Is your business vulnerable to cyber attacks? Cyber criminals have the food industry in their sights, so it pays to have a trusted partner by your side.
Food and drink, by its very nature, is high risk. Its supply chains are fluid, its products are perishable, transportation of live animals has animal welfare consequences and finished products can spoil quickly. A cyber attack can rapidly escalate into a food safety incident and immobilise an organisation and its entire supply chain.
A ransomware attack in 2021 against JBS Foods disrupted meat processing across North America and Australia for nearly an entire week. It resulted in JBS, the largest beef supplier in the world, paying hackers about $11 million.1
The Food & Beverage sector saw cyber attacks increase by 1300%2 last year versus 800% in construction and 400% in utilities. The reason for this surge? The global pandemic. The shift to working from home resulted in more data breaches and ransomware attacks than ever before and as remote working becomes more of a mandatory requirement, one can expect cyber attacks to grow exponentially.
BSI sees an opportunity for food businesses to move from risk avoidance to risk tolerance, building in long-term organisational resilience. Businesses that prioritise cyber security enjoy enhanced consumer trust and reduced production disruption.
With food producers, processors and distributors enjoying a rapidly accelerating digital transformation, the long and complex farm-to-fork journey introduces risk at multiple stages.
The risks are as broad as they are large: from disgruntled ex-employees gaining access to override safety
systems to cyber criminals disabling alarm systems that warn food safety controls have been remotely altered. These may be hypothetical, but they are real.
BSI insight indicates the food industry is largely oblivious to these cyber risks, both in terms of weak spots and consequences.
So, what can businesses do to safeguard their activities and reduce the risk and impact of cyber attacks?
Step one is to assess the scale, likelihood and impact of an attack, identifying and either removing or managing weak spots.
Food businesses should review their organisation’s technology infrastructure, starting with information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). Risk analysis should also embrace the use of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) that together form the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Step two is to make cyber awareness and training a priority across the entire business.
And thirdly, establishing a coherent incident response and business continuity plan to preserve production and minimise risks to supply chain integrity. Evaluation of risks at all stages of the supply chain – whether ingredient suppliers or IT support partners – is also essential.
BSI provides a complete range of cyber security services and solutions designed to ensure prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery of food processing and manufacturing systems from cyber attacks and compromise.
1. Meat supplier JBS paid ransomware hackers $11 million – source CNBC June 2021: https://www. cnbc.com/2021/06/09/jbs-paid-11-million-inresponse-to-ransomware-attack-.html
2. Kroll recently published its own research into recent data breaches and the industries they affect. In this blog, we outline its main findings and recommendations https://www.redscan. com/news/kroll-2021-data-breach-outlook/
Published by The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Limited.
Melinda Stewart | aifst@aifst.com.au
Oladipupo Adiamo, Dr Andrew Costanzo, Peter Cunningham, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries - Queensland, Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre, Melissa Garland, Dr Hope Johnson, Dr Russell Keast, Nerida Kelton, Woojeong Kim, Dr Gie Liem, Deon Mahoney, Rishi Ravindra Naik, Dr Martin Palmer, Dr Christine Parker, Theresa Pham, Dr Cordelia Selomulya, Dr Yasmina Sultanbawa, Dr Yong Wang.
Clive Russell | aifst@aifst.com.au
AIFST | aifst@aifst.com.au
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food australia is the official journal of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Limited (AIFST). Statements and opinions presented in the publication do not necessarily reflect the policies of AIFST nor does AIFST accept responsibility for the accuracy of such statement and opinion.
Guidelines are available at https://www.aifst.asn.au/ food-australia-Journal
Original material published in food australia is the property of the publisher who holds the copyright and may only be published provided consent is obtained from the AIFST. Copyright © 2018 ISSN 1032-5298
Chair: Mr Duncan McDonald
Non-executive directors: Ms Suz Allen, Ms Julie Cox, Dr Michael Depalo, Mr John Kavanagh, Mr Deon Mahoney, Ms Bronwyn Powell.
AIFST National Office PO Box 780 Cherrybrook NSW 2126 Tel: +61 447 066 324 Email: aifst@aifst.com.au Web: www.aifst.asn.au
Welcome to the Spring edition of food australia, our final journal for 2022.
AIFST22 - our annual convention was held in Melbourne in late August. It was wonderful to be back to a face-to-face event, with opportunities to network with industry colleagues which we have all missed over the past two years. The diversity of topics covered over the two days included food regulation, food safety, food waste, food security, sustainability, nutrition, consumer and sensory science, packaging and food process innovation – demonstrates the breadth of skills and expertise across our sector.
Education is a major focus for AIFST, built around our key priorities of grow, learn, connect, and champion. These speak to a key role of AIFST in developing future food scientists. To this end, in this issue of food australia we share the highlevel feedback from a survey conducted earlier in 2022 to understand the skills and competencies the Australian food industry requires of graduates from Universities and TAFE. Food safety and applied food science skills were identified as key. AIFST plans to analyse these results further, then work with relevant stakeholders to understand how the industry can provide better training and educational models for current and future food science and technology students.
A key theme throughout 2022 has been the significant role the Australian food system plays in delivering safe, reliable, and nutritious food products to the Australian population, supported by a robust, innovative, science based Australian agrifood industry. The 2022 AIFST Award winners, showcased in this edition of the journal, demonstrate a wealth of knowledge and innovation that will serve our industry well for the future.
As this is the last edition for 2022, on behalf of the AIFST team and Board, I would like to thank all our journal contributors, Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee members, event partners, members, and the wider food industry community for your support during what has been a busy and rewarding year.
In 2023, and beyond, AIFST will continue to focus on championing a robust, innovative, science based Australian food industry to meet future needs.
B. App Sc (Food Tech); MNutr Mgt; FAIFST; MAICD Chief Executive Officer fiona.fleming@aifst.com.au
BY THE NUMBERS
AIFST conducted an industry survey in July 2022 to gain an understanding of the core competencies the food industry values in new food science and technology graduates from Australian universities and TAFE. The survey was based on the graduate criteria identified by the Institute of Food Technologists. Here we look at a selection of the survey results.
The results show that industry requires graduates to have a strong knowledge of food chemistry and microbiology principles. Laboratory technical skills in chemistry and microbiology, however, were deemed less important.
In food processing, understanding raw food characteristics and food preservation were clearly regarded as core competencies for graduates, with knowledge of the principles that make a food product safe for consumption regarded as essential. In contrast, engineering principles, processing techniques and packaging were rated only as desirable competencies, rather than essential.
Applied food science skills were seen as vital, with less than 2% of respondents designating these competencies as unnecessary. Graduates must understand quality standards and their application. Results also clearly demonstrate that industry requires graduates to be well trained in food law and regulation.
Skills such as professionalism, communication, organisation, critical thinking and problem solving skills rated very highly as requirements for graduates.
Respondents indicated a willingness to collaborate with academics to help produce graduates with real-world experience.
AIFST plans to analyse these results further, then contact relevant stakeholders to form working groups
Knowledge of the principles that make a food product safe for consumption 86% essential 13% desirable
Strong knowledge of food chemistry 58% essential 38% desirable
Applied food science skills 78% essential 21% desirable
Training in food law and regulations 74% essential 25% desirable
Ability to identify pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms 74% essential 24% desirable
Ability to understand the conditions affecting the growth and control of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms: 81% essential 16% desirable
to understand how the industry can provide better training and educational models for current and future food science and technology students.
Thank you to all industry respondents who contributed to this project, we appreciate your time and effort in
completing the survey.
If you would like further information, or would like to be involved, please contact us at aifst@aifst.com.au.
Melissa Garland is AIFST Education Services Manager. f
AIFST22, the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology’s annual convention, was held in Melbourne this year on August 23 and 24. It was wonderful to be back to a face-to-face event, welcoming more than 350 delegates, 24 exhibitors, 50 speakers and 20 student volunteers.
Planning a national convention is always challenging - finding a suitable venue, scheduling to avoid competing events, identifying topics of most interest to the diverse food science community, identifying top quality speakers, coordinating volunteers and working with event partners and exhibitors. This year there were the additional challenges of uncertainty around air travel and the threat of a third Omicron wave, predicted to peak around the time of the Convention.
We are grateful for the strong support from industry partnersincluding Neogen (Gold Partner), BVAQ (Silver Partner), Rentokil Initial, ADM, Charles River and ThermoFisher Scientific (Bronze Partners), and the many other companies listed on the event website - which was critical to the success of the Convention. We were also fortunate to have a keen and capable contingent of student volunteers who helped with many organisational tasks throughout the event.
The high level of interest and enthusiasm from speakers allowed us to put together an informative and engaging program, catering to the wide range of interests that are represented in AIFST’s membership. The Convention was book-ended by Professor Charles Brennan’s opening J R Vickery Address, a retrospective on innovation and collaboration, and the closing session on future food systems and emerging food industries. A diversity of topics were covered over the two days of the Convention including food regulation, food safety, food waste, food security, sustainability, nutrition, consumer and sensory science, packaging, and food process innovation. Some presentations will be written up as feature articles in coming editions of food australia
The Emerging Researchers session, in which six university students were each given ten minutes to present their research to a large audience, was a new convention feature. It proved to be very popular with both the presenters and the audience and is likely to become a regular inclusion in future conventions.
The well-attended Young Professionals and National Mentoring Network Breakfast, supported by Kantar, and the ever-popular Wine
& Cheese Evening supported by Eurofins, provided opportunities for delegates to catch up with colleagues and make new connections –something we have all missed during the past two years.
Thank you to our delegates for coming along and making the most of the opportunities to grow, learn and connect. Thank you to our event partners and exhibitors for your support. Thank you to all our speakers for sharing your knowledge and insights into this great industry. Thank you to our wonderful band of student volunteers who helped ensure the event ran smoothly. Finally, a big thank you to the AIFST team for the months of work leading up to this event.
We are now looking forward to AIFST23 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 24 and 25, 2023. AIFST23 will run alongside FoodPro – save the date so you don’t miss the opportunity to attend both events.
Please contact AIFST now if you have suggestions for next year’s convention program, if you’d like to help the organising committee, or if you’d like to partner with us.
Visit the AIFST23 page on the AIFST website for updates on the 2023 convention.
National Science Week is held every August to celebrate science and technology in Australia. Established in 1997, it provides an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Australian scientists to the world of knowledge. It also aims to encourage an interest in science pursuits among the general public and encourage young people to be fascinated by the world we live in.
Science Alive! was launched in 2006 by the South Australian Coordinating Committee of National Science Week. It is the largest, single, interactive, mobile science exhibition in Australia, helping to build community awareness of the scope and importance of science and technology in our everyday lives, celebrating South Australia’s successes and inspiring future generations of science and technology professionals.
Science Alive! 2022 was held on August 5-7 at the Adelaide Showgrounds. The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) ran a stall with information and interactive demonstrations coordinated by Rai Peradka, TAFE
SA Lecturer in Food Science and Technology with 12 student volunteers from the University of Adelaide and TAFE SA.
The AIFST stall had exhibits, practical demonstrations and handson trials for visitors. There were more than 16,400 visitors to Science Alive! on the weekend with some 3,246 high school students visiting on the Friday. Many high school students expressed interest in food science courses. AIFST membership, university and TAFE courses were also promoted to visitors to the stall.
The interactive, educational and hands-on demonstrations about food science made the AIFST stall one of
the most interesting and popular at the exhibition.
Science Alive! encourages future generations of science and technology professionals by increasing public knowledge of the scope and significance of science and technology in modern society.
A huge thank you to AIFST member Rai Peradka for once again coordinating such a successful showcase for AIFST and food science. Thank you also to the students from TAFE SA and University of Adelaide and AIFST members who volunteered their time supporting the AIFST stall.
AIFST is proud of its contribution to yet another successful Science Alive!
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) opened the doors to to its stateof-the-art Food Zone facilities in Coopers Plains, Queensland, to the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) in August.
Members and colleagues of AIFST were treated to a ‘behindthe-scenes’ peek at the Food Zone facilities, including the five pilot plant processing bays, custom designed product development lab, sensory research facilities and the Queensland BrewLab. DAF specialist staff Paul Burt (pilot plant), Kerridyn Hooker (product development), Simon Moller (consumer intelligence) and Andrew Forrest (BrewLab) showcased their
work and offered insights into the cutting-edge research taking place to advance the local food industry.
Queensland Innovation Manager for the Fight Food Waste CRC, Val Natanelov, also provided examples of DAF’s value creation through pioneering research and development, and highlighted that food waste valorisation could be a $25 billion opportunity for the food industry by 2030.
For more information on the Food Pilot Plant, and how you can work with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, visit: daf.qld.gov.au/ business-priorities/agriculture/rde/ food-pilot-plant
Or call 07 3708 8703
Consumer and sensory scientist Simon Moller is pictured in the Food Zone’s sensory kitchen highlighting the importance of sensory and consumer research in product development.
Simon explained that DAF has highly trained sensory panellists and also recruits members of the public to assess product characteristics such as appearance, texture, odour, taste and packaging.
Gregory Harper has been involved in the food industry all his life, growing up in a food business family. He joined CSIRO in 1992 where he began working in the agrifood sector.
At CSIRO, Gregory reached the level of Deputy Chief of a Division and worked across Australia on agriculture, food and animal health. He worked in a large team underpinning the development of the Meat Standards Australia grading system, and also on marbling in meat. In 2006 he was seconded to Meat and Livestock Australia to manage their strategic science portfolio and was elected twice to the MLA Board – a role he relished as it governed marketing, research and quality systems.
After leaving CSIRO in 2014, he served in the role of Executive Director of Agriculture Research and
Farm Services within Agriculture Victoria, before joining the University of Melbourne (UoM) in a Business Development Director role in 2017. Each role has seen Gregory increase his focus on knowledge exchange for impact, and commercialisation of intellectual property through companies in the agrifood sector.
His latest venture, ‘NorVicFoods’, is creating deeper links between the UoM and vertically integrated food companies in the Hume region of Victoria. Gregory is an active mentor.
Dr Anneline Padayachee is passionate about making good food better – and by better she means improving nutritional quality in a manner that is accessible to all.
She has established a national profile as a persuasive voice for food and nutrition science.
