Tag: New Zealand

NZ: Massey-hosted food safety partnership awarded $1.25M

Scoop: A new partnership involving nine New Zealand research organisations has been awarded $1.25 million in funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The New Zealand-China Food Protection Network (NZ-CFPN) will enhance communication between research scientists, government organisations and industries here and in China

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Tag: New Zealand

NZ: Food act discussions with MPI

Horticulture New Zealand: HortNZ’s Matt Dolan and Richard Palmer met with MPI on Friday to discuss MPI’s acceptance of growers certified as achieving Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) meeting the requirements of the Food Act. HortNZ will continue to work with MPI to develop an efficient, fit-for-purpose co-regulatory model using the GAP programmes to deliver the safe food Kiwis expect.

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Tag: New Zealand

NZ: Food Safety Science & Research Centre launched

Scoop.co.nz: Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Food Safety Minister JoGoodhew today launched the New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Centre at Massey University in Palmerston North. Formed as a partnership between government, industry organisations and research institutions, the virtual centre aims to ensure New Zealand’s food safety system remains among the best in the world.

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Tag: New Zealand

NZ MPI Releases Guidance Document on Determining the Shelf Life of Food

foodprocessing.com.au: The NZ Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has released the ‘How to Determine the Shelf Life of Food’ document.
The document is intended to help food operators who process, prepare and handle food to determine the shelf-life of their food and apply appropriate date marking. The guide is also useful for other food operators who process, prepare and handle foods for retail sale under the Food Act 1981, Animal Products Act 1999 and Food Act 2014.
Read the full article at foodprocessing.com.au
Download the document  from foodsafety.govt.nz (PDF, 486 KB)

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Tag: New Zealand

Resilient Organisations – helping New Zealand businesses bounce back

resorgs.org.nz: Resilient Organisations (ResOrgs) is a public good research programme based in New Zealand. We have been researching what makes organisations resilient to crises since 2004.
ResOrgs is a collaboration between top New Zealand research universities, particularly the University of Canterbury and the University of Auckland. We are funded by the Natural Hazards Platform and supported by a diverse group of industry partners and advisors.
We are a multi-disciplinary team of over 20 researchers, representing a synthesis of engineering, science and business leadership aimed at transforming organisations into those that both survive major events and thrive in the aftermath.
See resorgs.org.nz for further information.

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Tag: New Zealand

SURVEY RESULTS: Does the Industry need a Fresh Produce Safety Centre?

A primary objective for FPS A&NZ was to scope out the feasibility for a dedicated body to identify research needs and provide appropriate food safety solutions for the Australian fresh produce Industry.
FPS A&NZ has made strong progress towards this objective and it was decided to survey the industry to determine the level of support for the establishment of a Fresh Produce Safety Centre. The survey was sent to the entire list of individuals who have registered to receive regular newsletters from FPS A&NZ, representing a large range of sectors in the fresh produce industry.
The survey contained questions aimed at gauging  industry’s in-principle support for the establishment of a Fresh Produce Safety Centre; whether the University of Sydney was an appropriate ‘base’ for the Centre; what should be the overarching role of the Centre; and what were the priorities for food safety research.
From the responses, there was overwhelming support, in principle, for the establishment of a Fresh Produce Safety Centre (98%) and for it to be “housed” at the University of Sydney (95%).
The survey also revealed that the role of the proposed Centre was to call and manage research in food safety and importantly to provide industry wide education and information and news on fresh produce safety, while representing the industry on regulatory matters was the most unpopular role for the Centre.  Results like this provide information that will assist in ensuring that the roles of other organisations will not be duplicated.
Research priorites needed to address the gaps in knowledge in food safety covers a wide variety of areas, but the top three topics as chosen by the respondents were Microbial contamination on-farm followed by topics Pathogens in the postharvest supply chain and Water – Postharvest.
The survey unequivocally indicated that there is widespread support for the establishment of a Fresh Produce Safety Centre for the whole fresh fruit and vegetable industries that will identify and conduct industry-driven research projects and provide valuable information, education and outreach on all aspects of fresh produce safety.
Download the full survey report here.

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Tag: New Zealand

Ministry for Primary Industries, NZ, releases study on Residues on Fresh Produce

Last month, the Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand, released the findings from the annual Food Residue Surveillance Program which targeted locally-produced and imported crops prone to exceeding the maximum residue limit (MRL) set for agricultural chemicals.
The study looked at chemical residues in fresh, unwashed produce and results indicated that most growers are using pesticides responsibly in the recommended manner with only a few exceptions. This year’s focus was on asparagus, eggplant, feijoas, hops, lemons, olive oil, persimmons, pumpkins, spring onion, sweet corn, tamarillos and walnuts.
Produce is sampled over the 12 month period so as to allow for seasonal variation in the food. The results are reported on after each quarter of testing. This differs from previous studies where sampling produce occurred twice over a short period of time.
Read the full article.
Find out more about the Food Residue Surveillance Program at the Ministry for Primary Industries | Manatu Ahu Matua, New Zealand.

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