The 2017 Design Innovation of the Year Award in the Food category recognised four innovative companies.
The 'Materials & Packaging High Commendation' award was given to Nestlé Health Science Australia and qDesign Enterprises for Nestlé Health Science Resource ThickenUp Hydration range with Innovative Sipper Lid.
The Materials & Packaging winner was Australian Wholefoods for Levodo Grain Thin Crackers.
The Levodo clear plastic packaging is innovative for the healthy biscuit category, which has been traditionally dominated by cardboard boxes or plastic sleeves.
The product is clearly visible at point of purchase and the carrier tray reduces product breakages during transportation.
The design of the Levodo packaging is beneficial to product shelf life once the tamper proof seal has been broken.
The tube can be used as a storage container for the remaining crackers and by returning the packaging lid, the product will remain fresh without having to transfer contents to a separate storage unit, providing ease-of-use for consumers.
The 'Machinery/Equipment High Commendation' was given to Robotic Automation for the Multi-Product Robotic Packaging Solution, and the Machinery/Equipment winner was Heat and Control for E-FLO.
The E-FLO machine was designed to benefit potato product producers by increasing efficiency, reducing long-term costs and allowing producers to develop a healthier product for their customers by lowering the amount of acrylamide in potato products.
The patented E-FLO uses Pulse Electric Field (PEF) processing, or electroporation, to perforate the cell walls of potatoes, creating micro holes that allow asparagine and reducing sugars to be washed out of the potato in a cold water wash.
It mostly eliminates the need to blanch the product, and the E-FLO Electroporation System can improve cost of ownership for manufacturers.
