The case for establishing shelf-stable food manufacturing in the Northern Territory was presented at the Food Futures Conference in Darwin this week.
Charles Darwin University’s Northern Australia Food Technology Innovation (NAFTI) project manager, Dr Warren Hunt, and University of Tasmania professor Roger Stanley presented the findings from 15-months research. Hunt said the findings were “big-picture thinking” on how a food manufacturing industry could be built in Northern Australia.
Hunt told Food & Drink Business the project was focused on shelf stable food production using novel technologies in Northern Australia, which takes in all of Australia north of the 20th parallel*.
“There is very little food processing in the north or northern Western Australia, and certainly not shelf stable manufacturing.
“We produce fresh everything,” Hunt says, “And the project is not designed to compete with fresh produce, it is aimed squarely at regional value-capture of sub-premium or out-of-specification produce that otherwise would be lost to the food chain.
“We are not looking at old school technologies or an experimental plant. This will have multiple lines of demonstrated food technologies – retort, UHT, drying, and individual quick freeze (IQF).”
Hunt said the project has revealed the complexities and volumes in Northern Australia's supply chain, with a major issue being the reliance on southern states.
“There is also a strategic angle, as our food supply chains in the north are 3000 to 4000 kilometres long and highly vulnerable to interruptions. Regional food stabilisation capabilities to support northern population centres must be given more attention by governments as a matter of urgency.
“We are now in a position to narrow down the best options in terms of food science and technology that could go into a pilot facility,” Hunt said.
Different types of shelf-stable foods that offer the most potential include packaged snacks and convenience foods, pet food, ready meals, red meat, seafood products, tropical juice, and wet or dry whole fruit or fruit pieces.
“Our research has showed that the most viable consumer segments are those requiring ready to eat or ready to use food, snacks and ingredients. There is also significant potential for NT-processed shelf-stable red meat products such as ready-to-eat meals as well as functional beef ingredients used in numerous grocery products,” Hunt said.
The team said an opportunity to produce buffalo meat products also exists.
“Another reason for exploring shelf-stable processing in the north, is the over reliance of the northern Australian beef production system on live-cattle export markets. It is a point of vulnerability which has previously been recognised. Having regionalised processing capability (especially in shelf-stable lines), would enable product differentiation and additional market opportunities that could contribute to increased overall pastoral industry resilience,” Hunt said.
“This study is investigating the function that novel shelf-stable food technologies offer, for example they can deliver food nutritional and sensory outcomes to past processing practices,” Hunt said.
The next stage of the project includes furthering ideas on the development of a small-scale food-grade facility.
The plant would include several different processing lines with the ability to manage multiple feedstocks including red meat, horticulture, and seafood products. It would be dedicated to de-risking future potential commercial expansion by undertaking market and product testing, as well as building a trained workforce in food processing operations.
*The 20th parallel takes in the Northern Territory and North Western Australia from above Broome. It is a biosecurity exclusion zone, to keep cattle tick out of South Australia and protect European cattle brands, which are highly allergic to the tick. Braham type cattle are tick resistant.
