2020 Convention - Day 3: Future food production

Andrew McGregor

Department of Geography and Planning, Macquarie University

Topic:  Just food futures? Food science, technology and socio-ecological change

About

Andrew is an Associate Professor in Human Geography and Director of Research in the Department of Geography and Planning at Macquarie University.  He is co-convenor of the Environments, Societies and Power research cluster and has spent his career studying human-environment relations in Australia and parts of Southeast Asia.  His research focuses upon innovative responses to global environmental change with a particular focus on climate mitigation strategies within the food and forest sectors.  Within the food sector he explores the opportunities for transitioning to low emissions food systems and the social and ethical implications for producers, consumers and non-human life forms involved.  His current research analyses the social and technological strategies that are emerging to address high emissions from livestock industries and the opportunities and risks they pose for more just and resilient futures. 

Presentation Overview

In this paper I survey some of the emerging developments in food and agricultural science that aim to either directly mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture or contribute indirectly by advancing alternative low emissions food products.  These technologies have the potential to fundamentally transform food systems with far reaching impacts for people involved in animal industries.  If we are to move into newer (or in some cases older) low emissions food systems it is important that food transitions are just, maximising beneficial outcomes for food producers and consumers while minimising adverse impacts.  This may require rethinking how and where food science and technology is used and how it can be steered towards social goods.  I discuss the insights gained from environmental and food justice researchers that can contribute to realisation of more just food futures. 

Thomas King

CEO, Food Frontier

Topic: Future Food Challenges

About
Thomas is a social entrepreneur, international speaker and future food specialist who has been recognised as one of Australia’s most accomplished young pioneers. For the last decade, Thomas has driven food systems, environmental and poverty alleviation initiatives across five continents, and was named Young Australian of the Year VIC in 2015 and awarded a Myer Innovation Fellowship in 2019. Realising the limitations of industrial animal agriculture to sustainably feed the global population into the future, Thomas founded Food Frontier in 2017 to help industry, innovators and policymakers champion alternative proteins and create a more sustainable, nutritious and future-proof food supply. Through research reports, conversations and events, the independent not-for-profit is driving growth in plant-based meat and cell-cultivated meat across Australia and New Zealand.

Presentation Overview

As demand for alternatives to industrial animal agriculture increases, plant-based meat and cellular agriculture continue to attract considerable interest and investment worldwide, with ventures in the space receiving almost US$1 billion of investment in Q1 2020 alone. Down under, there are more companies than ever entering the space, which has seen the category for plant-based meat products expand considerably over the last 12 months. In this presentation, Food Frontier CEO Thomas King will provide an update on these developments and speak to opportunities for Australian researchers and companies to become more internationally competitive in the field of alternative proteins.

Roger Stanley 

Centre for Food Innovation, University of Tasmania 

Topic: MATS rapid microwave processing to create shelf stable ready meals for defence and new export opportunities

About

Roger Stanley is  the Professor of Food Science and Technology and Director of the Centre for Food Innovation (CFI) at the University of Tasmania, based at Launceston.  The CFI has a collaborative agreement with Defence working with the Defence Science and Technology Group, Scottsdale, Tasmania to support development of foods for Defence and industry.  His research areas are on novel food processing for convenience and shelf and optimising the health benefits of produce. He comes from a background at the University of Queensland  and NZ Research Institutes developing added value processing of meat, dairy and horticultural products.

Presentation Overview

The MATS (Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilisation) technology can make ready meals with much higher sensory quality than traditional retorting.  The process exploits super-heated water and long wave 915 MHz microwaves to rapidly heat foods to sterilisation temperatures in a multi-compartment continuous retort.  A pilot plant in Tasmania is being used to develop foods for defence field feeding applications that do not need cold chain support. A pathway is also being developed for initiating Australian production plants. The presentation will cover the technology and the opportunities it opens for exports of high quality valued added and provenanced foods.

