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Kathryn Calvert
Editor NZ FOODTechnology
What would happen to your company if a customer bit into one of your delicious products and was injured by
a needle…or worse? It’s a nightmare scenario all of us would rather not think about, which is why we’re lucky
to have expert academics like Nigel Grigg from Massey University do the thinking for us. Could the strawberry
crisis across the ditch happen here? Turn to page 15 to learn more. This month we profile two retiring stalwarts
of the industry, announce the winners of the Food Awards and give away some superb Christmas reading to
lucky subscribers. Enjoy your November.
EDITOR'S NOTE
BREAKING NEWS
CANNABIS THE NEW
WINE INDUSTRY?
New Zealand could have a medicinal cannabis industry
rivalling that of its wine industry if it takes advantage of
a recent decision by Canada to legalise cannabis.
Zeacann co-founder
Chris Fowlie says New
Zealand must grab the
chance to export crops
to Canada, meaning that local
patients could benefit from lower
costs. “This is a very exciting
time for the medicinal cannabis
industry around the world and
we’re in a perfect position
in New Zealand to become
a global leader of medicinal
cannabis manufacturing,” he
says. “Canada needs cannabis,
and New Zealand can help.
By servicing export markets
immediately, we can reach the
scale needed to lower costs for
local patients.” New Zealand,
complete with its clean green
image, already has a reputation
for being a top-quality grower
of the high-value crop, Fowlie
says. Zeacann (formerly known
as PharmaCann New Zealand)
intends to build cutting-edge
hybrid greenhouses in Auckland
and a high-tech extraction facility
and quality control laboratory. It
will also complete development
of an online compliance portal
for health practitioners and
pharmacists, and is supporting
research at Auckland University
of Technology to develop
medicinal cannabis products.
Although the start date for the
Government’s medicinal cannabis
scheme has been reported as
mid-2020, most of the scheme
is not dependent on the law
change, and licenses for research
and for export are permitted
under current law, he says. “We
expect regulations for domestic
sales will be progressively
phased in from the middle of
next year,” says Fowlie. “And
this could be brought forward
with better resourcing.” The
global market for medicinal
cannabis is estimated to reach
$30-85 billion by 2025 and
together with legal adult sales
may top US$150 billion.
/www.foodtechnology.co.nz