NUTRITION INFORMATION PANELS REFRESHED Updated consumer-friendly information about fruit and vegetable serving sizes and health benefits has been collated by United Fresh in a refresh of nutrition information panels (NIPs). The organisation, which represents the interests of all involved in the fresh fruit and produce sector, has worked with Plant & Food Research and nutritionists on the NIPs project, using the most up-to-date information from the latest FOODfiles 2016 to ensure that new regulatory requirements are clear and consistent. NIPs provide information on the average amount of energy (in kilojoules or both in kilojoules and kilocalories), protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars and sodium (a component of salt) in food, as well as any claimable vitamins and nutrients. United Fresh general manager Paula Dudley says the NIPs project has taken a year to complete and will help the sector respond more effectively to the new regulatory compliance requirements on making health and nutrient claims for fresh fruit and vegetables. “We are providing the fresh produce industry with up-to-date nutritional information to validate the considerable health benefits of fruit and vegetables,” she says. “The new recommended serving sizes are generally bigger, and the nutrient and health claims have increased quite substantially.” Dudley says members were increasingly seeking advice from United Fresh about what they can say regarding nutrition and health claims on labels and panels. With the proliferation of pre-packed salads, consumers are keen to know all the relevant health information. The project highlights the continuing focus of United Fresh on providing up-to date and relevant information to its members, with the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) in particular working proactively on behalf of the fresh produce industry over the past year across a range of matters. United Fresh chairman Dr Hans Maurer says its work is playing an important role in ensuring that the pan-produce sector presents a more unified and integrated front.“Our industry membership sees the value in tackling certain technical matters that impact on everybody in the value chain, and working them through at an industry level,” he says. WATER BOTTLERS’ LIVELIHOODS ON THE LINE Charging water exporters a per litre levy will penalise a small, struggling New Zealand industry and lead to company closures and job losses, say two Putaruru water bottlers. Aquasplash and NZ Quality Waters are united in their opposition to any proposed water policy, saying it is unfair to ‘cherry pick’ by industry. “You should charge everyone who uses water for commercial purposes, or no one,” Aquasplash chief executive Mark Manson says. “As it stands, this proposed policy will hit small exporters like us but won’t affect the big multi-nationals who are using the same resources. At a time when people are upset about the lack of tax paid by companies such as Google and Apple, is this really a wise position to take?” Manson says he and NZ Quality Waters general manager Bruce Sherman agree that if a policy became law, many of the 27 water bottlers around the country could close. “It would hit the livelihood of the 370 people who work directly in the industry, plus a similar number indirectly,” Manson says. “The majority of those 750 people work and live in rural economically depressed parts of the country. A lot of those jobs could disappear.” Sherman says of the 213 billion litres of water consented for bottling, only 0.5% of that is used. “A mere 26 million litres were exported in 2016, equivalent to just two minutes’ flow over the Huka Falls, or one and a half hours’ consumption of water in Auckland. And why is so little water exported? Because there’s virtually no money in it. It’s a hugely competitive global industry and the offshore markets are swamped by the giants like Evian and Perrier. Our margins are already extremely low so an additional levy would see companies shut down.” Manson says given a 10c per litre levy and assuming everyone managed to stay in business, that would mean an extra $2.6 million a year into Government coffers. “Is that worth it for a potential loss of 750 jobs and the extra WINZ benefits those people would then require?” He says Aquasplash’s contract with the South Waikato District Council allows it to take up to 200,000 litres per day from the Blue Spring, although currently it uses 35,000 litres per day which equates to 0.4 litres per second, compared to the minimum flow through the Blue Spring of 700 litres per second. “Clearly, this is a very sustainable, well-monitored and well-controlled water supply.” Manson and Sherman say they welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue in-depth, and help devise a fair and equitable system that protects New Zealand companies and jobs, and does not let the multi-nationals off the hook. “For instance, we are interested in exploring the system used in Canada, where they charge a levy based on the number of litres you have consent for, rather than the actual amount of water taken,” Manson says. “This encourages users to only ask for what they need, thus ensuring there is plenty available for other consents for other users. It also avoids anyone ‘stockpiling’ consent volumes for commercial gain.” Both Aquasplash and NZ Quality Waters are members of the New Zealand Beverage Council Water Bottlers’ Sub-committee. www.foodtechnology.co.nz 19
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