New Zealand Food Safety has published a food safety guide for directors, executives and business owners.

Horticulture New Zealand is thrilled that mandatory Country of Origin labelling for fruit and vegetables got a step closer today, with the second reading of the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill passing in Parliament.

Two cases of potato mop-top virus have been confirmed in Mid Canterbury, but many more are suspected, Biosecurity New Zealand says. The virus, confirmed in two crops last month, was found during routine sampling of material at a cooked-chip processing facility.

A small New Zealand produce farm, is making some exciting progress with some agroecology projects that could reduce the need for chemicals on tomato farms reports Matthew for FreshPlaza.

The potato mop-top virus was discovered in potatoes grown on two Canterbury properties last month. In an update to industry stakeholders this week, Potatoes New Zealand (PNZ) and Biosecurity New Zealand said 18 more farms in the Canterbury region had been added to the suspect list and testing had been widened to the North Island.

Massey University’s Manawatū campus will soon have a state-of-the-art consumer and sensory science facility, to help determine what drives people in their food choice behaviour.

The New Zealand Food Innovation Network is pleased to be involved the Future Foods Conference being run by Business Hawkes Bay.

One of New Zealand's leading growers, Bostock, is stepping up the supply of its new Kabocha squash hybrid, the Marron d'Or into the Chinese market, after last year's initial shipment proved to be a major hit with consumers. Owner John Bostock says the company shipped 1,000 tonnes last year "as a sample", with plans to increase volumes throughout the coming year. "It's a Japanese variety that is not available in China," he said. "The Chinese do like Japanese cuisine and it is gaining a lot of traction. It has a sweet, nutty flavour - which is really delicious - stays…

The New Zealand organic sector has grown 30 per cent since 2015 to now be worth $600 million per year, buoyed by consumer demand here and globally.

Some already call it the Riviera of the South and now Timaru could also be the pizza capital of New Zealand, as the region becomes the Southern Hemisphere’s largest producer of natural mozzarella cheese.

Anchor Protein+ flavoured milk will hit New Zealand shelves next week, the first time Kiwis have been able to buy a product of its kind in local stores.