Filip Janakievski

CSIRO

Topic: Industry 4.0 - Opportunities & challenges for the food industry

About

Filip Janakievski is the team leader for Food Engineering at CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre. Through his various roles at CSIRO he has developed knowledge and expertise in the design and operation of food and beverage processes with a focus on biomass conversion into value added foods and ingredients that will enhance consumer health and well-being.  He leads the Industry 4.0 program at CSIRO and he also coordinates research efforts in the development of regional food processing hubs with a focus on advanced manufacturing.   Filip is actively involved in the Australian Food Engineering Association (AFEA) and is a member of the advisory committee.   

Presentation Overview

The evolution of digital solutions and products for the manufacturing sector has been unprecedented in recent times and the Industry 4.0 suite of digital technologies have provided the opportunity to gain better oversight of operations, ensure greater traceability, monitor the health of machines and allow real time decision making.   Technology uptake remains low, with Australia lagging behind the rest of the world in implementation of available technologies.  Only a few companies have transitioned to Industry 4.0 and digital literacy and technology awareness are critical to driving digital adoption across the sector.   Australia has the opportunity to grow and strengthen the sustainability of the food manufacturing sector by harnessing the potential of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies to reshape food processing and to increase food safety, quality and process efficiency.   

Lauren D'Ambrosio

Senior Associate, King & Wood Mallesons

Topic: Utopia or anarchy: Australia without food regulation

About

Lauren advises clients in the food and consumer products sectors on Food Code compliance, therapeutic goods regulation, IP, consumer law and marketing issues. She also advises on commercial agreements, including supply, procurement, manufacturing, sponsorship and distribution arrangements, as well as social media, franchising and IP/IT aspects of M&A transactions.

Chris Preston

Senior Consultant at ComplyANZ

Topic: Utopia or anarchy: Australia without food regulation

About

Chris Preston has over 30 years of experience providing legal advice and services to manufacturers and brand owners regarding the regulatory regimes governing food, beverages, cosmetics, OTC pharmaceuticals and general consumer goods. He served as Director, Legal and Regulatory with the Australian Food and Grocery Council, and has advised multinational and domestic clients of all sizes in over 15 years of private legal practice. 

Josephine Davey

FSANZ Board Member, FAIFST

Topic: Utopia or anarchy: Australia without food regulation

About

Jo Davey is a company director and consultant experienced in general management, innovation, food safety, regulatory affairs and product development in the dairy and food manufacturing sectors. She is a Director of Pirrama Consulting Pty Ltd, which provides management and technical consulting services to the food and beverage industries.

Jo serves as a Board Member of Food Standards Australia New Zealand, a Director of the Subtropical Dairy Programme, a Regional Development Programme of Dairy Australia (responsible for research, development and extension for the dairy farming sector in northern Australia), and as a Director of PPB Pty Ltd, a start-up diagnostics company.

Jo has held senior commercial and technical roles in the Dairy Farmers Group and was the Managing Director of Diabetes Smart, a start-up company established to develop and market foods designed for people living with diabetes.

Dr Lisa Szabo

Director Food Safety & CEO Food Authority, NSW Department of Food Industry representative

Topic: Utopia or anarchy: Australia without food regulation

About

Lisa joined the New South Wales Food Authority as its chief scientist in January 2006 and became its chief executive officer in 2015. The Food Authority is a statutory authority within the Department of Regional New South Wales and is responsible for food regulation across the food supply chain.

Prior to joining the NSW Food Authority, Lisa worked at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for 11 years. There she led and managed long-term research projects for various food industry sectors.

Lisa has a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours from the University of Queensland and was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in microbiology from the same university. She had post-doctoral research experiences in the United Kingdom and Germany. She has been an expert advisor or member on several national and state government inquires and committees. In the national food regulatory system, Lisa represents the interests of NSW on the Food Regulation Standing Committee.

Olympia Yarger

Founder and CEO of Goterra

Topic: Production & market opportunities for insect proteins in Australia

About

Olympia is a farmer, innovator and a leader in insect farming in Australia.   She’s the Founder and CEO of Goterra - a company that builds and deploys smart city infrastructure for food waste management.  She’s also the founding Director and Chair of the Insect Protein Association of Australia. A species of fly discovered in the Daintree rainforest in 2018 was named Hermetia Olympiae after her - something that still feels very surreal. Olympia is a Canberra native with a global vision for waste management, decentralised, with robotic insect farms.

