Hosted by FFS partner RDA ACT, the Victualis 2 dinner brought together key players in the region’s agrifood sector for an info-packed evening focused on sustainable, resilient urban food systems.

UNE’s Angus Dingley is exploring how temperature extremes affect pollination in polytunnels to help growers produce more and better berries.

We congratulate Ripan Debnath on taking out his PhD from UNSW and for securing a new role as a Consultant for the University of Newcastle’s Institute for Regional Futures.

At the end of his transformative 12-month tenure as FFS CEO, we sat down with Dr James Krahe to delve into his academic journey, hear about significant milestones in his career, and gain insight into his enthusiasm for collaboration and its power to bring about transformative real-world outcomes.

As CRC Industry PhD student attached to the ‘Blueberry nutritional optimisation’ project, Gareema Pandey is working with crop scientists and sustainability experts at Western Sydney University and NSW Department of Primary Industries to improve the nutritional profile of blueberries grown undercover.

Distinguished Professor David Tissue’s recent trip included visits to former students and leading research institutions, a gigantic flux tower tour and some memorable dinners.

University of New England mapping experts are again teaming with Hort Innovation in a significant collaboration to extend the national tree-crop map.

In the picturesque coastal city of Coffs Harbour, the collaborative spirit was in full swing as the Coffs Agrifood Living Lab (CALL) launched at Yarrila Place on October 25

Sydney-based SME LLEAF has secured a global distributor for its innovative light-spectra-shifting agricultural film, shown to boost crop yields by up to 20%.

The National Farmers’ Federation’s first female President stepped down on 25 October to take on a global advocacy role as a Director of the World Farmers’ Organisation.

NSW DPI is collaborating with QUT and farmers state-wide in research that aims to establish what drives consumers’ fresh-produce purchases – knowledge growers can use to craft personalised marketing messages.

In September, Future Food Systems welcomed Sunshine-Coast-based sustainable exotic mushroom grower Kenon Corporation into its consortium.

QUT PhD student Lijun ‘Lucy’ Summerhayes, whose research explored urban food policy in Australia, was awarded her doctorate in September.

Scientia A/Prof. Donald’s love of mass spectrometry took him from UC Berkeley to UNSW; where his research includes leading an exciting FFS project with All G Foods.

Could a six-month dose of free fresh produce lead to improved health in food-insecure Australians with type-2 diabetes? The George Institute and UNSW are working with Harris Farm Markets to find out. 

In August, FFS team members flew west for a series of stakeholder meetings, visits to Mt Lindesay and Melville Park farms and delivery of an FFS-FIPWA workshop.

Western Sydney University PhD student Claudia Vacca has spent their career studying plant pathogens, from trees to potatoes, developing new ways for early detection and intervention.

Thriving in the male-dominated fields of freight and logistics is no easy feat. But Dr Elli Irannezhad is no ordinary woman.  

In July. Future Food Systems staff, research leads and PhDs represented FFS, our projects and our mission at conferences and agrifood events nationwide.

Industry partner FP Paradigm is teaming with UNSW scientists in a series of projects that aim to develop food and beverage packaging that is smarter, safer and more sustainable.

A new Future Food Systems project will establish Australia’s first food-focused ‘Living Lab’ to foster creative collaboration among stakeholders in Coffs’ agrifood ecosystem, including co-designing the concept for a dedicated food innovation and logistics precinct for the region.

FFS PhD student Mazadul Islam is working with experts in two nations to find more sustainable ways to fertigate indoor vegetable crops.

Hort Innovation consulted berry growers Australia-wide to identify viable, cost-effective technology to address one of the sector’s greatest challenges: harvesting labour.

FFS partner LLEAF has opened a large-scale ‘solar laboratory’ to trial its light-spectrum-shifting, crop yield-boosting agricultural films in commercial glasshouse conditions.

FFS project lead and UNSW Professor Hoon Han was one of 18 Korean academics worldwide chosen to meet the Republic of Korea’s President.

Darwin-based FFS PhD scholar Gehan Abdelghany’s research is contributing valuable agronomic information to the FFS-backed ‘Commercialising native rice’ project.

Launched in mid-July, Australia’s first national map of PC systems enables accurate yield forecasting and speedy, targeted response to natural disasters and biosecurity threats.

Future Food Systems headed to NSW’s Northern Tablelands in June, visiting University of New England and Costa Group’s state-of-the-art tomato-production glasshouse.

A UNSW-EcoMag project team is exploring cost-effective ways to turn agricultural and industrial waste into low-carbon plasterboard and cladding.

On 14 June, FFS staff and PhDs visited Western Sydney University Hawkesbury campus and the $7m National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre.

A grades in high-school science turned into a career path for Sumitra Saha, who recently joined Murdoch University as a PhD student on the’Novel microbiome technology’ project team.

UNSW A/Prof. Jason Scott specialises in developing sustainable new materials, including planet-friendly plasterboard and F&B packaging for FFS. F&B packaging for FFS.

From insects to cultured meat, nothing is off the table when it comes to feeding the world’s growing population, says UNSW professor Johannes le Coutre.

A Charles Darwin University research group reveals what’s needed for Northern Australia to build its own food manufacturing capabilities.

On the eve of Future Food Systems’ fourth anniversary, Dr James Krahe reflects on the collaborations, accomplishments, research outcomes and unwavering support that have been instrumental in the growth of the CRC and Australia’s agrifood sector.