Anneline has a zeal for foodbased nutrition as the cornerstone of preventative health strategies and has worked for companies involved in nutritional extracts (Kerry & Morlife), fruit and vegetable processing (OneHarvest), universities, Meat and Livestock Australia, and was Senior Scientific and Regulatory Affairs counsel for Aspen Pharmaceuticals Australia. Her innate curiosity led to a PhD with QAAFI and CSIRO investigating whether juice pulpwaste had any nutritional benefit.
She assessed how plant-derived nutrients bind to plant cell walls, both in a real vegetable system and a novel plant cell wall model system, and the impact of digestion on bioaccessibility.
Her ability to communicate science led her to not only be a state finalist for Fresh Science, but was voted the nation’s top science presenter. Her
combination of experience and skills makes her a powerful advocate for the role food science and technology plays in improving individual and public health outcomes.
Jayashree Arcot is an Associate Professor of Food and Health at the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW, Sydney.
She has supervised and mentored more than 230 undergraduates and postgraduates (Honours, MSc and PhD), and several postdoctoral scientists in the Food Science and Technology/ Nutrition program at UNSW.
Jayashree is actively involved in teaching and research and was the Director of the ARC Training Centre for Advanced Technologies for Food Manufacture from 2013-2018 which trained several PhD students, many of whom are employed by industry.
Her research expertise spans Food Science and Nutrition, with a particular focus on micronutrient bioavailability from foods using stable isotope techniques, ex-vivo cell culture techniques using both 2D and 3D cells with a focus on collaboration through cross-disciplinary research; fortification of foods and food-based public health nutrition interventions.
Jayashree has more than 120 research publications and is passionate about doing impactful research to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She collaborates with researchers in the Asia Pacific region and Africa to utilise locally available crops to address food and nutrient security and is a member of the International Humanitarian Food Science and Technology Network.
Jasmine is a Food Safety specialist, supporting industry in food allergen and microbiological risk mitigation. Jasmine started her career whilst still studying, working in a clinical pathology laboratory before moving into the food industry in 1998. She has more than 20 year’s experience in the food industry and has worked as
an analyst in laboratory management, quality and food safety roles for Lactalis and Coca Cola Europacific Partners.
Jasmine’s career has included developing and implementing one of the first national allergen management programs in Australia while at Lactalis, and involvement in the project team which commissioned Coca Cola’s first dairy UHT facility. Jasmine has a passion for connecting analytical outcomes to manufacturing processes and using data to solve problems and mitigate risk. Leaving the manufacturing industry in 2015, Jasmine now uses her skills and knowledge to support the wider food industry, and has been fortunate to work with both Australian and overseas organisations in her current role at BVAQ.
Jasmine was appointed a voluntary board director of the Allergen Bureau in 2018 and in 2021 became the Allergen Bureau President and board chair. In 2019 she was instrumental in the establishment of the Australian region of the European Hygienic Engineering Design Group. Jasmine is a member of the AIFST Scientific and Technical Advisory committee, and has been an AIFST Mentor.
Catherine is a nationally recognised nutritionist and respected accredited practising dietitian. Her ability to translate science into everyday messages has made her a soughtafter media spokesperson. She is passionate about quality food, loves to eat and cook, and believes these qualities lie at the heart of achieving the best possible diet.
She applies more than thirty years of experience in her work as an author, science lecturer, columnist and media spokesperson. Catherine has held various roles as a consultant to companies including Coles, Liptons Tea (Unilever) and Kellogg’s.
Catherine has penned 13 books and was recognised for her contribution to food technology was recognised in 2014 with the AIFST Bruce Chandler prize for her book Complete Food & Nutrition Companion. Catherine
is a member of Dietitians Australia, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, the Nutrition Society of Australia and a life member of Nutrition Australia.
Catherine holds a Bachelor of Science and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics, both from the University of Sydney
Vicki joined AIFST in 1981 as an undergraduate of the School of Food Technology at UNSW, Sydney.
With over 35 years in the food industry Vicki has successfully launched more than 600 new products.
Her innovation career commenced at Byron Research, developing prototypes and patented technology.
Whilst at Edgell-Birdseye, Vicki was part of the 1991 AIFST Food Innovation Award winning team for Quickshots.
At Unilever Australia, Vicki developed and launched products such as retorted creamy pasta sauces and UHT soups.
As Product Development Manager at Goodman Fielder, Vicki was the technical leader for the launch of asia @t home range of sauces and meal kits and as NPD Manager at Cerebos, Vicki led the highly successful launch of Gravox Liquid Gravies and Sauces.
Rejoining Unilever, Vicki continued to innovate, and launched products such as Continental Sensations and Gourmet Side Dishes.
Vicki is now self-employed as the Travelling Foodologist, an independent innovation consultant, assisting start-ups through to multinationals.
She served as Secretary of the NSW Branch Nutrition Committee from 1991 to 1998 and in 2006 and 2007, was a judge for the AIFST Product Development Competition.
Throughout her career, Vicki has generously mentored others, sharing her knowledge, experience, expertise and passion for food science.
AIFST congratulates the 2022 award winners and all of those who were nominated – it is wonderful to have so much talent within the Institute and agrifood industry in Australia. Thank you to all the judges who contributed hours of time and expertise during the selection and judging process.
This award acknowledges and acclaims an individual or organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to the Institute and demonstrated a clear commitment to advancing AIFST’s role in supporting Australia’s food industry professionals.
Dr Justin Whitely is the recipient of the 2022 award. Justin, National Manager – Assurance and Reporting Compass Group Australia, is well respected in the food industry, with expertise and experience across several sectors including the meat industry, food service and more recently support services to the mining industry. Justin has spent 30 years in senior management and technical roles in commercial production and marketing of a wide range of meat and smallgoods, fast foods and horticultural based products, and in providing support services for the mining, defence, health, aged care and education sectors.
Justin has been a dedicated AIFST member and supporter of the industry for almost 40 years. He has been a professional member of
AIFST since 1993 and a committee member of the AIFST WA Branch since 1999. In 2001 he was Vice Chair of the AIFST WA Branch, and a Member of AIFST Council from 2001 to 2004. In 2002, Justin was Chair of the WA Branch and has kept the WA branch going for the past 10 years.
Justin has been the main organiser of the very successful WA AIFST ‘Food for Thought’ workshops on numerous occasions. He is committed to AIFST nationally and has worked on many committees. In 2021 he was invited to participate as a key industry stakeholder to provide peer review, input and feedback on Curtin University’s Food Science Master’s degree course.
Justin is well respected by all in the industry and is always available to help others including students.
A worthy recipient of the 2022 AIFST President’s Award.
This award acknowledges a significant new development in a process, product, ingredient, piece of equipment or packaging which achieved successful commercial application in any sector of the Australian food industry.
In 2022, the judges selected joint winners as they both demonstrated meritorious innovation in their fields.
These two winners were completely different in every way and, as such,
AIFST Peter Seale Food Industry Innovation Award Winner – Preserve Health Pty Ltd, Andrew Perry with AIFST President, Duncan McDonald.
could not be ranked over each other.
The 2022 Award recipients were:
1. Preserve Health Pty Ltd for PREPD hydration products
These are unique patented next generation hydration products that utilise and enhance the water absorption capacity of the large intestine by stimulating appropriate fermentation by the resident colonic microbiota. The judges were impressed by the depth of the scientific research that supports the product ranges and the company’s commitment to validation of its benefits through clinical trials.
The judges view was that the products offer a genuine impact on overall health and sports performance which could potentially reach a global market and deliver significant benefits to the Australian food industry.
2. Australian Natural Biotechnology Pty Ltd for ‘Honey Moon’
This is a new design of the traditional honeycomb frame used in beehives, combined with an innovative packaging system. It allows the simultaneous production of two sizes of circular natural honeycomb filled with honey, within disposable food-safe containment rings, without the need for any handling or processing.
The judges commented on the simplicity and elegance of the product design. In addition to being
AIFST Sensory Solutions Tony Williams Sensory Award winner - Sera Jacobs with Jodie Hill from Sensory Solutions.
a premium product, the design delivers substantial benefits in terms of food safety and process cost and waste reduction. Development of the honey market in this way supports indigenous and rural industries and contributes to long-term stewardship of resources.
This award is for young members of AIFST who demonstrate academic achievement, interest, enthusiasm and integrity in sensory research. The 2022 Award recipient was Sera Jacob from the University of Queensland for her research on Aroma as a tool to utilise the diversity of Australian wattle seeds.
This award recognises the contribution to food science and technology of Institute members who publish research and technical papers. The 2022 Award recipients were Yun Xiong, Meng Chen, Robyn Warner and Zhongxiang Fang for their paper Incorporating nisin and grape seed extract in chitosan-gelatine edible coating and its effect on cold storage of fresh pork published in Food Control, 2020.
This award recognises AIFST members who are authors of books or substantial reviews, considered to make the greatest contribution to the literature on food science and technology in a particular year.
The 2022 Award recipients were Woojeong Kim, Yong Wang and Cordelia Selomulya for their review, Dairy, and plant proteins as natural food emulsifiers in Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2020
This award recognises a person or team who goes above and beyond to tackle food insecurity. Whether it’s championing a new initiative within their company
more information scan the
code on
or volunteering their time and expertise in the community, the award recognises an individual’s or team’s contribution as an inspiration to others.
In 2022, the judges selected joint winners:
1. Charlotte Richardson from Amazon.
Charlotte has been a passionate supporter of Foodbank for several years and, since moving to Amazon, has set up and driven innovative, impactful programs to support Foodbank and help people doing it tough across the country. She has also worked with the Amazon team to get the donation process up and running across all Amazon sites and continues to be a passionate and energetic ambassador and strong advocate for Foodbank internally. She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and ensure the donation process is kept simple for both Foodbank and Amazon.
2. Bill Heague and Andrew Borg from Mars Food Australia have been awarded the inaugural Foodbank Dream Team Award Bill and Andrew have worked together to engage their teams and ingredient suppliers to launch and grow a new Collaborative Supply Program. In just the second year of the Mars Food Australia Collaborative Supply Program, providing Dolmio pasta sauces, Kan Tong simmer sauces and the
iconic Masterfoods Aussie Farmers
Tomato Sauce, the business will be contributing to more than 1.2 million meals for people in need. Bill and Andrew are always looking for new and exciting opportunities to support Foodbank, most recently creating a cook-up challenge with their internal teams to provide hearty, home cooked meals for those in need on the NSW Central Coast - a great opportunity to further engage their teams and provide additional meals for Foodbank.
This new award has been created in memory of Dr David (Dave) Roberts as a means of encouraging and supporting the development of a young food scientist, technologist or nutritionist for their endeavour or achievement and leadership potential, within the food industry. The 2022 Award recipient was Koentadi Hadinoto from the University of New South Wales.
This competition provides an opportunity for food scientists to present a summary of their recent work, or key aspect of their work, in poster form. The challenge for entrants is to effectively communicate and justify the key learnings of their work to an interested scientific audience.
The 2022 Award recipients were: Judges’ Award Winner: The antimicrobial efficacy of native Australian essential oils against foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms by Agnes Mukurumbira, R.A. Shellie, R. Keast, E.A. Palombo and S.R. Jadhava, from Deakin University and Swinburne University of Technology.
Judges’ Award Runner Up: A Sandwich ELISA for the Detection of Oat Protein in Foods Including Other Gluten-Containing Cereals by Tim Walker, Tony Treloar, Karrin Ryan, Anne Ryan and Michael Ryan, from ELISA Systems.
People’s Choice Award Winner: Antidiabetic properties of nano encapsulated Coccinia grandis extract incorporated breakfast porridge by V. S. B. Witharana, C. V. L. Jayasinghe, P. U. S. Peiris and K. A. C. Madumali from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka.
People’s Choice Award Runner Up: Implementation of neural networks to predict process parameters in the ultrasonication-assisted Maillard conjugation of amaranth and seaweed polysaccharide by Rishi R. Naik, Yong Wang and Cordelia Selomulya, from the University of New South Wales.
The AIFST awards will be back in 2023. For more information visit the Awards page on the AIFST website.
On August 4, the AIFST WA Branch Committee welcomed one hundred people to Curtin University for the Gut Health Technical Meeting. This event had been first planned in early 2020 and postponed during COVID-19.
The night covered a variety of gutrelated topics, including discussion about fibre for low FODMAP diets, the various types of prebiotics and their influence on the gut, some controversial concepts in nutrition and their scientific realities, the latest developments in personalised nutrition, and an introduction to the strengths and weaknesses of a food processing classification system.
The speakers and their respective topics were:
Dr Tim Crowe: Beyond fibre: how prebiotics shape our health through the gut microbiota
Dr Mary Webberley: The SuperFlora founders’ journey into producing a low FODMAP product, and their
findings of the market demand and characteristics both internationally and domestically
Dr Jo Rees: The importance of overall diet quality for gut health and beyond - a look at how potential changes to the food environment could shape our future
Charlotte Rowley: Current research in precision nutrition and the leading role the microbiome plays in this space
Hayley Cullen: Making sense of seemingly conflicting gut health
research - an overview of the latest trends and what they mean for you.
The presentations were high quality and provided significant opportunities to learn more about the different perspectives shared by speakers around each topic.
Thank you to Hayley and the organising team for their work to arrange this most successful event and a special thank you to our event partners SuperFlora and Arnott’s Vita-Weat.
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L-R Dr Jo Rees, Hayley Cullen, Dr Justin Whitely, Dr Tim Crowe, Charlotte Rowley and Dr Mary Webberley.
Words by Dr Martin Palmer
The Australian Research Council funds numerous research projects in diverse fields of food production, food processing, food science and nutrition. Project summaries are publicly available and provide an interesting window on current, university-based food research in Australia. The total ARC funding for new, food-related research projects announced over the last year exceeded $8 million, including the following grants:
Engineering improved fat encapsulation for food powders. LP210200831 – Professor Cordelia Selomulya, University of NSW. Industry partner: Koninklijke Douwe Egberts B.V. Encapsulation of fats and oils into powders has wide applications in the food industry, with products including creamers, soups, infant formula and nutraceutical powders. Spray drying of liquid emulsions to extend their shelf life, nutritional content and functionality is an integral part of the manufacturing process. This project will generate new protocols for the production of high-fat powders, resulting in improved production efficiency and new product development from recovered ingredients. This will benefit food powder manufacturing in Australia, currently valued around $600 million
pa, and will potentially expand the variety of product offering for the export market.