Presentation Overview

Commodity or product, food or feed, what's happening in the insect protein industry in Australia. 

Dr Alex Thompson

Manager - Deep Green Biotech Hub (DGBH)

Topic: Cultured Algae - Deep Green Biotech Hub

About

Dr Alex Thomson is a Superstar of STEM and the manager of the University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Deep Green Biotech Hub, one of the few algae-based hubs in Australia. With a PhD in marine ecology and a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours), both from UTS, she has produced research papers on marine ecology and the carbon capturing potential of coastal systems. An advocate for sustainability and climate change action, she uses her research to engage and educate audiences about the potential of our global sustainable future.

Deeply passionate about science education, Alex has taught in over 15 undergraduate subjects and is an advocate for developing the career paths of young scientists. She engages with schools to share her passion for science and biotechnology, and has led creative science engagement projects such as the “Living Lights” algae-filled installation for Vivid Sydney (2018), and the “Deep Green Forest” activation for Splendour in the Grass (2019).

Alex is currently spearheading the world’s first dedicated algae accelerator program - joining biotechnology and entrepreneurship - through the Deep Green Biotech Hub, creating opportunities for STEM-preneurs across NSW to accelerate algae innovation and engage with science.

Climate and sustainability are two of the biggest issues facing food production systems today. Additionally, the need for food security and rapid population growth means innovation is crucial to the future of food.

Algae is a small microorganism with a potential that’s only just starting to be tapped. Its fast growing, carbon capturing, climate and water friendly properties mean it has applications in a vast range of industries. From compostable plastics, to carbon capture, use in supplements and vitamins, as well as developing new foods, this organism has the potential to vastly transform the way we grow and harvest existing crops, as well as supplement, adapt, and change the foods that we eat.

Bhanu Devnani

University of Melbourne

Topic: Almonds - Proteins in a ‘nutshell’

About 

From graduation in Food Engineering to a PhD degree, food sciences have been a significant part of my life. I am a final year PhD student belonging to the Bio 21 Institute and the Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Melbourne. I am passionate about researching plant proteins and understanding their properties with the goal of helping to develop vegan alternatives to animal-derived products.

Presentation Overview

Locally grown Victorian almonds were used as a source of skim and full fat almond milk for studies investigating the effect of thermal treatment on almond proteins.  Heat was found to influence the structure and stability of almond proteins, inducing denaturation and gelation in almond milk.  The strength of gels found to be a function of protein concentration. The presence of fat also lead to higher gel strengths and greater heterogeneties in the microsturcture of the gels formed.  This study has illustrated how the almond protein present in almond milk can potentially act as a gelling ingredient in vegan and vegetarian products.

Nick Hazell

Founder and CEO v2food

Topic: v2food: Creating a version 2 of the food System

About

Nick Hazell is an experienced food innovator, lecturer and consultant who is CEO & Founder of Australian startup v2food. Launched nationally in October 2019, v2food has developed plant-based meat, building on a close collaboration with CSIRO to create tasty, sustainable and healthy products.

Hazell holds a Master of Manufacturing from Cambridge University. He worked in aerospace and chocolate manufacturing before moving into research and development in the food industry, working at global multinationals in The Netherlands and Australia. He was R&D Director at Masterfoods and at PepsiCo Australia and New Zealand, working on products like Grain Waves, Red Rock Deli, Sunbites and Smiths. He lectures in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation at UTS and has consulted to CSIRO and the meat industry.

Presentation Overview

V2 food was started initially to create an Australian version of the vegan plant based meat businesses growing rapidly in US and Europe. But at the start it was clear that the real problem to be solved was not peoples reluctance to become vegan, but the increase in global meat consumption and the inability of the planet to sustain 10billion humans who love to eat meat. But to tackle this existential problem v2food has to design  product and a production systems that give people what they want in terms of taste, cost and availability as well as devising a system that motivates all stakeholders to want to make it work AND to drive towards a carbon negative outcome. That is the v2food mission.

Professor Robyn Warner

The University of Melbourne 

Topic: The process & drivers for cellular meat production

About

Prof. Robyn Warner is the Domain leader for Food and Nutritional science in the School of Agriculture and Food at The University of Melbourne, in Australia. She is Australia’s contact person for the Annual International Congress of Meat Science and Technology, the editor-in-chief for the Meat Science section of the on-line journal Food, and the Chair of the Melbourne University sponsored Hallmark Research Project Initiative Future Food. Prof. Warner has a Ph.D. in Food and Meat science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA. She has previously worked as a senior principal research scientist and team leader for CSIRO Animal, Food and Health Sciences, where she applied her meat science and food biochemistry training to problems confronting the food industry. Prof. Warner has many publications, including over 100 papers in refereed journals. She has received international and national awards for her role on the Meat Standards Australia food grading scheme, and also for her research.  In relation to the topic of interest for AIFST 2020, Robyn is very interested in the topic of cell-based meat production. The area is evolving so fast and the challenges bring together experts across the disciplines of basic muscle biology, chemical engineering, environmental /  food / material science, food chemistry as well as consumer and sensory science. Prof. Warner enjoys undertaking research on fundamental aspects of the biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics of muscle and food in determining quality, and in assisting to develop future directions.

Presentation Overview

Although not yet on retail-shelves, cell-based meat (C-meat) has attracted media interest as a novelty, and for possible solutions to food security and the environment. C-meat uses cultured muscle cells to mimic traditional meat, either as ground/minced products (short-term) or as whole muscle (long-term). Development of a C-meat industry is reliant on development of cost-effective procedures for scale-up from lab to commercial production and, development of regulation and labelling procedures. The techniques that will be required to make, and scale-up, C-meat include cell line development and large scale cell cultivation. Muscle is not just comprised of muscle cells, but also of many other cells but in the short-term, existing C-meat will be purely muscle cells which can be formed into a burger or pattie or blended with plant proteins. The predicted effect of C-meat on the environment, food security, public health and the regulatory hurdles that will need to be met, are important aspects.  With 45 companies world-wide, high estimated future value and large multinational food companies investing, whether Australia  becomes a product-importer or global collaborator/exporter will be important. Government support for innovation, start-ups and development of regulatory guidelines will greatly assist development of C-meat industry in Australia. 

Dr. Dorotea Pein

Head of Product Management, Hydrosol GmbH 

Topic: Meeting Future Protein Needs and Answering Why Do Plant Based Products Look Like Copies of Animal Derived Products

About 

Dr. Dorotea Pein has been Head of Product Management at Hydrosol GmbH since 2016. Prior to that, she was Deputy Head of R&D. With 12 years of professional experience in research and development she is able to make optimal use of her expertise in order to offer our customers innovative solutions. She is a graduate of Ökotrophologie (Food Science and Nutrition) from Kiel and Nottingham Universities and has a PhD in Food Science and Nutrition (Federal Research Institute For Dairy Products). 

Presentation Overview

Alternatives to dairy and meat products are a big trend around the world. Some say they are not trend products anymore, but mainstream. New products come to the market with one special challenge: The look and taste of the products should be as similar as possible to the dairy or meat products. This is no coincidence; there are reasons for this challenge in taste and texture.  

In this presentation, we would like to explain why this similarity in look and feel is a necessity for the acceptance of plant-based alternatives 

George Peppou

Co-founder of VOW Foods

Topic: The advancements in cultured meats and where this is heading

About

Professor Bhesh Bhandari

University of Queensland

Topic: 3-D printing of foods

About

Dr Bhesh Bhandari is Professor of Food Processing Technology and Engineering at the University of Queensland. Professor Bhandari’s primary approach to research is applying fundamental science and engineering principles on developing a relationship between process, structure, property and performance of food materials systems. Professor Bhandari has been collaborating his research activities in USA, Ireland, Malaysia, India, France, Vietnam and China. Professor Bhandari is the recipient of several international awards and listed as highly cited researcher in his field by Clarivate in 2019 and Thomson Reuter in 2015. His works are cited more than 20,000 times with an h-index of 70. He is an inventor of several patented technologies. Prof Bhandari has authored more than 450 papers, 40 book chapters and 7 books, including 3D Printing of Foods. Prof. Bhandari is an Editor-in-Chief of Future Foods (Elsevier open access journal) and an editor of Journal of Food Engineering, a reputed international journal in food science field. Professor Bhandari has also been in the editorial board of several other journals.