A specialised Food Science and Nutrition campus run by Murdoch University has launched at the Food Innovation Precinct WA.

A CDU PhD has shown that two plants native to Northern Australia contain bioactive compounds with significant potential for treating and preventing disease.

A new, stakeholder-set R&D strategy aims to address industry challenges and support smart, sustainable growth in Australia’s protected cropping sector.

Costa Group is teaming up with UNE, NSW DPI and ANU scientists, and FFS to help it reduce carbon use and increase yields in its Guyra tomato glasshouses.

Thriving Sunshine Coast industry cluster Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN) has become a core participant in FFS.

Coast’s expertise in crop responses to environmental stress has helped growers globally. Now he’s lending it to leading grower Costa.

FFS PhD scholar Agyemang is modelliing freight data along the agrifood supply chain to boost efficiency and reduce waste on the path from farm to fork.

UNSW scientists have developed a new web-based decision-making tool to aid agribusiness development in one of NSW’s richest food-producing regions.

Prof. Han has used AI to ascertain land and CBD floorspace use, property values and more. Next, he’s keen to apply it to agrifood freight logistics and decision-making.

Mahesh Galappaththi’s BSc thesis was on elephant-human conflict in Sri Lanka; now, he’s looking to ascertain optimal conditions for truffle cultivation in WA.

Recently, two key members of the FFS team paid a productive visit to our partners in Western Australia.

A world-leading plant microbiologist and Director of the Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation at Western Sydney University, Dist. Prof. Singh leads a FFSCRC project developing bio-based solutions to combat key root pathogens in Australia’s protected cropping systems.

The AARSC’s near-completed map of all commercial protected cropping systems across Australia is already proving its worth as a rapid-response alert system for biosecurity breaches. The team behind it is calling for further feedback before finalising the national baseline map for release mid-year.

Hort Innovation and Protected Cropping Australia held a Summit on 17 March to develop a fresh R&D plan for the sector.

UNSW mapping experts have sought stakeholder feedback on a tool developed to aid agribusiness planning in the Namoi.

A new, $6.8M FFS project links vertical farm operators, data solutions providers and seed distributors with crop, sensor and IoT experts to develop tools that monitor and manage crop performance, pests, pathogens and pollination in near-real-time, enabling automated indoor production.

FFS Industry PhD Kundu is working with UNSW scientists and All G Foods to ascertain the precise makeup of dairy proteins.

Research Program 3 Deputy lead, Murdoch University’s Mike Ridout, is stepping down from his role with FFS to take some much-deserved R’n’R. We wish him all the best in his next adventure!

QUT robotics experts have developed a self-guiding robotic platform that enables hands-free pollination in a commercial greenhouse, paving the way to cost-effective automation of labour-intensive tasks.

In the first student catch-up of the year, new FFSCRC CEO Dr James Krahe addressed our PhD cohort on the pros and cons of working in industry vs academia.

A UNE team’s groundbreaking research for Costa Group into hydoponic tomatoes’ root-zone microbes has garnered international media attention. 

Dr Rona Chandrawati is a Scientia Associate Professor within UNSW’s School of Chemical Engineering and one of the Faculty of Engineering’s most awarded academics.

FFSCRC Industry PhD student and Western Sydney University student Sonali Koundal is exploring sustainable ways to fertigate glasshouse-grown vegetable crops for the benefit of growers and the environment.

A new FFSCRC project aims to develop a cost-effective way of delivering methane-reducing feed additives to ruminants in the field.

A $3.5m FFSCRC project with Hort Innovation and LLEAF is trialling two greenhouse-film prototypes that have the potential to boost crop productivity, slash input costs and shrink the environmental footprint of Australia’s PC horticulture sector.

UNSW Sydney PhD student and FFSCRC PhD student Yi-Ya Hsu is developing a tool to help planners and policymakers formulate a smart, sustainable mixed-use strategy for available city office space.

On Friday 24 February, the multi-million-dollar Food Innovation Precinct Western Australia, aka Mereny Bidi Boodja, was formally opened at Peel Business Park in the state’s south-west.

Murdoch University’s Food Futures Institute has appointed key leaders to drive operations at its Food Technology Facility. Future Food Systems CRC is a major partner in the operations of the FTF.

Early results from the CRC’s ‘Food metabolomics library’ project, set to appear in prestigious academic journal Food Science, detail a fast, simple method for measuring lipid components that accurately distinguishes free-range from cage and barn-laid eggs. 

Future Food Systems CRC is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr James Krahe as its new chief executive officer.

The inaugural Future of Food Summit highlighted some of the key challenges facing global food supply, and identified innovative and sustainable solutions.

The Future Food Systems CRC 2021/2022 Annual Report provides an overview of project achievements, financials, CRC project case studies and highlights of the third year of operation.

The Summit mini-expo, a mix of future food innovations, Indigenous ingredients, upcycled products, agricultural robots and healthy pulse-based snacks, was a chance for Future Food Systems CRC and QUT to showcase their capabilities in the sustainable agrifood space.

Experts in infrastructure planning and transport logistics, advanced nutritional analysis and innovative, Indigenous-led agrifood systems from the Netherlands, UK and Canada gave attendees of the 2022 Future of Food Summit much food for thought.

