PMAC weekly update 8th to 15th July

1. Government agencies: Country Freedom; New stink bug rules released

2. New Zealand News: Trade and sustainability focus of visit to Spain and Ireland; Plant Variety Rights Act review; Investment fund targets hort sector; Response to the new red kiwis is exceptional; New Zealand kiwifruit orchard prices strengthening; New season NZ: Avocado prices plunge; New Zealand tomatoes hit lowest price ever in June; Tomatoes winter publicity campaign; Northland to become hydroponic fruit growing capital of NZ; Environmental Change: Implications for fresh produce food safety; Waste-to-Energy plant announced by Minister Shane Jones; Biosecurity New Zealand respond to invasive bramble in Auckland

3. International news: GAIN reports; Australia: New rules to import cut flowers; How to future proof? Data, data and more data; Australia is in the process of revolutionising its barcode system; Chinese avocado market has changed drastically compared with last year; EFSA lists food safety research needs; ‘The world needs zero-waste plants’; Austria, the first European country to ban glyphosate; Smaller vegetables to combat wastage; Organic sanitizer kills bacteria on fresh veggies

1. Agency news

1.1. Country Freedom The Country freedom list has been update to state beet cryptic virus 1 (Alphapartitivirus) and beet cryptic virus 2 (Deltapartitivirus) are not known to occur in New Zealand.

1.2. New stink bug rules releasedBiosecurity New Zealand has provisionally released new rules intended to keep brown marmorated stink bugs out of New Zealand. The new regulations will apply to this year's stink bug season, which starts on 1 September and will run until 30 April.

Following consultation with industry, the list of countries that have requirements to treat imported vehicles, machinery, and parts before they arrive in New Zealand will rise from 17 to 33. These countries have all been identified as having stink bug populations.The other big change is that imported cargo relating to vehicles will need to be treated offshore, including sea containers. Only non-containerised vehicle cargo has required offshore treatment in the past.

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Biosecurity New Zealand is planning to have officers based in Europe this season to educate manufacturers, treatment providers, and exporters about the new requirements and to audit facilities."If our checks find any issues, New Zealand will not accept any cargo from that facility until the problem has been fixed."

New Zealand's treatment requirements are now closer to Australia's, which will make compliance easier for importers bringing cargo to both countries. A key difference is that the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources will continue to allow treatment on-arrival for containerised goods. In addition, the stink bug season in Australia will run a month longer than ours. This is because warmer climatic and daylight conditions could allow stink bug to establish later in Australia. The release of the new import health standard will be provisional for 10 days from 5 July. Interested parties that provided a submission can contest the new rules during this period. Full article available here

See general media articles about the new rules Full article available here and Full article available here

2. New Zealand News

2.1. Trade and sustainability focus of visit to Spain and Ireland Minister for Trade and Export Growth and Minister for the Environment David Parker heads to Spain and Ireland this week for a series of meetings focused on world trade, sustainability issues and the EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement. Full article available here

Commentary 2.2. Plant Variety Rights Act reviewPublic consultation is now open on a review of the Plant Variety Rights (PVR) Act 1987. The plant breeding industry has changed significantly over the last 30 years, and this review is necessary to ensure that the PVR Act is fit-for-purpose going forward. Although a review of the PVR Act 1987 was first initiated in the early 2000s, it was put on hold in anticipation of the release of the Waitangi Tribunal’s Wai 262 report, which made a number of recommendations affecting the PVR regime. It was further delayed by international negotiations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which has since morphed into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

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Under the CPTPP, New Zealand is now required within three years to modernise the PVR regime to be consistent with the updated international agreement on plant variety rights (UPOV 91).Click here for more information. Full article available here

2.3. Investment fund targets hort sector Five emerging stars of the horticulture industry have been singled out for investment by a new fund which aims to raise $100 million. Kakariki Fund Ltd, to be managed by MyFarm Investments, will invest the money in orchards, vineyards, plantations and farms, which will then be co-managed by horticulture processors and exporters.

Kakariki will focus on hops, kiwifruit, apple, vineyards and manuka plantations. The investment in manuka plantations is part of a long-term strategy to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2024.MyFarm chief executive Andrew Watters says Kakariki offers investors access to the five horticultural industries via a single $100,000 sum.

