NZ invests in research to move up from minimally processed exports

New Zealand’s High-Value Nutrition Science Challenge aims to enable transformational change in the country’s food and beverage industry and position the sector as an international centre of excellence for high-value food-for-health products.

One ultimate goal is to significantly increase export revenues from the food and beverage sector by 2025.

While NZ has a fast-growing food and beverage export industry and enjoys an enviable international reputation for excellence in primary production, quality and safety, most of the country’s exports are largely unprocessed or minimally processed. The evolving regulatory environment for approval of validated food-health claims is providing an opportunity for NZ to add to the strong provenance of New Zealand origin foods.

The High-Value Nutrition Challenge will invest in novel science at the cutting edge of knowledge and work alongside industry to ensure New Zealand’s capability in validated health foods is sustainable and relevant in the long term.

High-Value Nutrition is a vital part of the drive to enable New Zealand industry to capture the food-for-health export opportunity.

NZ’s Science and Innovation Minister, Steven Joyce, has recently awarded Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh, head of the Massey Institute of Food Science and Technology and co-director of Riddet Institute, $1.5 million of funding from the High-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge.

The Massey-led Science of Food platform will receive the funding to address the technological challenge of creating food products that provide enhanced health benefits by delivering natural health-enhancing compounds (bioactives) to the body.

The team will ensure these bioactives are protected in their active form during the journey from raw ingredients to finished food products, and delivered to the body through targeted release during digestion.

Up to $1.5 million has also been allocated to consumer insights research at Plant and Food Research, with a focus on the health and wellness needs of Asian consumers.