Mindy Woods, Indigenous chef-restaurateur, two-times MasterChef contestant, Australian culinary ambassador and 2022 Future of Food Summit Gala Dinner keynote, talks about a sustainable approach to food that’s been honed over millennia..

Four fascinating guided tours, free to Summit delegates, showcase QUT’s world-class capabilities in robotics and automation, agrifood innovation, tropical crops, advanced analysis and Indigenous ingredients.

CRC Industry PhD student Miranda Yang is exploring novel methods for spray-drying CRC industry partner Baker & Co’s liquid spice ingredients to increase their shelf life and make it simpler to transport them.

CRC PhD student Charlotte Rowley is working with world-leading scientists at Murdoch University to produce molecular-level profiles of fruit and olive oil that can be used to formulate precision nutrition products and back provenance and health claims.

New ATSE report ‘Our STEM skilled future – An education roadmap for an innovative workforce’ compiles findings from five roundtables to make sector-specific and overarching recommendations addressing Australia’s skills shortages. Future Food Systems’ Prof. Cordelia Selomulya contributed.

On 14 October 2022, the Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC) and Centre for Computational and Systems Medicine (CCSM) organised a successful inaugural research symposium on precision nutrition at Murdoch University that featured early findings from Future Food Systems CRC’s ‘Food […]

Indigenous foods and sustainability champion, former MasterChef contestant and proud Bundjalung woman Mindy Woods will be the MC for the 2022 Future of Food Summit Gala Dinner on the evening of 1 December at Queensland Museum, in Brisbane’s CBD.

Our expanding Summit speaker contingent includes industry, academic and government leaders from across the CRC’s cohort and beyond.

In a Hort Innovation-backed project part-funded by the CRC, Murdoch University scientists are exploring the specific combinations of microbes required to cut chemical use and boost yields in some of Australia’s most valuable fruit and veg crops.

Future Food Systems CRC SME partner EcoMag has been named a finalist in the Innovation category at the 2022 Waste Innovation & Recycling Awards. 

She’s the Academic Chair in Biosecurity and Food Security at Murdoch University and a seasoned plant biotechnologist. A/Prof. Bayliss also leads a $1.4M project part-funded by the CRC that’s set to boost the yields of popular fruit and vegetable crops. 

On 8 September, the UNSW-based Chemical Engineering Research Society (CERS) hosted a well-attended tasting of Love BUDS, the new alt-meat range from CRC participant All G Foods.

This spring, Irish doctoral candidate Suzanne Kelly tours partner universities as a guest of the Future Food Systems CRC, looking at agrifood-related research involving social capital, innovation and knowledge exchange.

A new Future Food Systems CRC project helmed by world-leading crop scientist, Western Sydney University’s Professor Brajesh Singh, will explore novel ways to combat common root pathogens in Australian protected cropping operations. 

Future Food Systems PhD student Emily Davies is investigating the composition and safety of herbal weight loss supplements while learning from world-leading scientists at Murdoch Uni’s ANPC and using multi-million-dollar Bruker equipment.

On 29 August, Ms Robyn Preston MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Science, Innovation and Technology and Member for Hawkesbury, stopped in at Future Food Systems CRC HQ on UNSW’s Randwick campus as part of a broader visit to UNSW Sydney.

Regional Development Australia’s ACT division is set to act on the agrifood-sector value-adding opportunities identified in FIAL’s Capturing the Prize report.

Murdoch University and Hort Innovation are collaborating in a Future Food Systems CRC project exploring vegetable crop microbiomes; the team is now seeking a talented early-career researcher.

Future Food Systems CRC PhD student Rishi Naik has won the runner-up People’s Choice award in this year’s AIFST Poster Competition. Congratulations, Rishi!

Sydney-based natural ingredients manufacturer Baker & Co is drawing on UNSW’s expertise in spray-drying and encapsulation to turn liquid taste ingredients into equally flavourful, but more adaptable and easily exportable powdered equivalents.

SME partner EcoMag and UNSW scientists have teamed up in a CRC project to upcycle waste from industrial processes, agriculture and salt production into a sustainable building material, helping to shrink the construction industry’s carbon footprint.

Eleven of the CRC’s PhD scholarship holders met up recently for their first-ever catch-up, with each presenting their research findings.

Andrew Tilley studied food science and technology at Perth WA’s Curtin University, but took the long way round to a CRC-backed PhD at Murdoch via the food manufacturing industry.

New CRC industry partner All G Foods is teaming with UNSW scientists in an exciting four-year project that seeks to precisely mimic the nutritional and functional attributes of dairy proteins using no dairy-cow inputs. 

In the recently completed ‘Smart Glass’ project, scientists at Western Sydney University showed the energy-saving ability of SG ULR-80 and the yield-increasing potential of LLEAF. Next steps? To combine the strengths of both.

The National PC mapping project team is calling for peer review of its draft maps of protected cropping operations across Queensland and much of Northern NSW.

Putting Australian native rice on our plates and in restaurants is one step closer after a successful harvest of three species sourced from Northern Australian wetlands.

WA Future Food Network and the CRC hosted a recent roundtable with WA food and beverage sector stakeholders to identify industry obstacles to value-adding.

CRC supporting partner Qatar University is drawing on the expertise and state-of-the-art greenhouse facilities at Western Sydney University to help it develop sustainable fertigation solutions for indoor growers. 

Sri-Lanka-born, Western Sydney University-based Eranda Namal Jayasuriya is one of two PhD students attached to the CRC’s ‘IoT for indoor cropping’ project. 

Premium WA food supplier Silverplace is looking to Mt Lindesay farmers and Murdoch University scientists to help develop the know-how required to expand Australia’s high-value truffle industry.

Western Sydney University post-doc researcher Sachin Chavan’s CRC report ‘Protected cropping: Current technologies and target crops’ is the cover feature for the June 2022 issue of peer-reviewed journal Crops.

Supervised by Prof. Zhonghua Chen, CRC PhD student Terry Lin is assessing the long-term performance of various cooling technologies and greenhouse set-ups at WSU’s high-tech glasshouse facility.

Brisbane’s ARM Hub, North Queensland Banana Farmers and Hort Innovation have teamed up to help growers identify opportunities to cut costs by adopting ‘continuous improvement and automation technology’.

Fifteen members of the CRC cohort joined a recent daytrip to visit industry partner Sanitarium’s research facility on NSW’s Central Coast.

The 2022-23 NSW Budget contains a number of measures designed to harness the potential of regional NSW.

WA producers of honey, olive oil, free-range pork and seafood were among the latest recipients of DPIRD’s International Competitiveness Co-Investment Fund grants.

Western Sydney University scientists are trialling LLEAF P/L’s new ‘light-spectra-shifting’ agricultural films on horticultural crops in a trio of CRC projects that are the focus of a recent ABC Landline segment.

WA DPIRD, Murdoch University and the CRC are teaming up to deliver R&D to agrifood firms via a purpose-built food-tech facility at FIPWA.

Creating transparency of the world’s food supply is the clear motivation for Fraser Taylor, GM of the FoodSwitch program at The George Institute for Global Health.

Costa Group is constructing a scaled-down version of its commercial glasshouse at UNE to house CRC project trials seeking cues to crop stress that can alert growers to act, preventing costly losses. 

CRC industry partner EcoMag is set to supply its high-purity Mg products to buyers across Europe and beyond via IMagine, the new magnesia arm of major industrial minerals distributor Cofermin Group.

At the Chemical Engineering Research Society’s CRC-sponsored networking night on 2 June, students and post-grads met reps from 40+ firms including Sanitarium, Arnotts, All G Foods, AB Mauri and Tip Top in “a night full of opportunities and exchange of ideas”.

Yusuf Adewale, PhD student, is developing a predictive modelling tool for ascertaining egg production and quality.

QUT PhD and FFS PhD Lijun Summerhayes is researching urban food planning in Australia.

Odgerel Bumandalai is a FFSCRC PhD student at CRC partner institution Murdoch University. Bumandalai’s thesis is investigating the use of cold-plasma technology to extend the safe shelf life of fresh spirulina.

UNSW PhD student Rishi Ravindra Naik is looking to develop new products with ‘clean label’ and sustainability claims by modifying non-traditional plant proteins with seaweeds for improved techno-functionality.

At the first of a series of Science meets Business events hosted by FIPWA and the CRC, key stakeholders in WA’s agrifood system discussed how smart trade solutions can help expand export opportunities for the sector.

Federal Labor has promised to fund one-third of WSU’s $50m Agri Tech Hub, which is set to become the nation’s first high-tech commercial, teaching and research greenhouse complex.

On 4 May, CRC stakeholders met at the soon-to-be-completed Food Innovation Precinct Western Australia (the Precinct) in the Shire of Murray to sign lease agreements for core facilities within the precinct.

The National Protected Cropping map is expanding, with draft mapping of PC facilities for the Adelaide and Tasmanian growing regions now completed and published online, ready for peer review. 

David Eyre, founding CEO of the Future Food Systems CRC, has stepped down from the role.

A new CRC project pairs UNSW mapping expert Dr Hoon Han with Namoi Unlimited, a group of five Northern Rivers-area councils keen to boost agribusiness development in this rich agricultural region.

Western Sydney University’s Prof. Zhonghua Chen is an expert in plant physiology, plant breeding, biophysics and agronomy – and an academic mentor to Australia’s next generation of crop scientists. 

Project lead Ozgur Dedehayir’s presentation at the 2021 CRC Showcase outlined the key findings of the ‘Coffs Harbour food ecosystem’ project, which lays the foundation for development of a future food cluster in Coffs.

AARSC senior researcher Craig Shephard leads the National PC mapping project, an initiative of Protected Cropping Australia supported by Hort Innovation, UNE, LLSNSW and the CRC. He’s also a keen mountain-biker.

Terrific results from the UNSW project team regarding new processing protocols for high-grade Mg organics are enabling EcoMag to scale up rapidly to meet initial orders from major US clients including Walmart and CVS.

Relentless rain did little to dampen the spirits of the estimated 450 delegates, 40 virtual attendees, 60 exhibitors and large CRC-cohort contingent at this year’s PCA conference in Coffs Harbour.

The governments of Australia’s eastern-seaboard states have co-signed an MoU to develop hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for heavy trucking on major highways linking Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

FIAL’s revamped Australian Food and Beverage Catalogue acts as a digital conduit between export-ready local F&B suppliers and qualified buyers worldwide, helping to grow the share of Australian food in the global marketplace.

A nine-year strategy for those growing crops undercover developed by QDAF with input from key stakeholders including FIAL and the CRC is set to be implemented by Protected Cropping Australia and Hort Innovation.

