www.foodtechnology.co.nz 35 KIWI FOOD AND BEVERAGE SET TO BENEFIT Teams of top Kiwi nutrition scientists tackling two major global health issues have been spotlighted for support by the High-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge. The two issues – the ‘tsunami’ of diabetes in Asia and how the right nutrition can boost immunity to the flu – will be researched for several years, and Challenge chief scientist Professor Martin Kussmann says the best researchers have been chosen to take part. Director of the Human Nutrition Unit at the University of Auckland Professor Sally Poppitt – who is also a member of the science leadership team of the Challenge – will investigate the TOFI (Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside) profile in a cohort of 400 Chinese and Caucasian adults. Whilst appearing thin, people with this condition remain at high risk of developing diabetes. Kussmann says the research has identified markers that may predict Type 2 diabetes. “If the research succeeds it creates opportunities for the New Zealand food and beverage sector,” he says. “The research team is working closely with companies exporting food and beverages to Asia, and has identified several important nutritional opportunities, including dairy-based proteins, plant-origin complex carbohydrates and phytochemical flavonoids. If these food elements reduce the diabetes risk, then New Zealand Inc. may have a significant opportunity for a new class of high-value foods for export to Asian markets.” He says the global diabetes market is forecast to be worth $45 billion by 2020, with Asia driving much of this growth with around 300 million people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. The second research project – headed by High-Value Nutrition science leadership team member and Plant and Food’s Malaghan Institute head Dr Oliver Gasser – will investigate the relationship between foods and our immune system. “Their triple goal is to understand how New Zealand foods can help the microbiome enhance vaccination; reduce respiratory illness triggered by polluted air and accurately understand the immune response in our lungs from diesel and urban dust, which is relevant to allergy research,” Kussmann says. “If Dr Gasser and the team can establish a clear relationship between food and the effectiveness of flu vaccine or food and protective properties when breathing in polluted air, it would create significant opportunities for the country’s food and beverage sector.”
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