Workshops

All Student Pre-Conference Workshop*

For all Masters and PhD students, and early career researchers (obtained PhD within the last 2 years) that are attending Postharvest2024.

This specific student/early career workshop will be held on the afternoon of Monday 11th November before the official conference opening. The workshop will be a platform for postgraduate students and postdocs to network with each other and to meet senior members of the postharvest research community prior to the conference. This workshop will include sessions on career pathways and progression, publication processes and advice (led by leading journal editors), and how to get actively involved in the international research communities of interest. Opportunities will be provided to talk to the plenary speakers and senior members of the research community.

Numbers are limited to 80.

Workshop 1 - Mind the Gap!! Where Scientific Understanding and Commercial Application don’t always meet *

Led by Frank Bollen(1) and Jem Burdon (2)
1 Zespri, Tauranga, New Zealand 2 Plant & Food Research, Auckland, New Zealand

From the scientific approach to commercial implementation, why are there gaps between research and solutions?  Your hosts will facilitate a wide-ranging discussion about produce quality and why research does not always lead to the intended outcomes and commercial solutions.  Chilling damage will be taken as a start point for the discussion – where it ends up depends on you! 

You are invited to bring your thoughts and ideas and join in with this discussion.

Workshop 2 - Market Access & X-ray/Ionising radiation *

Lisa Jamieson, John Golding, Barbara Waddell, and Peter Follett

Part A. Market access research country updates

The workshop will aim to bring together researchers and interested industry and regulator parties to discuss postharvest disinfestation and biosecurity treatment research. The workshop is aimed at being a ‘roundtable’ discussion and interactive.

Representatives for countries will have the opportunity to present the ‘state of play’ in terms of disinfestation treatments for market access and biosecurity by summarising the technologies/treatments that have/are being investigated for different crops, and which are available and being used by industries.

It is envisaged that workshop outcomes will include a better understanding about who is working on what crops, pests, technologies, markets, what works for difference industries along with ideas about collaborative research projects.

Part B. Phytosanitary ionising radiation

Phytosanitary ionising radiation is a proven market access treatment technology to facilitate trade. There are several Annexes to ISPM 28 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 28) which prescribe the use of low dose ionising radiation as a quarantine treatment to address technical barriers to trade. While only a limited number of countries accept the use of phytosanitary irradiation as a market access treatment, there is a growing world trade in its use. For example, fresh fruit trade from Hawaii to the US mainland and table grape exports from Australia to Vietnam routinely use phytosanitary irradiation. Treatment is conducted using registered facilities with application of either gamma or X-rays. While ionising radiation can facilitate trade, some of the effects on product quality are still being explored.

This workshop will outline the current use of ionising radiation as a phytosanitary treatment on fresh produce, its effects on product quality, its limitations, and future commercial and research directions. This will be a great chance for networking and learning about the latest in phytosanitary irradiation in an interactive setting.

Workshop 3 – Reducing Fungicides *

A workshop will be offered as part of the 7th International Symposium on Postharvest Pathology science programme where experts from amongst the registrants will be invited to lead small discussion groups to ‘compare notes’ and brainstorm various new and older robust methods for managing postharvest pathogens without conventional fungicides. Each discussion group will formulate their outputs and present them to the rest of the Postharvest Pathology Symposium attendees. A summary document will be provided as a post-conference outcome and published in the Acta Horticulturae volume associated with our conference. Attendees will be invited to write 500 words on each topic to form the basis of a review article to be submitted to Australasian Plant Pathology (IF = 1.7).

Workshop 4 – Food and Natural Health Product Regulatory Considerations *

Led by Carolyn Lister (Plant & Food Research Lincoln) with presenters from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Zespri

When working on the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, or any foods for that matter, it is important to be mindful of regulatory considerations that may impact the use of that information for the development of products. These considerations include if the food/ingredient may be classed as a novel food and the nutrition and health claims that may want to be made. In addition, the consumer perspective is also important – can the scientific claim be translated into something the consumer can understand without breaching the regulations.

This workshop will include presenters from regulatory bodies in New Zealand and Australia but who also have an understanding of the wider international regulatory landscape. As a researcher you may not be focussed on making health claims, but your scientific paper may be useful in the future for a company wanting to make a claim. Thus, we will also cover the design of clinical trials as this is important for ensuring information can be used in a regulatory context. We will also hear from Zespri with real life examples of taking products to market with health claims and the work they have done to achieve a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) claim, the first for a whole fresh fruit.

The intention is for this workshop to be a very interactive session so come armed with your questions. We hope it will bring a slightly different lens and things to think about in how you may go about your research.

Workshop 5 – Crop Plants as Models *

Led by Nigel Gapper(1), Donald Hunter(2) and Laurie Favre(2).
1 Plant & Food Research, Auckland, New Zealand 2 Plant & Food Research, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Recent advances in gene sequencing, metabolite profiling and new gene function technology have provided a path for understanding the biology of crop plants without the need for knowledge translation from other ‘model’ plant systems. This workshop will highlight some examples of ‘omics research in the postharvest area, the power of rapid flowering kiwifruit and provoke discussion of where we might be able to go in the future leveraging these resources. Please bring your ideas and join this discussion.

Workshop 6 – Practical Use of Monitoring Technologies in Commercial Supply Chains *

Led by Jenny Ekman(1), Adam Goldwater(1) and Andrew Macnish(2)
1 Applied Horticultural Research, Sydney, Australia 2 Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Nambour, Australia

Devices that monitor conditions (temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, oxygen, ethylene, light, vibration and shock) or provide traceability, potentially enable detailed investigation of quality losses in supply chains. With the development of an IoT led world, we should expect that such monitoring technologies will become more available, affordable and flexible than ever over the next decade. In this workshop, we will explore the current state of the art in loggers. We will focus on both the uses and the limitations of technologies that gather, interpret and make decisions from supply chain data. Case studies that focus on practicalities of use and demonstration of benefits will be presented by researchers and end user organizations. Device suppliers will have the opportunity to briefly present their current technology solutions, as part of the case study.

Workshop 7 – Discover Sustainable Packaging: A Workshop at Scion *

Kate Parker, Scion, Rotorua

Are you struggling to grasp the evolving world of sustainable packaging? Join us at Scion for an enlightening workshop that will delve into the latest trends in Fibre Packaging for the Postharvest sector.

Workshop Highlights:

Food Contact Compliance:  Understand the crucial requirements for packaging materials in direct contact with food.
Moulded Fibre Packaging:  Explore the innovative world of moulded fibre packaging solutions.
Bio-barrier coatings:  Uncover the importance of bio-barrier coatings and learn about PFAS
Fibre Recyclability: Gain insights into the sustainable practices of recycling fibre-based materials.

What to expect:  This workshop is designed to provide you with both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience. Our series of short sessions will take place at the Scion facility, offering you a comprehensive learning experience.

Limited to 45 participants

*The organising committee has the right to cancel/change the above workshops due to unforeseen circumstances.