 MyFarm has since 2015 raised $165m to buy into 18 individual orchard, vineyard, hop and manuka plantations. Kakariki will continue that investment, with four initial assets targeted to an option to purchase. Those four are: 

• An 11 canopy-hectare SunGold kiwifruit orchard in Bay of Plenty• A 50% share in a large scale 130 canopy-hectare hop garden• 35 canopy-hectares of Rockit apples• A 2000ha manuka plantation development.

While Kakariki will own the properties, they will be co-managed by their business partners.The target is annual investment returns of 10% from earnings from the sale of crops through the partners and any increases in land values. Kakariki says it hopes to list on the NZX within three to five years. Full article available here

2.4. Response to the new red kiwis is exceptional.According to Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson, the response to the new red variety of kiwifruit has been exceptional. There was a hugely positive consumer reaction to the red kiwifruit, which Zespri has trialled for the last few years. It appears to be driven by the beautiful, vibrant colour of the red and by its very sweet flavour.

While the red variety has huge potential, Mathieson says a couple of challenges remain. These relate to the shorter storage life of the fruit and its tendency to ripen faster than other varieties of kiwifruit.However, Zespri hopes these challenges can be overcome. The company will decide whether to commercialise the red variety later this year. Full article available here

Zespri’s quest for a red offering looked to be well on track in early 2010 when it was running advanced pre-commercial trials with a cultivar from its ‘first generation’ red

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breeding programme. Its optimism, along with that of its breeding partner Plant & Food Research, quickly turned to despair when Psa-V arrived on New Zealand shores later that year, wiping out 80 per cent of these first-generation cultivars.“The second challenge is around fruit sizing, with many red cultivars cropping on the smaller side of what is generally expected by growers and consumers. Parkes says breeders have found methods to consistently produce a 100g piece of fruit, which consumer research suggests is the desired average weight of a kiwifruit.

The final piece of the puzzle relates to the fruit’s storage. “We’ve reached a point where the storage life of our red kiwifruit looks to be sufficient. It’s shorter than what we’d ultimately like but it’s sufficient. The question now is ‘how long of a sales window can we get with the cultivars we have?’ That’s what we’re working on at the moment. We don’t quite know. ”With this in mind, Parkes said Zespri will ensure it has the right cultivar before commencing a commercial red programme.  Full article available here

2.5. New Zealand kiwifruit orchard prices strengtheningDemand will rise for existing kiwifruit orchards as a result of Zespri granting its annual quota of new licences for the gold kiwifruit variety, says rural property salesman Stan Robb, of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Te Puke.

“Zespri [says licences for] 700ha of gold kiwifruit and 50ha of organic gold have been issued for the 2019-20 growing season,” Robb says. “With a total of 750ha of licences available, applications totalled 1848ha, so the offer was almost 2.5 times oversubscribed.” About 54% of the allocated licences are for new developments. Growers paid a median price for the licences of $290,000+gst/ha.Robb: “Many growers, in particular the larger ones, were planning to add to their current operations. But it appears that most of the new licences have gone to smaller developments. Those larger operators are growing green kiwifruit, planning to cut them over and graft the vines with the gold variety. Clearly, as they have not been granted licences, they will need to wait another 12 months to implement their plans and will likely bid higher to secure the 2020 licences.”

Premium orchards already growing gold kiwifruit are now selling for $1.2 million per canopy hectare, while high producing green kiwifruit properties are selling as high as $500,000 per canopy hectare. Depending on locality, bare land blocks suitable for kiwifruit in Bay of Plenty are valued from $200,000 per hectare. Full article available here

2.6. New season NZ: Avocado prices plungeAvocado fans can rejoice: supplies of the popular toast topping have surged and those who have struggled through the avo off-season can again feast on the fruit. On Thursday avocados were were selling for $2.70 each or two for $5 at Countdown

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supermarkets around the country. That was in stark contrast to the shocking prices seen in May when supplies dwindled and single avocados cost as much as $10 in some centres.   Full article available here

2.7. New Zealand tomatoes hit lowest price ever in JuneAlthough New Zealand food prices may have risen 0.5 percent overall in the year up to June, tomatoes are at record lows. Tomato prices decreased 17 percent, hitting their lowest price ever for a June month. The price of a 200-gram avocado also fell to $2.99 in June 2019, 31 percent cheaper than in June last year.

