FOOD

Food Security Governance: Empowering Communities, Regulating Corporations

By Nora McKeon This book fills a gap in the literature by setting food security in the context of evolving global food governance. Today’s food system generates hunger alongside of food waste, burgeoning health problems, massive greenhouse gas emissions. Applying food system analysis to review how the international community has addressed food issues since WWII, this book proceeds to explain how actors link up in corporate global food chains and in the local food systems that feed most of the world’s population. It unpacks relevant paradigms – from productivism to food sovereignty – and highlights the significance of adopting a rights-based approach to solving food problems. The author describes how communities around the world are protecting their access to resources and building better ways of producing and accessing food, and discusses the reformed Committee on World Food Security, a uniquely inclusive global policy forum, and how it could be supportive of efforts from the base. The book concludes by identifying terrains on which work is needed to adapt the practice of the democratic public sphere and accountable governance to a global dimension and extend its authority to the world of markets and corporations. This book will be of interest to students of food security, global governance, development studies and critical security studies in general.

Aurora process solutions and Fuji robotic pallitising systems

Aurora is excited to announce the addition of the FUJI range of Robotic Palletising systems to its extensive range of process equipment on offer. Aurora have for many years provided superior machinery for the Bulk Materials Handling industry and as solution providers we are able to combine modular type equipment for materials handling plants large and small. The addition of the Fuji range of Robotic Palletisers means Aurora offers its clients the choice of a high capacity, economical solution to handling bags and boxes on their packaging lines. Fuji Ace have been developing, supplying and improving palletising technology for nearly 40 years. In 1982 Fuji recognised the changing market and met the demands of the palletising industry by developing the first Robotic Palletiser. They have since perfected the mechanical and electrical aspects of robotic operation to match the needs of virtually every palletising application currently available, with over 10000 installations in operation. As a specifically designed palletising robot the Fuji-Ace system provides many benefits over conventional robotic arm alternatives. The Fuji-Ace Palletiser reduces space and power requirements, provides the highest capacity cycle available, and is easily programmed and adjusted from the specific palletising controller, removing the previously time consuming task of programming the robot. Up to 30 stacking patterns can be programmed into the robots memory. Fuji also utilises a point to point control system that further reduces and simplifies programming time, with only the pick and drop points needing to be programmed for the first two layers. For a live demo of the Fuji Robot visit our stand #3078 at the Foodtech Packtech Exhibition, held at the ASB Showgrounds Auckland, 25th – 27th of September 2014. Aurora provides full automation and pallet transfer systems, specified to suit whatever application within all production environments. At Aurora we stand close behind […]

New innovation supports confidence in NZ food exports

In a world facing increasing concerns for food safety and quality, the ability for consumers to get independently verified information about a product, right at the point of sale, is a big step forward in supporting confidence in New Zealand food exports. Seeing the opportunity to meet this AsureQuality, global experts in food safety and quality, developed the inSightª brand which is designed to provide consumers with additional information about the products they are buying. The rigorous process of supply chain assessment to gain an inSight licence allows producers to use the inSight brand and a unique QR barcode on their products. By scanning the barcode with their mobile devices, shoppers are taken straight to the inSight website (www.aqinsight.com). Here they can view independent evidence about the product features prior to purchase. Tenda Nutritional Foods successfully launched its range of inSight branded infant formula products into the Chinese market recently and is now set to release a range of kids snacks. This has created trust for its consumers by showing transparency, integrity and safety in the production process, enabling Chinese parents to make confident and informed purchase decisions. Mark Inglis, Sales & Marketing Manager at AsureQuality, explains that inSight is providing a crucial point of difference for products in the busy FMCG market. ÒinSight gives consumers the opportunity to buy products, certain in the knowledge that they possess the food safety and quality attributes that matter. This is the first type of product mark that is able to address the multiple interests of consumers, and we are proud to be bringing product assurances into the 21st century.Ó Features that consumers can check via the inSight website include environmental sustainability, ethical and animal welfare, nutrition, origin, organic status, and food quality and safety. A number of other New Zealand companies have […]