About Editor

Hailing originally from the UK, Ali Spencer has spent over 25 years working with the New Zealand trade not only here in New Zealand, but also in the UK and Europe. She regularly contributes meat industry material for Food New Zealand and more occasionally for Vetscript. In the past, she has also contributed material for Deer Industry News, NZ Meat Producer and European News (the former NZ Meat Board’s European newsletter).

Greenlea scoops award for business excellence

Business Excellence Awards for Greenlea Premier Meats.Congratulations to Waikato-based beef processor Greenlea Premier Meats, which scooped up the Supreme Award in the 2012 Westpac Waikato Business Excellence Awards, after winning the Tompkins Wake award for businesses employing more than 50 people.

Greenlea is a family-owned business that has grown over the last 20 years from humble beginnings to become a significant player in the New Zealand meat industry. It employs 370 staff at two beef processing plants in Hamilton and Morrinsville, with a turnover of more than $260 million and growing.

The company, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this season, procures over 185,000 prime steers, heifers, manufacturing bulls and cows each year and also, in a new move last season, now also collects bobby calves. The product range includes 425 different specifications, with around 200 in production at any one time, and supplies over 40 countries with New Zealand beef.

Introducing Marel Streamline boning-room technology from Europe to its Hamilton prime-boning room in 2009 and its Morrinsville plant in 2010 was a first for a New Zealand meat company and using this technology for hot-boned beef a first, globally.

Tony Egan' Greenlea Premier Meats new managing director

Tony Egan’ Greenlea Premier Meats’ managing director

The modern and ergonomically designed system has helped to reduce the hard manual work found in traditional beef boning rooms, which means less strain injuries for staff, explains managing director Tony Egan.

The computer-based tracking system provides for more efficient monitoring of yields, quality, throughput and orders at the boning room floor. Supervisors now have the ability to provide data-based feedback to staff on their performance. The company also uses a locally developed tailor-made freezing technology.

According to Egan, Greenlea’s international reputation for reliable service and consistent high quality product has been a key factor in making it the processor of choice in many markets not only in manufacturing beef, but also for high quality prime beef table cuts.

He has a simple answer to how this has all been achieved. “Quite simply, it’s the people that make our company so special and our success comes from creating a great team and encouraging them to do great things.”

This article has appeared in Food NZ magazine (February/March 2013) and is reproduced here with permission.

Foodplus: value added to beef

More value is to be generated from beef with the development of innovative new products for food, ingredients and healthcare, thanks to the latest Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme.

PGP co-funding has been approved by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) for an $87 million Foodplus programme, run by meat processor and exporter Anzco Foods. The PGP fund is committing $43.5 million over seven years towards the programme, with ANZCO matching that funding.

Foodplus will identify opportunities to create new products, with a particular focus on parts of the beef carcase that currently generate less value. ANZCO has identified three markets for innovative new products: food, ingredients and healthcare.

“Adding further value to the carcase is essential for the future success of the meat industry,” MPI director-general Wayne McNee says. “ANZCO’s vision for Foodplus is relevant and bold and now backed by a significant investment.”

Sir Graeme HarrisonANZCO Foods chairman, Sir Graeme Harrison is enthusiastic about the potential of the new Foodplus programme to enhance business opportunities for the sector.

It will give a vital boost to the industry, he says. “For too long, the meat industry has been criticised as being a production-led commodity business characterised by high volatility and marginal profitability. This government-industry partnership provides a springboard to further transform our industry, to leverage off the inherent strengths of our farming practices and animal health status and to collaborate and capitalise on the benefits of quality New Zealand research and innovation.”

“As Foodplus begins to use the PGP’s comprehensive research opportunities, ANZCO will introduce more projects that will certainly challenge and re-invent the traditional uses of beef cattle in particular.

“The Foodplus initiative will build on the existing expertise within ANZCO Foods but also add considerable new processes and opportunities never before realised in the meat industry,” says Sir Graeme.

Rennie Davidson, chief executive  of ANZCO’s Food & Solutions division says ANZCO welcomed the opportunity to partner with the Crown on the Foodplus programme. “It is a large-scale project that wouldn’t be achievable without collaboration. We’re excited about the potential that this will bring to the sector.”

The company also recently announced a company-wide energy management programme, which will see it working with the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority’s business unit over two years to achieve savings of $2 million a year in its processing plant energy usage.

ANZCO Foods is a multinational group of companies and one of New Zealand’s largest exporters, with sales of $1.3 billion and employing more than 3,000 staff worldwide.