Advancing Australia’s hospitality industry through interactive food. LP210200656 - Professor Florian Mueller, Monash University. Industry partner: Worksmith Coworking Pty Ltd. Aims to co-develop, with restaurateurs and chefs, interactive sounds, smells and tastes technologies that enable them to create novel eating out experiences and evaluate diners’ reactions. The expected outcome is an easy-to-use toolkit (comprising a software suite and low cost sensors) that can be readily incorporated into hospitality operations. This should provide benefits such as enticing people to go out and visit restaurants, supporting some of Australia’s 600,000 hospitality jobs while fostering Australia’s innovative food culture.
Milk protein profiling powered by multiplexed single molecule assay. LP210200642 – Dr Jiajia Zhou, University of Technology, Sydney. Industry partner: Iproteome Pty Ltd. Aims to develop a novel device, comprising advanced single molecule imaging, microfluidics and immunoassay technologies, for quantification of milk protein variants. Currently, such protein detection technologies are not widely applied in routine milk quality control. This project aims to produce a device that
can be used by milk producers and processors to profile protein variants with high sensitivity in a single test in an hour and screen unwanted protein contamination.
High-value functional ingredients from bean processing waste. LP 210200616 – Dr Sushil Dhital, Monash University. Industry partner: Heinz Australia. Legumes are a highly nutritious and sustainable food. Accordingly, there is a steady growth in the consumption of legumes worldwide, including in Australia. Due to otherwise lengthy soaking and cooking times, consumers prefer ready-to-eat, canned legumes. Current canned legume processing technologies are energy and water intensive and generate considerable waste. This project investigates the application of non thermal technologies to reduce processing time, water and energy use and enable the recovery of valuable polyphenols and soluble dietary fibres normally lost in the wastewater. This knowledge will lead to more sustainable processing, delivering improved productivity to manufacturers and quality food to consumers.
New crop on the block: the genetic control of hemp seed nutritional quality. LP210200606 - Associate Professor Tobias Kretzschmar, Southern Cross University. Industry partner: Kavasil Pty Ltd. Hemp seed, which is rich
in polyunsaturated oils and highquality protein, is an emerging food crop across Australia. However, little is known about the genetic control of its seed oil and protein composition, crucial characteristics for the optimisation of hemp seed productivity and quality for the Australian industry. A unique resource of 120 diverse hemp accessions will be used to define the genetics underpinning nutritional variation and associated genotypeby-environment interactions. This will lay the foundation for targeted breeding and best management practice, for the benefit of both the hemp industry and health conscious consumers.
Impact of seaweed polyphenols on gut health: gut microbiome modulation. DE220100055 – Dr Hafiz
Suleria, University of Melbourne. Aims to understand the impact of seaweed polyphenols on the gut microbiome and develop methods to improve their bioavailability and bioactivities in the gut. Cutting-edge analytical tools will be used to investigate the movement and absorption of phenolic compounds across the gut. New knowledge will be explored in the area of marine-based functional foods and their health benefits using an innovative interdisciplinary approach. The success of this project will ultimately provide a new pathway for the development of functional foods that will help to improve the health status of Australian consumers.
The role of emotions in marketing cultured meat. DE220100100 –Dr Felix Septianto, University of Queensland. Traditional agriculture has a strong environmental impact. One solution to reduce this impact is cultured meat, which is meat created via a cell culture, rather than from a slaughtered animal. This project aims to examine the role of emotions in promoting consumer acceptance, a major barrier facing the commercialisation of cultured meat. Insight into factors influencing the acceptance of cultured meat will allow the development of effective
communication and marketing strategies. Greater acceptance of cultured meat should reduce the environmental impact and ethical concerns around traditional meat production and provide new opportunities for Australian agribusiness.
Defining how gut bacteria regulate metabolism: a role for gut serotonin. DE220100403 – Dr Alyce Martin, Flinders University. Aims to understand how serotoninproducing cells in the gut interact with gut bacteria (the microbiome), using a combination of cells in culture and live, germ free, genetically modified mice. This will generate new knowledge regarding cellular interactions that underlie important physiological pathways, such as the control of blood glucose and fat storage. It is intended to identify how gut bacteria communicate with serotonin-producing cells to regulate metabolism, and whether diet acts via a gut microbiome-serotonin axis to impact physiology.
Effects of environmental change on seafood micronutrients: a SE Asian focus. DE210100606 – Dr Kirsty Nash, University of Tasmania. Aims to track variability in flows of essential micronutrients through marine food webs, to quantify how environmental changes will affect micronutrient supply to humans in seafood. Expected outcomes: worldfirst models for accurately estimating nutrient production from South East Asian reef fisheries up to 2050, under conditions of predicted climate change. Expected benefits: a new capacity to plan for future food and nutrition security for Australia, our region and beyond.
How spinal afferent neurons control appetite and thirst.
DP220100070 – Professor Nick Spencer, Flinders University. Aims to provide new insights about how the gut communicates with the brain, to regulate the consumption of food and fluids. Addresses fundamental questions that rely on techniques only recently developed in this laboratory. Expects to demonstrate a major new sensory nerve pathway from the gut to the brain that plays
a major role in appetite and thirst sensations. We will learn how gut to brain communication underlies the feeling of ‘fullness’ when people consume food and drink.
Food system shocks: managing transitions to future food security
DP220100461 - Associate Professor Carol Richards, Queensland University of Technology. Recent food system shocks such as bushfires, floods, drought, and the impact of COVID-19 on the harvesting and distribution of agricultural products are having profound on-farm impacts. Farmers have to navigate these major disruptions whilst also maintaining continuity of supply that supports Australia’s national and regional food security. Situating the farmer as the ‘expert’ of managing and accommodating shocks, this project will co-produce a range of evidencebased transition and innovation scenarios for the horticultural industry to enhance future preparedness for shocks and support rural livelihoods.
From trash to treasure: engineering waste carbon utilisation in yeast. DP220100474 – Dr Thomas Williams, Macquarie University. Aims to engineer yeast to convert carbon dioxide- and methane-derived methanol into sustainable chemicals, foods and pharmaceuticals. This internationally collaborative project expects to generate new design principles for methanol metabolism by using the innovative approach of laboratory evolution along with state-of-the-art bioengineering capabilities. Expected outcomes include new manufacturing processes and the discovery of novel metabolism in yeast. This will also provide benefits through sustainable biomanufacturing and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Diet, gut microbiota and the evolution of lifespan and reproduction
DP220103291 –Professor John Hunt, Western Sydney University. Nutrition has pronounced effects on lifespan and reproduction across animal species, yet how these effects are mediated is poorly understood. This project aims to determine if gut microbiota
regulate these nutritional effects. It expects to deliver key insights on the complex interplay between nutrition and gut microbiota, as well as the potential to manipulate this relationship to extend lifespan and alter reproduction. Expected outcomes include generating new knowledge, building multidisciplinary collaborations and the development of novel experimental approaches. Impacts of diet on the brain, body, and microbiome. DP220103462 – Dr Michael Kendig, University of Technology, Sydney. Seeks to clarify the role of the gut microbiome in diet-induced changes to cognition. It aims to do so through longitudinal studies of cognitive function in which dietary patterns are systematically varied, and intervention studies where cognition is tested after experimentally manipulating the gut microbiome. Expected outcomes include new interdisciplinary knowledge spanning psychology, neuroscience, nutrition and metabolism. The knowledge to be gained should provide benefits to individual and public health, agriculture and food systems.
Bridging the land–sea divide to ensure food security under climate change. FT210100798 – Professor Julia Blanchard, University of Tasmania. This project aims to comprehensively evaluate ocean-based food solutions to meet food security needs under climate change. It will resolve a critical blind spot in current plans that isolate land and sea food systems and neglect their interdependencies. Combining global models and data, it will assess the constraints of ocean-based food solutions by anticipating and accounting for land-sea links including: agricultural runoff, shared feed resources for farmed animals, and trade-offs for biodiversity
and climate mitigation. It will deliver a leap in our capacity to undertake holistic ecosystem assessment of future food production pathways. Pathways to agri-food supply chains that co-benefit people and nature FT210100655 – Dr Ayesha Tulloch, Queensland University of Technology. Aims to improve biodiversity outcomes of agricultural food production and consumption, and expects to generate new knowledge about impacts of interventions and shocks on the environment, human health and livelihoods in agrifood systems. An interdisciplinary approach will be used that accounts for uncertainties in links between farmers, suppliers, consumers and supply chain
outcomes. The expected outcome is a value-of-information framework for identifying nature-friendly policies and actions with co-benefits for human wellbeing. Benefits include sustainability pathways with win-win outcomes for people and nature.
These condensed descriptions have been edited from the official project summaries available on the ARC website, https://www.arc.gov. au/grants/grant-outcomes. For more detailed information, readers are encouraged to contact the project leaders directly.
Dr Martin Palmer is an Associate Professor and Enterprise Fellow in the Dept. of Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne fR+K_AZ_2022_Food_Australia_122x162.qxp_Layout 1 30.05.22 11:41 Seite 2
Foodbased dietary guidelines provide evidence based practical and actionable recommendations that aim to influence and improve dietary patterns and behaviours.1 The classification of specific foods within the dietary guidelines are based upon the traditional dietary patterns of the country.2 The current review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) provides an opportune time to undertake meaningful and novel research that may assist in the framing of messages.
New research published by the Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC) delved into consumer understanding of the current dietary guidelines and provided prerequisite insight into consumers’ perspectives of the current representation of legumes and whole grains within the guidelines, including preferences for categorisation, frequency and quantity of intake.3
Legumes are a class of food included in the current ADG and mentioned in two of the five food groups: in the vegetable food group as a good source of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, and the
alternative to meat group due to their protein rich nutrient profile similar to poultry, fish, lean meat and eggs.4,5
Whole grains, on the other hand, are categorised in cereal grains due to their health promoting properties.
Despite their prominence in guidelines, average legume and whole grain consumption in Australia remains lower than the recommendations outlined in the ADG.
There are several previously identified barriers which account for the lowerthan-average legume consumption in Australia. These include poor familiarity, confusion around the categorisation and quantification of legume recommendations in the current ADG, lack of preparation skills and gastrointestinal discomfort.6,7
These findings suggest that, in order to encourage intake, guideline recommendations need to address these barriers.
Similar issues have been identified for whole grains and whole grain foods.8 Like legumes, whole grain consumption falls below recommendations, and it has been suggested that more targeted and actionable recommendations outlined in dietary guidelines may be one
strategy towards improving intake.
As legumes are included in two food groups, the recently published study revealed consumers preferred legume recommendations to be provided in cup measures because it is easier to visualise - half a cup as a vegetable serving and one cup as an alternative to meat. It was reported that the quantifiable cup measurement was clearer, easier to interpret, easier to understand and easier to remember.
When considering alternative wording for promoting legume intake in the ADG, statements that emphasised daily consumption or provided a quantitative measure for intake was well perceived such as “Each day, consume at least one serve of legumes either as a serve of vegetables or as an alternative to meat”.
These findings support previous studies which demonstrated consumer preference for specific terms relating to intake quantity and frequency, in comparison to permissive terms such as ‘enjoy’ and ‘balance’.
This preference also echoes similar messaging around the ADG recommendation for two fruit and five vegetable consumption marketing
seen in the Australian market for several years.
On the other hand, for whole grains, consumers demonstrated a good understanding that consumption of grain foods should be from whole grain sources. However, when evaluating preference for whole grain recommendations, consumers preferred less prescriptive wording such as, “Choose whole grain products over refined grains/white flour products whenever you can”. The simplicity of emphasising the swap to whole grain, in preference to refined choices, provides the impetus to simplify and strengthen wording, and provides clarity to help consumers choose whole grain and high fibre food choices as a priority.
Both legumes and whole grains provide economic and sustainable food choices for inclusion within dietary patterns. As studies and research have identified the prevalence of the flexitarian diet, which is a more plant based dietary pattern that allows for the flexibility to include some animal sourced foods,9 this positions legumes and whole grains as a valuable source of plant protein, dietary fibre and other key nutrients.
To that end, findings from this study provide timely advice on the importance of understanding what messages resonate best with consumers to improve dietary intake for legumes and wholegrains. Effective messages in dietary guidelines could consider greater specificity regarding frequency, quantity and quality of foods recommended, and help to get more whole grains and legumes on the plate of Australians.
1. Herforth, A.; Arimond, M.; Álvarez-Sánchez, C.; Coates, J.; Christianson, K.; Muehlhoff, E. A Global Review of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines. Adv. Nutr. 2019, 10, 590–605. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
2. Painter, J.; Rah, J.-H.; Lee, Y.-K. Comparison of International Food Guide Pictorial Representations. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 2002, 102, 483–489. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
3. Reyneke G., Hughes J., Grafenauer S. Consumer Understanding of the Australian Dietary Guidelines: Recommendations for Legumes and Whole Grains. Nutrients 2022, 14, 1753. [Google Scholar]
4. National Health and Medical Research Council. Vegetables and Legumes/Beans|Eat For Health. 2019. Available online: https://www. eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/vegetables-andlegumes-beans
5. National Health and Medical Research Council. Lean Meat and Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Tofu, Nuts and Seeds and Legumes/Beans. Available online: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-foodgroups/lean-meat-and-poultry-fish-eggs-tofu-nuts-and-seedsand#:~:text=Legumes%20provide%20many%20of%20the
6. Figueira, N.; Curtain, F.; Beck, E.; Grafenauer, S. Consumer Understanding and Culinary Use of Legumes in Australia. Nutrients 2019, 11, 1575. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed][Green Version]
7. Smiglak-Krajewska, M.; Wojciechowska-Solis, J. Consumption Preferences of Pulses in the Diet of Polish People: Motives and Barriers to Replace Animal Protein with Vegetable Protein. Nutrients 2021, 13, 454. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
8. Grafenauer, S.; Curtain, F. Historical and Global Perspectives on Grains and Whole Grains within Dietary Guidelines. Cereal Foods World 2020, 65. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
9. Derbyshire, E.J. Flexitarian Diets and Health: A Review of the EvidenceBased Literature. Front. Nutr. 2017, 3, 55. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
world's first hand-held mobile flow cytometer
seed (WS) is a hard coated seed grown within pods on wattle trees (Acacia ssp.) (Figure 1). There are approximately 1,350 species of wattles worldwide with more than 1,000 species native to Australia. They are Australia’s most abundant tree and occur in all climatic zones and soil types.1 Wattles were important to our Indigenous peoples for shelters, tools, habitat and food sources. There were more than 100 species of WS used for food.2 WS was wild harvested as near ripe seeds, steamed and consumed, or ripe seeds processed and made into flour and flat bread.3
This traditional knowledge and use of Australian WS for human food led to introductions of various wattle species to Africa (Sahelian zone and arid zones of Ethiopia) in the 1980- 90’s. Following extensive field evaluations and food safety trials, the seed of A. colei (Coles wattle) was registered as a tasty nutritious human food. When blended (25%) with cereals there were significant improvements (especially protein) in village diets in Niger.4
The Australian WS industry began
Nutrients
Crude protein (g/100 g)
Crude fat (g/100 g)
Dietary fibre (g/100 g)
(mg/100 g)
Calcium (mg/100 g)
(mg/100 g)
NS=not stated..
in the 1980’s based mainly on the wild harvest of A. victoriae (Elegant wattle) which was widespread and easy to harvest and process. The WS was roasted and ground, then used as a flavouring or spice. It has a unique flavour profile and aroma of roasted coffee beans, sweet spices, raisin and chocolate with a nuttiness and slight bitterness. Flavour profiles however vary greatly between species.
