29 Nov: 0715|  A Green Party member’s bill that allows New Zealanders to know where their food comes was passed almost unanimously by Parliament today, Green Party MP Gareth Hughes has announced.

New World wants to know how you shop, where you stop, and for how long. That’s why if you happen to be shopping at New World’s Island Bay supermarket in Wellington, you might notice ten trolleys with a bit of GPS kit attached to the front.

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.

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.

After intense tasting New Zealand’s top chocolates have been named, with award- winners from Matakana to Queenstown.

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 green for quite a period, and doesn't decay as quickly as other squash types. The Chinese are going 'gang busters' for it, and that was a big surprise for us. I think the Chinese are very receptive to new cuisine and new taste and something foreign and exciting such as this. It's a new taste to complement the local Chinese squash that isn't as sweet and doesn't have the flavours."

The Asian market is a significant one, as Bostock makes up around one fifth of New Zealand's 50,000 tonne annual shipment of all squash varieties to Japan, as well as one fifth of the 20,000 tonnes to Korea - and the numbers are on the rise, with existing markets also in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"We think New Zealand's volume will double again," Mr Bostock said. "In 2017, New Zealand shipped about 1500 tonnes, and in 2018 New Zealand shipped about 3000 tonnes, and I am thinking that New Zealand will ship . . . . . >

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.

Japanese-based SMC Pneumatics knew that in order to future-proof its business it needed to get on-board with Industry 4.0 especially with the push towards automation.