Murdoch University has announced the appointment of Professor Rajeev K Varshney, agricultural scientist and tropical crop-breeding expert, to its acclaimed Food Futures Institute.

CSIRO’s new National Protein Roadmap shows how Australia can capture a $13 billion opportunity to deliver quality proteins of all types – animal, plant and cell-cultured – to meet growing demand globally. 

A UNSW PhD supervised by the CRC’s Prof Cordelia Selomulya has won the highly competitive RedShiftBio StructIR Lab Grant. She’ll use it to further her research into plant-protein functionalities.

Traceability Learning Journeys, a GS1 report commissioned by CRC partner WA DPIRD, is based on conversations with 20+ WA food and beverage firms about the benefits accrued and lessons learned from improving their traceability systems.

The WA Food Innovation Precinct’s key strategic partner is market-testing local gourmet produce including black barley, honey and oat milk in potential export markets, helping local SMEs showcase their products, initially to Singaporean buyers.

UNE’s Remote Sensing Centre is going offshore with its world-first tree crop mapping capability. The same capability is being deployed in a Hort Innovation-UNE project to map Australia’s protected cropping facilites supported by PCA and the CRC.

Three new doctoral candidates will contribute valuable research to CRC projects, investigating cooling strategies for protected cropping, analysing herbal weight loss supplements and creating detailed molecular profiles of WA foods to form the foundation of strategies around precision nutrition.

Hear BeefLedger Chair Warwick Powell discuss the ‘Smart trade’ team’s blockchain-backed digital platform and its potential to streamline cross-border trade.

Food Innovation Australia Limited’s recently released Australian Food & Beverage Catalogue showcases export-ready food and beverage suppliers from across Australia to qualified buyers domestically and abroad.

This producer-focused network’s new, free-to-join web portal helps Western Australian food producers keen to value-add connect with providers right along the F&B supply chain.

Research leads, PhDs and project collaborators from government and industry are among the CRC-affiliated presenters at this year’s PCA Conference.

ICYMI, UNSW’s new, state-government-backed Health Translation Hub, will house 15 storeys of health education and research facilities, linking students and experts with the Randwick hospitals cluster. The hub is expected to benefit patients, carers and the broader NSW community.

Western Sydney University researchers are leading an expert team that will transform Bicentennial Park at Sydney Olympic Park into the coolest public park in the state.

The CRC’s ‘Smart trade hubs’ collaboration, involving QUT and SME BeefLedger, was one of just two finalists for ICT Research Project of the Year in the ACS’s 2022 Digital Disruptor Awards’.

Woolworths’ venture capital and growth fund W23 has made a multi-million-dollar capital injection into alt-protein and precision-fermentation start-up All G Foods.

QUT researchers are using advanced gene-editing techniques to develop new Cavendish and Goldfinger banana varieties resistant to Panama Tropical Race 4, a deadly disease threatening global production.

Australian food and beverage manufacturers: apply by 18 February 2022 for grants of up to $25,000 to boost energy-efficiency and adopt new energy technologies under the latest round of the federal government’s Energy Efficient Communities program.

A strategy to provide direction and support for crops grown under shelter in Australia has been launched. Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said the Australian Protected Cropping Strategy 2021-2030 was a pathway for the industry to develop. […]

Murdoch University scientists are using cutting-edge methods and equipment to profile the nutritional makeup of high-value produce from across Western Australia, including truffles, artichokes and olive oil.

Grants of up to $25,000 are available to assist food and beverage manufacturing SMEs in improving their energy-efficiency under the latest round of the Australian Government’s Energy Efficient Communities program.

The expansion of Costa’s Tomato Exchange glasshouse facility near Guyra, NSW, brings its total footprint to 40+ hectares, making it the largest such complex in the Southern Hemisphere.

Murdoch University research helped transform the Australian livestock industry through the development of a grading system for meat quality. Now, a new research project is setting the fast-growing global aquaculture industry in its sights. 

Woolworths Group has begun constructing its first-ever automated ‘customer fulfilment centre’ in Auburn, Western Sydney.

In this half-hour podcast, UNSW Professor and the CRC’s Research & Commercialisation Director Cordelia Selomulya talks about sustainable, STEM-enabled food systems and the role research-industry collaboration can play in realising these.

A new report from CSIRO and the Business Council of Australia aims to arm business leaders with strategies for translating research outcomes into scaleable commercial innovations.

Queensland University of Technology’s Dr Ozgur Dedehayir researches the strategic implications of technological evolution, disruptive innovations and their impacts on society. Most recently, he’s been focused on food innovation ecosystems – a topic that resonates with this keen home chef.

Among the food and beverage firms sharing $33+m under the federal government’s MMI’S Translation and Integration streams is FAN food-cluster member Turbine Sunshine Coast, which will use its $8.7m grant to establish a large-scale contract manufacturing and R&D precinct at Sunshine Coast Airport.

The Horticulture Innovation Australia-backed University of Tasmania course is now in its fifth year. Apply now to join the 2022 cohort.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand and The George Institute, known for its diet-friendly FoodSwitch app, have joined forces to develop a database that helps consumers understand the nutritional value of packaged foods in the region.

Peel Development Commission has launched a roadmap to help the region’s food and beverage producers capitalise on market opportunities domestically and overseas.

Western Australia’s new agrifood network aims to ‘connect, inspire and educate’ local food producers and manufacturers to drive the development of a progressive, sustainable agrifood sector for the state.