Fruit and vegetable prices fell 2.1 percent on the month and grocery food prices fell 0.7 percent. Full article available here

2.8. Tomatoes winter publicity campaignLast winter there was a spike in imported tomatoes with over double the number imported compared with the year prior. This was due to a combination of higher pricing in the local market and low prices in Australia making it attractive to import. TomatoesNZ reports: "We did have some issues raised during this time where some imported Australian tomatoes were not labelled correctly. All tomatoes imported from Australia need to be irradiated to meet New Zealand’s biosecurity requirements and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) requires anyone selling irradiated produce to clearly label it at point of sale."

Source: Statistics NZ

To help remind retailers of the labeling requirements and provide fresh information on what makes New Zealand grown tomatoes great, TomatoesNZ are preparing some new promotional material. There will be information aimed at both consumers and retailers. This campaign will be launched shortly to coincide with when tomato supply reduces over the colder winter months. The promotional campaign is aimed at:

raising awareness on the benefits of buying fresh New Zealand grown tomatoes, especially the health benefits;

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share facts about the seasonality of the crop; remind consumers that imported Australian tomatoes are irradiated; remind retailers of the correct labelling requirements for irradiated tomatoes; raise consumer awareness.

Fresh tomato exports Fresh tomato exports for the year ended 31 March 2019 were down on the previous year, with 2,882 tonnes exported (valued at $10.3 million FOB) compared with 3,614 tonnes ($12.2 million FOB) exported in 2017/18.  Exports to Japan have continued to strengthen, however demand in Australia has dropped due to investments in tomato growing there over recent years. New Caledonia and Canada continue to also be key markets for New Zealand grown tomatoes. Full article available here

2.9. Northland to become hydroponic fruit growing capital of NZNorthland’s future is looking fruitful as the hydroponic horticultural capital of New Zealand. A $2.37 million Provincial Growth Fund partnership announced last week by the Minister of Regional Economic Development Shane Jones with the award-winning Whangarei business Maungatapere Berries will create the first centre for growing excellence in the New Zealand hydroponics horticulture industry.

The partnership will enable Maungatapere Berries, owned by the Malley Family, to develop the first phase of a high-tech education, training and employment operation, as part of a 20ha hydroponic orchard expansion, doubling its workforce to 360 over the next five to eight years.

The hydroponic orchard will focus on berryfruit and other fruit varieties that flourish when grown hydroponically in Northland’s warm semi-tropical climate. The hydroponic centre of excellence will become a sustainable farming reference site for Northland growers with the aim of introducing and increasing the production of hydroponic fruit crops in the region and improving the economic opportunities for the Northland region.

The Malley family first started developing part of their 37ha kiwifruit orchard into a hydroponic berry operation four years ago, focusing on growing high quality good tasting fruit to supply the New Zealand domestic market all year round. They have continued investing and expanding their operation, which employs 45 full-time staff and an additional 180 staff during the peak season, and includes an advanced packhouse servicing the domestic market, with future plans to export.

Patrick and Rebecca’s achievements were recently recognised by becoming the Supreme Winner at the Northland Balance Farm Environment Awards, bringing home 5 additional category awards in the process, as well as at the inaugural MPI Good Employer with a Highly Commended award for their employee development program. Full article available here

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Bits and pieces2.10. Environmental Change: Implications for fresh produce food safetyThe Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand is hosting its annual conference on Wednesday 14 August in Sydney. Global experts will challenge the audience around the changing requirements of food safety practices under a shifting environment. The event provides an opportunity for growers, packers and others along the supply chain to meet with leaders in food safety research and new technologies. The full program including speakers can be found at www.fpsc-anzconference.com > Register now and don't miss out.