This article has appeared in Food NZ magazine (February/March 2013) and is reproduced with kind permission.

Investment and innovation needed for food export growth

Steven JoyceMore investment and more innovative processed foods are going to be needed to double New Zealand food exports by 2025 according to a new report released earlier this week by Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce.

The report, Driving Growth in the Processed Foods Sector says that doubling export sales in the food sector by 2025 will require an export growth of 7.7 per cent to 9.3 per cent per annum for 15 years, leading to approximately $30 billion in new exports.

“The report says that doubling our foods exports by 2025 is achievable. New Zealand’s food industry has seen significant growth over the last 16 years – outperforming a wide range of our competitors – but there are still challenges to overcome if we are to reach our goal,” says Joyce.

The report suggests that with investment, the processed foods industry can build on New Zealand’s existing competitive advantage in food and agriculture, and growth can continue to be driven through developing premium, innovative and niche products that are well-branded.

“New Zealand has good food and beverage exports per capita but we need to move beyond our traditional mix of meat and dairy. Processed value-added foods, like infant formula, nutraceuticals and baked goods, have the best potential for achieving the growth we need.”

Petfoods’ potential is also pointed to in the report.

The project is part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda, to build a more productive and competitive economy. The Agenda sets an ambitious goal to increase the ratio of exports to GDP from the current 30 per cent to 40 per cent of GDP by 2025.

Designed to prompt discussion, the Driving Growth in the Processed Foods Sector report, by Coriolis Research, is part of a suite of reports released under the Food & Beverage Information Project – the most comprehensive analysis of New Zealand’s food industry ever undertaken.

Belgian meat companies in New Zealand

Murray Brown.Representatives of a Belgian company which has imported New Zealand frozen and chilled lamb for almost 40 years have made a flying visit to New Zealand.

Leading meat exporter and processor Alliance Group hosted a delegation from Van Aerde NV and its subsidiary Bimpex Meat NV.

The companies visited Alliance Group’s new venison processing plant at Smithfield near Timaru, a venison farm in Geraldine and the co-operative’s Lorneville plant near Invercargill.

Eddy Lannoo, managing director of Bimpex Meat NV, Jan Van Aerde, director of Van Aerde NV and Karin Severijnen, technical specialist at Van Aerde NV, also discussed the upcoming lamb and venison programme. Bimpex NV specialises in the importation of chilled meat and venison.

Murray Brown, general manager marketing, Alliance Group, said both Bimpex Meat NV and Van Aerde NV were important customers of Alliance Group.

“Bimpex imports between 3,500-4,000 metric tonnes of lamb and venison from New Zealand every year so we obviously value our relationship with them. The company also has strong historic ties with New Zealand, having been established in the 1960s and importing New Zealand frozen lamb to Belgium since the mid 1970s. They have also been importing frozen and chilled venison for 15 years.

“It was also the companies’ first opportunity to visit our new $8.6 million venison plant at Smithfield. The delegation were impressed with the investment in Smithfield, exceptional product quality and food safety standards.”

Until the upgrade, Smithfield only processed sheep and lamb and, with the recent investment, has created more than 50 jobs based at the plant.

 

A new Te Aroha emerges from the ashes

Silver Fern Farms' Te Aroha exterior.Two years after Silver Fern Farms’ Te Aroha beef processing operation was destroyed by fire in December 2010, a state of the art facility opened in December and is up and running in its place.

Silver Fern Farms’ new $67m Te Aroha plant is a hot-boned beef processing operation designed for best practice processing of manufacturing cows, bulls, steers and heifers from farmer suppliers across the Waikato region.

It joins a network of 23 Silver Fern Farms processing facilities employing over 7,000 staff throughout the country. Te Aroha will employ up to 380 staff when operating at full capacity with two shifts in peak season with an annual capacity of 125,000 cattle.

At the plant’s official opening in December last year, Silver Fern Farms chief executive, Keith Cooper, said the new design reflected the company’s focus on plant economics and best practice processing and the investment was testament to the co-operative’s strong confidence in the sector.

The plant has been designed in consultation with internationally recognised experts in process layout and ergonomics. It is compliant with New Zealand, EU, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Chinese hygiene requirements and also to halal standards for the Middle East, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Te Aroha incorporates the latest meat processing technologies; including sophisticated traceability and yield measurement systems.

Te Aroha, December 2013: Computerised Marel Streamline technology monitors meat as it passes through slaughter, grading and boning processes. The plant is configured with a custom-designed two-level Milmeq slaughterboard. Extensive use is made of RFID tags, with scanning stations at slaughter, grading and boning stages, monitored through the new Marel Streamline computerised deboning and trimming system. The process has been designed for complete traceability and to enable Silver Fern Farms to closely monitor key production indicators.