Recent industry surveys show that wild harvesters and growers produce
approximately 18.5 tonnes of raw WS per annum (15 tonnes wild harvest, 3.5 tonnes from growers)5 (Figure 2).
There has, however, been significant wattle orchard expansion in southeastern Australia from 2019 as the industry moves from a wild harvest base to horticultural production for consistent seed quality and supply (Figure 3).
The range of Wattle ssp. under development and domestication for temperate zones include: A. longifolia
ssp. longifolia, A. pycnantha, A. retinodes, A. baileyana and A. saligna
In arid and semi-arid zones, they include: A. victoriae, A. microbotrya, A. hakeoides, A. brachybotrya, A. argyrophylla and A. calamifolia
WS is fast becoming a versatile food and is generally roasted and ground into a flour or meal, then used as an additive or blend in foods. A range of food products and uses are shown in Figure 4.
Heavy roasted meal is used as a flavouring in desserts, savoury dishes, baked goods and beverages including coffee substitutes and blends. Extracts can also be added to flavour many food products. Light roasted meal retains the valuable nutrient profile and is used in health foods, protein supplements, breads and muesli, and could be used in organic superfood blends. Raw seed has been used for sprouting, malting and popping type WSs are under development.
Generally, WS is a good source of protein, dietary fibre, potassium, calcium, and iron. The nutrient levels vary between species. For example, the protein content in WS range from 18% in A. victoriae to 33% in A. saligna 6 and this falls within the range of other legumes (Table 1). Protein quality of WS, in terms of essential amino acids (lysine and arginine), is comparable to soybean.7 High amounts of arginine may improve cardiovascular health.8 A mix of WS flour with cereal (wheat, millet and sorghum) gives a full and balanced essential amino acid profile.9
WS possess low glycaemic index and therefore could be a suitable ingredient in diabetic and other specialty diets.10 Moreover, the dietary fibre in WS, particularly in A. coriacea, are higher than most legumes (Table 1). Dietary fibre in human foods may positively impact the health of the gut.11 Wattle seed flours are currently being used as functional ingredients in bakery products, such as WS bread rolls, to
increase the dietary fibre and protein content of the product and thus enhance its health benefits.
The fat in most WS species contains more polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) than saturated fatty acid.6 Linoleic acid is the predominant PUFA in WS, and accounts for about 34% of total fat in A. cowleana seed.12 Linoleic acid can play a vital role in reducing blood cholesterol levels.13
Therefore, the high PUFA in WS could make composite WS flour a suitable healthy food for human consumption.
Potassium is the most abundant mineral in WS. Moreover, one of the challenges for including more plant-based protein in human diets is the risk of anaemia due to a lack of iron. Previous studies have shown that iron levels (5.0 – 20 mg/100 g) in WS12 were higher than other legumes (Table 1). Therefore, addition of WS seed in food products may help attain the recommended dietary intake of iron (7mg/day for men and 12-16mg/day for women during pregnancy) required for alleviating iron deficiency anaemia.
In addition to the high nutritional value of WS, extracts from the seed, such as A. victoriae, have an abundance of succinic acid and gallic acid.16 These compounds are known to have strong antioxidant capacity and thus, WS extracts could be a good functional food ingredient.17
Furthermore, oil extracted from A. cyanophylla seed has high amounts of bioactive lipophilic compounds, such as tocopherols and phytosterols, and are comparable to other popular oil seeds such as olive and peanut oil.18 These bioactive compounds are known to provide human health benefits.6
Raw WS are usually processed prior to consumption due to the presence of anti-nutrients such as trypsin inhibitors and phytic acid.
In addition, WS contains Djenkolic acid, a toxic compound which may cause formation of kidney stones over prolonged exposure.19 However, the levels of anti-nutrients and toxic compounds varies between species.
Table 2: Rapid sensory profiling of wattle seed roasted in an oven at 180ºC for seven minutes.12
Aroma Gravy, roasted nuts, onion, lemon Meaty, yeasty, roasted onion
Flavour Bitter, peanut Savoury, onion, nutty
Taste Savoury, smoky, cucumber Bitter, savoury
Roasting is the most common method of processing WS, mainly to eliminate the Djenkolic acid and reduce anti-nutrient levels, but also to develop their unique aroma and flavour compounds.
WS possess high water and oil absorption capacities (2g of water and 0.7g of oil bound per gram of flour) and emulsifying capacity (5557%).20 Since WS are usually roasted prior to its use in food products, less roasting time (5-10 min.) should be selected to minimise or prevent loss of functional properties of WS due to prolonged heat.
One of the unique properties of WS is the diversity in sensory attributes between roasted WS species. For instance, A. retinodes was reported to have a coffee aroma and nutty flavour while a roasted onion aroma
and vegemite flavour was perceived in A. longifolia ssp. sophorae by taste panellists.12 Therefore, the variation in the sensory profiles between species could increase potential applications of WS in the food industry. Moreover, the sensory properties of roasted WS species can be a guide in the selection of appropriate species to be used in food products development.
The rise in world population and increase in global warming have necessitated the search for crops that are climate adapted, sustainable, environmentally friendly and highly nutritious, such as WS. WS is a perennial legume and excellent source of plant protein. Previous studies and applications of WS have focused on a few species namely, A. victoriae, A. coriacea, A. cowleana, A. saligna and A. retinodes.
With the increase in demand for WS and a shift from wild harvest to orchard production, more studies are required to assess the nutritional and sensory profiles as well as toxicological assessment of cultivated fast-growing edible species such as A. longifolia ssp. longifolia, A. baileyana, A. pycnantha and others, prior to their use as functional ingredients in human foods.
WS is a vast untapped golden resource - an ancient grain, but a new environmentally sustainable, climate adapted perennial grain legume for human food.
WS is a highly nutritious human food, rich in protein, dietary fibre, potassium and iron.
A large range of food products can be produced from roasted WS seed due to the diversity in the nutritional, functional and sensory profiles of different WS species.
1. Cunningham, P. (2021). Wattle seed: Australia’s vast untapped Golden resource. Eingana. 44. 14-17
2. Maslin, BR, Thompson, LAJ, McDonald, MW and Hamilton-Brown, S. (1998). Edible wattle seeds of southern Australia: a review of species for use in semi-arid regions, CSIRO, Collingwood. 100 pp.
3. Bonney, N. (2018). Knowing, growing Acacia for food and Conservation, Open Book,
Howden, 96 pp.
4. Harwood, C. E., Rinaudo, T. and Adewusi, S. (1999). Developing Australian acacia seeds as a human food for the Sahel. Unasylva, 196, 57-64.
5. Laurie, S. (2020), Australian native foods and botanicals- 2019-20 market study, Australian Native Foods and Botanicals (ANFAB).
6. Adiamo, O. Q., Netzel, M. E., Hoffman, L. C., & Sultanbawa, Y. (2020). Acacia seed proteins: Low or high quality? A comprehensive review. Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety, 19(1), 21-43.
7. Deshpande, S. S. (1992). Food legumes in human nutrition: a personal perspective. Critical Reviews in Food Science & Nutrition, 32(4), 333363.
8. Chivandi, E., Davidson, B. C., & Erlwanger, K. H. (2013). Proximate, mineral, fibre, phytate–phosphate, vitamin E, amino acid and fatty acid composition of Terminalia sericea. South African Journal of Botany, 88, 96-100.
9. Hegarty, M. P., Hegarty, E. E., & Wills, R. B. H. (2001). Food safety of Australian plant bushfoods: RIRDC Publication No. 01/28. Canberra, Australia: Union Offset Printing.
10. Wattle Seed Consultancy for the Australian Native Food Industry (wattleseeds.com.au)
11. Siddhuraju, P.; Vijayakumari, K.; Janardhanan, K. Chemical composition and nutritional evaluation of an underexploited legume, Acacia nilotica (L.). Del. Food Chem. 1996, 57, 385–391, doi:10.1016/0308-814600238-3.
12. Shelat,K. J.,Adiamo,O.Q., Olarte Mantilla, S. M., Smyth,H. E., Tinggi, U., Hickey, S.,Sultanbawa, Y. (2019). Overall nutritional and sensory profile of different species of Australian wattle seeds (Acacia spp.): Potential food sources in the arid and semi-arid regions. Foods, 8(10),
composition of different seed oils and flours. Food Chem. 2001, 74, 47–54.
14. Iqbal, A., Khalil, I. A., Ateeq, N., & Khan, M. S. (2006). Nutritional quality of important food legumes. Food chemistry, 97(2), 331-335.
15. Kan, L., Nie, S., Hu, J., Wang, S., Bai, Z., Wang, J., ... & Song, K. (2018). Comparative study on the chemical composition, anthocyanins, tocopherols and carotenoids of selected legumes. Food chemistry, 260, 317-326.
16. Ee, K., Agboola, S., Rehman, A., & Zhao, J. (2011). Characterisation of phenolic components present in raw and roasted wattle (Acacia victoriae Bentham) seeds. Food Chemistry 129(3), 816–821.
17. Sethiya, N. K., Trivedi, A., & Mishra, S. (2014). The total antioxidant content and radical scavenging investigation on 17 phytochemicals from dietary plant sources used globally as functional food. Biomedicine and Preventive Nutrition, 4(3), 439–444.
18. Nasri, N., Elfalleh, W., Tlili, N., Martine, L., Berdeaux, O., Salles, C., ... & Khaldi, A. (2013).
Contents of carotenoids, tocopherols and sterols in Acacia cyanophylla seed oils. Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, 90(3), 429-436.
19. Bell, E. A. (2003). Nonprotein amino acids of plants: Significance in medicine, nutrition, and agriculture. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51(10), 2854–2865.
20. Adiamo, O. Q., Netzel, M. E., Hoffman, L. C., Gidley, M. J., & Sultanbawa, Y. (2021). Nutritional, anti‐nutritional, antioxidant, physicochemical and functional characterization of Australian acacia seed: effect of species and regions. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 101(11), 4681-4690.
Peter Cunningham has been working with WS in Africa and Australia for more than 20 years. He is the Director of Wattle Seeds Australia, a private consultancy business that covers all aspects of commercial wattle seed production and use.
Adiamo Oladipupo is a Research officer at the ARC Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods, Centre for Nutrition and Food Science, QAAFI, University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane, Australia. He recently completed his PhD on wattle seeds at UQ.
Dr Yasmina Sultanbawa is the Director of the ARC Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods, Centre for Nutrition and Food Science, QAAFI, UQ, Brisbane, Australia. f
Consumer and sensory scientists at the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) are putting taste buds to the test to find out what flavours consumers prefer when eating fruit.
Finding the right flavour for new mango, pineapple and strawberry varieties is the focus of a $7 million joint research project into fruit sensory genetics.
DAF scientists are working with the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and Griffith University, with funding from Hort Innovation, to gain a deeper understanding of what drives consumer behaviour when it comes to fruit.
DAF consumer and sensory scientist Simonè Moller said that the project aims to link consumer and sensory panel data with genetic information to identify fruit quality traits.
“Our research will explore how fruit sensory qualities impact consumer preference and help us to decipher what real-world customers want,” Ms Moller said.
“This will equip our plant breeders with the information they need to continue to develop great tasting superior and niche varieties with potential to attract new markets.”
Ms Moller said the sensory profiling with a specialist trained panel will identify the key sensory attributes present in each variety of fruit to develop a common language for both industry and scientists to use.
“We will be assessing everything from appearance to aroma, flavour and texture,” Ms Moller said.
“This will be complemented with large-scale consumer research to determine which varieties are preferred and why.”
Hort Innovation Research and Development Manager Dr Vino Rajandran said the research aims to enhance the overall sensory experience for consumers each time they bite into an Aussie-grown fruit.
“Studies show that just one bad fruit eating experience can turn a shopper off buying that fruit or vegetable again,” Dr Rajandran said.
“Ultimately, the perfect situation for a grower is to produce a good quality fruit that appeals to the consumer each time. This will lead to less food waste at home and along the supply chain.”
QAAFI Principal Research Fellow Associate Professor Heather Smyth said once we understand consumer motivation, we can modify the genetics of the fruit to enhance its physical and sensory characteristics.
“Once sensory profiles for existing, and potentially new, characteristics have been established, we can naturally breed and select new varieties with the aim to eventually make them available to growers and consumers,” Associate Professor Smyth said.
DAF’s Consumer Intelligence team will collaborate with the DAF Food Chemistry team, based at the Health and Food Science Precinct at Coopers
Plains in Brisbane, and Genetic Improvement teams in Mareeba and Nambour to identify genes associated with key consumer qualities.
The development of these molecular tools will assist breeders to identify these traits in young seedlings to bring a greater choice of high quality and consistent commodities to the consumer.
DAF’s principal plant breeder Dr Jodi Neal said this research involves evaluating mangos, pineapples and strawberries developed via DAF breeding programs at the Mareeba Research Facility and Maroochy Research Facility in Nambour.