WA DPIRD has announced new food-labelling requirements and a new registration process for food processing and storage facilities handling product for export to China. 

New PVCR, Scientia Professor Sven Rogge brings a wealth of experience to furthering the strategic priorities and objectives of research at UNSW Sydney.

The Future Food Systems CRC 2020/2021 Annual Report provides an overview of project achievements, financials, CRC case studies and highlights of the second year of operation.

Recent ABS stats show that Australian industry’s R&D spend as a proportion of GDP is half the OECD average and the lowest it’s been since 2003, but CSIRO analyses reveal that investing in innovation pays off, and is crucial for the nation’s future resilience and prosperity.

The $47.5m Lang Walker AO Medical Research facility, due to open in 2023, will enable local researchers to address the region’s unique health challenges. WSU and UNSW are participants.

Western Parkland City Authority has released its concept for a 24-hour, state-of-the-art Airfreight Interface at Western Sydney International Airport. Now it’s seeking stakeholder comment via an online survey open until 8 December.

The final report of the ‘Coffs food innovation ecosystem’ project proposes four pathways to help the region’s agrifood firms transition to a new state of production marked by greater output and higher-value products.

The 2022 Times Higher Education rankings showcase UNSW’s strength across a broad range of disciplines, notably STEM subjects.

Western Sydney University has launched its vision for an Agri-Tech Hub: a six-hectare, high-tech greenhouse complex for commercial, teaching and research work that will help create new jobs and opportunities for high-tech horticulture in the region.

Protected cropping experts at Western Sydney University are embarking on a CRC project with new partner Qatar University to deliver novel fertigation solutions that optimise indoor crops.

From October 2021, Sanitarium Health Food Company will include the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) on its Weet-Bix boxes, letting customers know the packaging is now fully recyclable – with the packaging of other Sanitarium products soon to be 100% recyclable, too.

World-leading technology has landed in Mackay, bringing Queensland one step closer to a $1 billion sustainable, export-oriented industrial biotechnology and bioproducts sector.

CRC Board member Peter Schutz OAM has netted the 2021 Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology President’s Award for his outstanding contribution to the Australian food industry. 

In a project starting mid-February 2022, UNSW scientists will work with Sanitarium to develop protocols for optimising the firm’s Weet-Bix grain-drying process.

Charles Darwin University’s Dr Sean Bellairs is a specialist in site revegetation and in breeding and establishing plants indigenous to Australia’s north. He’s also the research lead on the CRC’s four-year, multi-partner ‘Native rice commercialisation’ project.

Gippsland-based Federation University has launched a three-year Bachelor of Sustainable Food Systems course that gives participants the practical and theoretical skills they’ll need to deliver safe, nutritious and sustainable food into local and global markets.

Training modules have been developed to support staff at the University of New South Wales in working with a more sustainable mindset.

Costa’s joint venture with Driscoll’s vertically integrated blueberry operation in the Yunnan Province of China has netted a 2021 Asia Fruit Award for Impact.

Charles Darwin University has been awarded more than $2 million in federal funds to establish a Renewable Energy Microgrid Hub, which will lead research to develop reliable, cost-effective, eco-friendly power systems.

The federal-government-backed $4m Research Institute for Northern Agriculture and Drought Resilience will boost CDU’s research capability in aquaculture, livestock, pastoral production. and cropping and horticulture systems.

RAMPP is a six-year, $50 million federal government program aimed at increasing the resilience and reliability of power supply for regional and remote communities.

New controlled-atmosphere tech shown to double the shelf life of sea-freighted fresh veg could give Australia’s horticulture exporters an edge amid pandemic-fuelled air-freight price hikes.

New South Wales’ peak agricultural association encourages members and non-members to contribute their views to a CRC project that aims to boost farmers’ contributions to state coffers – and their own hip pockets.

UNSW renewables experts Alistair Sproul and Renate Egan weigh in on the future of energy generation, from solar voltaics to wind farms to battery storage.

A just-commenced CRC project involving Murdoch University’s ANPC, WA DPIRD, global scientific equipment firm Bruker and SMEs across WA will develop unique chemical fingerprints to validate health claims, expanding markets for premium WA products.

Involving SME grower P’Petual and QUT robotics experts, this CRC project aims to automate not just pollination, but all sorts of indoor-grown crop-tending tasks. 

New CRC participant Qatar University, based in Doha, is the country’s leading tertiary education and research institution, ranked second of all the Arab universities in the inaugural Times Higher Education (THE) Arab University Rankings.

For University of New England’s Professor Derek Baker, better agribusiness means everything from improving regional infrastructure to reducing waste and finding more resilient, responsive paths to market.

Costa Group has pledged its support for the TCFD, joining more than 1,500 organisations committed to building a more resilient financial system to safeguard against climate risk.

As another bumper season begins Down Under, Perfection Fresh CEO Michael Simonetta talks with Fresh Plaza about the company’s plans for a mango-led global expansion.

UNE has teamed with Tamworth Regional Council and local businesses in a program to get UNE Innovation PhDs working on real-world innovations that capitalise on the region’s food, agribusiness and ag-tech strengths.

Charles Darwin University has received $735,000 in funding from the Australian Government to develop the local industry’s food manufacturing capabilities.

The Victorian Government has pledged $8.4 million to help the state’s agricultural producers manage and minimise supply-chain risks; build capability in domestic markets; and expand their export reach.

