HEALTH STAR GAZING
NEW TYPES
OF FRUIT
AND VEGES
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> Food Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry
> Water & Environmental Analysis
> Food Forensics Investigations
> Nutritional Testing
> Residue Analysis
> Food & Supply Chain Consulting
> Pharmaceutical Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry
> Regulatory & Third Party Food Safety Compliance Auditing
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Freephone: 0800 EUROFINS | 0800 387 63467 AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | WELLINGTON | CHRISTCHURCH
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www.foodtechnology.co.nz 23
THE SOURCE FOR FOODTECHNOLOGY INFORMATION
Our mission is to become the laboratory of choice for
Testing and Auditing Services in the following segments:
> Food Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry
> Water & Environmental Analysis
> Food Forensics Investigations
> Nutritional Testing
> Residue Analysis
> Food & Supply Chain Consulting
> Pharmaceutical Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry
> Regulatory & Third Party Food Safety Compliance Auditing
Freephone:| 0800 387 63467 AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | WELLINGTON | CHRISTCHURCH
Freephone: 0800 EUROFINS | 0800 387 63467 AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | WELLINGTON | CHRISTCHURCH
FT199
Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu
from the University of
Auckland will lead a team of
top New Zealand and Australian
nutrition researchers over the
next three years to measure how
effective the labels have been in
improving New Zealanders’ diets
since being introduced in 2014.
The team has been collecting
information on composition,
labelling and ingredients of
packaged foods in this country
for the past five years, and will
link with Nielsen’s household
food purchasing data to study
how consumption has changed
with the health star ratings
and what foods industry has
changed to provide a better diet.
“There has been an increasing
preference by government for
non-regulatory approaches to
improve diet, but there isn’t a
lot of evidence that voluntary
strategies have been effective,”
Ni Mhurchu says. “With this
research, we’ll be able to inform
the debate very effectively.” The
study will also look at strategies
to support healthier diets across
four different domains: at an
individual level, government
level, food industry level and
public health level.
A study testing
the impact of New
Zealand’s health star
ratings on packaged
foods is being granted
$5 million by the Health
Research Council.
T E S T I N G
New fruits and vegetables could
result from studies on a family of
proteins called MYBs. New Zealand
scientists have reviewed plant MYB
transcription factors associated
with the development, hormone
signalling, metabolite biosynthesis
and pigmentation of plants, and have
found that changing, or selecting
for changes, in the activity of a
single family of MYBs enhances
key traits of fruits and vegetables
such as appearance, flavour, texture
and nutritional content. Plant &
Food Research scientists Professor
Andrew Allan and Dr Richard Espley
say pigments such as anthocyanins
and carotenoids are thought to
offer health and dietary benefits.
“Changes in key MYB transcription
factors could turn the colourless
flesh of certain fruits into one
with colour,” Allan says. “It could
significantly increase the content of
pigments per fruit serving, resulting
in a possible step change in health
benefits.” Besides colour, MYBs are
also involved in taste and flavour via
aroma, astringency and piquancy,
as well as affecting the texture of
the flesh and hair formation on the
skin. The breeding and production
of completely new categories of
fruits and vegetables with desirable
consumer traits will add potential
health benefits, more attractive
appearance, better flavour, better
texture, better storage and more
convenience, which could encourage
the purchase and consumption of
plant products rather than heavilyprocessed
synthetic food, Allan says.
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