Food industry innovators win science and tech awards

The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) has named two food industry innovators as award recipients ahead of its July convention.

Professor Ian Brown, who has successfully commercialised food and nutritional ingredients like Hi-Maize, the world’s first commercial source of resistant starch, has been awarded The Keith Farrer Award of Merit by AIFST for his contribution to the cereal, ingredient, food and nutrition industries.

Professor Brown heads up the Australian publicly listed company Clover Corporation, and he is a special visiting professor at the University of Colorado and an adjunct professor at the Flinders University of South Australia.

“It is unique in the food sector to see an individual that holds full-time senior industry positions with such an impressive scientific record of published papers, book chapters and keynote presentations,” said AIFST president, Jo Davey.

AIFST's Food Industry Innovation Award, which is judged on the significance of a new development that has achieved commercial application, went to Australian Functional Ingredients, for its development of a natural antimicrobial, Herbal-Active.

Herbal-Active is a natural and tasteless ingredient sanitiser made of a combination of essential oils and extracts from culinary herbs that can extend the shelf life of fresh produce up to ten times, reduce the need for fungicides post-harvest, sanitise fruits and vegetables prior to juicing and be used instead of a selection of preservatives.

“We applaud Australian Functional Ingredients on this true innovation that has such wide-ranging food industry application,” said Davey.

The awards were announced ahead of the 46th Annual AIFST Convention which will be held in Brisbane from 14 to 16 July.

Food industry professionals will also be commended for their contribution and commitment to food safety at the annual HACCP Conference in Melbourne from 27 to 29 August.

Award categories include outstanding individual nominated by an agri-food industry, outstanding individual working as a registered food safety auditor, outstanding single site company and outstanding multi-site company. Nominations close on 7 June.