SA bags three Global Food Industry Awards

The awards were handed over during IUFoST's 14th World Congress of Food Science and Technology, which took place from 19 - 23 October 2008 and drew more than 2,000 delegates from 74 countries.

Only two nominations per category were allowed from each country and were accessed by a global panel that included a South African. A total of ten products were awarded, with South Africa winning three.

Federation members could recommend national industry candidates whose food products displayed:

1. Product/process innovation including industrialisation of traditional foods:
   

   Rooibos company, Red Espresso won an award in this category for its tea espresso.

   "This recognition of our technical innovation in the beverage industry is testament to what Red Espresso stands for: a truly unique, special and world-class product. It fuels our drive to make Red Espresso rooibos available to the rest of the world. We'd like to thank SAAFoST [South African Association for Food Science and Technology] for its belief in our uniquely South African innovation and for presenting our world first to this international body," says founder Carl Pretorius.

   

2. Packaging Innovation, with specifics on the innovative part of the packaging and why it is important: Mars Africa's Royco Pour-Over Sauces in convenient jug-shaped pouches was the only winner in this category.

   "It is a great honour for all of us to have won the only award for packaging. This innovative product has won a number of international awards since its launch in 2007, and has also experienced great success with consumers in the local market - within two months of launch, this range took market leadership of the category in which it competes - a position it has maintained since then," says Jeanne Cerff, Mars Africa category director, food.

   

3. Communication of science-related knowledge to consumers: Woolworths' Really Good Food for Babies, a range of chilled baby food purees meeting the growing customer demand for fresh, less-processed products was a winner in this category. The range was commended for its efforts in educating the professional community, paediatric nurses, paediatricians and dieticians; with all safety and how-to-use communication relayed on-pack for the mother and repeated in all consumer communication.

   "This award is a result of what can be achieved when there is collaboration between retailer and manufacturer to achieve true product innovation and first to market," says Richard Stockley, Woolworths' Trading Head: Prepared Foods and Foods Service.

The event will run again in 2010, this time in South Africa.

"South Africa's achievement highlights the high degree of innovation in our market and that we are a true global player- I hope our success this year will motivate companies to put forward products for nomination by SAAFoST in 2010," says Rosie Maguire, SAAFoST president.

*IUFoST, a global scientific organisation that represents over 200 000 food scientists and technologists from more than 60 countries, is a federation of national food science organisations linking the world's food scientists and technologists.