Te Mana Lamb wins award
Premium lamb brand Te Mana Lamb took out the New Zealand Food Safety Primary Sector Products and Frozen categories at the New Zealand Food Awards.
Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew presented the Supreme Award for the 2016 NZ Food Awards in Auckland this week and is congratulating all of the category winners for their achievements.
“I would like to congratulate Coastal Spring Lamb and Coastal Lamb for winning the Massey University Supreme Award. They are an excellent example of an innovative and successful New Zealand company, which is now exporting to the world,” Goodhew says.
Coastal Spring Lamb and Coastal Lamb also won the NZTE Export Innovation Award, and the Chilled/Short Shelf Life Award.
“The awards celebrate the best of what the New Zealand food industry offers to New Zealand and our global customers.
“Given the importance of the food and beverage sector to the New Zealand economy, with its contribution of $29 billion a year, it is important that New Zealand continues to be seen as a trusted supplier of safe and suitable food around the world.
“These Awards are an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of everyone involved in the business of food towards making this a reality. I congratulate all of the companies who have been recognised for excellence in their categories,” says Goodhew.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General, Martyn Dunne, presented two awards sponsored by MPI - the Primary Sector Products Award and the Food Safety Culture Award.
“This is the first year MPI has sponsored the food safety culture award and the winner of the 2016 award, Open Country Dairy, demonstrates the importance of having a business culture to ensure food safety never takes second place. This culture needs to be prevalent up and down the supply chain, for all food and Open Country Dairy has lead the way.
“The winner of the Primary Sector Products Award was Spring Sheep Milk Company. They have been rewarded for their innovation, forward thinking and creativity in developing and delivering successful new products to market,” Goodhew says.
Three New Zealand agritech companies are set to join forces to help unlock the full potential of technology.
As the sector heads into the traditional peak period for injuries and fatalities, farmers are being urged to "take a moment".
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.

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