2.11. Waste-to-Energy plant announced by Minister Shane JonesThe country’s first large-scale, waste-to-energy plant was announced by Minister Shane Jones at T&G’s covered crops facility at Reporoa last week. The proposed purpose-built facility will take food waste from the region (and from T&G’s tomato vines), turn it into renewable biogas energy, which can then be used to enhance growth in our glasshouses and power up the region, naturally.Sustainable food waste recyclers, Eco Gas Limited Partnerships, received a loan of $7 million from the Government to build a full-scale demonstration biogas plant in Reporoa which will recover energy, carbon dioxide and nutrients from food waste.

“Every year 327,000 tonnes of food waste goes to landfills in New Zealand which could be turned into biogas energy to fuel an engine for electricity or heat, as well as help us achieve lower carbon emission targets. Biogas plants are common overseas, particularly in Europe, but this will be the first waste to energy plant of this scale in New Zealand. If it proves commercially successful, it has the potential to act as catalyst for others being set up in regions nationwide,” Minister Jones said.

The proposed Reporoa Organic Waste Recovery Facility will be built on two hectares of land adjacent to T&G Global’s tomato glasshouses. T&G Global will buy the renewable energy and also supply its own organic waste, around 1000 tonnes of tomato vines per year. “The facility will take more than 20,000 tonnes of organic food waste a year from major local food manufacturers such as dairy factories, commercial bakeries, cool stores, milk sheds and fruit grading facilities from Reporoa, and surrounding areas, Taupo and Rotorua, to convert into biogas,” he said.

T&G Managing Director NZ Produce, Andrew Keaney has had discussions for several years ago after Ecostock approached T&G about the potential of an anaerobic digestion plant, which had already been commercially proven overseas. At that time, T&G were investigating alternative solutions to their heating and CO2 needs in their glasshouses.

“Having had a relationship with Ecostock for nearly five years, that saw Ecostock collect T&G’s our existing food waste from their Auckland site and turn it into animal feed, we

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were excited and keen to explore this opportunity further.” Andrew says this seemed the perfect solution – to take 1000 tonnes of organic waste from our tomatoes, turn it into renewable, biogas energy, power up our glasshouses with natural heat and enhance the growth of our tomatoes with CO2. Full article available here

Biosecurity 2.12. Biosecurity New Zealand respond to invasive bramble in AucklandOfficials of Biosecurity New Zealand (BNZ) have started an investigation after a suspected detection of Himalayan wineberry bramble in Auckland. This plant is extremely invasive, and looks similar to a raspberry or blackberry bush. Unitex scientists discovered the suspected weed growing near a park in Albany on Auckland's North Shore. The plants can spread rapidly because they are difficult to control once established, and their seeds are spread by birds who eat the fruit.The suspected plants are well established, which suggests they have been present for some time, potentially many years. Once MPI gets the test results we will consider what the next steps could be." Full article available here

3. International news

Comment 3.1. GAIN reportsGain reports are from the “Global Agricultural Information Network” and are produced by the USDA. They are designed to provide timely information on the economy, products and issues in foreign countries that are likely to have an impact on United States agricultural production and trade. The information in them is written for USA exporters but the majority is equally relevant to New Zealand. With regard to import regulations for a particular market New Zealand exporters should first check the countries ICPR on MPI’s web site. These are collated specifically for New Zealand product. However the Gain reports often provide additional information that is useful e.g. on grading and labelling, economic profiles. This week see:

a) Canada Proposes Broad Food Labeling Update On June 22, 2019, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency published proposed new requirements for food labeling; interested stakeholders have until September 4 to comment.  The proposed changes cover a number of labeling elements, including country of origin designations on consumer packaged goods.  Canada Proposes Broad Food Labeling Update_Ottawa_Canada_7-2-2019

b) China Smart Consumers and ‘New Retail’ drive China’s food retail sector China’s retail sector recorded $5.4 trillion in sales revenue in 2017, a 10 percent increase from 2016, with similar strong growth expected to have happened in 2018.  Driven by its huge population, urbanization, and the rising per capita disposable income of the growing middle class, China’s demand for imported

