The food and beverage marketplace is on the verge of a quantum leap, according to Dr Kees Versteeg, director of the recently launched Innovative Foods Centre (IFC) at Werribee in Victoria.

It’s his hope that through the IFC, launched in November, Australia will become a leader in developing and using the new food processing technologies that will bring about this radical change.

“I believe the marketplace will change because of these new technologies . . . they are going to provide better quality, fresher type foods which have a longer distribution range. We can’t take for granted that our existing markets won’t be affected, and we’ll miss out on opportunities if we’re quiet.”

The IFC is based in Werribee, but is a distributed centre with contributions from Sydney and Brisbane. It was established by Food Science Australia, itself a joint venture of CSIRO Australia and Afisc.. The IFC has as its focus the implementation of non-thermal food processing technologies. These include High Pressure Processing (HPP or UHP), Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF), Ultrasonics (US) and High Intensity Light (HIL).

“Some of these have been around for a very long time,” Dr Versteeg said. “For instance, HPP was first discovered in the 1890s . . . There’s been a lot of tyre kicking, but now some of these technologies are becoming really commercial.”

Using these new technologies several improved versions of previously existing food products have recently entered the US and European markets. Dr Versteeg said the IFC is a way for Australia to pull together under an umbrella all the R&D in this important area.

“In Australia we’d had seminars and study tours, but there hadn’t been any coordination to make a fist of it. We felt it was important to pull this area together and be serious about it so we don’t get left behind.”
Dr Versteeg said that although there’s much hard work to be done, the IFC’s development will contribute enormously to expanding Australia’s food export potential. He cites the example of a US-based company to demonstrate how Australian companies will stand to benefit from the IFC’s ground-breaking research.

“There was a small, obscure company in New Mexico making guacamole and they were one of the first in commercial HPP. They’ve now got a better quality product; fresher guacamole with a better taste and a shelf life sufficient to distribute over the whole of the USA. And they have three or four HPP plants in operation now.”

Dr Versteeg believes food companies working in the high quality end of the market will initially stand to benefit most from the IFC’s R&D. He says in overseas markets fresh juices, dips, salsas, guacamole, smoothes, small goods and salads have been the key beneficiaries of non-thermal processing technologies.

“Ready-to-eat cooked chicken products have also benefited,” he said. “They are quite difficult to make safe, but using the addition of HPP you can do that in a safe way.”

Dr Versteeg said IFC developments are in their infancy and just scratching the surface of what’s possible. Each new technology with which they are working has its own niche and the opportunities are not necessarily known when the technology is in early development. But already satisfying flow-on effects have been charted.

“For other reasons, we gave HPP treatment to oysters and when we did it the shell opened very easily. So we found this technology is labour saving for opening shells. The first commercial plant doing it has already been established in South Australia.”

Dr Versteeg said international experts who’ve visited the centre have been amazed at what has been achieved in a short time. Despite international competition, he feels confident that the centre’s comprehensive approach to the area will eventually make it a world leader.

The Victorian Government’s Science and Technology Infrastructure (STI) grant was vital in ensuring the centre’s start-up. Dr Versteeg says the IFC will keep some of our best scientific minds on home soil.

“The STI grant was really intended to make sure we have a good science and technology base in Victoria and Australia, and that we’d be attracting the good researchers. Peter Bodnaruk is an Australian with experience in emerging technologies and he was attracted from overseas to work at the IFC,” Dr Versteeg said.

“People want to be involved in exciting research. Dr Martin Cole came here and he in turn attracted Dr Cindy Stewart who knew him from a previous life, if you like.”

There is the possibility, also, of exporting the IFC’s research. But Dr Versteeg’s not rushing too far ahead.

“We’re certainly not leading everywhere,” he says with a laugh. “We’re just starting . . .”