Science to pave the way in the future of food and nutrition

Science to pave the way in the future of food and nutrition


Auckland, 14 March 2011 – The Business-University initiative, launched by Business New Zealand and the University Commercialisation Offices of New Zealand (UCONZ), reached its half-way point today, with the continued rollout of nationwide events designed to grow the knowledge economy in New Zealand. The eighth event, showcasing the latest research and developments in food, nutrition and human performance, was held at the Pulman Hotel in Auckland today.

In May last year UCONZ, comprising of the eight Universities around the country, and Business NZ, with funding from the Tertiary Education Commission, launched the scheme to further enhance research and development in New Zealand.

“One of the frustrations some food companies have is they do not know who to approach at the University or how to find the expertise or services they need. This event will open the door to NZ Universities and make it easy to access” says Dorian Scott, a commercialisation expert from Massey University.

Business New Zealand CEO, Phil O’Reily says “We’ve seen a fantastic response from the New Zealand business community with between 150-300 delegates attending each event and more formal arrangements forming on the back of these. We’re now starting to see success stories as a result of the initiative with many more in the development stages.”

Research on display, from Massey University for example, is changing the taste of meatballs served in restaurants in Singapore. This work, along with scientifically-proven, higher-calcium content milk that has become the market leader in Asia, and research behind substituting artificial additives for natural substitutes in ice-cream, is increasingly finding its way out of labs and to the consumer.

Registrations for the event happening today at 5.30pm can be made at: http://www.universitypartnerships.co.nz/2011Events.aspx
Media access to the event from 4.45pm

ENDS

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