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consumer-oriented food products is expected to grow at a steady pace. Retail Foods_Beijing ATO_China - Peoples Republic of_6-26-2019

c) Korea Retail Foods Strong consumer demand for value, quality, convenience, and diversity generates increased demand for imported agricultural products in the Korean retail industry.  The United States remains the leading supplier of consumer-oriented agricultural products to the Korean retail industry.  Korea’s imports of these products from the United States amounted to a record $5.1 billion in 2018. Retail Foods_Seoul ATO_Korea - Republic of_6-13-2019

d) Morocco Annual Country Report This report is an overview of general legal and technical requirements imposed by the Kingdom of Morocco for food and agricultural imports. Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Country Report_Rabat_Morocco_6-6-2019

e) Turkey Export Certificate Report -This FAIRS Export Certificate Report for Turkey 2019 lists the major export certificates and other requirements expected by the Turkish government for food and agricultural products imports to Turkey. Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Export Certificate Report_Ankara_Turkey_6-12-2019

Regulatory3.2. Australia: New rules to import cut flowersAbout $70 million worth of flowers landed on Australian shores in 2017-18, up from $63.5 million in the 12 months prior. Most of the imports hailed from Kenya, Ecuador and Colombia — countries which have a number of pests not in Australia, including types of thrips, aphids and mites.

From September, countries exporting cut flowers and foliage will be required to manage biosecurity risks on their own shores before the products set sail. Previously, imported cut flowers and foliage could be fumigated on-shore, with methyl bromide, and importers did not need to apply for a import permit. The changes come after a 2017 review of import conditions found that having one critical control point to manage biosecurity was increasing the risks to Australia. It also found high rates of pest detections in consignments of imported fresh cut flowers and foliage at the Australian border. Some countries were failing inspections more than 50 per cent of the time. Click here to read the complete article at The West Australian. Full article available here

Business/ Industry3.3. How to future proof? Data, data and more data

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The following comments came from a panel discussion at the PMA meeting in Australia.The use of DNA to form personalised food and lifestyle plans is a growing trend, according to a Monash University researcher. The food industry is moving beyond the health and wellness trend into an "intersection of personalisation", which has become the “holy grail” for the industry.

"Who doesn't want food for me, at the end of the day," she said. "There is technology now that is coming in where your DNA can be tested. If you are a producer out there, you can design food for not just my DNA, but for my lifestyle, and have it delivered to me wherever I am because this technology is coming around. When you start to look at it, personalisation and nutrition is moving from mass to targeted. You can get your DNA tested for around $400 and then it is a matter of working with a clinical nutritionist, who can then design the food for you. From a manufacturing perspective it's about how do you deliver that product, and that is about value. There will be a consumer in the world who is willing to pay for that personalisation."

It is for this reason that businesses need to think about a diversified portfolio of where they invest, and what they bring to the marketplace - especially with the constantly changing trends."Having economy, mid-tier and premium brands start to really differentiate your offer," she said. "On the other hand, if you look at all of the other things around health and wellness, the big thing we are starting to see is also around generational shifts.

Another speaker on the panel was from Australian agricultural technology company, The Yield. She agreed that producers are going to have to become smarter and start doing more with less, and more expensive, resources – and do it more sustainably. "This requires investment to be able to drive this," she said. "Everyone knows there is value in data, and in growing (produce), everyone is trying to achieve better yield quality, quantity and price realisation. There are five levers they can pull; when you plant, irrigate, feed, protect and harvest. All these levers are on the sea of uncertainty when it comes to weather.” The Yield focuses on using real-time data and artificial intelligence to provide highly localised predictions. On farm data is being used together with the customers own data to look at optimising yield predictions, which then feeds into price realisation and optimising supply chains and reducing waste.

"The people who are going to win at this game are those with deep datasets that are well managed and curated and can be used for analytics," Ms Harvey said. "I often say to people when asked on how to get ready for the technology for the future; keep your data, and don't dump it even if you don't know what it is used for. In the world of AI that we work in, you create models and the more data you have the better. But we are all better off if everyone shares data in first place. The issue is how do we give large corporates incentives that there is a willingness to share so there is an industry wide benefit. So, we need to really understand the future and how data markets are going to work, so we don't have companies with deep datasets doing really well and leaving everyone behind, creating a digital divide."

But with so much data being collected, now and into the future, there has to be a discussion on how this is controlled and regulated. "Everyone is saying data is the new

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oil, but it's not," she said. "Oil you use once and it is gone. But with data you use it again and again, and it never loses its value. You can combine it with other data, it creates new data and it is worth more. It is a very different factor of production than we have ever had before - and it is very powerful when it is put to work to add value to a business and supply chain. It also has risks that us as a society need to think about in terms of who is using our data. The fact it is used again and again is a bit scary because of the way it can be misused."

President of Sun World Innovations, David Marguleas, told the conference that the supply side of the horticulture industry is overdue for technology that will help reduce the cost of production."Lack of labour begs for the introduction of some significant automation, particularly on highly labour-intensive crops that require a lot of hand labour. In addition, the predictive analytics that help growers make better decisions and estimate crops more accurately will help smooth out a lot of inefficiencies in the supply chain."

He also noted that internationalisation of retailers is not only changing way produce is procured and influencing taste preferences, but also establishing supply patterns in new and unorthodox location of world. "This promises to be a huge disrupter, and it already is in many ways," Mr Marguleas said. "If you think about crops like blueberries, avocados and grapes, the supply patterns have changed dramatically in the past few years, as those crops have been established in places like Peru, Columbia, Mexico and China - both for domestic consumption and exports. If you are a blueberry or avocado grower in Australia and you are exporting, you need to be aware of the fact that these countries have become major players. Not only in their ability to produce product and supply products at non-traditional times, but also the proliferation of new varieties and growing techniques is also changing the way product is supplied. So, we see a lot of globalisation on the supply side as well as the buy side, which has huge ramifications for all of us in the supply chain." Full article available here

3.4. Australia is in the process of revolutionising its barcode systemGS1 Australia is in the process of revolutionising its barcode system, providing more information and traceability, regarding the identity of loose produce items. Driven by Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, says retailers have been working with suppliers to implement the GS1 data bar, where the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is linked back to the packhouse where that item has been sourced.

"The most exciting thing on the horizon is data embedded barcodes, and that comes in two forms; a slightly bigger "1D" barcode, or a much smaller "2D" barcode, called a data matrix. "It includes a lot of additional data, for example, not just that a product is a tray pack of meat, but it has variable weight, production date, best before date, either a batch or serial number, and whether it is a prime cut or not," he said. "."Woolworths is implementing a new barcode trial, starting next month, working with two meat suppliers, using a 2D data matrix barcode. But the supermarket eventually would

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like to do a similar thing with fresh produce, which currently has a barcode, such as ready to eat soups and salad kits."What this means is that if you look at your pre-packaged salads, it has a pre-printed barcode on it," he said. "As soon as you want to include data like a batch code or use-by date, you have to move away to in-line barcode technology. This is the discussion that we have to have in the industry now, regarding what is the potential for businesses to introduce in-line barcode printing technology. The other big discussion is, we know where Woolworths is at, so we need to get the other retailers together to form an industry-wide roadmap. There's nothing worse as a supplier doing it one way for Woolworths, but all the others require the old way."

One of the challenges is the introduction of different types of barcode labelling on packages."You have QR codes which is for BTC - business to consumer marketing purposes," he said. "You have got your traditional 1D barcode for point of sale scanning. In the US there's a thing called 'smart label' where you scan it and it takes you to a brand-owner website that gives you access to all the off-pack label information around nutritional data and allergen statements. There's a lot of information that is hard to fit on smaller packets." The company presented a global standard to industry last year, called Digital Link, which incorporates a URL into a barcode. Full article available here

China

3.5. Chinese avocado market has changed drastically compared with last year

The avocado market in China is increasing in popularity and the acceptance of the Chinese consumer for avocados is also increasing. This does not go unnoticed by Chinese companies who are looking into the avocado business as the market conditions change. Last year in May the avocado market was really good, avocados were sold for good prices and that gave a lot of companies good profits. This year those conditions changed drastically. Many companies saw the conditions last year and decided to start investing in this fruit, which resulted in an oversupply in May this year and lower prices for avocados.

