also a key enabler of success for
New Zealand’s food and dairy
exporters.
“We intimately know our way
around the complex local and
international codes, standards
and regulations when it comes
to food safety and nutrition. We
can seamlessly and intuitively
work with Kiwi exporters to save
them time, money and stress by
smoothing the path to export and
market access,” says Dr Hodgson.
“If you don’t get this right, you
don’t get to export. We remove
this as a massive pain-point for
Kiwi companies and let them get
on with what they excel at - taking
the best of New Zealand to the
world.”
Dr George Joseph, chemistry
technical manager, says that nearly
all dairy, infant formula, dietary
supplements, pharmaceuticals
and food manufacturers in New
Zealand, as well as many overseas
multi-nationals, send samples
to AsureQuality in Auckland -
precisely because of its wide
capability, scope and expertise.
“By the time food hits your
supermarket trolley, it’s easy
to overlook the thousands of
invisible hours that have already
gone into making sure the food
you eat is true-to-label and safe.
This - in a nutshell – is what we
do,” says Dr Joseph. But that
simple explanation masks the true
depth and breadth of capability
and expertise that makes the
AsureQuality lab not just the
largest in Australasia, but one of
the most respected laboratories of
its kind worldwide.
While AsureQuality has supported
New Zealand companies for over
100 years, its commitment to the
latest developments in science,
technology and innovation is what
continues to set it apart. A recent
investment in technology is the
new Ankom Dietary Fibre Analyser
in the chemistry laboratory. The
first of its kind in New Zealand,
it creates a new standard for
nutritional labelling.
Among its many benefits is the
advanced computer-controlled
multichannel pump that automates
the addition of chemical
solutions, enzymes and rinses.
By mechanising one of the more
tedious analytical methods, it
reduces labour, time and per
sample costs while increasing
accuracy and precision.
“The retention of our staff is
incredibly important to us, so
removing highly repetitive, but
important, tasks from their dayto
day with a small investment like
this one has a huge impact for us,”
says Dr Hodgson.
The microbiology technical
team led by Warwick Aspin
recently rolled out DNA based
new technology and MALDITOF
technologies which are
game-changers for the food
industry. “Incorrectly reporting a
positive test for a product can
have catastrophic results for our
customers. Our investment in new
pathogen detection technologies
improves the specificity of the test
and delivers a very low rate of
false-positive results,” he says.
Mr Aspin says this innovative
rapid technology provides a real
advantage for AsureQuality’s
customers.
“Rapid testing allows a
manufacturer to quickly identify a
contaminated batch and prevent
this from being released to
market.” Along with faster results
for food pathogen testing, there
are significant other advantages
PCR technology affords certain
food manufacturers.
“We recently had a customer with
a new product in the ‘ready-to-eat’
category - an area that is showing
huge market growth. By using this
new technology, we were able to
shorten release times to such an
extent that their product gained an
additional three days of shelf-life.”
Where time matters most, these
new technologies are making all
the difference. “Our MALDI-TOF
Biotyper technology also delivers
rapid results and can now be used
to confirm presumptive tests.
Traditionally customers had to wait
3-5 days to get confirmed results
after a suspicious screen test -
now some results are ready within
the hour,” says Mr Aspin.
With science, tech innovation and
customer focus at the core of its
Auckland laboratory, AsureQuality
is perfectly positioned to support
new and existing customers to
take on the world.
www.asurequality.com
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