McDonald’s celebrates 40 years by going back to 1976

The first McDonald’s opened at Cobham Court, Porirua on 7, June 1976. More than 100 eager customers queued outside waiting for the doors to open at 10am.  The original menu featured the Big Mac (75c), Quarter Pounder (65c), Quarter Pounder with Cheese (75c), Filet-O-Fish (65c), Cheeseburger (40c) and Hamburger (30c).

Macca’s Queen Street will open to the public in all its ‘70’s glory from 10am-2pm today, serving up the original 1976 including six classic McDonald’s burgers ranging in price from 30 cents to 70 cents, fries, drinks and dessert.

What else happened in 1976?

• John Walker and the New Zealand Hockey team won gold at the Montreal Olympics
• The first National Provincial Championship (NPC) was held and Bay of Plenty was crowned Division One champions
• The All Backs toured South Africa in defiance of the United Nations call for a sporting embargo of the republic
• Dawn raids on the homes of alleged overstayers intensified in October
• Kiwis protested visits from nuclear powered and armed vessels the USS Truxtun and USS Long Beach

Phil McGrath joins Riddet Innovation 

Phil McGrath has just been appointed to a new role of food entrepreneur in residence at Riddet Innovation. The aim is to encourage greater food innovation, entrepreneurial thinking and commercialisation of food science and technology ideas.

A self-confessed foodie, Mr McGrath has spent many years in food industry positions in New Zealand and overseas. A Massey graduate, he was co-founder of the Rafferty’s Garden baby food brand, and now spends a large part of his year travelling the world with his company Food Locomotive, looking for food market opportunities. His team includes former NASA food scientists, food safety specialists and commercialisation experts.

He has worked on products ranging from high-value vegetable powders to value-added honey products. Mr McGrath says he is always on the lookout for new technology that can provide benefits to consumers.

Riddet Innovation director Dr Abby Thompson says Mr McGrath’s experience in the food industry will be an invaluable asset.

Although the role is part time, Mr McGrath will be available to provide companies with feedback on their food innovation plans.

Nanotechnology in food additives and food packaging

FSANZ has published two reports on the use of nanotechnology in food additives and food packaging. 

The key findings of the reports are:

• The consultant reviewed the evidence on nanoscale silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide and silver in food and found the weight of evidence does not support claims of significant health risks for food grade materials.
• Titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide are used internationally in a range of food products and have been used safely for decades. They are approved food additives in Australia and New Zealand. Silver is also an approved additive in Australia and New Zealand but is permitted in very few foods.
• Overall, the findings of the report are consistent with recently published information in the OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials Sponsorship Programme for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials toxicological dossiers on silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide and silver.
• There is no direct evidence to suggest novel nanomaterials are currently being used in food packaging applications in Australia or New Zealand, with most patents found from the United States.
• From the case studies on the use of nano-clay and nano silver in packaging, the report concludes that there is no evidence from the literature of migration of nano-clay from packaging into food.  The nanoscale nature of nanosilver (whether used in packaging or food) is also not likely to be dangerous to consumer’s health.
• An independent peer review agreed with the overall analysis and conclusions of both reports stating that they were appropriately balanced in their reporting and that none of the nanotechnologies described are of health concern.

You can find both reports on the FSANZ website here

Save Food Packaging Award winners

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) announced the winners of the inaugural Save Food Packaging Awards in ANZ during the 2016 National Conference gala dinner on the 1st of June. The Awards were formally presented by the President of the World Packaging Organisation, Tom Schneider who was over from the United States. The AIP are the first Institute in the world to launch the new awards program.

The Save Food Packaging Awards are a global program that have been developed by the World Packaging Organisation, in conjunction with Messe Dusseldorf and Interpack, and are designed to recognise companies who are developing innovative and sustainable packaging that minimises food losses and food waste, extends shelf life and improves the supply of food.

A key purpose of the Save Food Packaging Awards is to raise awareness of the critical role of packaging in reducing food waste resulting in a positive overall environmental impact. We believe that it is time that packaging technologists design packaging to save food.

The winners of the inaugural Save Food Packaging Awards for Australia and New Zealand are:

Retail Category: DON KRC for Cryovac Darfresh Vacuum Skin Packaging.

Food Services Category: SPC Ardmona for SPC ProVital Easy-Open Portion Control Fruit Cup.

The Australia and NZ winners and High Commendations will be formally recognised and displayed as a part of the global Save Food Packaging Program that will coincide with Interpack 2017.