China is a growing market for avocado, but it is not ready yet to absorb such huge amounts of supply. Last year the market demand and supply were in balance, but this year that was not the case. Chilean avocados entered the Chinese market all at the same time, which forced the prices down. So in May the market was bad and now slowly it will develop to a more stable market again as the supply gets less and people that lost money will leave the market. China is not yet at the same level as for example the American of Japanese market with importing avocados, the demand is growing but not at the same pace. China still needs some years to develop a stable demand for this fruit and to let consumers really accept this as a normal fruit for their daily life. Full article available here

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Food safety3.6. EFSA lists food safety research needsThe European Food Safety Authority has identified research priorities in food safety for the next 5 to 10 years. The agency listed its regulatory research priorities under three streams: Safe Food Systems, Innovation in Risk Assessment, and Holistic Risk Assessment out of 10 identified during consultations.

The first section considers the impact on food safety of innovation in food production and such systems. This includes quicker detection of food fraud through improved surveillance, deliver tools to identify vulnerable systems for food production, susceptible to multiple pest and pathogens and better preparedness of threats to food safety, for migrant and indigenous populations.

The second area looks at what impact new knowledge and tools may bring to risk assessment of food safety with current approaches being too resource‐intensive, and raising issues of reproducibility and ethics. This features integration of molecular data such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics in microbiological risk assessment and using standardized and validated analytical and sequencing methodologies and tailored tools to use whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis for risk assessment.

The final part will focus on understanding the societal context in which science is delivered. Such as benefits of using blockchain technology along the food chain, including for supply chain monitoring and potential prevention of food fraud and ability to use crowdsourcing, operate real‐time monitoring and signal alerts with help of big data analytical platforms to assess effectiveness of research streams and priorities. The priorities have been endorsed by the scientific committee. Full article available here

3.7. ‘The world needs zero-waste plants’A large proportion of crops, and hence valuable proteins, fats, fibres and other plant matter, are lost during the harvest. Luisa Trindade, Professor at Wageningen University & Research, says this needs to change. “The world needs plants that can be used to the last molecule.” This article looks at Miscanthus a plant that produces large quantities of fibre which can be used in the production of a range of products Full article available here

3.8. Austria, the first European country to ban glyphosate

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With the ban on the use of glyphosate approved by the Viennese parliament on Tuesday 2 July, Austria has become the first EU country to ban the use of this weed killer on a national scale.Glyphosate is the most widely used plant protection product in European agriculture, but there is an on-going debate about its effects on health and the environment. Experts in Austria warn that the ban may violate European legislation, which allows the use of glyphosate within the EU until the end of 2022.  Full article available here

3.9. Smaller vegetables to combat wastageSmaller households have a need for smaller vegetables as a means of reducing food wastage. The demand for organic and unpackaged vegetables is growing in this respect. These are the findings of a study conducted by vegetable and fruit distributor The Greenery and vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan.

Consumer research conducted by The Greenery and Rijk Zwaan shows that smaller vegetables can be one way of reducing vegetable wastage. Both companies accepted the challenge and today, as a pilot, are bringing a product range consisting of some 20 smaller vegetables, including conical cabbage, broccoli and lettuce, onto the market. These vegetables are not only smaller-sized than the standard version, they are also available as organic vegetables and in unpackaged form. The new vegetable concept is referred to as 'Little & Fresh'. The pilot is expected to quickly gain momentum.

The vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan has devoted efforts to developing smaller vegetable varieties for a number of years. "Developing smaller vegetable varieties may sound simple, but not every vegetable variety is suitable for this. Furthermore, growers, retailers and consumers want a uniform product. Full article available here

Innovation3.10. Organic sanitizer kills bacteria on fresh veggiesFood scientists have found that a combination of lactic acid with food grade sodium hypochlorite is an effective sanitizer to process fresh organic vegetables. A research team led by Yang Hongshun from the Food Science and Technology Programme at the chemistry department at the National University of Singapore has found that a combination of organic acid (lactic acid, 2 percent v/v) and food grade sodium hypochlorite (4 mg/L) is an effective sanitizer for organic food products. Full article available here

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