“These tools will allow us to more easily identify plants with the best fruit flavours, colours and texture,” Dr Neal said.
“We can then combine this information with other critical traits such as high yield, disease resistance and improved shelf life to produce better varieties for both farmers and consumers.”
Learn more about the Genetics of fruit sensory preferences project here: https://www.horticulture.com.au/ growers/help-your-business-grow/ research-reports-publications-factsheets-and-more/as19003/
The Queensland Government, via the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, drives productivity and innovation in Queensland’s agriculture and food industries through worldclass research, development and extension. f
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Neogen Corporation develops and markets comprehensive solutions dedicated to food and animal safety. Our Food Safety product range covers solutions for the Australasian Agribusiness sector including dehydrated culture media and rapid diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, food allergens, plant diseases, and hygiene indicators through ATP sanitation monitoring and much more, all supported by our team and warehouse based right here in Australia.Through our Animal Safety range, we offer veterinary instruments and other supplies, wound care, cleaners and disinfectants for farm and veterinary settings, pest control solutions such as insecticides and rodenticides to limit the spread of disease and more.
Neogen Australasia’s Genomics division is the region’s largest genomic testing facility in Queensland. We offer Australian livestock producers customised DNA Testing solutions to make educated breeding decisions that improve the efficiencies of their herds and breed associations to verify parentage.
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L O B A L L E A D E R S I N F O O D S A F E T Y
N D Q U A L I T Y S O L U T I O N S
Novel foods are those foods categorised as non-traditional foods that have the potential to raise public health and safety issues. In the late 1990s, Australia and New Zealand, as well as other jurisdictions such as the European Union (EU), began regulating foods based on their novelty. The regulation of novel foods was a response to advances in agriculture and food technologies and related concerns regarding the use of these new technologies.
Jurisdictions with a pre-market approval process for novel foods approach the regulation of novel food in a broadly similar way. They focus on scientific evidence, reducing acute risks to consumers and enabling industry. The processes differ in terms of the level of public consultation involved and the type and level of scientific evidence required from applicants.
Our recent article1 shows how stakeholders call on regulators to respond to a range of issues when approving novel foods beyond the food itself including long-term public health issues through to market competition and sustainability. Yet, the response from regulators regarding ‘novel foods’ has mostly
focused on acute biophysical safety. A lack of public, deliberative processes that meaningfully engage with stakeholder concerns has previously undermined legal and regulatory responses to novel foods such as genetically modified organisms.2
Which new foods require regulatory pre-approval? Australia and New Zealand do not require pre-market approval for all new foods. Rather, a business must determine whether a product it plans to release contains an ingredient that requires pre-market approval according to the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code (‘the Code’). According to the Code, a product created using new technologies or involving new ingredients will require pre-market approval if it has not received prior approval and if it falls into one of the following three categories:
(a) a food produced using gene technology, ie. derived or developed from an organism which has been modified by gene technology
(b) a food that contains a substance that is a food additive, a nutritive substance or a processing aid
(c) a food that is a novel food.3
The Code prohibits products that fall into these categories unless the Code explicitly allows the new ingredient.
It is not too difficult to know whether an ingredient falls into the first two categories and requires preapproval, but the third category is more difficult. As a result, a business can apply to the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods of FSANZ to provide advice regarding whether its product is a ‘novel food’ that requires preapproval.
The committee considers firstly whether the food has a history of human consumption in Australia or New Zealand. If it does not have a history of consumption, then the committee considers the food to be ‘non-traditional’. Secondly, the committee considers whether a public health and safety assessment should be required for the nontraditional food. The aim is to confirm with reasonable certainty that no harm will result from use of the food and to identify relevant risk management strategies where required.
Just this year, the committee recommended that gum from the Australian Golden Wattle tree was
a traditional food that does not raise safety concerns. For beeswax in 2016, it found that the levels at which the business sought to use the ingredient did not have a history of use in Australia or New Zealand and that the safety of consumption at a higher level has not been established, requiring further assessment.4
FSANZ has various types of procedures it can adopt when assessing an application. The type of procedure FSANZ adopts determines the amount of public consultation, time and resources allocated to considering a particular application. An application for a novel food is likely to be assessed under the ‘general’ or ‘major’ procedures. The assessment process may take anywhere between nine months to one year, excluding the time taken for an applicant to provide additional information if required.5
Generally, an application regarding a novel food, where there is significant scientific or technical complexity, will undergo two public consultation processes. The first round of public consults concerns FSANZ’s preliminary assessment about whether the food should be approved and, if so, under what conditions. The second time FSANZ consults the public will be if it decides to move forward with approving the product, and therefore recommending a draft variation to the Code, so the public is invited to comment on the draft variation.
Very broadly, FSANZ’s assessment of an application has two main components.
Firstly, it conducts a scientific and technical assessment of risks and considers risk management. The risk assessment is typically focused on toxicity and allergenicity risks and generally draws on evidence from scientific literature and the applicant’s own data. The risk assessment also encompasses consideration of what mechanisms are in place to manage the identified risks, such as existing
requirements to provide allergen information.
Secondly, FSANZ conducts a qualitative cost-benefit analysis. It is not a quantifiable economic analysis. Rather, it involves considering the benefits that would arise from approving the product and whether the costs associated with approving the product would outweigh the direct and indirect benefits to the government, industry and community. Essentially, the question is whether, on balance, the community, government and industry as a whole will benefit from approving the product versus rejecting it.
FSANZ’s assessment is guided by its legislative objectives and by factors it must have regard to when determining whether to vary the Code. The legislative objectives of FSANZ are the protection of public health and safety, the provision of adequate information relating to food to enable consumers to make informed choices, and the prevention of misleading or deceptive conduct.6
The factors FSANZ must have regard to when considering whether to approve an application, and therefore vary the code, include: the best available scientific evidence, international standards, the desirability of an efficient and internationally competitive food industry, and the promotion of fair trading in food.7 Hence, industry and economic interests form two of the four considerations FSANZ must take into account when considering an application.
If FSANZ decides to approve a new product, it will recommend to the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation that the relevant schedule in the Code be varied. This forum is comprised of ministers from federal, state and territory governments in Australia and from New Zealand. The forum gets the final say on whether a product is allowed. It decides whether the amendment to the Code is approved or whether it is sent back to FSANZ for further consideration.
Impossible Foods Inc (‘Impossible’) is a Californian company that has become a leading manufacturer of meat alternatives. Impossible’s main innovation is a soy leghemoglobin preparation, which makes its burgers appear to bleed, imparts a meaty taste and texture and means that Impossible burgers contain heme iron which is the type of iron normally only found in meat.8 It makes this new ingredient using genetically modified yeast that expresses soy leghemoglobin protein.
Impossible applied to FSANZ on 12 July, 2019, to vary the Code to allow its soy leghemoglobin preparation in its products. FSANZ decided to assess the application as both a nutritive substance and as a food produced using gene technology, but considered assessment as a ‘novel food’ or as ‘food additive’ as unnecessary, given that adding additional categories would not change the assessment process.9
FSANZ began by completing a scientific and technical risk assessment, which drew on evidence provided by the applicant and independent sources. It also developed a risk management response that set a maximum level for soy leghemoglobin and highlighted how existing labelling laws would apply in a manner that may help manage risks. Finally, FSANZ conducted a cost-benefit analysis. It considered that the benefits of approving the application included, primarily, the potential for the applicant to earn revenue, the increase in food choices for consumers and the potential for other businesses to receive revenue by selling Impossible products. FSANZ considered the costs to be small and related only to the monitoring and compliance costs by the government.
FSANZ’s preliminary conclusion was to vary the Code to allow the soy leghemoglobin preparation at levels up to 0.8%. FSANZ’s assessment was then put to the public for consultation on 20 December, 2019. The call for submissions drew more
than forty submissions, which is a high number of responses compared with other applications. The high level of responses seems to reflect the public interest in new meat alternatives and, in particular, the broader debate over what role these foods should have in our food systems.
Alongside broader ethical issues, stakeholders focused on the healthfulness of ultra-processed foods, the lack of non-industry funded safety assessments and the lack of long-term data regarding safety. This means it will be important for industry actors to consider what kinds of products they are developing amid growing concerns over ultra-processed food by public health nutritionists and consumers and as an increasing number of countries consider how to regulate ultra-processed foods.10 It also indicates that industry should develop ways of delivering more independent assessments of the safety of their products, especially where the safety of a product is disputed.
Following the first round of public submissions, FSANZ decided to undertake targeted consultations with Impossible and with state and territory level food authorities to consider questions or concerns raised in the public submissions. These consultations, however, did not alter
FSANZ’s preliminary conclusion. Therefore, FSANZ prepared a draft variation of the Code to allow the soy leghemoglobin preparation at levels up to 0.8%, which was subjected to public consultation on 6 August, 2020. FSANZ considered that the second round of consultations did not raise any new issues requiring further investigation.11 Accordingly, in December 2020, FSANZ approved the draft variation and moved the variation onto the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation for final approval.
In March 2020, the regulation that establishes FSANZ came under review. Among other things, the review focuses on the effectiveness, scope and design of food regulation.
Partly, the review focuses on how the regulatory system for food can keep pace with changes in food technology and consumer expectations. Changes to the regulation of foods produced using new technologies may follow. As the Impossible example illustrates, the future regulation of novel food, and food generally, is likely to come under pressure to better engage with multiple concerns beyond the immediate safety of foods.
1. Hope Johnson and Christine Parker, ‘An Impossible Task? Australian Food law and the Challenge of Novel Meat Analogues’ (2022) Federal Law Review https://doi. org/10.1177/0067205X221107411
2. Matthew Marques et al, ‘Attitudes to Genetically Modified Food Over Time: How Trust in Organizations and the Media Cycle Predict Support’ (2015) Public Understanding of Science https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662514542372
3. Food Standards Code parts 1.3, 1.5.
4. Advisory Committee on Novel Foods, Novel Food-Record of views in response to inquiries (2022) https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/ industry/novel/novelrecs/pages/default.aspx
5. FSANZ, Application Handbook (2019) https:// www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021C00766
6. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth) s 18(1).
7. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth) s 18(2).
8. Impossible Foods, About Us (2022) https:// impossiblefoods.com/au-en/company
9. FSANZ, Call for submissions- Application A1186 (2019) https://ºwww.foodstandards.gov.au/ code/applications/Documents/A1186%201st%20 CFS%20report.pdf
10. Barry Popkin et al, ‘Towards unified and impactful policies to reduce ultra-processed food consumption and promote healthier eating’ (2021) Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 10.1016/S22138587(21)00078-4
11. FSANZ, Approval Report (2020) https://www. foodstandards.gov.au/code/applications/ Documents/a1186-approval-report.pdf
Christine Parker is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Research at Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne f
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The demand for plant-based milk alternatives has exploded in recent years, and their market share continues to grow compared to animal milks. Some common examples include soy milk, oat milk and almond milk. Although new methods and additives have helped to make these products taste like cow milk, there are still large differences in their nutritional composition. Each plant-based milk differs, but in general, unsweetened plant-based milks have a lower protein, fat and total sugar content compared to cow milk. Soy milk is the exception, as it has similar protein and overall energy content to cow milk. The post-ingestive appetite and health effects vary based on composition and need to be investigated.
A recent study investigated the effect of consuming plant-based (soy) or animal-based (cow) milks on shortterm satiety and medium-term food intake. In this study, 19 healthy female Turkish subjects aged between 18-25 years were recruited. Each subject was
provided with a standardised breakfast sandwich to be consumed with 200ml of a test drink: cow’s milk, soy milk or fruit juice (control). Each subject completed each condition on separate days, one week apart. Baseline satiety ratings were measured immediately before the breakfast and beverage consumption and satiety ratings were measured every 30 minutes up to two hours post-consumption. A 24-hour food record was also collected.
The results showed cow milk was the most filling, with subjects reporting being most satiated after consuming cow milk compared to soy milk and fruit juice, up to an hour post-consumption. This is interesting because cow milk and soy milk have similar energy content, so the difference might be due to nutrient composition (ie. higher fat) or animal-specific proteins. Despite this difference in short-term appetite, food intake over the next 24 hours was the same across all three conditions. Even though cow milk was more filling, it did not appear to lead to less food intake in the future.
In summary, cow milk is more filling (satiating) than soy milk shortly after consumption but does not seem to have a more prolonged effect of fullness (sating) over a longer period. Thus, either can be consumed without worrying that one might be worse for long-term appetitive behaviour.
Hızlı, H., Güney, I., Göksu, D., Sancak, B. ve Pekdemir, H. (2022). Investigation of the effects of animal and plant based milk on satiety and postprandial glucose levels. Food and Health, 8(1), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.3153/FH22006
Consumer data from across the globe suggest consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability. Sensory and consumer science play an important role in supporting sustainable food systems.
A special issue in the journal Foods has been completely dedicated to the role of sensory and consumer science in making the world a more sustainable place. Studies on consumer liking of, and attitude towards, alternative protein sources as well as behaviours and
attitudes toward the decrease of food wastage, were studied in experimental and observational studies. For an editorial on this special issue of Food, see Knaapila 2022).
In addition to the food itself, sustainability also concerns the way the food is packaged. A recent study in Food Quality and Preference combined focus group discussions with a quantitative study design, to investigate which cues consumers used to determine the sustainability of food packaging (Liem et al 2022). Interestingly, consumers mostly focussed on what happened after the packaging was used (ie. reuse and recycle), rather than consider how a product was produced and how the raw materials were sourced.
The lack of focus on full life cycle analyses of products led to the misconception that glass was one of the most sustainable options. In addition, consumers in the focus group discussions seemed to have a misguided confidence that they would not be tricked by greenwashing, whereas the qualitative study clearly indicated that consumers’ perception of sustainability was led by packaging cues such as colour (ie. cardboard brown) and texture (ie. texture of a non-laminated cardboard box). Although these cues can be misused by food producers to greenwash their products, the cues can also assist in consumers’ understanding of the sustainable features of a packaging which might not be easily observed by an average consumer.
