Page 11 - National Poultry Newspaper

Plant based protein faces meat definition
Bartter fined for
release of high-
strength effluent
BERESFIELD poul- try processing facil- ity Bartter Enterpris- es Pty Limited has been fined $15,000 by the NSW Envi- ronment Protection Authority for alleg- edly discharging high-strength efflu- ent into Woodberry Swamp.
ent can disrupt natu- ral ecosystems and lead to rapid growth of weeds and algae, which can have a neg- ative impact on deli- cate aquatic life.
The $15,000 fine is the largest the EPA can issue under its legislation.
Woodberry Swamp is a recognised wet- land under the Coast- al Management State Environmental Plan- ning Policy 2018.
EPA director metro operations David Gathercole said Bar- tter was permitted to release wastewater only within strict con- ditions.
Mr Gathercole said the EPA had put Bar- tter Enterprises on notice to take action to prevent water pol- lution.
“Under its licence, Bartter Enterprises is allowed to release a controlled amount of treated wastewater,” Mr Gathercole said.
“By issuing this penalty notice and en- forcing a number of immediate, medium and long-term actions – including modify- ing the on-site waste- water treatment plant – the EPA is empha- sising the importance of Bartter’s responsi- bility to comply with the law and protect the local sensitive en- vironment.”
“However, testing indicated that efflu- ent treatment at the premises was inad- equate, resulting in a high concentration of chemical compounds being discharged into the swamp.
For more information about the EPA’s regulatory tools, see the EPA Compliance Policy at epa.nsw.gov.au/ legislation/prosguid. htm
“This included el- evated levels of nitro- gen and phosphorus.”
High-strength efflu-
* from P10 anecdotal reports.
we can grow the soy in Australia and process it in Australia, and that involves hundreds of millions of dol- lars of investment.” Re-importing Australian grown wheat
Senator McDonald said. “This is about what termi- nology is appropriate to use
satisfy supply in meat and plant-based protein produc- tion in Australia.”
The Australian soybean industry is a small indus- try that has actually shrunk since the 1980s for a range of reasons, but a three-way partnership was underway between the CSIRO, the GRDC and NSW DPI to further develop the national soybean breeding program.
v2food founder Nick Ha- zell said, “Legislative in- tervention should not be based on some anecdotes such as ‘I went to the su- permarket myself and I was confused’.”
on this new foodstuff.”
The CSIRO’s research in- to plant-based protein prod- ucts was simply motivated by market opportunities to grow jobs and responding to the market demand for such products.
“Because these anecdotes diametrically oppose the evidence provided to this inquiry by lots of organisa- tions such as the ACCC, FSANZ, and also our expe- rience where we have been selling to millions of un- confused consumers.”
Ketjil Hansen from De- liciou said he faced the bi- zarre situation in having to re-import Australian grown wheat at present.
Senator McDonald also singled out v2food as a leading example of how to market plant-based protein products.
“We have a 100-year long history of working with the red meat industry in Australia and a very proud history that we will con- tinue to cultivate, support and nurture and that work remains by far our most dominant work in protein research,” Mr Robertson said.
“With the market cues we’re receiving from com- panies such as v2food and others, we believe there could be an opportunity to quadruple the area of soy- bean in northern NSW and southern Queensland – that is the main area where the crop would be grown under irrigation,” Mr Robertson said.
The inquiry heard that most ingredients used to produce the plant-based meat substitutes that sell in Australia are sourced from overseas.
“We have learned that suppliers overseas import Australian wheat, process it overseas, for us to then import it back to Australia.
“You don’t use pictures of animals on your marketing materials, you don’t use the words for animals in your marketing materials, so I am not quite sure why you are feeling under attack.
The CSIRO believed plant-based proteins repre- sented a $10 billion oppor- tunity for Australia by 2030 and could create 60,000 jobs in regional Australia.
Nick Hazell said that when he started v2food, he assumed it would be using Australian ingredients to make the plant-based burg- ers and mince it produces.
“It is a huge lost opportu- nity to build out a massive processing of plant-based materials industry here in Australia.
“The purpose of this in- quiry is to talk about defi- nitions – the words that we use to describe products – it is not in any way to dis- courage you from making plant-based proteins.” CSIRO outlines oppor- tunities for plant protein crops
“That is our best guess at the moment,” Mr Robert- son said.
“A complementary crop – such as cotton – grown in rotation benefits because it is a legume bringing some nitrogen into the system and other sustainability benefits.
However, he said it was a shock to find that pro- tein extracts, concentrates and isolates – which are the building blocks of alterna- tive protein – are not made in Australia.
“The opportunity is now to really invest in this, it will benefit so many and farmers in Australia will benefit.”
Inquiry not an attack on plant-based proteins
“We’re seeing that of course play out on the ground currently, with a company such as v2food choosing to build a process- ing facility in Albury.
“So, in summary huge op- portunities for growing that little industry into some- thing much more signifi- cant, benefits regional Aus- tralia as a consequence.”
“We do grow great leg- umes and pulses, we have an amazing agricultural sector, but no one has felt the need to invest in manu- facturing in Australia up until now,” Mr Hazell said.
Plant-based protein com- panies have characterised the Senate Inquiry as an attempt by the meat sector to stifle the growth of a competitive threat to their industry.
CSIRO representatives told senators in response to questions that reports forecasting the growth of the plant-based protein and meat sectors suggested the former did not represent a major economic threat to the $100 billion meat indus- try, with plant-based prod- ucts likely to be a ‘tiny blip’ on global meat demand.
“And we also have other companies building plants in places such as Horsham to do the processing of plant products.”
Mr Robertson listed faba beans and lupins as other crops that held potential to grow as the plant-based protein sector expands in Australia.
“So that is deeply con- cerning and we want to do something about it.”
However, Senator Mc- Donald reiterated that the inquiry is not an attack on alternative protein sources and is simply about label- ling and terminology to en- sure clarity for consumers.
“The fractionation capac- ity is a weakness that is being addressed.
Pea crops were another al- ternative, but Australia was a very small player in a very competitive global market dominated by Canada.
He said he believes Aus- tralia can quadruple the amount of high protein soy it produces from current levels as the plant-protein sector grows.
“The purpose of this in- quiry is not in any way to limit the growth of plant- based protein market, I agree that in a hungry world we are looking for additional food sources,”
CSIRO Agriculture and Food deputy director Mi- chael Robertson said, “As the Asian middleclass grows in affluence and seeks to eat more protein, growth in that region will be more than enough to
“The other issue is that a lot of the plant protein has been imported in terms of soybean from offshore, and we are determined to turn that around and create a boost for our domestic soybean industry so that it can supply the feedstock for these opportunities as well.”
“I think Australian pro- ducers would struggle to compete with that, so I think faba bean is probably themorelikelyopportunity, behind soybeans,” Mr Rob- ertson said.
“We find ourselves with our plant-based meat range having to import the key ingredient from overseas,” Mr Hansen said.
“v2food – I have no prob- lem with any of your mar- keting, you use terms that we all agree on – burger, mince, sausage, Bolognese sauce,” Senator McDonald said.
v2food approach to mar- keting earns praise
“We’re forming consor- tia and partnerships so that
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National Poultry Newspaper, January 2022 – Page 11