From the CEO
It’s an exciting time for our food cluster participants as governments across Australia back innovation in food manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure.
The $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative has prioritised the food sector. CRC industry and government partners are engaging with the program to channel grant funds into the public and commercial infrastructure needed to power growth in food clusters. In general, it’s great to see stronger alignment between State, Commonwealth and local government initiatives in the food value chain. For example, this month the WA Food Innovation Precinct announced its first X-Protein lab cohort, which includes trade links with Singapore, and RDA ACT launched its Canberra Region Food Collaborative initiative.
CRC projects are on track despite the lockdowns in several states. For example, three of four Sanitarium projects have been completed successfully and a fourth, following workarounds to accommodate laboratory closure, is close to completion. Protected cropping trials have been kept moving despite limited access to experimental facilities, with steady progress made on our pollination, IoT and smart glass projects. In addition, a raft of new projects is in development across the three CRC programs.
On the clean tech front, this month Hort Innovation released its Sustainability Framework for the horticulture sector, and the NSW Government announced the formation of a $15 million statewide Decarbonisation Innovation Hub as part of its $750 million Net Zero Industry and Innovation program. The CRC has joined with research partners to register an expression of interest in supporting Hub activities across the land, water and energy sectors.
Spring brings numerous opportunities to join gatherings aligned with CRC goals and research themes. In September alone, there are two Entrepreneurs’ Programme webinars; a Peel Development Commission-hosted webinar for agrifood firms seeking grant funding; the launch of FIAL’s new Food Waste National Feasibility Study; the inaugural Mandurah-based Future of Food conference and many more. See our listings for details.
David Eyre
CEO, Future Food Systems
Project news
Artichoke project update: Chemical fingerprinting and sensory evaluation
The first sensory evaluation and chemical 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. Read more
InProfile
Meet Ruey-Leng Loo: phenomics & nutritional profiling expert
Dr Ruey-Leng Loo is a clinical pharmacist who is focusing her expertise on the application of metabolic phenotyping in epidemiological and nutritional studies. A key member of the scientific team at Murdoch University’s Australian National Phenome Centre at Murdoch University, she is leading CRC projects investigating the nutritional properties of functional foods.
“By generating detailed fingerprint information of the food that we eat, we can establish what the goodness of the food is. We can use this information to compare different food products and examine how to maintain the nutritional value,” Dr Loo says.
“This ‘fingerprinting’ approach will enable industry partners to monitor and verify food quality, underpin the commercialisation of high-value nutraceutical food products, and offer a translational bridge to the food science industry,” says Dr Loo.
Read more
Featured
CRC joins global cluster network
This month, the CRC joined the Oceania Chapter of The Competitive Institute (TCI) Network, a non-profit NGO with 500-plus members in 111 countries – among them, many of the world’s most successful agrifood-industry clusters. Read more
Advanced Vegetable Processing facility initiative for Gippsland
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. With investment logic mapping completed and an Investor Prospectus now available, Food & Fibre Gippsland invites interested parties to engage in this circular-economy initiative. Address enquiries to Ben Gebert via email. Read more
NSW Government launches Decarbonisation Innovation Hub
Launched in August 2021, the Decarbonisation Innovation Hub will foster collaboration among stakeholders in government, industry and research to advance the development and uptake of clean-energy technologies, enabling NSW to meet its emissions targets and adapt to climate change while generating prosperity and jobs growth. The Hub, to be established by The Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer under the NSW Government Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program, is expected to be up and running by early 2022. Along with research partners, the CRC has registered an expression of interest to support the hub and its networks. Read more
UN Food Systems Dialogues available online
More than 100 National Dialogues were held worldwide to guide the agenda for the United Nations’ inaugural Food Systems Summit in September, including several across Australia. The Australian discussions, the gist of which became the focus of Australia’s contribution to the Pre-Summit event in Rome, are now available online. In turn, they will feed into the official Summit, to take place during the 2021 UN General Assembly in NYC (14-30 Sept). The outcomes of these high-level talks will inform governments and organisations worldwide seeking to transition to sustainable, equitable future food systems. Read more
Industry PhD program
Mark Cardamis: seeking mobile sensing solutions for remote crop control
Working with CRC industry partner WBS Technology, PhD candidate Mark Cardamis is drawing on his background in home automation systems to develop a cost-effective networked sensor system for monitoring indoor cropping facilities remotely. Read more
