From the CEO
As anticipated, 2021 is presenting a range of stimulus opportunities for firms in food and related technology sectors.
A new Department of Industry Commercialisation Fund has been established to support small manufacturers and their research partners - potentially one of the CRC’s universities - in delivering discrete innovation projects of around 18 months’ duration. In addition, Round 1 of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) provides dollar-matched funding for established manufacturers looking to scale up, employ and export. Note that both funds have short application periods. For more information about these grants and others currently available, see our
web portal.
As an element in the Modern Manufacturing Strategy, the
Road Map for Food and Agribusiness was launched on 29 March by the Commonwealth government and Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL). Many CRC partners contributed to the development of the road map and it is closely aligned with the CRC’s activities and intended outcomes.
On the research front, Western Australian grower and breeder Mt Lindesay has commenced a project with Murdoch University researchers to validate key health-promoting and sensory attributes of their artichoke cultivars. This is the first of several precision nutrition projects slated for Murdoch’s Australian National Phenome Centre that will develop scientific evidence to support health claims made by food producers.
Also this month, we welcome two new PhD students to our education program: Mark Cardamis and Gareema Pandey. Gareema will be working with WSU’s Professor Priti Krishna on the Blueberry nutritional optimisation project. Mark is attached to the ‘IoT for Indoor cropping’ project under UNSW Associate Professor Wen Hu.
David Eyre
CEO, Future Food Systems
Project news
Validating the nutritional properties of globe artichokes
Western Australian globe artichoke producer Mt Lindesay has teamed with Murdoch University researchers in a project to validate quality attributes of its specialty artichoke cultivars, with the focus on long-chain inulin. Inulin is a polysaccharide produced by many plants that feeds on 'good' bacteria in the gut. The presence of inulin has been linked with health benefits such as improving blood lipid profiles and glucose metabolism - benefits that, potentially, are associated with the length of inulin chains. Chain length, in turn, may be influenced by factors including harvesting time, climatic conditions, growing season and duration of storage.
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InProfile
Meet Wen Hu: IoT expert
For UNSW Associate Professor and networked embedded sensor expert Wen Hu, automated farms supplying ‘smart cities’ with premium fresh food will be a feature of the not-so-distant future. And the low-cost IoT systems he's working on under the CRC will help pave the way to this new, networked reality.
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Education update
We now have Research Masters and PhD students at five of our partner universities researching topics as diverse as native rice agronomy, the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) to indoor farming, identifying the role of microbes in hydroponic solutions and assessing taste and aroma differences in cultivated truffles.
More postgraduate student projects are in the wings while several undergraduate students are also helping move research forward through doing mini-projects as part of their degrees.
For our CRC’s industry partners, student research is an opportunity to train new industry leaders and identify potential employees while bringing fresh ideas to the table and undertaking cost-effective research. For our students and their supervisors, involvement in the CRC enables them to engage with future industry employers, gain on-ground exposure, participate in professional training and promote their research, while working to help industry achieve their goals.
For more information, contact our Education Director, Professor Brian Sindel, at
bsindel@une.edu.au
Grants
CRC partners may be eligible to apply for various grants offered by the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. Priority funds include the federal government’s Round 1 MMI grants and AMGC Commercialisation Fund, Queensland's Made in Queensland grants and Ignite Ideas Fund, NSW’s Regional Jobs Program, WA’s Agribusiness Innovation and Food Industry Innovation funds and Export Competitiveness Grants, South Australia’s LEAP Grants for firms transitioning to circular-economy operations, the NT Government’s business funding for Indigenous-led enterprises and many others.
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Partner news
FIAL's online industry leadership courses
Food Innovation Australia Ltd is offering two online courses to industry leaders: one focused on
industry clusters and the other on
transformational leadership.
QUT scientists’ computer simulation pinpoints drying times for fruit and veg
Scientists at Queensland University of Technology have teamed with Sri Lankan researchers to develop a cost-effective way to predict dehydration times for fruit, vegetables, herbs and plants, aiding processors.
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Project Zero30: can Armidale LGA go carbon-neutral in under nine years?
University of New England, Armidale Regional Council and Business New England are collaborating to turn the region into a gigantic green zone.
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The new ‘gold-standard’ lupin genome and why it spells profits for WA’s pulse producers
Scientists at Murdoch University and WA DPIRD have published an updated genome for narrow-leafed lupin that will help breeders develop new, high-performance varieties of this low-GI, gluten-free, protein-packed pulse crop.
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How Gippsland is helping local agribusiness turn obstacles into opportunities
An initiative of Food & Fibre Gippsland and Federal University, ‘What’s your Food or Fibre Challenge, Gippsland?’ is designed to support local agribusiness in pivoting, upskilling, innovating - whatever soothes their pain points and boosts their bottom lines.
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Costa Group introduces new avocado traceability tech
Costa has teamed with iTrazo to launch a digital traceability platform for its Lovacado Shepard avocados. Scanning the QR code integrated into the brand sticker offers consumers provenance data, recipes, storage tips and more. In return, customers can rate the fruit, giving Costa useful feedback.
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UNSW researchers lead Australian Academy of Science top honours
UNSW scientists have been honoured for their world-changing discoveries, including revealing the physics of sea-level change, understanding heat waves, and creating cheap, flexible, stable solar cells.
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QUT goes greener
QUT has appointed its first Vice-Chancellor of Sustainability as part of a broader push to minimise the carbon footprint of its operations.
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News
5 global megatrends set to shape our agrifood future
A new report from ABARES details global megatrends set to shape the future of our nation’s agriculture sector – from data-driven disruption to dramatic climate change.
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WEF: greening food supply chains could cut global GG emissions by 25%
A recent World Economic Forum report contends cutting supply-chain emissions to near-net zero by 2050 is achievable. And the food and agriculture sector could do a lot to help.
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Australian retail sales of plant-based ‘alt meats’ soar
Consumer demand for plant-based meat substitutes - including Australian-made brands - grew exponentially over FY2019-2020, according to a report by think-tank Food Frontier.
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Government calls for input on ‘critical technologies’ in ag and health sectors
The federal government is consulting stakeholders on existing and emerging technologies in key sectors that could advance or undermine our national interests.
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New ‘acoustic rinsing’ tech for leafy greens
A UK-based professor's novel technology for cleaning delicate produce utilises a gentle stream of water infused with tiny air bubbles and sound that acts like a ‘microscopic scrubber’, sanitising salad and extending its shelf life.
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NESCAFÉ upcycles waste product to create brand-new beverage line
Nestlé has launched a new line of distinctively flavoured, lightly caffeinated natural beverages combining upcycled coffee-berry husks and native Australian botanicals.
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Events
AMGC webinar series: 10 ways to succeed in Australian manufacturing
Online, on demand
This 10-part series from the Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre covers everything from leadership and collaboration to working with research partners, deploying technology, accessing capital and planning for change.
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Vertical farming webinar
1 April 2021, 4-5.30am AEDT, free
UK-based Forward Fooding, founder of the
FoodTech 500, hosts successful vertical-farming entrepreneurs to talk about the latest developments in this brave new space.
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FIAL food waste webinar
Wed 14 April 2021, 1:30-3pm AEST
Food and agribusiness sector stakeholders: join a panel of experts at this free webinar to disseminate and discuss initial findings from the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study.
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