A committee led by WSU Vice-Chancellor Barney Glover has helped get NSW Government support for a pilot program that will bring 500 international students to the state’s universities by early December.

Western Sydney University’s new Sustainability and Resilience 2030 strategy builds on the university’s current eco-credibility with commitments to using 100% renewable energy by 2026 and to carbon-neutrality by decade’s end.

Western Sydney University’s new Tech Jobs Accelerator builds on the success of the university’s Launch Pad incubator, ensuring locals benefit from the opportunities that will accompany the soon-to-be-built Aerotropolis and related infrastructure investments.

Creating low-cost sensor labels to record food freshness, finding new ‘circular’ solutions via micro-recycling, and extending the lifespan of next-gen solar cell materials are among 10 UNSW projects nominated for the 2021 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

Both Coles and Woolworths have raced to implement new technology and change labour arrangements to keep pace with a boom in e-commerce, investing in ‘smart’ warehousing and distribution systems and using app-driven gig workers for grocery picking and delivery.

With veganism a growing trend, researchers are documenting its positive impacts. Notably, finds Cambridge research associate Catherine Oliver, veganism allows people to feel good – not just in their health, but in having made planet-friendly choices aligned with their ethics.

Australians waste 7.6 million tonnes of food annually, with 49 per cent of this occurring between farm and retailers’ shelves, and 51 per cent at the consumer end of the supply chain. Right now, Australian households are throwing away between […]

Horticulture Innovation Australia, University of New England’s AARSC, Protected Cropping Australia, NSW LLS and Future Food Systems CRC have teamed up to develop a high-tech tool to map Australia’s protected cropping facilities, thereby aiding biosecurity preparedness and natural disaster response efforts.

NSW Circular is offering up to $600k to support circular-economy scale-up projects in critical arenas, including solar PV and organic waste. Applications are open until 5pm AEST on Friday 26 November 2021.

CRC food cluster participant Food & Fibre Gippsland has applied the European Union model of Smart Specialisation to undertake feasibility and technical studies for a recycling facility to valorise waste streams from the $7 billion Gippsland sector.

The first sensory evaluation and fingerprinting work is underway in the CRC’s ‘Bioactive components for value-add to Australian artichokes’ project following the winter-spring harvest of Mt Lindesay’s organic globe artichoke varieties.

In the lead-up to the UN’s inaugural Food Systems Summit this month, UN member countries including Australia hosted National Dialogues with stakeholders across the agrifood and sustainability sectors to establish priorities and issues for further discussion. View them here.

Dr Ruey-Leng Loo is a clinical pharmacist who is focusing her clinical expertise on the application of metabolic phenotyping in epidemiological and nutritional studies.

Waste giant SUEZ Australia New Zealand has acquired a 20 per cent stake in award-winning Australian food redistribution company Yume Food.

Nominations for Protected Cropping Australia’s biennial Industry Awards, recognising the contributions of ‘inspiring individuals’ to the protected cropping sector, are open.

The six pioneering companies selected as the WA Food Innovation Precinct’s first X-Protein Lab cohort will work with WA and Singapore-based mentors to help expand the state’s capacity to supply sustainable healthy proteins to local, national and ASEAN markets.

Dist. Prof. David Tissue, CRC Program 2 Lead has been appointed to the role of Research Grant Stream Lead within the new James Martin Institute for Public Policy, which brings policymakers and interdisciplinary academic teams together to address complex societal issues.

Queensland-based Fable Food Co, a CRC participant, has raised $6.5m in seed funding to ramp up R&D and production of its fungi-based meat-substitute products.

The CRC has registered an expression of interest in supporting the new NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub and its networks. The decision to establish the Hub followed the findings of an extensive Decarbonisation Innovation Study initiated in 2019.

Indigenous communities now have a tool enabling them to assess the quality and sweetness of their wild-harvested native bush fruits in the field, rather than sending samples off to food science laboratories.

The winners of Food & Fibre Gippsland’s ‘What’s Your Food or Fibre Challenge, Gippsland?’ have been announced. The successful  businesses will use the funding and support to help them surmount obstacles to sustainable growth.

Boosting water and energy efficiency and cutting waste are just some of the opportunities identified in HIA’s new Horticulture Sustainability Framework, developed with extensive input from sector stakeholders.

The CRC has joined the Oceania Chapter of The Competitive Institute (TCI) Network, an international organisation connecting and supporting specialised industry clusters around the world.

Regional Development Australia ACT calls it ‘a complete re-conception of a City-Region Food System’. The primary objective of the just-launched Canberra Region Food Collaborative is to source more food locally and sustainably.

National fruit and veg wholesaler Perfection Fresh has acquired a major table grapes operation as part of an ongoing push to diversify.

QUT and Smart Trade Networks have just launched the world’s first fully blockchain-enabled credentialled marketplace. In their next ‘Smart trade hubs’ project, just commenced under the CRC, they plan to extend it to other commodities and markets.

When you buy organic food, you don’t always get food free from pesticides, says UNSW expert Associate Professor Jayashree Arcot.

More than $9 million in ARC grants have been awarded to two UNSW Sydney projects providing research into sensors for the health sector and new technologies for Australia’s infrastructure needs.