Grants
WA Government: now funding agrifood projects and initiatives
Competitive grants and funding opportunities abound for Western Australian agrifood businesses, with WA DPIRD offering an array of competitive grants and funding options. Peel Development Commission has scheduled a handy infosession on 16 September to give prospective applicants key details of and tips on successful submissions. Read more
Partner news
Hort Innovation’s new sustainability framework advises on future growing systems
Australia’s peak horticulture industry body has released its Australian-Grown Horticulture Sustainability Framework, offering recommendations on transitioning the sector to more resilient, environmentally friendly production systems. Read more
Perfection Fresh acquires table grapes firm, eyeing new export markets
After a ‘fruitful’ partnership, the fresh-produce giant has bought out Fruit Master’s table-grapes operation as part of an ongoing push to diversify and expand its export reach. Read more
RDA ACT launches Canberra Region Food Collaborative
Regional Development Australia (RDA) ACT and the RDA’s Southern Inland Division have launched a collaborative hub to help promote its goal of developing a smart, sustainable and socially inclusive food-sector cluster in the region. Read more
WAFIP announces its first X-Protein Lab cohort
These six pioneering companies will join the WA Food Innovation Precinct in an initiative that aims to expand the state’s capacity to supply healthy, sustainable proteins to domestic and ASEAN markets, with a particular focus on Singapore. Read more
FIAL National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study takeaways
The official launch of FIAL’s National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study will present key findings from the study and give supply-chain participants tips on food loss and waste reduction. Read more
WSU partners in new Public Policy Institute
Western Sydney University is one of three universities that will partner in the James Martin Institute of Public Policy. The Institute will encourage collaboration between policy and academic experts to develop optimal solutions to complex societal challenges. Read more
Nominations open for PCA Industry Awards 2022
Nominations for Protected Cropping Australia’s biennial Industry Awards, recognising the contributions of ‘inspiring individuals’ to the protected cropping sector, are open. Read more
Portable chemistry kit sweetens native bush fruit production
Researchers at Charles Darwin University have developed a handy ‘mobile toolkit’ for evaluating quality and sweetness in bush foods prior to wild-harvesting. Read more
Fable Food Co raises $6.5m in seed funding
Queensland-based Fable Food has raised $6.5m in seed funding to ramp up R&D and production of its fungi-based meat-substitute products. Read more
Trending
Suez buys stake in Australian food repurposing venture
Waste giant Suez has acquired a 20 per cent stake in award-winning Australian company Yume Foods, which redistributes quality surplus food from farmers and food manufacturers via an online platform. Read more
‘Is cell-cultured meat vegan?’ Future-food labelling challenges
Labels such as ‘vegan’, ‘plant-based’ and ‘animal-free’ are no longer effective ways to discern product contents, contends this opinion piece on tech-enabled alternatives to conventional animal proteins. Read more
Applying NASA ideas and Nobel Prize-winning science to future food-supply challenges
Innovative ag-tech start-up Air Protein is applying century-old tech and astronauts’ ideas to the challenge of making more (food) from less. In this case, a whole lot less. Read more
Events
Future of Food conference
23-24 September 2021
The CRC is a sponsor in this WA-based live-virtual event, which explores topics aligned with our mission to advance smart, sustainable food systems. Can’t make it to Mandurah? Register as a virtual attendee and get value for money from the session-packed conference on Day 1. Read more
National seminar series: Reducing waste in processing and packaging
9, 16, 23 September 1-2pm AEST
Part of the Entrepreneur’s Programme, this webinar series tackles industry challenges in reducing food loss and waste, and explores opportunities in upcycling discarded food into edible and otherwise useful products. Read more
Peel region information session: Agrifood sector grants & funding
16 September 1-4pm AWST
Peel Development Commission’s free infosession is designed to help stakeholders get funding for projects and initiatives that enhance the market readiness of the region’s agrifood sector. Read more
ASTE webinar: Advances in Agriculture and Food Production
Wed 1 September 4.30-6pm AEST
What emerging technologies will drive improved agricultural productivity in coming decades? FIAL’s Mirjana Prica and AgriFutures’ John Harvey explore this question in ASTE’s free webinar. Read more
Achieving carbon net-zero status
Tues 14 September 1-2:30pm AEST
Find out how to certify your business with Climate Active, the federal government’s carbon-neutral certification agency, at this free Entrepreneurs’ Programme webinar. Read more
UN Secretary General’s Food Systems Summit
Late September 2021
The first-ever UN Food Systems Summit brings together leading voices from science, business, policy, healthcare, academia and the community to explore transformative solutions for global food systems and launch ‘bold new actions’ to deliver on the UN’s SDGs. Read more