Knaapila A. Sensory and Consumer Research Has a Role in Supporting Sustainability of the Food System. Foods. 2022; 11(13):1958. https://doi. org/10.3390/foods11131958
Liem DG, in ’t Groen A,. van Kleef,E. Dutch consumers’ perception of sustainable packaging for milk products, a qualitative and quantitative study, Food Quality and Preference, Volume 102, 2022, 104658, ISSN 0950-3293, https://doi.org/10.1016/j. foodqual.2022.104658
It has been long established that we consume too much salt (sodium) for optimum health and that most of the dietary sodium comes from
processed foods. This places pressure on the food industry to reduce the level of sodium in processed foods to meet public health recommendations. On paper this may be easy - just remove the added salt during production. However, sodium has multiple functions in foods, not just adding saltiness. Removing sodium from foods also invariably causes a decrease in consumer acceptance of foods. Various strategies have been used, for example reduction by stealth, using other flavours, or adding MSG or potassium chloride. These have limited success, however, as we still consume excess sodium.
A group from Brazil investigated salt reduced potato chips using a salt particle reduction strategy which reduces the size of the salt grain on the potato chip. This approach effectively increases the surface area weight ratio of a salt grain and leads to faster and more intense saltiness on an equi-weight basis. In theory this allows for a reduction of salt added to potato chips while maintaining saltiness and consumer acceptance.
The researchers reported on two studies. The first used a trained panel to assess saltiness of chips,
which found that chips required 1.2% microparticulated salt to elicit the same level of saltiness as 1.6% salt regular chips. In other words a 25% reduction in salt without changing saltiness. The second study was a consumer test that looked at the application of microparticulated salt and varying flavouring on chips with the objective of removing salt while maintaining consumer acceptance. Overall results showed it was possible to reduce salt on potato chips by 65% when microparticulated salt was used in combination with other flavours such as onion and parsley. The authors state the strategy not only makes snack foods healthier, but also maintains clean labels which consumers like.
De Assis, F. S., Rebellato, A. P., Pallone, J. A. L., & Behrens, J. H. (2022). Salt reduction in potato chips using microparticulated salt and spices: A sensory study with consumers. Journal of Sensory Studies e12772. https://doi.org/10.1111/joss.12772
Dr Russell Keast is Professor, Dr Gie Liem is an Associate Professor, Dr Andrew Costanzo is a lecturer and are all members of the CASS Food Research Centre at Deakin University. f
As estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, humans will have to increase food production by 60% to keep up with the current population explosion, expected to reach > 9 billion by 2050.1 The stress on increasing food production also presents an opportunity to incorporate different nutrient-rich and native food sources in our diets.
Proteins, both plant and animal based, are one of the vital elements for human wellbeing, and increasing the production of such components has been a major area of research around the globe. Australia, being one of the global producers of animal based proteins, is still unable to satisfy the ever-growing demand and needs to tap into the potential plantprotein market.1
According to a global plant protein market survey,2 this sector currently stands at US$14 billion, and is predicted to grow to > US$16 billion by 2026, which could be a major prospect for job creation and improvement of the gross domestic product of our nation.
While several local companies have already invested in this sector, including v2food, All G Foods, Eighth Day Foods, Fenn Foods and Fable
Food, Australia has the opportunity to be a leader in plant protein production by investing in research and development which supports the incorporation of different native crops for the production of commercial plant proteins.3
Here, we report on the utilisation of Australian plant proteins in the food industry covering food sources, processing technologies and potential applications. Investigating the latest trends of the Australian plant protein market provides a direction to move forward in both research and commercialisation and allows food developers to design better plant-based food products.
A report from CSIRO4 shows Australia has significantly progressed with the plant-based food market during the past decade by promoting the use of unique proteins from pulses and seeds locally produced in the region. Most of these plant proteins can be divided into two major groups based on their utilisation as commercial and emerging plant proteins. Examples of commercial plant proteins are wheat, pea, soy and rice proteins, while
emerging plant protein candidates include chickpeas, lentils, field beans, faba-beans, amaranth, hemp and some fungi, roots and fruit sources. These proteins are used for the production of various ingredients such as flours, concentrates, isolates and texturised proteins.4
In terms of food manufacturing in Australia, wheat production ( 1014% protein) generated 36.3 million tonnes in 2021, which is utilised for noodles, breads and other baked products. Soy protein, as one of the major plant proteins containing > 35% protein, is mainly used as an ingredient in plant-based milk and protein bars.4 The demand for these common plant proteins has been declining due to their potential allergenic properties.5 The issue with allergenicity has opened up the opportunity to explore non-traditional plant proteins for commercialisation including amaranth, chickpeas, lentils, field beans, faba-beans, hemp, lupin, rye and potato proteins.
Most plant protein ingredients comprise different protein fractions including globulins, albumins, glutelins and prolamins, or subfractions including convicilins, vicilins and legumins. The distribution
of the protein fractions determines the techno-functional attributes including solubility, emulsifying and foaming properties, and gelation of a particular ingredient.6
For example, the seed storage proteins from pulses, mainly consisting of 7S and 11S globulin fractions, are often employed as natural emulsifiers to stabilise oil-inwater emulsions.7 In this case, the 7S protein is a dominating fraction for stabilising oil/water interface with more flexible structure, compared to 11S protein with a higher molecular weight and more ordered structure.8 Extraction and processing techniques enable the protein fractions to be disassociated or aggregated, thereby greatly affecting the protein structure and functionality.
Novel protein processing techniques are essential for successful application and commercialisation of plant proteins, for use in plantbased products with excellent taste, nutrition, texture and quality. Since commercial plant proteins often have low solubility and poor sensory profiles due to protein denaturation during isolation and recovery, postprocessing strategies have recently been proposed in the food industry for developing semi-solid and liquid formulations.
Protein blends and plant proteinpolysaccharide complex are both emerging approaches to improve plant protein functionality. The plant and dairy proteins in protein blends can form isopeptide bond, disulphide bond, hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction through physicochemical reactions such as heating and enzyme treatment.7 They have shown potential in applications for various food formulations such as gels, emulsions, foams and powder. In addition, plant proteinpolysaccharide conjugates formed by Maillard glycation show selective functionality enhancement according to the conjugate formation stages.
To date, the approach has only been tried on a few plant protein sources including soybean, pea, rice or wheat, with further studies needed to determine its potential as a treatment option for Australian plant protein sources.9
Our recent study on plant/dairy protein blends demonstrated that the addition of polysaccharide (sodium alginate) could improve the stability of pea/whey protein-stabilised emulsions in a wide pH range from weak acid to alkaline by forming electrostatic protein-polysaccharide complex and/or enhancing the viscosity of the colloids.10
Interestingly, alginate addition prevented pea protein from being displaced at the oil/water interface over time, and the disulphide bond between pea and whey proteins was formed at high pH. Current work focuses on how the enzymatic cross-linking between pea and whey proteins could enhance the emulsion stability and encapsulation of oilbased bioactive compounds.
Another strategy for enhancing plant protein functionality is the formation of protein-polysaccharide Maillard conjugates. Maillard conjugation or glycation uses the initial stages of the Maillard reaction (the reaction that ‘browns’ bread upon baking) forming Schiff’s base, resulting in the structural modification of protein by coupling it with reducing sugars of carbohydrate.9 In our recent
study with a non-traditional plant protein, amaranth was conjugated with a seaweed polysaccharide, resulting in improved solubility and other functional attributes including water and oil holding capacity. This approach is being further explored for upscaling by our research group at UNSW Sydney.
The application of plant proteins has expanded into new food ingredients, functional beverages, dairy and meat alternatives, with novel technologies including pulsed electric processing, ultrasound processing, high pressure processing and others in the past decade.11 The Australian food industry is striving to produce high-quality plant proteins, while much effort is still needed in research and development for texture and flavour enhancement when applying plantbased ingredients to produce new products.
Spray drying is the instantaneous drying of the atomised droplets in contact with the heated air.12 The production of different types of powders via spray drying, including encapsulation of nutraceutical and oilbased active ingredients using plant proteins, could expand their use as food ingredients. Plant/dairy protein blends could be a new material with applications in beverages or dairy alternatives for those consumers who
are in transition to a plant-based diet.13
Understanding the gelation of plant proteins using rheology can help enhance the organoleptic texture of dairy and meat alternatives.14
Plant proteins commonly used in commercial plant-based food products include soybeans, pea, wheat, potato, mung bean and rice proteins. Processing techniques, such as extrusion and aggregation through heating, are imperative for some plant proteins with native globular structure to form meat-like textures.15 Plant protein gelation can imitate the texture of egg, cheese, and seafood by shaping both homogeneous and heterogeneous structures.
Texturisation of plant proteins by gelation could overcome the drawbacks caused by traditional extrusion technology, such as nutrient and flavour losses and limitation on the use of plant-based food ingredients.
Furthermore, incorporation of other food ingredients including fat and polysaccharides as thickening agents, and adhering agents such as transglutaminase while developing sustainable processes, could be the strategy for structural alteration of plant proteins and the production of high-quality plant-based food products.
1. Da Silva, J.G., Feeding the world sustainably. UN Chronicle, 2012. 49(2): p. 15-17.
2. Mordor Intelligence, 2022. Global plant protein market report. [online] https://www. mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/globalplant-protein-market, Accessed 30 July 2022.
3. Buxton, A., New AU$378 Million project launches to transform South Australia into a plant protein manufacturing powerhouse. Green Queen. [online] Available at https://www.greenqueen. com.hk/south-australia-plant-protein-productionhub/, Accessed 30 July 2022.
4. CSIRO, 2022. Australia’s Protein Roadmap. [online] Available at https://www.csiro.au/en/ work-with-us/services/consultancy-strategicadvice-services/CSIRO-futures/Agriculture-andFood/Australias-Protein-Roadmap, Accessed 31 July 2022.
5. Shewry, P.R., et al., Plant protein families and their relationships to food allergy. Biochemical Society Transactions, 2002. 30(6): p. 906-910.
6. Sim, S.Y.J., et al., Plant proteins for future foods: A roadmap. Foods, 2021. 10(8): p. 1967.
7. Kim, W., Y. Wang, and C. Selomulya, Dairy and plant proteins as natural food emulsifiers. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2020. 105: p. 261272.
8. Drusch, S., M. Klost, and H. Kieserling, Current knowledge on the interfacial behaviour limits our understanding of plant protein functionality in emulsions. Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, 2021. 56: p. 101503.
9. Naik, R.R., Y. Wang, and C. Selomulya, Improvements of plant protein functionalities by Maillard conjugation and Maillard reaction products. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2021: p. 1-26.
10. Kim, W., Y. Wang, and C. Selomulya, Impact of sodium alginate on binary whey/pea proteinstabilised emulsions. Journal of Food Engineering 2022. 321: p. 110978.
11. Sá, A.G.A., et al., Influence of emerging technologies on the utilization of plant proteins. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022. 9.
12. Wang, Y. and C. Selomulya, Spray drying strategy for encapsulation of bioactive peptide powders for food applications. Advanced Powder Technology, 2020. 31(1): p. 409-415.
13. Guyomarc’h, F., et al., Mixing milk, egg and plant resources to obtain safe and tasty foods with environmental and health benefits. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2021. 108: p. 119-132.
14. Wang, Y., & Selomulya, C. (2022). Food rheology applications of large amplitude oscillation shear (LAOS). Trends in Food Science & Technology
15. Sha, L. and Y.L. Xiong, Plant protein-based alternatives of reconstructed meat: Science, technology, and challenges. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2020. 102: p. 51-61.
Ms Woojeong Kim is a PhD candidate in the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW Sydney. Her PhD research is on encapsulating bioactive compounds using food ingredients such as protein, polysaccharide and their combinations. She primarily investigates improving the functionality of plant protein using dairy/plant protein blends, focusing on protein interaction, structural modification and food application, including spray dried powder.
Mr Rishi Naik is a PhD candidate from the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney. His research involves utilisation of Maillard conjugation and other novel techniques for improving the functional properties of emerging plant proteins. He is also keen on implementing different simulations and modelling-based strategies in food science and engineering.
Dr Yong Wang is Senior Research Associate with the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney. Prior to joining UNSW, he had eight years of R&D experience in the food industry. His research area includes food processing technology and food rheology.
Professor Cordelia Selomulya joined UNSW Sydney in late 2019 as a Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering and as the Research and Commercialisation Director of the Future Food Systems CRC. She is leading a research group with an internationally recognised reputation in drying technology research, particularly for food and dairy applications. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). f
Foodloss and waste statistics in Australia are simply staggering.
A total of 7.6 million tonnes of food is wasted across the supply and consumption chain each year, costing the economy $36.6 billion. This waste equates to 312kg per person, one in five bags of groceries, or between $2,000 and $2,500 a year dumped in the bin and ending up in landfill.
These issues involve all parts of the value chain, from paddock to plate, so everyone needs to play a role.
There are many ways food and beverage manufacturers can play a role, but a key contribution is through the packaging they design and use.
Packaging has always played a critical role in containing, protecting, preserving and transporting a product from point of production to the household. But now more than ever it needs to ensure health and safety, extension of shelf life, tamper evidence, traceability, recall capabilities, temperature monitoring and the ability to minimise food loss and waste wherever possible across the value chain.
The good news is that we are starting to see more packaging that is intelligent, intuitive, accessible, inclusive, sustainable and offering lower environmental impacts.
So many of the winners in the 2022 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Award (PIDA) have designed
packaging that can provide significant benefits to minimise food loss and waste from paddock to plate. It is extremely encouraging to see that Save Food Packaging is increasingly on a packaging technologist’s radar and that food and beverage manufacturers are now designing packaging that can minimise or prevent food waste.
Thermochromic dye technology, temperature monitoring systems for food and beverage, 2DBarcodes for meat, traceability systems for exported premium grapes, accessible and inclusive ready meals for chicken and dunnage for exporting meat are just some of the new Save Food Packaging designs that stood out at the 2022 PIDA Awards.
ThermoShield, developed by Caps and Closures, is an optical system, meaning the packaging will dynamically change its colour appearance at a preselected temperature switching point.
Based on thermochromic dye technology that changes colour as the environment changes, the system allows for more than two colour changes (eg, black to orange to red) as the packaging gets warmer, and the reverse as the temperature drops through the selected switch
temperatures. The design can also allow for ‘locking’ of the colour when the temperature rises above a set temperature, changing colour permanently.
