NZ food partnership to combat global malnutrition

Monday, February 21, 2011
NZ food partnership to combat global malnutrition

The Riddet Institute has partnered with award winning international development organisation Medicine Mondiale to create a range of functional foods that improve global nutrition and reduce infant mortality rates.

New Zealander of the Year (2010) Sir Ray Avery, who leads Medicine Mondiale, describes the partnership as a perfect marriage of applied and fundamental research. Sir Ray says his research showed the company’s infant formula, Proteinforte, reduced acute protein energy infant mortality rates markedly, compared with proprietary infant formulas. “We knew it worked but we did not have the scientific resources or funds to determine, at a biochemical level, how it worked.”

A chance meeting with institute co-director Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan last year provided the opportunity to further the scientific understanding of why the product worked. The institute, hosted at Massey University, is one of eight Government-funded centres of research excellence. Its primary focus is increasing scientific knowledge relating to food, nutrition and digestive processes.

"What Paul and his team have shown is that formulations like Proteinforte are rapidly and almost completely absorbed across the gut and incorporated into body tissue,” Sir Ray says. “These breakthrough products have applications in developing and developed world markets and this is a unique opportunity for New Zealand-based functional food technology to take the lead in global nutrition.”

Professor Moughan says the Riddet Institute was set up to undertake world-class research and training to generate innovations that promote New Zealand's economic development. “We are delighted to be working closely with Sir Ray and the team at Medicine Mondiale to further the connection between fundamental research and real world application and commercialisation of technology.”

Massey Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says the University wanted to support Medicine Mondiale in its endeavor to provide nutritious products to meet market demands. “The Riddet Institute has an international reputation for its research in food science and nutrition and can provide knowledge about how these products benefit people.”

Sir Ray says the two organisations will work collaboratively to commercialise several product streams emanating from this ground-breaking New Zealand research.

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