By LIAM DANN, primary industries editor
Fonterra is joining forces with German chemical giant BASF to create futuristic vending machines that can customise snack food to the health requirements of the consumer.
The four-year project with researchers at Massey University's Riddet Centre aims to pioneer a consumer-food category called POSIFoods or "point-of-sale
individualised foods".
In much the same way as consumers can now have their coffee tailored in a complex range of strengths, flavours and styles the POSIFood system could alter the formula of snack foods to suit health needs depending on a person's age, weight or physical condition.
A pregnant woman could order a fruit smoothie enriched with calcium and folate. Her husband could go for the same product but choose to have it enriched with omega 3 to help lower his cholesterol.
Other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants could be mixed and matched to suit personal dietary needs.
Fonterra's director of marketing and innovation Bob Major said the move recognised the increasing consumer demand for foods that not only tasted good but were nutritious and improved health and wellbeing.
"POSIFoods has the potential to open up new markets and export opportunities for value-added, dairy-based consumer foods," he said.
The technology could provide long-term commercial benefits for Fonterra, he said.
It would enable Fonterra to further commercialise nutrition-based brands such as its high-calcium Anlene milk powder, he said.
The four-year research project aims to develop working prototypes to prove that the concept is feasible in commercial applications. It is to be co-funded by Fonterra and BASF and has been awarded a $6 million grant from the Foundation for Research Science and Technology.
BASF is one of the world's largest chemical companies and a leading manufacturer of products for human nutrition.
It generated revenue of nearly $70 billion last year.
With increasing parental concern about the nutritional value of snack foods, the technology could be ideal for school vending machines, Major said.