Rapid feedback

This system has the capability to deliver rapid feedback to plant staff on how closely they are meeting customer requirements for particular cuts. This fits with Silver Fern Farms’ plate-to-pasture strategy where consumer requirements are driving process improvements in order for the company to extract higher value returns from products.

This data collection is underpinned by the Primary Growth Partnership FarmIQ joint venture programme – an investment of $151 million by Silver Fern Farms, Landcorp Farming, Tru-Test Group and the Ministry of Primary Industries.

Over the seven years of the programme the aim is to integrate the red meat value chain to maximise returns to farmer partners.

For farmers, information collected at the Te Aroha plant on meat yield and quality can be used to inform farm management decisions as they look for avenues to lift farm system performance. This information can also be married with information from the insights FarmIQ will bring from consumers so farmers can produce to target higher-value returns from specific consumers.

Trimming to specification

Boning room technology at SFF Te Aroha.Following break-down and deboning, the primal cuts are distributed to work stations on the trimming line, based on operator availability. They are then trimmed according to individual specifications and all cuts are fully traceable. The automated conveyor system will enable Silver Fern Farms to closely monitor and control critical key production indicators in real time throughout the complete processing cycle. These include yield, throughput, cutting performance, giveaway and loss of sales. These are automatically registered and monitored for the entire line as well as for the individual operator, using Innova intelligent production control software.

Provision has been made for future installation of technologies including robotic bagging.

Sustainability top-of-mind

Eco-efficiency and sustainability were top-of-mind considerations. As a result, the new plant uses significantly less electricity and water per head and discharges less effluent per animal processed, setting new benchmarks in line with global customer requirements.

Keith Cooper says the rebuild gives the company an opportunity to review the environmental footprint of the operation. “Our focus is improving environmental efficiency while reducing costs through better use of resources and reduction of waste.”

The plant has also been orientated to ensure noisy areas and truck movements are at the centre or the rear of the plant, away from neighbours. Every effort has been made to reduce noise coming from the plant, even to the point that refrigeration equipment, undamaged by the fire, was relocated.

Health and safety focus

Te Aroha, December 2013: Trim stations are individually tailored for each workeer's reach to meat, height and access to work stations.Health and safety was another major focus for the company when developing the specifications for the new facility. Process areas have been designed to minimise workstation hazards. A suite of solutions to minimise lifting, turning and carrying were factored into the design. The boning room has European-designed workstations intended to maximize productivity by minimising operator fatigue and discomfort. At trim stations adjustable work heights, reach to meat and easy access to work positions make for a safer and more comfortable work environment for staff.

Separate viewing areas let people observe the slaughter and boning processes without interfering with workers on the floor. The plant layout also factors in separation between pedestrian and heavy vehicle movement areas to provide a safer environment for people.

Throughout the rebuilding process, Silver Fern Farms endeavoured to provide alternative options for staff whose livelihoods were affected by the fire, to the extent of making positions available at other company plants in the North Island and providing accommodation supplements in the early stages. The company’s significant capital spend also has provided positive spin-offs to the local economy as a result of the number of contractors throughout the region engaged during the course of construction.

Cooper says the co-operative’s loyal farmer-suppliers in the area were particularly supportive of the company through the re-build.

“We are grateful to those suppliers who have stood by us and persevered while we got the new plant up and running – we know the disruption has been an inconvenience for many. But we are enthusiastic about the service levels and advantages we can now offer them as a result of our investment.”

Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

 

This article has appeared in Food NZ magazine (February/March 2013) and is reproduced here with permission.

$38 million funding for greenhouse gas research

Allan BarberThe Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium (PGgRc) has just announced that it has secured funding for a further seven years’ research into greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. $2.3 million per annum will be contributed by industry partners to be matched by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment with the balance to come from AgResearch in its capacity as leader of the research project. Meat industry commentator Allan Barber has taken a look in his latest blog post.

The consortium has been in existence since 2002 and to date has spent about $45 million of 50/50 joint venture funding from industry and government. Its members are Fonterra, Beef & Lamb New Zealand, DairyNZ, AgResearch, Landcorp Farming, DEEResearch, PGG Wrightson Ltd and Fertiliser Association Joint Venture.

As its name indicates, the consortium’s sole focus since it started 11 years ago has been on finding ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and during that period it has made some significant advances. It has developed knowledge specifically in sequencing the first rumen methanogen genome, developing a low emission sheep flock and finding feeds that can reduce methane emissions.

