CSIRO ran a workshop on Tuesday November 20 in Werribee, Victoria, discussing how food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, growers and processors can better use fruit and vegetables to enhance the texture and nutritional value of a wide range of foods.
The workshop was designed to provide the main players in the food chain with a comprehensive overview of what recent research in this area has achieved and what advances some of Australia’s leaders in the field regard as being achievable in the short to long-term.
Hosted by the Food Futures National Research Flagship, the workshop focussed on a range of issues which are key to the Australian food industry’s future success, ensuring consumers are provided with the increasingly high-quality foodstuffs they demand.
“The main challenge the Australian food processing industry faces at the moment is to find simple, cost-effective ways to provide consumers with more healthy fruit and vegetable content in a wide range of processed foods without compromising on taste or texture,” says Food Futures Flagship theme leader – designed food and ingredients, CSIRO’s Dr Ingrid Appelqvist.
“To ensure that the nutritional content, taste and texture of fruit and vegetable-based foods is not altered or destroyed, better use of raw materials and innovative approaches to processing are required,” she continued.
Key speakers at the workshop included:
- Professor Mike Gidley, University of Queensland, who presented an overview of the material properties of plant tissues and their use in foods.
- Callum Elder, executive general manager of Simplot Australia , who addressed how the food industry can deliver health-focused market opportunities for horticultural produce.
- Tony Panetta, executive chef at Aitken Hill Conference Centre, who demonstrated and spoke on chefmanship in food manufacture.