Presentation Overview

The research and development on the application of additive manufacturing technique (also called 3D printing technology) in food sector is growing rapidly to fabricate 3-dimensional (3D) constructs with complex geometries, elaborated textures and tailored nutritional contents. For these reasons, this emerging technology can become a driving force for major innovations in food industry in the coming years. This presentation will highlight the application of 3D printing technology to various food materials and bring a new insight into how a good understanding of food material properties is important to enable them to be printed. Briefly, 4D printing concept will be touched.

Jason Bouyer

Open IIoT

Topic: Industry 4.0 - getting practical

About 

Jason Bouyer is the Managing Director of Balluff Australia/New Zealand, a global German company well positioned in Industry 4.0 technology driven by its sensor, RFID and communication architecture products that provides solutions through the conception, development and realization of advanced manufacturing processes. 

Jason has over twenty years’ experience in industrial automation and more recently has been a strong advocate for Industry 4.0 across both training and technology for the manufacturing of the future.  

Presentation Overview 

The premise of Industry 4.0 is the availability of all relevant data in real-time as well as the ability to create the optimal value from the data at any point in time. 

Sensors and identification systems ensure this availability whilst new connectivity solutions provide the platform for data to be collected and transported for informative analysis. 

We will simplify your understanding of the topic by providing a live real time demonstration that shows the data extraction through to information, that enables improved decision making.  

Stephen Gropp

Balluff

Topic: Industry 4.0 - getting practical

About

Stephen is an experienced Automation Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the industrial automation industry. Skilled in Customer Service, Technical Support, Engineering, Process Automation, and Project Engineering. Strong knowledge of Industrial Robotics, Programmable Logic Controllers, Human Machine Interfaces, Industrial Vision and Project Management.

Presentation Overview

The premise of Industry 4.0 is the availability of all relevant data in real-time as well as the ability to create the optimal value from the data at any point in time. 

Sensors and identification systems ensure this availability whilst new connectivity solutions provide the platform for data to be collected and transported for informative analysis. 

We will simplify your understanding of the topic by providing a live real time demonstration that shows the data extraction through to information, that enables improved decision making.  

Gary Garner

Portfolio Sales Manager @Siemens

Topic: Digitalisation in the Food & Beverage industry

About 

About coming soon. 

Presentation Overview

Presentation overview coming soon. 

Dr Nicholas Watson 

University of Nottingham

Topic: Online sensors and machine learning for advanced food and drink manufacturing

About

Nik has a MEng in Mechanical Engineering (University of Hull, 2005) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering (University of Leeds, 2010). From 2010 to 2014 he was a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds. In 2013 Dr Watson became a chartered engineer and he is a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and an Associated Member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 2014 he was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Nottingham. In 2015 he became a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In addition Nik is a member of the EPSRC Early Career Forum in Manufacturing the Future and on the Food Standards Agency Register of Experts.

Nik’s research is focused on developing industrial digital technologies, such as in process sensors and data analytical methods, for the food and drink manufacturing sector. He has led numerous research projects funded via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Innovate UK, tackling challenges such as optimising industrial cleaning processes, detecting allergens within production environments and real time monitoring of food product quality attributes. He collaborates extensively with industrial partners ranging from SMEs to Multinationals

Presentation Overview 

Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs) such as robotics, AI and IIoT are transforming manufacturing worldwide with significant productivity, efficiency and environmental sustainability benefits. This digital revolution is often labelled Industry 4.0 and at its heart is the enhanced collection and use of data. The food and drink sector has been slow to adopt IDT’s for a variety of reasons including the availability of cost effective sensing technologies, capable of operating in production environments. This presentation will discuss the combination of low costs optical and ultrasonic sensors with machine learning techniques to monitor production process and the products been produced. The presentation will provide details on the benefits of these technologies and some of the challenges associated with using them in food and drink manufacturing environments.