Mark Aspin, consortium manager, told me that a continuation of the funding will enable the programme to focus on five key areas of research:

  •  Refining  animal breeding tools for low emission livestock
  • Identifying more low greenhouse gas feeds
  • Identifying inhibitors that reduce ruminant emissions
  • Developing a vaccine to reduce ruminant emissions
  • Understanding the productivity effects and enhancing the adoption of mitigations.

The refreshed research programme, while recognising the long term commitment required, will be strongly focused on delivery of mitigation solutions, developed through an increased partnership between the consortium and the New Zealand Agricultural Research Centre (NZAGRC). Both of these organisations will coordinate their operations to ensure rapid delivery of effective options for farmers.

While New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions would constitute a significant proportion of our obligations under any future commitment to reduce emissions, political points scoring tends to obscure why it is so critical to get it right. Our economy and our agricultural sector in particular both depend on deciding on the correct entry point which is, I suspect, why the present Government has been so reluctant to commit itself.

Agriculture contributes 46 percent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, a proportion no other country comes even remotely close to producing. Ireland with 27 percent is the closest and all other first world economies are in single figures.

The PGgRc has set itself an ambitious goal, stating in its press release “The new work aims to develop a suite of ready-made tools that will reduce greenhouse gases by 30 per cent by 2030 while supporting the agricultural industry’s growth targets of two per cent each year.” The benchmark year is 2008 when I understand emissions were at 1990 levels. As Aspin said “it’s a big challenge, but we think we can get there.”

I suspect the Green party won’t be satisfied with this progress, because anything short of total commitment to eliminating greenhouse gases is unacceptable, whatever it costs the country. But it is a very solid programme of work backed by science and industry and public money which has some challenging, but achievable goals.

The best thing about it is that it won’t send agriculture and the country into a state of bankruptcy, but it should produce some real improvements in our GHG emissions.

Allan Barber is a meat industry commentator and has his own blog Barber’s Meaty Issues. This item has also appeared at www.interest.co.nz.

 

Callaghan Innovation opens

callaghan-logoExciting times for future innovations in the New Zealand meat industry. Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand’s new innovation organisation – named after the late Sir Paul Callaghan – opened and was officially launched last Friday in Auckland and Wellington.

The new organisation will accelerate the commercialisation of New Zealand innovation, according to Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce.

“Callaghan Innovation will be a one-stop shop for business innovation support, whether it be in science, engineering, design or technology. It will be a high-tech HQ for New Zealand businesses,” he says.

Callaghan Innovation brings together the former crown research institute IRL, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)’s business investments team, the Auckland Foodbowl and NZ Trade & Enterprise’s Lean Manufacturing programme. It will commence operations with 400 staff and offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The organisation will work across industries as diverse as food and beverage manufacturing, agri-tech, digital technologies, health technologies, therapeutics and high value wood products.

“The common theme is encouraging innovation and higher value products and services,” says Joyce.

The organisation is being led initially by acting chief executive Murray Nash. Over the coming months, the new Board of directors, chaired by Sue Suckling, will complete the appointment of a permanent chief executive and oversee the bedding in of the organisation’s operations in Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury. Other board members includer former Game Industry Board chief executive Richard Janes, currently an IRL board member, Auckland Transport director Paul Lockey and Dr Michele Alan. They are joined by new board members Robin Hapi, Professor Peter Hunter from Auckland University,Sir Peter Maire and Craig Richardson.

The news has been welcomed by an array of science leaders for its expected ability to boost private sector innovation.

Professor Shaun Hendy, President of the New Zealand Association of Scientists, commented that he thinks Callaghan Innovation will have to do two things to succeed.

“Firstly it must develop the science and technology that New Zealand’s manufacturing sector will need in the decades to come. As Sir Paul Callaghan pointed out in his book, Wool to Weta, New Zealand has not put enough effort into the science that underpins high-value manufacturing.Callaghan Innovation represents a great opportunity to close the knowledge gap between New Zealand and the other advanced economies.

“Secondly, the organisation needs to develop effective new ways of bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses. New Zealand doesn’t enjoy the benefits of agglomeration that Sydney or Tokyo do, so Callaghan Innovation will need to find scalable, smarter ways to make these connections. This will largely involve making better use of the information we already have about the innovation sector in New Zealand.

“We will be able to tell if Callaghan Innovation is on track in a year or two by whether it has been able to significantly grow the numbers of scientists and decrease the number of bureaucrats that work there,” says Hendy.