This feature finds applications where a particular temperature renders the contents unusable. This can be especially useful in tracking cold chain (refrigeration required), perishable food or beverage, to extend retail display and home refrigerator shelf life, which ultimately reduces food waste. ThermoShield is useful in transport and warehousing because the over-temperature stock can clearly be seen.
ThermoShield ensures that the packaging can alert logistics managers, warehouse staff and consumers to instances where temperature sensitive products are being, or have been, exposed
to higher or lower than acceptable temperatures.
Traceability of any product is enhanced when temperature excursions are detected, and the level of resolution can be from the macro level (transport container temperature), down to discrete (the individual product) packaging. Using the locking function available, a record of overheating is permanent and will be identified after a long road or sea shipment.
Stock can easily be sorted to remove damaged product prior to warehousing or stocking shelves. This innovative technology has the potential to significantly reduce food loss and waste due to incorrect temperature control at various stages of the logistics path from paddock to plate.
The community of farmers behind the Waitoa brand are at the forefront of free range, Toitu Carbonzero™ certified chicken farming in New Zealand. Here, respect for nature comes naturally and sustainability drives decisions.
The Inghams Waitoa Free Range Butterflied Chicken is a pre-marinated product that transforms the consumer experience and eliminates the need for consumers to handle raw chicken and marinate themselves, which can often be a source of food waste. The pre-marinated range comes with an easy open tear notch, a user-friendly cooking experience and the ability to
freeze the product. These features mitigate waste in households which accounts for approximately 50% of all food waste.
Additional consumer engagement and information is included on the pack via instructions for storage and cooking, a callout that the chicken can be frozen, and scannable QR code accesses meal inspiration ideas.
The packaging has been developed in partnership with Sealed Air NZ using Cryovac technology that increases shelf life by 40% to 14 days. The packaging incorporates 80% recycled content and is Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) return to store recyclable.
To address the need for greater transparency within the industry, the Australian Table Grape Association (ATGA) worked with Result Group and Perfection Fresh to launch a new traceability system for export table grapes.
Since grapes are highly sensitive to impact due to their relatively thin skins, they must be handled with appropriate care. High temperatures and low humidity cause water loss from the grapes and stems, which ultimately increases the rate of deterioration which in turn reduces shelf life.
Maintaining the cold chain with proper cooling, storage and monitoring can extend the shelf life of grapes and ensures minimal product waste. In addition, active packaging was developed that comprises releasing/ emitting properties to inhibit spoilage
caused by microbes. The packaging not only protects the table grapes but also extends shelf life.
Each pack has a unique identifier QR code that provides a convenient and actionable way for consumers to access real-time information about the product. The code can be scanned by a smartphone and provide information about the product’s origin. The applied unique serialised GS1 Digital Link-enabled QR code allows the automated collection of data from paddock to plate. The Active Digital Identity (ADI) embedded in the QR code label ensures each item is unique and traceable; an important innovation in combatting food fraud. Each label carries critical international traceability data, based on GS1 standards, covering consumer pack units, cases and pallet codes, as well as time and temperature logging, which are captured through the EVRYTHNG Product Cloud database. Using GS1 standards future proofs the table grape industry for evolving traceability regulations in export countries.
Real-time temperature sensors are placed in all cartons and shipping containers for temperature monitoring. With a temperature monitoring system, Perfection Fresh can easily track, control and regulate a product’s temperature in a specific environment. The sensors log temperature levels at every step of the way during transport from farm to overseas retail outlet, and alert the brand owner whenever temperatures are registered outside preset levels.
During the shipping process quick action can occur to correct temperature levels and avoid product waste. The setup alerts included temperature, humidity and location. Traceability is at the heart of the ATGA Table Grapes project which effectively manages product beyond the loading process, enhances tracking of produce through the supply chain and takes the consumer along the journey with the brand.
Chilled meat products are typically vacuum sealed and placed in boxes that are stacked in export shipping containers. Without the necessary dunnage support, these boxes frequently move in the containers during transportation and can lead to product spoilage and food waste, which is costly for meat and food processors. Whilst current solutions in the market are designed to limit box movement, they tend to be constructed from Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) material, which is not ideal from a sustainability and recyclability perspective at point of destination.
The JBS & Opal Dunnage Solution is a column-like corrugated structure to limit product movement during container transportation of meat exports and offers a direct replacement for the non-recyclable EPS version. The JBS dunnage solution is made using corrugated cardboard that consists of 64% kraft paper and 36% recycled cardboard
content and is fully recyclable. JBS export customers can easily recycle with the rest of their used cardboard packaging. The cardboard dunnage can also be assembled at JBS in less than 30 seconds from a flat sheet.
2DBarcode labelling in Woolworths meat range Woolworths are the first Australian Retailer to invest in 2DBarcode labelling and, with 20 million customers shopping every week, the technology can offer significant efficiencies that minimise food waste.
The 2DBarcodes are currently applied to 50% of the Woolworths meat range in more than 1,000 stores across the country and the program has seen a 40% waste reduction in this category.
Having the best before date in the 2DBarcode enables store teams to easily and quickly identify if a product is approaching its expiry date and mark it down, so the product can be sold without having to be disposed of. The technology also allows for more targeted and accurate product recalls, saving food from unnecessarily being sent to landfill.
2DBarcodes provide operational benefits in the areas of quality assurance and traceability, by encoding information such as confirmation of production time, the line food was produced on, the carton number the food was assigned to, the pallet number and inventory location of the food and when the food was shipped.
The encoding of a product’s batch,
lot and/or serial number into a 2DBarcode can assist in identifying any products that need to be recalled or withdrawn from shelf. The beauty of the 2DBarcode is that it can quickly and easily track and trace the items anywhere within the value chain. This benefit ensures that any unaffected products can be saved from the recall and remain on shelf for sale.
Since implementing the program, Woolworths has seen improved date code management so food can be sold without having to be disposed of, a 44% improvement in out-of-code dumps and stock adjustment and a 21% improvement in productivity.
Whilst all of the Save Food Packaging innovations mentioned are designed differently, they offer commonality in intuitiveness, intelligence and outcomes that can potentially minimise food loss and waste across the value chain. The environmental benefits of designing Save Food Packaging can be significant and measurable, and we encourage all food and beverage manufacturers to consider what changes they can make to their packaging at the start to ultimately reduce food loss and waste across the value chain. Every design change can make a difference.
Nerida Kelton MAIP is Executive Director of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and Vice President – Sustainability & Save Food of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). f
Simply referring to the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in a foodstuff or the processing environment can make food safety managers anxious. L. monocytogenes is the scourge of the food industry, particularly when found in readyto-eat (RTE) foods and within food processing premises. Managing this organism requires an appreciation of its ecology, awareness of the niches it occupies, and an unswerving commitment to strategies that monitor and control its excursion into food processing and handling facilities.
L. monocytogenes is a free-living organism capable of surviving in soil, water, decaying plant material and moist environments, and can be
carried by animals. Consequently, it is widely found in agricultural and food processing environments.
The organism is characterised as being a rod shaped, motile Grampositive facultative anaerobic bacterium that grows within the temperature range of 0°C to 45°C (optimum 30–37°C). Importantly the organism has the ability to grow under refrigeration conditions. L. monocytogenes grows across a pH range of pH 5 to pH 9, tolerates up to 10% sodium chloride (w/v), and has low tolerance of high temperatures, unable to survive heating at 60°C for 30 minutes.
The organism was first described by Everitt Murray in 1924, after the Gram-positive rods were isolated from the blood of six laboratory rabbits that had died suddenly. At that time the organism was named Bacterium monocytogenes, and it
wasn’t until 1940 that the genus name was changed to Listeria, after Lord Lister, the English surgeon and pioneer of antisepsis.
While infections in animals and humans were often reported, L. monocytogenes was not conclusively identified as a cause of foodborne illness until 1981 when it was linked to an outbreak of listeriosis traced to coleslaw in Halifax, Nova Scotia.1 The outbreak involved 41 cases of listeriosis and 18 deaths. The coleslaw was prepared from cabbages grown on land fertilised by manure from a flock of sheep known to be infected with ovine listeriosis.
Subsequent outbreaks, over the last 30 years, associated with Hispanic-style cheese, milk and soft cheeses led to the recognition of L. monocytogenes as a significant foodborne pathogen. Although listeriosis remains a relatively rare
illness, it has a high fatality rate (20–30%), affecting those who are immune compromised.
Increasingly the food industry’s attention has focussed on identifying strategies to control this organism. This has resulted in increased surveillance of Listeria spp. in raw materials, food and the environment, based on the notion that species other than L. monocytogenes act as surrogates, signalling the potential presence of the pathogen. Ongoing surveillance of soil and natural environments continues to identify new Listeria species. Currently there are 26 species classified in the genus Listeria, and understanding their similarities assists in better identification of L. monocytogenes 2 Fortunately, only one species, L. monocytogenes has been definitively confirmed as a human pathogen.
Infection with L. monocytogenes can range from mild illness (febrile gastroenteritis with symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea), to the more serious invasive infection where the organism has spread beyond the gut. Invasive listeriosis can result in fever, muscle pain, septicaemia and meningitis, with a high case fatality rate. This affects vulnerable consumers such as the very young, the elderly, pregnant women and immuno-compromised people (YOPI – young, old, pregnant,
immunocompromised).
People suffering from febrile listeriosis show symptoms within one to two days after consuming contaminated food, while invasive listeriosis usually takes between one to 14 days (but can take up to 70 days) to develop after consuming contaminated food. Depending on the severity of the illness, symptoms may last from a few days to several weeks and lead to lifelong health problems, or even death.
Listeriosis is a notifiable disease in Australia, as is the laboratory detection of L. monocytogenes in a finished food product. Notifiable diseases are those that present a risk to public health, so the detection of this pathogen must be reported to state and territory health authorities. This supports the identification of outbreaks and national trends, appropriate response to outbreaks and risk mitigation activities. Table 1 lists some recent outbreaks of listeriosis in Australia.
There were 69 notified cases of listeriosis during the twelve month period to 26 June 2022 (equivalent to 0.3 cases per 100,000 population).3
The five year historical mean was 58.8 cases and the case fatality rate was around 20 to 30%.
While the number of cases is quite small, Listeriosis is among the most important foodborne illnesses because of its high mortality rate.
The widespread application of whole genome sequencing (WGS) of isolates, has dramatically enhanced the ability of public health authorities to identify clusters of cases and confirm outbreaks.
Historically, L. monocytogenes has most frequently been associated with dairy products such as soft cheese, smoked fish, pate and delicatessen meats. In recent years a significantly wider range of foodstuffs have been implicated in outbreaks of listeriosis. Products responsible for outbreaks have included rockmelons, stone fruits, ice cream, frozen vegetables, enoki mushrooms and caramel apples. This reflects the ubiquitous nature of the organism and its ability to adapt, survive and even grow in a range of settings, especially foods with a long refrigerated shelf life and in certain RTE foods.
The ubiquitous nature of the organism, its ability to grow under refrigeration conditions, and its capacity to survive in harsh environments makes it an ongoing challenge for many sectors of the food industry. To assist the food industry identify higher risk foods, Chapter 1.6.1 in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) identifies RTE foods where the growth of L. monocytogenes will not occur:
(a) The food has a pH less than 4.4 regardless of water activity (b) The food has a water activity less than 0.92 regardless of pH (c) The food has a pH less than 5.0 in combination with a water activity of less than 0.94 (d) The food has a refrigerated shelf life of no greater than five days (e) The food is frozen (including foods consumed frozen and those intended to be thawed immediately before consumption) (f) It can be validated that the level of L. monocytogenes will not increase by greater than 0.5 log cfu/g over the food’s stated shelf life.4
food includes food that
ordinarily consumed in the same state as that in which it was sold and will not be subject to a listericidal process before consumption. With exclusions for foods such as shelf stable foods, whole raw fruits and raw vegetables.
Understanding the intrinsic and extrinsic properties of a foodstuff provides quality assurance personnel with guidance about the types of foods that require active management to prevent contamination by L. monocytogenes
However, low levels of contamination in foods that do not support growth, such as ice cream and frozen vegetables, are increasingly being observed resulting in a rethink of zero tolerance standards in some countries.
Under the Code, there are microbiological limits for L. monocytogenes in RTE foods, which vary depending on whether the food supports the growth of this organism. There is zero tolerance of L. monocytogenes in foods that support growth (absence of the organism in five 25 gram samples). While up to 100 cfu/gram are permitted in foods that do not support growth.
Where a primary testing laboratory isolates L. monocytogenes from a food or an environmental sample, it is
encouraged to send isolates to public health laboratories for confirmation and WGS. The practice of only testing for Listeria spp., and not confirming L. monocytogenes, avoids the need to notify food safety authorities and is actively discouraged.
Managing listeriosis also involves a strong focus on public health communication, with printed content informing those at-risk sub-populations about the risks and identifying foods to avoid.
However, the most important control strategies focus on control of contamination and the prevention of growth along the food supply chain. This involves the application of good manufacturing (GMP) and good hygienic practices (GHP), supported by carefully designed environmental monitoring in food processing and handling facilities. Such monitoring permits the identification of niches where this organism may hide out and supports targeted risk mitigation. A good source of guidance on environmental monitoring has recently been published by 3M.5
Where incidents such as products exceeding microbiological limits or detection of the pathogen on food contact surfaces occur, it is essential that impacted products are promptly identified and decisions made on whether to withdraw or recall a product from the marketplace.
Concurrently, the food facility must undertake a root cause analysis in order to identify the various factors that have resulted in contaminated product and then undertake a deep clean to eliminate L. monocytogenes from the facility.
Unfortunately, L. monocytogenes often persists in food processing environments, residing in drains, floors, hidden niches within the physical building and hard-to-reach recesses in processing equipment.
L. monocytogenes is a major foodborne pathogen, with the capacity to persist in food processing environments and contaminate food. It is incumbent on the food industry to manage incursions of this organism into food, through the screening of raw materials, the application of GHP during processing and handling, adherence to validated process controls, and comprehensive surveillance of the processing environment.
With most outbreaks attributed to failures of process control, or cleaning and sanitation operations, food businesses are encouraged to enhance their focus on effective environmental monitoring.
