aid for ready-to-eat foods to reduce levels of Listeria monocytogenes. “Processing aids can’t legally be used in food production without a rigorous safety assessment by FSANZ,” FSANZ CEO, Steve McCutcheon said.

Bacteriophages infect very specific strains of bacteria so the P100 bacteriophage would not infect any other bacteria except Listeria.

Currently, the Food Standards Code permits no tolerance of Listeria monocytogenes in several foods. The use of bacteriophage preparations to treat food has been approved by the United States, Canada and the Netherlands. Mr McCutcheon said that there would be a second round of public comment later in the application process before a recommendation on the application to the FSANZ Board. Submissions on the consultation document are invited from consumers, the food industry and jurisdictions on the recommended approach contained in the proposal and its impacts.

The period for submissions closes on 1 November 2011.

Application A1045 – Bacteriophage Preparation P100 as a Processing Aid

Bacteriophages and food - questions and answers

Reproduced with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

AsureQuality Chief Executive resigns

AsureQuality board chairman, Janine Smith, has announced that Tony Egan, Chief Executive Officer of AsureQuality, has resigned from AsureQuality to take up the position of Managing Director, Greenlea Premier Meats Ltd. Greenlea is an Egan family company with which Tony has had prior association and to which he wishes to return. Tony will leave AsureQuality in December.

Tony has been with AsureQuality for five years, initially as Chief Executive Officer of AgriQuality and then Chief Executive Officer of AsureQuality when AgriQuality and ASURE merged to create a new State-Owned Enterprise.

Tony has made an important contribution to the company, leading it through the merger and subsequent consolidation into one company and he is leaving the company in a good position.

The directors are sorry to lose Tony, and thank him for his input over the last five years and wish him the very best in his new venture.

The Board has begun a search process for the new Chief Executive Officer and will advise once the process is complete.

Griffins up for sale?

From Reuters, posted by Victoria Thieberger GOLD COAST

Private equity group Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) will approach potential buyers in the next week or two for the likely sale of its New Zealand snack food business Griffin's Foods, a source told Reuters, in a deal that has been valued at up to A$750 million including debt.

Possible interest in the business, which has 50% of the biscuit market in New Zealand and is the number 2 snack business in Australia, may come from international food groups Kellogg , General Mills , Nestle , and China's Bright Foods, the source said.

Griffin's has annual sales of more than NZ$300 million, according to its website. It has lifted its export business under PEP's ownership from 5% of sales to 30 percent, to markets in Australia, Europe and the United Kingdom, and the United States.

China's Bright Food Group said last month that Griffin's Foods was on its radar as it sought acquisitions to expand in Australia and New Zealand.

PEP acquired Griffin's from Danone SA in 2006 for NZ$385 million.

More research on effect of low B12

Older people with low blood levels of vitamin B12 markers may be more likely to have lower brain volumes and have problems with their thinking skills, according to researchers at Rush University Medical Center. The results of the study are published in the Sept. 27 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved 121 older residents of the South side of Chicago who are a part of the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP), which is a large, ongoing prospective biracial cohort of 10,000 subjects over the age of 65. The 121 participants had blood drawn to measure levels of vitamin B12 and B12-related markers that can indicate a B12 deficiency. The same subjects took tests measuring their memory and other cognitive skills. An average of four-and-a-half years later, MRI scans of the participants' brains were taken to measure total brain volume and look for other signs of brain damage. Having high levels of four of five markers for vitamin B12 deficiency was associated with having lower scores on the cognitive tests and smaller total brain volume. "Our findings definitely deserve further examination," said Christine C. Tangney, PhD, associate professor in the department of clinical nutrition at Rush University Medical Center, and lead author of the study. "It's too early to say whether increasing vitamin B12 levels in older people through diet or supplements could prevent these problems, but it is an interesting question to explore.

Findings from a British trial with B vitamin supplementation are also supportive of these outcomes.

"Our findings lend support for the contention that poor vitamin B12 status is a potential risk factor for brain atrophy and may contribute to cognitive impairment," said Tangney. Other researchers at Rush involved in the study were Dr. Neelum T. Aggarwal, Hong Li, Robert S. Wilson, PhD, Dr. Denis Evans and Martha Clare Morris, ScD. The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging.

Canadian company invents application that destroys E coli

Canadian firm Theralase Technologies has developed an application that can destroy E coli - an innovation that could revolutionise food processing equipment sterilisation.

The application uses super-pulsed laser technology in combination with the company's patented photodynamic compounds (PDCs) to specifically target and destroy bacteria, viruses and microbial pathogens associated with food contamination.

In new research performed under the direction of Theralase's chief scientific officer Arkady Mandel, the light-activated PDCs were able to completely destroy the bacteria.

Arkady Mandel said that the research has demonstrated that the company's PDT destruction of E coli bacteria is effective.

"It represents a significant opportunity in the area of disinfection and sterilisation of bacterial pathogens that may lead to serious and potentially life-threatening illness," Mandel said.

According to the company, future applications of the PDC technology will include enhancing food safety through sterilisation of food processing equipment, medical equipment, and other bacteria destruction applications.

Earlier in the year, Theralase said that it is seeking a development partner to make further use of this technology within the food sector, and it is currently in discussions with a number of companies that have shown interest in the technology.

www.foodprocessing-technology.com