Callaghan Innovation is a key part of the Government;’s Business Growth Agenda and received funding in Budget 2012 of $166 million over four years.

 

 

 

Polish meat filler at centre of burger scandal

Burgers feeling the heat. Photo iStockResults back from the meat at the centre of the European horsemeat scandal revealed earlier this week that a Polish supplier of filler product for the burgers is the source of the equine DNA.

Tests by the Irish Food Safety Authority (FSAI) showed positive for equine DNA against meat filler – supposedly beef – imported from Poland for use in the production of burgers at the ABP-owned Silvercrest food processing plant in Ireland.

The Irish minister for agriculture, food and the marine Simon Coveney TD said the investigation had established a direct correlation between burgers in which a high level of equine DNA was detected and this raw material product. He was confident that the raw material in question was the source of equine DNA introduced into burgers manufactured at Silvercrest.

Ireland and the UK have conducted an exhaustive investigation into the source of the DNA – vital to reassure consumers and trade about the safety of the food chain.

In Ireland, over 140 samples of primary products and ingredients were tested for equine DNA at the Silvercrest plant, with three burgers and one imported ingredient testing positive for significant levels of equine DNA. The current findings of the official investigation do not show any evidence that Silvercrest deliberately used horsemeat in their production process, said the Minister.

ABP’s Yorkshire-based plant Dalepak was cleared by the British Food Standards Agency (the FSA), after samples comprising all the meat being used in the production of the suspect lines showed there was no horse or pork DNA present in any of them.  Investigation continues, however, into the origin of the DNA in some Dalepak products manufactured in 2012. The FSA has been answering questions at the British Parliament’s environment select committee this week.

ABP Group management has assured the Irish Minister that it will fully comply with conditions the Minister will apply to continued production standards at Silvercrest.

Silvercrest has commenced a deep cleansing of the plant, under new management, and will be submitted to a six-moth period of scrutiny by FSAI inspectors, after which it will be reviewed, advised Coveney.

“As part of this supervision, the Department will carry out weekly sampling of production in order to provide the necessary reassurance to its customers on the integrity of the production chain. A key component of this is the company’s commitment to source all its raw material from Ireland and the UK.”

The Polish authorities have been advised and the matter is now with them, said Coveney.

It is thought  that the situation has been in place for a year, as that’s the length of time the Polish supplier has been providing the filler products.

Changes at ABP

Apologising for the impact the issue had caused, Paul Finnerty, group chief executive for Silvercrest’s owner ABP Food Group said he was relieved the that the source of the problem had been identified.

“As previously stated, the company has never knowingly bought or processed horse meat and all of our purchases are from approved and licensed EU plants.”

In addition to the deep cleansing and new Silvercrest management team, ABP had undergone a Group reorganisation with responsibility for Silvercrest transferring to ABP Ireland. Its sister business in the UK, Dalepak Foods, will come under the immediate control of ABP UK. The Group is independently audting all its third party suppliers.

He noted that the source of the contaminated meat from Poland is not related to ABP’s plant in Poznan. As with all other parts of the Group, this plant does not process any horsemeat, said Finnerty.

Rippes spreading wider

Meanwhile, the ripples are spreading wider. News reports this week showed that ASDA and the 2,800 store Co-op had joined Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland and BurgerKing in ditching Silvercrest as a supplier. In addition, Spanish burgers have been said to also contain horse DNA after testing by a consumer group there. The group, Organizazión de Consumidores y Usuarios (OCU), has approached the Spanish food safety body to ask it to investigate.

Breach of trust too great

As promised, Tesco Group technical director Tim Smith has been telling his customers what had happened. He said the evidence tells him that Silvercrest, its frozen burger supplier, used meat in their products that did not come from the list of Tesco approved suppliers they were given. “Nor was the meat from the UK or Ireland, despite our instruction that only beef from the UK and Ireland should be used in our frozen beef burgers. Consequently, we have decided not to take products from that supplier in future. We took that decision with regret but the breach of trust is simply too great.”

Adding that Tesco will not take anything for granted in future after the incident, he said: “It has shown that in spite of our stringent tests, checks and controls there remained a small possibility that something could go wrong and it did. We want to stop it ever happening again, so we are taking action to reduce that possibility still further.”

The retailer is introducing a comprehensive system of DNA testing across its meat products, which will set a new standard according to Smith. “It will be a significant investment for Tesco, borne by Tesco,” he said.

“We want to leave customers in no doubt that we will do whatever it takes to ensure the quality of their food and that the food they buy is exactly what the label says it is.”