When on holiday in Queenstown in January, I took my two small nieces to the movies. Once there, they chose
some snacks to chew on, and halfway through the movie, my five-year-old niece screwed up her nose and handed
me back her packet of reasonably expensive potato chips made right here in New Zealand. “They’re soft,” she
complained, and when I tried them, I agreed with her. Once home, I sent an email to the company, drawing their
attention to the packet and saying whilst I didn’t need a replacement, I knew how much quality control means to
Kiwi food businesses and thought they’d want to know so they could investigate. To this day, I haven’t received
a reply to my email…and it’s left a bad taste in my mouth. If this incident had caused a full-blown recall, what
would the company have done then? That got me thinking about protocols and plans that need to be in place for
consumer discontent like mine, and I asked some experts for their opinions. I hope you learn something new from
their replies. Have a great April.
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 3
EDITOR'S NOTE
Kathryn Calvert
Editor NZ FOODTechnology
QUALITY CONTROL
HEMP POTENTIAL TO REACH GLOBAL HIGH
New Zealand has a major opportunity to develop
the global high cannabidiol hemp industry
and become a leading world producer, an American
global cannabis consulting and brokerage
company with suppliers in Africa, Europe, Australia
and North America says. Rhizo Sciences
co-founder and vice president Dallas McMillan
says global demand for legally produced CBD
is growing rapidly and producers can’t keep up.
A $160 million deal between his company and
Ruatoria-based Hikurangi Cannabis to deliver
3000kg of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products
next year – rising to 12,000kg by 2021 –
will provide the world with clean, green product
from New Zealand. “We’ll be working closely
with regulators to ensure Hikurangi can meet
and exceed international benchmarks for quality,
safety and security,” McMillan says. The conditional
offer is subject to a law change expected
to pass in New Zealand later this year. Hikurangi
Cannabis managing director Manu Caddie says
the deal is a lifeline for the region that has few
high value products and unemployment levels
well above the national average. “Thanks
to the good work of other primary industries,
New Zealand has a great reputation internationally
for high quality food and natural health
products,” he says. “We have leveraged this
reputation with international customers in the
EU, Canada and Australia who want to access
the highest quality medical cannabis products
in the world.” While the company is still in the
establishment phase with an initial public offer
via the PledgeMe crowdfunding equity platform
from next month, plans are well advanced to
complete construction and commission pharmaceutical
grade growing and processing facilities
before the end of this year. The deal includes
BREAKING NEWS
CBD extracts, whole flowers and Tetrahydrocannabinol
extracts, but will only be finalised once
New Zealand establishes a scheme for the commercial
production of medical cannabis products
later this year. Caddie says his company
will be “much more like Zespri than Fonterra in
terms of the impact of product export prices on
the domestic market. Hikurangi is committed to
delivering proven medicines to Kiwis at affordable
prices, we won’t be raising prices here just
because we can fetch good prices offshore.”The
company has been contacted by a number of
international buyers interested in purchasing
New Zealand-made medical cannabis products.
“There is huge scope for New Zealand to produce
the highest quality medical product in a
global sector expected to reach US$60 billion
within five years.”
/www.foodtechnology.co.nz
