BERRIES FOR
AUSSIE AND ASIA
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 23
HONEY
PRODUCERS
SET NEW BAR
When Midlands Apiaries launched its new PURITI
Manuka honey products range last month, it set the bar
for a level of food safety yet to be seen in New Zealand.
The New Zealand agricultural stalwart, which
has been operating for more than 25 years,
has implemented strict testing and policies to
ensure no glyphosate contamination happens in
making its products. International brand manager
Adam Boot says the company tests every single
batch of honey to ensure it is free from the
herbicide…making it the only Manuka honey
producer taking such an aggressive consumer
protection stance. Glyphosate is a herbicide used
extensively on farms, gardens, streets and parks,
and because it is so widely used, its residue
can be found in some foods. In July, a US jury
found that chemical giant Monsanto knew its
Roundup weedkillers – containing glyphosate –
were dangerous, and awarded $289 million in
damages to a man who claimed they caused his
cancer. Boot says besides Monsanto, in New
Zealand alone there are about 25 manufacturing
companies that produce glyphosate-based
products under 89 trade names – making
it difficult for consumers to make informed
choices. “PURITI has raised the quality bar on
Manuka honey through increased testing to
ensure products are glyphosate-free, and is
using more complex packaging materials and
manufacturing processes to make it much harder
for others to copy the product,” Boot says. “As
a result, we feel confident we have produced the
purest and safest Manuka honey available. It is
only natural that we listen to the concerns of the
international consumer and introduce testing for
glyphosate.” The Manuka plant generally grows
in wild scrub or forest areas in New Zealand -
remote from where the herbicide may be used
- but there is always a small possibility of spray
drift, the company says. Concerned by loopholes
in testing standards that some in the industry
take advantage of, PURITI recently implemented
testing standards at a level 10% to 100% higher
than the mandatory export standard for all of its
Manuka honey; and its honey jar is the first in
the world with 11 consumer security and anticounterfeit
features. “Consumers deserve to be
given the full picture, the whole truth and all the
information required to make an informed choice
when purchasing Manuka honey,” Boot says.
“A lesser product does not necessarily mean a
bad product, but it isn’t of the quality that PURITI
Manuka demands of its own products.”
www.puriti.co.nz.
A Māori-owned horticulture
business promising 5000 jobs has broken
ground in Morrinsville. Aspiring berry
exporter Miro - owned by 20 Māori trusts,
iwi and collectives – has also signed a
50-50 joint venture with Crown-owned
Plant and Food Research. Ngāti Hauā’s
initial 2ha blueberry plantation will aim
to create the perfect crunchy, tasty and
consistent blueberry for the Asian and
Australian markets. The brains behind the
Rockit apple, director Steve Saunders says
he is confident the company can scale up
to 5000 jobs and more than two million
berry plants in nine year’s time. Looking to
emulate kiwifruit grower Zespri, Saunders
says existing blueberry varieties will be
used to grow international exports, before
Miro introduces its own genetically-crafted
product. Māori from Northland to the top of
the South Island, including Waikato’s Ngāti
Hauā, have already invested and will begin
planting, with an expectation of a 20%
average cash return over nine years. Miro
projects it will require 100 skilled orchard
managers, plant 500ha of berries and bring
$500 million to the national economy in that
time. “We’re talking about sophisticated
horticulture development, selling
sophisticated berries to Australia and Asia,”
Saunders says. “People want to be more
connected in where their food comes from.
What we undervalue in New Zealand is our
culture, and Māori have a great story to tell.”
Plant and Food Research chief executive
David Hughes says it will take thousands
of crossbreed attempts over the next 10
years to create a high-end blueberry, and
the Crown research institute will invest
multi-millions into the project. Meanwhile,
agritech is destined to save the New
Zealand economy, leading New Zealand
tech expert Graeme Muller believes. The
tremendous worldwide demand for food
continues to soar, with some estimating
the market to be worth $US3 trillion, the
NZTech chief executive says. “Combining
two of New Zealand’s leading sectors,
agriculture and technology, shows just how
we can improve New Zealand farming, food
production and health while also growing
our exports. We are on the cusp of some
massive and exciting tech changes in our
lives. There are some amazing agritech
developments in Silicon Valley, such as
Granular Software - a farm operations
startup that was recently purchased by
DuPont for $US300 million - or the synthetic
protein companies like Clara Foods for
eggs, Memphis Meats for beef and Finless
Foods for fish. Yet most of the major pain
points in the US farm systems are similar to
New Zealand, such as water management,
nutrient management and labour shortages,
so New Zealand agritech solutions are
viable for this massive market.” Awardwinning
Tauranga company Robotics Plus’
automated apple packaging system is a
good example," he says.
STRAWBERRY SITUATION: The Queensland farmer whose strawberries have been
found contaminated with needles in a food terrorism attempt has stopped all production
and is devastated by the situation. The farmer – who Queensland Strawberry Growers
spokeswoman Jennifer Rowling describes as devastated – has had his punnets of Berry
Obsession and Berry Licious strawberries pulled from supermarket shelves, and is “going
through hell,” Rowling says. Strawberry farmers across the ditch are urging people to
continue eating the fruit, as it is “just a horrible situation for everyone, not just the farmer
involved,” she says. Detective Superintendent Terry Lawrence says people responsible for
contaminating the fruit could be charged with maliciously causing grievous bodily harm.
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