Vitafoods Asia 2014: Q&A with Alison Quesnel

CERTAIN local and indigenous ingredients are not utilised enough for reasons such as lack of technical knowledge or resources. How can food and pharmaceutical companies in particular make the most of locally available ingredients? At Vitafoods Asia,  natural products expert Alison Quesnel shares the answers in her talk on “New Zealand Ingredients - NZ Unique and NZ Grown.” 

Ms Quesnel is executive director of Natural Products NZ. As a preview to her topic, she speaks to  FoodPacific Manufacturing Journal about New Zealand’s local and indigenous ingredients.

Alison Quesnel, executive director of Natural Products NZ

New Zealand has the advantage of good weather, amongst other things, to produce high-quality food products and ingredients. What is the country known for when talking about ingredients for export?

New Zealand has an international reputation for developing high quality natural food, agricultural and marine products. A combination of geographic isolation, abundant natural resources, small population and a ‘can do’ attitude has resulted in an innovative approach to product design. The country is renowned for its high purity ingredients, and a capable and ethical approach to doing business. 

A wide range of natural ingredients is exported from New Zealand, including: green-lipped mussel extract, deer velvet and pine bark extract.

New Zealand’s legislative framework and member bodies such as Natural Products NZ ensure that industry maintains high product quality, safety and efficacy standards.

Are these truly unique to NZ, and what would be the benefits of using them?

At Vitafoods Asia, I will present more than 10 NZ ingredients, many of which are unique to the country. Others, while not unique to New Zealand, are made special by our climate, as well as the high quality production and processing facilities and methods.

Ingredients unique to New Zealand include Manuka honey, which has been the subject of significant innovation. In addition to the honey itself, advanced technological development has created a wound dressing that is sold and used in hospitals as a registered medical device worldwide.

Horopito extract is also unique to this country. This native plant is grown, refined and used in Kolorex (another registered medicine sold worldwide), a natural product proven to heal yeast infections.

Local company, SeaDragon is Australasia’s largest refiner and blender of high-quality, internationally certified concentrated fish oils and fractions (i.e. distilled derivatives), including Omega-3 oils. The company obtains its raw materials from sustainably managed fishing zones, and uses by-product that previously would have been commercially unusable.

Are there special processing steps involved?

All companies that I will be featuring at Vitafoods Asia Have developed special processes for their ingredients. In addition to SeaDragon (mentioned above),

    ?    Supreme Biotechnologies derive Astaxanthin from Algae grown in a fully enclosed photo bioreactor system; this ensures purity, free from environmental contaminants.

    ?    Enzo Nutraceuticals use a 100% natural Pure Water Extraction to extract Enzogenol from Pinus radiata bark

              ?    Purified water only

              ?    No solvents

              ?    No chemicals

              ?    No contaminants

    ?    Bio Oils grows the flax seed crop directly with the farmer, which allows them to monitor the quality and progress of the crop – ‘from soil to oil’^?. This traceability guarantees the quality of the seed planted in the ground, and therefore the finest quality Flax seed products. 

What are their applications?

Among the many products I will be featuring are:

    ?    Grape seed extract that provides antioxidants and polyphenolic compounds

    ?    Astaxanthin (derived from algae) – an antioxidant

    ?    Berry extracts - also used as antioxidants amongst other uses

    ?    Kiwi fruit extracts for digestive and probiotic uses

    ?    Fish oils: cardiovascular, brain, joint health and more

    ?    Hemp seed oils for skin, hair and nail health

    ?    Flax seed oil: anti-inflammatory

    ?    Green-lipped mussel extract:  anti-inflammatory

    ?    Enzogenol (a pine bark extract) for brain function

    ?    Manuka honey used for its antibacterial properties

    ?    Deer velvet for joint health, sports performance and more

    ?    Horopito - an anti-fungal.

How many NZ companies manufacture such food ingredients?

Well over 50 New Zealand companies either produce these ingredients or manufacture products that use these ingredients.

For those interested in producing their own indigenous ingredients, what would be your advice?

  ?  Focus on the end result that you want.  

  ?  If one of your country’s native plants has been traditionally used for centuries for a particular ailment, then it is likely that it does work. It is important to prove that scientifically and to establish safe and effective dosage levels, so trials will need to be conducted.

  ?  Having a great product is one thing, but developing and marketing it is another! Many great natural ingredient products have failed because of insufficient business planning and investment. Significant investment will be needed to educate people about the product’s benefits and how to use it.

  ?  The most important success factor is in developing export markets. This can take a while especially with a new ingredient, but can be achieved with the right investment and planning.

Vitafoods Asia will take place on 3-4 September 2014 at the AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong.