E D I TOR ’ S N O T E Kathryn Calvert Editor NZ FOODTechnology CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LUCKY SUBSCRIBERS LETTER TO THE EDITOR Stink Bugs to be Taken Seriously 4 MARCH 2016 March is upon us, and the start of the decline into winter begins. It’s been what can only be described as a weird summer weatherwise. Heavy rain causing flooding, cyclones that have killed people in the South Pacific, humidity, record-breaking heat and cold, thunderstorms and lightning strikes have thrown our industry and country into chaos at times…let alone poor Canterbury’s renewed earthquake activity. El Nino has essentially changed places with La Nina, despite all the predictions, and you can’t talk to anyone without them shaking their heads at our changing weather patterns and ongoing global unbalance. Given the prediction of unpredictability, is it time your business has a plan for what experts call ‘Black Swan’ events…those situations like flooding, terrorism, earthquakes, ingredient shortages and the like that are hard to plan for? Check out one expert’s advice for the industry. And why are deep South winegrowers getting hot under the collar about spray drift? One industry watchdog says wine growers have lost $600,000 in ruined vines since the start of the year, and it’s time farmers are held to account. On a lighter note, would you enjoy a bite of cake made with crickets? Three young Auckland students hope so. Read about Maori food technology and how important it could be for New Zealand, plus why Nadia Lim says we won’t be eating wildly-caught fish in 50 years, and why the heck our packaging is triggering ‘grey rage’. This month’s lucky subscriber to win the three books reviewed in this magazine is Emily Agnew of James & Wells. The following have been selected to win special treats from featured businesses: 1 Your item on the brown marmorated stink bugs last issue was very timely. As a relatively regular traveller to the east coast of the US, I have seen these insects in their thousands. They persistently invade houses and become very unpleasant during attempts to deal with them. The person I sometimes stay with has told me of catching several hundred in one day in their home. But way more important is their widespread distribution in the US. One website records the distribution as including the following states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia…this is after their introduction some sixteen or seventeen years ago. Although it is a native to much of Asia, I have not been aware of it there. My concern is that in the US, with air conditioning and the tendency for these bugs to winter over in dark places such as cupboards, it is quite possible for them to fall (for indeed they seem to just fall to the floor when touched or disturbed) into open suitcases if these are put into a cupboard while visiting hotels or friends’ homes. I state this from personal experience and totally concur with the following website comment: “BMSB becomes a nuisance pest both indoors and out when it is attracted to the outside of houses on warm fall days in search of protected, overwintering sites. BMSB occasionally reappears during warmer sunny periods throughout the winter, and again as it emerges in the spring.” (from http://ento. psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated stink-bug). If I am visiting in the US autumn before returning I go through my luggage and shake everything in an attempt to ensure there are no bugs as fellow travellers. After arriving home after one late winter trip, when the bugs were not especially active, I was horrified to find a bug or two in my packed clothing. Fortunately, knowing what they were and unpacking inside, I quickly dealt to them before they could escape. It would be very easy for an unsuspecting traveller not to recognise them or deal with them, for they look rather like the shield bugs we already have. New Zealand cannot afford to let these bugs in. They attack a very wide range of crops such as apples and peaches, and some vegetable crops such as sweet corn. It would seem prudent to issue information leaflets to travellers to the US in particular, but possibly Asia as well about this potential pest. I urge your readers to visit the website and other sites too. It could be another fruit flytype pest. Malcolm Reeves Hawke’s Bay Are YOU ready? Dave Hockey of Ansco Engineering receives a $200 hamper filled with sweet treats. Courtesy of Original Foods (page 32) Dr Katy Bluett of Callaghan Innovations receives a selection of wines from its Marlborough estate. Courtesy of Blank Canvas Wine (page 42) Bernadette Pither of Cryovac Sealed Air recieves a sample of cricket powder. Courtesy of Critter Farms (page 18) Emily Agnew of James & Wells recieves all three books featured on (page 30)
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