Waitrose is experimenting with a new form of non-plastic punnet which uses tomato leaves to help package tomatoes reports Tony Corbin for PackagingNews.

Perishables and e-commerce remain key growth sectors for the Australasia trade as the demand for fresh produce, seafood and meat in Asia continue to drive volumes out of Australia and New Zealand, while inbound e-commerce continues its unabated growth, writes Donald Urquhart in AirCargo week.

New Zealand satsuma mandarin growers are forecasting a slight increase in production, compared to last year.

Ronald Rael says that pottery is amazing because clay is the world’s most humble material, and you can mold it into a shape that will last forever.

A self-cleaning surface that burns up bacteria and viruses holds plenty of commercial interest.  The revolutionary anti-microbial coating being developed at Canterbury University causes microbes to sizzle up on contact with surfaces like buttons, knobs, handles and rails.

In a world-first, University of Canterbury Hydrological and Ecological Engineering researchers have filed a patent application for their invention the Storminator™, which could be exactly the weapon that our waterways need.

The Manufacturers' Network on Budget 2018, released today by the Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, ticked some boxes for the economy, particularly around health, with some investment in infrastructure, education and R&D spending. There was, however, little else for the manufacturing sector to get excited about and not much focused on addressing productivity and skills shortages.

Last September four Wintec business students embarked on a learning experience of a lifetime in China.

Over 5,000 taxpayers have signed the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union’s petition to end taxpayer funding for the Clinton Health Access Initiative, a subsidiary of the Clinton Foundation. In addition, 1,231 people have personally written to Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters urging him to redirect the funding to a better cause. Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says, “The public response on this issue has been overwhelming, with 5,300 signatures collected over the last few days.” “The message from the public is clear: there are higher priorities for spending taxpayer dollars, and MFAT shouldn’t be using the aid budget to impress foreign politicians."

"It’s time New Zealand followed Australia’s lead and cut funding for Clinton Health Access Initiative.” “This funding is especially foolish considering the Clinton Foundation is under investigation by the FBI for receiving money from foreign governments during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as US Secretary of State.” “We had hoped that Winston Peters would put an end to these taxpayer-funded contributions – especially since his government has declared funding deficits in health and education at home in New Zealand. Our supporters are hoping Mr Peters puts an end to this nonsense." The Taxpayers’ Union will deliver the petition and messages to the office of Rt Hon Winston Peters next week.

A taxpayersUnion release  ||  may 09, 2018   |||

Break through effluent technology unveiled by  Ravensdown and Lincoln University in Canterbury technology that could significantly lift the dairy sector’s effluent and water efficiency.