Mark Cardamis has graduated from making mini greenhouse prototypes to joining a collaborative university-industry project team as a CRC Industry PhD, exploring mobile sensing systems for remote monitoring of crops in advanced indoor greenhouse systems.

To attain its 30×30 goal, NSW Farmers needs the state’s primary producers to expand their contribution to the state’s coffers. So it’s teamed up with UNE researchers in a farmer-focused project that aims to identify obstacles to growth and find ways to overcome them.

In stage 2 of the Smart Trade Hubs program, QUT and SCP Capital will extend their blockchain-backed digital trading platform, developed for premium beef exports to China, to high-value fruits, wines and artisan liquor destined for markets across Asia.

iMOVE CRC research into Australia’s freight transport routes and distribution hubs is the basis for the a new national repository of freight information, which will become progressively more comprehensive as sector users enter more data.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has teamed with global standards group GS1 Australia to help Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing industry implement improved supply-chain standards and technology.

NSW DPI Agriculture has appointed the head of its Northern Horticulture division, Matt Adkins, as its new Leader for Industry Adoption in a bid to boost farmer uptake of its scientifically based business solutions.

QUT Design Lab head and Professor of Urban Informatics Marcus Foth undertakes cutting-edge transdisciplinary work that “brings together people, place and technology”. He’s also leading the CRC’s Smart Trade Hubs project, and using his expertise to help save wombats and bees.

Innovative Queensland developer HydroREC, a spinoff from CRC industry participant Smart Trade Networks, has become a Founding Partner in the Smart Energy Council and Hydrogen Australia’s Zero Carbon Certification Scheme.

CRC industry partner Costa Group has diversified its business further by acquiring Queensland citrus-growing company 2PH Farms.

New research confirms Australia’s offshore wind resources offer vast potential both for electricity generation and new jobs.

If we’re to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, governments, industry and individuals need to do much more, suggest research findings from a multinational team that included UNSW Sydney Professor Tommy Wiedmann.

QUT researchers will lead the $6.5 million ARC Training Centre for Behavioural Insights for Technology Adoption (BITA) that aims to accelerate Australians’ adoption of innovation technologies in health, agriculture and cybersecurity.

Concerned about food production’s planetary impact? Developing food systems that are healthier for people and the planet can be profitable, too, contend the guests of this thought-provoking 45-minute UN-backed podcast.

In this thought-provoking paper, Sydney academic and urban planner Steven Liaros contends that ‘the transition to a fully circular economy will require a paradigm shift … away from large-scale industrial agriculture to a decentralised network of circular food systems’.

MMI Round 2 grant recipients in the food and beverage manufacturing sector include a pie-bakery keen to expand production, a recycled-packaging manufacturer, a soon-to-be-greener brewery, a supplier of beekeeping systems, and a business looking to install new freeze-drying and processing equipment and technology.

$50m in grant funding is on offer to help build supply-chain capabilities in two critical areas: biopharmaceuticals and agricultural production chemicals. Apply by COB 12 August.

Charles Darwin University chemists have developed a scent profile and artificial scent lures designed to help sniffer dogs detect citrus canker disease in Northern Territory citrus orchards.

Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies) at Charles Darwin University will be part of a National Network for First Nations Researchers, being established to help grow the next generation of research leaders.

Jim Fuller – chemical engineer, fine-dining chef, mycologist and now Chief Scientific Officer with Fable Food Co – was a recent guest on celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s podcast Heston’s Journey to the Centre of Food.

Under its Modern Manufacturing Initiative, the Australian Government is offering $800m in grant funding for large-scale collaborative projects in priority manufacturing areas, including food and beverages.

In June 2021, the CRC farewelled outgoing Board member Valerie Linton and welcomed two new Members to its Board: Mark Prendergast and Tony Cull.

UK-trained QUT biochemist Robert Speight is leading a new CRC project with Sanitarium Health Food Company exploring healthy proteins for plant-based products.

Murdoch University Associate Professor Vicky Solah brings 36 years of expertise in food science and human nutrition to the CRC. Right now she’s profiling artichokes for CRC partner Mt Lindesay. Next, she’ll begin upcycled fruit-and-veg product trials at the new WA Food Innovation Precinct.

This CRC report canvasses the latest developments in phenotyping for advanced protected cropping facilities. It assesses tools and tech used by commercial growers to monitor and manage crop inputs impacting attributes including growth, health and yield.

In the lead-up to its annual conference, 18-20 October, the CRC Association is calling for video submissions from early-career researchers. Three winners each get a free trip to Canberra, full registration and the chance to showcase their research and win $5,000. Apply by COB 31 August.

In stage 1 of this multi-year collaboration, two CRC partner universities, NT Government and three First Nations enterprises have joined forces to collect, analyse and develop protocols for the world’s first broadacre plantings of native wild rice in Northern Australia.

iMOVE CRC’s FAST project will explore transport patterns and suggest solutions to reduce congestion and streamline traffic flows in Liverpool LGA, especially between Liverpool CBD and the plannned Western Sydney International Airport.

The federal government’s export support grants have been revamped, with new rules from 1 July. Check out the new application guidelines and your eligibility. 

University of New England researchers are working with Hort Innovation, NSW DPI and the Australian Olive Association to develop tools that improve yield forecasts, reduce water use and aid disease control and risk management.

It’s clean, green, and nutritionally potent. Murdoch University researchers have found a number of uses for microalgae, from animal feed to beta-carotene supplements.