1. Schlech, W.F. et al. (1983). Epidemic Listeriosis – Evidence for transmission by food. New England Journal of Medicine, 308, (4), 203–206. doi:10.1056/NEJM198301273080407
2. Carlin, C.R. et al. (2021). Listeria cossartiae sp. nov., Listeria immobilis sp. nov., Listeria portnoyi sp. nov. and Listeria rustica sp. nov., isolated from agricultural water and natural environments. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 71, (5). doi. org/10.1099/ijsem.0.004795
3. National Communicable Diseases Surveillance Report Fortnight 13, 2022. Summary Notes for Selected Diseases 13 June 2022 to 26 June 2022. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/ files/documents/2022/07/national-notifiablediseases-surveillance-system-nndss-fortnightlyreports-13-to-26-june-2022-report.pdf
4. Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 1.6.1 – Microbiological limits for food. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/ F2021C00899
5. 3M and Cornell University (2019). Environmental Monitoring Handbook for the Food and Beverage Industries. https://www.3m.com.au/3M/en_AU/ food-safety-au/education/environmentalmonitoring/
Deon Mahoney is Head of Food Safety at the International Fresh Produce Association. f
Words by Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre
Food waste represents a $36.6 billion annual challenge for Australia, with 7.6 million tonnes – equivalent to 10 MCGs, filled to the brim – wasted annually.
Australia has more than two million small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which contribute more than half the country’s GDP. Given their size, tackling food waste challenges can seem daunting for SMEs –but a recent initiative has shown considerable promise in linking these businesses with researchers to conduct research and development projects which aim to reduce their agri-food waste while generating profitability.
The Fight Food Waste SME Solutions Centre was established by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative
Research Centre (CRC) in August 2019 in partnership with Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL) and research partner Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF). The SME Solutions Centre concept was initially designed and extensively piloted by FIAL, before the CRC adopted the approach to encourage SME participation in CRC initiatives.
The short-term nature of the projects allowed SMEs to use the capabilities of the CRC to address their challenges and unlock growth opportunities. It also introduced SMEs to the full capabilities of the CRC, encouraging further participation in other initiatives after project completion. Projects typically were $100,000 in size, with SMEs
contributing up to $50,000 and FIAL matching these funds. The project was led by DAF Food Science Liaison Ross Naidoo with support from FIAL’s James Krahe.
The key objectives of the SME Solutions Centre were to:
• Test new and novel food processing, packaging and agricultural technologies to reduce food and agricultural waste
• Identify valuable products in food and agricultural waste streams and transform them into new commercial opportunities
• Engage experts from across the Fight Food Waste CRC industry and research participant cohort to identify technology opportunities and processes to enhance food and agricultural waste reduction.
According to Fight Food Waste CRC TRANSFORM Program Leader, Francesca Goodman-Smith, the SME Solutions Centre was an important addition to the CRC’s activities, as it gave entrepreneurial small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to prototype and pilot their ideas.
“Much of the R&D work the CRC has done across the food waste space in Australia so far has centred around bigger industry participants, which is obviously important, as any resultant change or innovation can be effected at scale,” Ms Goodman-Smith said.
“We often find that smaller companies are at the cutting edge of innovation in this area, and supporting them to access the research capability they need can transform an idea into a validated product or process, and cause disruption in the market that prompts bigger players to innovate as well.
“What we wanted to do for SMEs in this space was give them the opportunity to conduct smaller and shorter projects that reflected their size and scale, while still being meaningful and providing impact for them,” she said.
Six projects have already been completed, with another two beginning, before all SME Solutions
Centre funding was exhausted on 30 June 2022:
Equine Scoping Study, with industry partner Banana Feeds Australia and research partner the University of Adelaide
Value-adding to underutilised/waste pumpkin (Orange Glow) produce, with Daintree Fresh and DAF Maximising antioxidants in Queen Garnet plums during processing and bottling, with Nutrafruit and the University of Southern Queensland Production of potato protein isolate powder using mild, low-cost and health extract method, with Pacific Ag and RMIT University
Circular fruit waste, with Montague Fresh and RMIT University
Prioritisation of value-adding opportunities to upcycle brewing by-products, with Grainstone and Queensland University of Technology.
The two projects still underway are: Maximising shelf-life of an ambient Cowch pancake through formulation with Cowch Production and DAF Shelf life, nutritional and sensory validation of value-added unmarketable strawberry produce and commercialisation trial with SSS Superfoods Australia and DAF.
Director of DAF’s Agri-Food and Data Science team, Ben Baldwin, said the outcomes from the SME Solutions
Centre demonstrate the benefit of joining forces with innovative agrifood companies and technical experts to understand the value and potential of better utilising food waste.
“This was a unique opportunity for SMEs to access funding and technical support to help design solutions to food waste,” Mr Baldwin said.
“For DAF, the SME Solutions Centre played an important role in providing an avenue where industry and researchers could work together to solve a diverse range of problems.
“The problems ranged from how to transform Montague Fresh’s cosmetically defective plum and apple fruit waste into a number of food products, to helping Daintree Fresh explore value-adding options for its Orange Glow range of pumpkins.
“We definitely learnt a lot, not only about the problems SMEs face when dealing with food waste, but also around how best to help them find solutions,” he said.
Bananas are one of the most cultivated tropical fruits for human consumption in the world, accounting for approximately 15% of all the world’s fresh fruit.
However, almost a third of bananas harvested end up wasted, due to factors such as cosmetic specifications and being perishable during the maturation process. This can lead to market rejection or downgrading of otherwise edible fruit.
The impact for Australian banana farmers is significant, with 10-30% of their total production being lost before the farm gate – equating to 37,000 tonnes per annum with a value of nearly $27 million.
For one such company, Banana Feeds Australia Pty Ltd, the challenge of waste in the sector also represented an opportunity.
Bananas are known to be beneficial for human and animal health as they are a rich source of nutrients and phytochemicals.
The Director of Banana Feeds Australia, John McArthur, said the company had created a dried green banana feed supplement for horses and is working to validate the product’s use in a horse’s diet to prevent equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS).
“A business is only as good as its product, and research is critical to understanding your product,” Mr McArthur said.
“We knew that bananas can be
Pacific Ag and RMIT University’s SME Solutions Centre project focused on the production of potato protein isolate powder using a mild, low-cost and healthy extract method.
particularly helpful around gut health, and we knew that gut health in horses was a major issue for owners, so we wanted to see whether our product - which used bananas that would otherwise go to waste - could have a positive impact on horse gut health.
“Through the SME Solutions Centre, we were able to work with the University of Adelaide to conduct trials that validated the use of our dried green banana supplement as an effective, beneficial addition to the diet of horses.
“For us, being able to do this research in this way was critical. It’s not something we could have done as effectively on our own as it requires collaboration and the help of worldclass researchers,” he said.
Ongoing benefits for Banana Feeds Australia include:
• Opportunities to further develop products for other animals
• Three full-time and two part-time support positions being created, along with five new sales consultant roles
• The potential of significant additional circular economy outcomes around associated industries such as logistics, packaging and other services.
Fight Food Waste CRC CEO, Dr
Steven Lapidge, said the Banana Feeds Australia project highlights how industry and research can be brought together to help solve global challenges such as food waste.
“At the Fight Food Waste CRC, our vision is for an Australia without food waste – and as a country, we have set ourselves the challenging goal of halving our food waste by 2030,” Dr Lapidge said.
“The CRC was set up specifically to bring industry and researchers together to address food waste challenges as part of meeting that goal.
“It’s been fantastic to see SMEs like Banana Feeds Australia recognise the value of food waste and join forces with the CRC and our brilliant research partners to do something about it in a way that creates real and lasting impact,” he said.
The Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre brings together industry, research and the community to achieve its vision of an Australia without food waste. f
Nelson Mandela said education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
The world of food science and technology is changing rapidly and, as an industry, we need to ensure we keep up to date with changes.
Education is a major focus for AIFST, built around our key priorities of grow, learn, connect and champion.
In today’s increasingly competitive and changing world, food scientists and technologists must stay at the cutting edge of new developments throughout their careers. It is no longer possible to rely on basic studies or on-the-job training to provide professional advice and service to our employers, customers and clients.
This means to continually improve our technical knowledge and skills we need to engage in continuing professional development (CPD).
AIFST also recognises that in modern organisations, food scientists and technologists are increasingly responsible for developing their own careers. CPD allows you to enhance your future.
A CPD program reflects the professionalism of the members, improves their professional standing and enhances their employability by formalising and documenting CPD activities. It assists in keeping knowledge up to date and illustrates an ability to adapt to changing roles in the food industry and food production environment. Ensuring currency in a complex job market can be difficult and companies look for staff who bring a broad range of skills.
A continuing professional development program is an active self-planned and structured program for developing and enhancing your professional skills. Ideally, the program is designed with clear objectives, extends your professional knowledge and capabilities, and allows you to engage in a broad range of activities to increase your career options.
The AIFST CPD program was launched in 2019. It is voluntary and designed to encourage members to maintain currency of skills and knowledge and assist with career planning. It will provide recognition
of experience and interests and align food scientists with other wellrespected professions.
Much of AIFST members’ skill set is developed over their working life but is not always part of their formal qualifications. The CPD program is intended to provide recognition of these activities and skills by formalising and recording the process in a straightforward and transportable way.
The best outcome for the food science community is to develop a recognised professional identity. The competence of members is vital to the development and credibility of food science practitioners and AIFST is committed to providing value to members by developing and supporting this program.
Keep an eye out for member communications, visit the CPD page on the AIFST website or contact AIFST (education@aifst.com.au).
Keep an eye out for member communications, visit the CPD page AIFST website or contact AIFST
We are in a time of transition where environmental awareness and future thinking is stepping up to lead consumer led solutions for the food and beverage manufacturing industry. foodpro is the leading food and manufacturing event that brings all the industry expertise to one place.
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The food industry will be recognised as technologically advanced and essential for wellbeing and longevity of life on this planet. However, food starts on-farm (traditional or bioreactors), hence the food scientist of the future will need a good understanding of the fundamentals of food science and technology beyond standard processing such as food architecture, synthetic biology, nanoscience and sensory perception. In a nutshell, the future food scientist will need to understand the important elements of the ‘MATCHING model’ (and ideally have expertise in at least one of the following):
• Meat reduction
• Automation (eg. robotics)
• Technology driven (eg. artificial intelligence)
• Consumer-centric
• Health focused (eg. precision nutrition and customised processing)
• Intelligent by design (eg. microencapsulation for targeted delivery or flavour enhancement)
• Novel technology (eg. ecopackaging)
• Global reach mentality.
Experiences that will make the future food scientist more well rounded include time spent on farm understanding agricultural processes through to consumer engagement via marketing teams (as a learner, not as an expert).
New innovations in food science, underpinned by sustainability, will be critical to meeting growing demand
and building resilience in Australia and the world’s food systems. The food scientist of the future will need to be both curious and open minded to consider how to embed sustainability into every aspect of our food systems, addressing big challenges such as how to improve production and cost efficiencies, reduce waste and emissions, and retain taste and nutritional quality. Although Australia is an abundant food producer, significant challenges remain in domestic manufacturing capacity and our reliance on imported ingredients (often produced domestically as a commodity, exported and processed, and then reimported). No single technology is a silver bullet, and a combination of approaches will be required. One example is sustainably produced alternative proteins, like plant-based meat, precision fermentation dairy products and cultivated meat, which represent an estimated $6 billion opportunity for Australia, adding value across our food supply chains.
Kim Tikellis, Coles Group Manager Nutrition & HealthFood scientists in the future will require the current skill sets they have within the agri-food supply systems overlaid with new inter-sectorial strategic and communication skills to create local and global impacts.
To effect real change in health and consumer health behaviours - my specific area of interest - we need a multi-sectorial approach from the food industry, government via policy and regulation and public health organisations via partnerships and a systems approach. As we face challenges or opportunities such as sustainability, the digital universe and feeding the world population, we require diverse thinking and collaborative problem solving.
Food science and nutrition research continues to be vital to generate
objective tangible knowledge, foundational for evidence-based decisions. Technology advances such as 3D food printing, cellular food techniques and protein alternatives will require smart, agile future focussed food and nutrition scientists. What exciting times ahead!
Food technologists stand at the nexus of two complex systems. At one end consumer expectations continue to grow, demanding more quality, more information and choice. At the other end food production systems grapple with climate change, land degradation and loss of biodiversity on a scale not seen in human history. These complexities force food technologists to confront a wave of different disciplines and competing interests. From nutrition, biotechnology, ethics and law to genetics, sustainability, engineering and food equity. To succeed in the future, food technologists need to draw on a broad base of knowledge and experience. Some focus on depth of knowledge, becoming specialists within a very narrow frame. However, given the complexities facing our societies and our rapidly changing environments, in my opinion, generalist skills are favoured. I think there are more opportunities for those broadening their knowledge and skills across different areas, and greater rewards for those who are prepared to face interdisciplinary challenges and complex conditions.
Increasingly, food scientists will need to understand the sustainability of their products and supply chains and should be making this information public whenever possible. Currently,
Q: When thinking about the food scientist of the future, what skills and experiences do you think will be required?
Food science is going through a phase of rapid development to meet the challenges of the food industry of the future. We asked the panelists from the AIFST22FutureFoodSystemsandEmergingFood Industriespanel for their thoughts.
such information is likely to be used to obtain a marketing edge, but increasingly it will be seen as standard practice. Similarly, food scientists should be designing new products and associated packaging with zero waste or circularity in mind. This may require sustainability to become a more integrated part of a food science degree rather than a standalone subject. Future food scientists should also be thinking about global targets, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and how the companies they work for or lead are playing their part in creating a more sustainable future.
David Landers R&D Leader - Food Professional and Chef
Very soon our food system will need to feed more than ten billion people in a more conscientious way. Future food scientists will need skills in frontend innovation to find new solutions and then use sustainability as a key success criteria. Front-end innovation is understanding the factors that are changing the food world, the problems those changes create, and then finding meaningful solutions. Sustainability criteria will be used to determine which solutions to develop, research and put our scientific efforts
into. The future will not only be about how delicious and profitable foods are, but also about ensuring they are sustainability produced and distributed. Now is the time to build front-end innovation skills and sustainability expertise to ensure we can feed our growing population in perpetuity.
For this edition we have given our contributors a bit more space to share their thoughts. Fast Five will be back next edition.
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