To all of you who thought Nicki Sutton had disappeared, the exciting news is that I have reappeared as The Mobile Food Scientist. Just like magic, I am here to make your life easier once again.

A massive thank you to everyone who has supported me in my first 3 months of business, thanks to you I have been pretty busy. Billie’s bags are packed and he’s now off to preschool, so I have more time to dedicate to your projects.

For those of you who I have not met yet, my website is up and running. Check out www.themobilefoodscientist.co.nz for more information on the areas I am specialising in. The key objective of my company “The Mobile Food Scientist” is to offer a high quality, professional, yet friendly service with a short turnaround time.

Keep up to date with what’s happening in the food industry through my newsletters. I will be running promotions throughout the year, keep your eyes peeled for these.
  

1. HEALTH STAR RATINGS- After years of discussion the classification system has been finalised and companies are now starting to include these on front of pack labelling. Points are allocated depending on the four aspects of a food associated with increasing the risk factors for chronic diseases; energy, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars content of a food along with ‘positive’ aspects of a food such as fruit and vegetable content, and in some instances, dietary fibre and protein content.
   It is not compulsory to have these on your label however I have access to this calculator and have run some trial products through the database. Fibre plays a large part in increasing the points value therefore as fibre is not normally included on nutritional labels it is necessary to calculate this before using the HSR calculator.
   If you are wanting to calculate your HSR score, The Mobile Food Scientist is now offering this service so email or call for a quote today.
    
2. NATURAL PRESERVATIVES- I have been looking into natural preservatives lately and have discovered some exciting products for bakery, beverages and sausages. Some of these ingredients can be labelled as fermented sugar and others are labelled as flavour. If clean labelling is key to your supply into retail outlets particularly the Australian chains these may be a great option for your products.
    
3. TESTING- If you require analytical or microbiological testing why not email nicki@themobilefoodscientist.co.nz for a quotation. All testing is completed at accredited laboratories and reports are translated into comprehensible detailed reports by The Mobile Food Scientist. Due to my relationship with the external laboratories the cost of this service is often cheaper than a direct standard test at one of the laboratories.
    
4. NEW BUSINESSES- If you know of anyone starting a food business don’t forget to tell them about The Mobile Food Scientist. I love giving guidance on Food Standard requirements, mentoring opportunities and various courses available.
    
5. GROWTH- If you are looking to upscale your production to enable you to supply large retailers, send an email to nicki@themobilefoodscientist.co.nz I may be able to link you with a suitable company to co-pack your product, saving you costs in compliance and machinery outlay.
    
6. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (MY SPECIALITY)- It is important that these comply with the Food Standards Code therefore use an expert like myself to complete these. The cost via database is $100+GST which includes the ingredients listing and % RDI’s. If analytical testing is required rather than via database the cost is $400+GST for nutrition information and $50+GST for the ingredient listing per product. Ask for discount if more than 3 products are tested at one time. Please ensure that the information provided by your consultant is transcribed directly onto the label as the exact format of the information is critical to meet the Food Standards Code. I am happy to check labels I have completed before the final print.

I look forward to hearing your voices again and looking at ways I can work with you to make your company even more successful than it already is.
                                                       

Firstly on the 23rd of June NZ Food Innovation South Island and CDC are holding an event to help SME’s get into supermarkets.  Participants will find out how to supply these retailers, what they are looking for in suppliers and the skills and support required to supply these customers. It does cost money to attend but you can apply for a voucher to help with 50% of the cost. I am attending this and therefore if you are unable to attend I will be able to advise you of what was discussed and help you reach your desired markets. Through registering for this I also found out how CDC can help with funding for businesses and am now registered with accelerate success check it out at www.acceleratesuccess.co.nz if you are not in Canterbury also check out www.nzte.govt.nz/en/how-nzte-can-help/building-your-capability/regional-business-partners If you are a new business or need a business mentor for a fresh approach the CDC offer a business mentoring programme with the first couple of sessions free.
 
Secondly have you received your black box????? I received mine this week and it’s awesome. sampleco.co.nz This could be a good way to get your new products noticed by the consumer and even if you decide the costs are too expensive why not register for the samples, it contained over $100 worth of free stuff. I don’t personally know the owners but from what I can tell they are a very smart marketing company, they even had me taking a photo of my teeth to compare the whiteness in 4 weeks for a Colgate whitening product.
 
Thirdly the annual NZIFST conference is being held in CHCH on 1 July-3 July at the Wigram Air Force Museum, even if you don’t want to register for the event, the exhibition is open to the Food Public from 1pm until 4.30pm on Wednesday the 2nd July and could be worth a look, take your business cards as they usually have lots of competitions on the stands. www.nzifst.org.nz/conference.asp
 
Fourthly NZIFST also offer training courses which are reasonably priced, you don’t need to be a member of the institute but if you are you get a discount, I have made the suggestion of a VITAL training course for CHCH and if you have any suggestions of what you would like let them know. nzifst-fit.learningsource.co.nz
 
Lastly don’t forget I am here to help you. Having recently helped companies fill in product specification forms for various retailers, I have been hearing the frustration of the retailers that they really want to stock some products but are waiting for spec sheets from the suppliers. Why not get me to write up your spec sheets to save you the frustration, I have a couple of simple templates for suppliers or alternatively I am very familiar with PIF forms required by some retailers and other forms required by international supermarkets.