EnCoate

Aug 9, 2019

Wednesday, 13 June 2007, 10:07 am 13 June, 2007 EnCoate, the 50/50 owned AgResearchand Ballance Agri-Nutrients Joint Venture Company, todayannounced it is close to signing a multi-million dollar dealthat will see an injection of venture capital money tofinance the development of a revolutionary line of probioticformulations that will enhance food products. Once theagreement is signed EnCoate will receive $6.3 million ininvestment from one of Australasia’s biggest life sciencesventure capital funds. Probiotics are microbes that havebeneficial health effects on humans and animals. However,current technology limits their application to yoghurt andother milk products as they must be refrigerated. EnCoate’s goal is to extend the shelf-life ofprobiotics to two years at room temperature and humiditywith special formulations. Current technology does not allowprobiotics to be mixed with other ingredients, whichconsiderably limits the scope of their application. EnCoatehas developed a technology that can stabilise these microbesso they can be used to enhance foods such as breakfastcereals, infant milk-powders and dog-biscuits. BridgitHawkins, Acting EnCoate CEO, says this opens a potentiallyhuge global market for probioticingredients. “Probiotics have been recognised for manyyears as giving significant health benefits. Until nowconsumers have been strictly limited to a small range ofproducts offering the benefits of probiotics.” Thetechnology was developed by a team of scientists atAgResearch’s Lincoln campus near Christchurch and led byDr Trevor Jackson of the Crown Research Institute’sBiocontrol, Biosecurity & Bioprocessing Section. BridgitHawkins says the start-up phase of the business involveddeveloping the science, looking at proof of concept, lookingfor business opportunities and engaging with end users toensure the technology was appropriate. “This involveddeveloping what is known as a biopolymer coating that hadfirst been used in the production of biological controlagents in agriculture. The first commercial product to usethis technology was for the control of grass grub. It hasbeen commercially available in the marketplace for someyears. “With the new probiotics opportunity, thebusiness is now positioned ahead of its competition and isan attractive investment proposition,” says BridgitHawkins. “What’s more, EnCoate has potential beyondextending the shelf life of probiotics, with the coretechnology behind EnCoate being the biopolymer, which hasapplications including in agricultural biology, food andseed coatings, and vaccines.” AboutEnCoate EnCoate is a joint venture company between NewZealand’s leading fertiliser company, BallanceAgriNutrients Limited and AgResearch Limited, NewZealand’s primary sector Crown Research Institute. EnCoatespecialises in the development of proprietary food-gradebiopolymer technologies. These simple biopolymers have broadapplication in extending the shelf-life of food andmicrobe-based agricultural and health products at up toambient temperatures. Additional technologies include fungaland bacterial products and deliverysystems. www.encoate.com About Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ballance Agri-Nutrients is New Zealand’s leadingfertiliser specialist, with manufacturing plants located inWhangarei, Mount Maunganui and Invercargill. In addition,the company owns the ammonia-urea manufacturing plant atKapuni in Taranaki, and Super Air, one of the country’slargest agricultural aviation companies. Ballance is a100-percent farmer-owned co-operative, with some 18,000shareholders throughout New Zealand. It was officiallylaunched in 2001, bringing together a number of regionalfertiliser co-operatives to become a truly national company.The company places a strong emphasis on delivering value toits shareholders and on the use of a scientific approach toplant nutrient management. www.ballance.co.nz AboutAgResearch Ltd New Zealand’s largest Crown ResearchInstitute, AgResearch comprises a number of renownedresearch centres but most importantly it is made up ofhundreds of individual scientists, technicians, their teamsand support staff. Their work targets the key issues facedby the pastoral and biotechnology sectors, and leads toinnovative products and knowledge that benefit all NewZealanders. Through its mission, 2020 Science, AgResearchendeavours to keep the country prosperous to 2020 andbeyond. The strategy is underpinned by its five big ideas :to double the value of dairy production while halving thecosts and impacts on the environment; to double the value ofmeat and textile production while halving the costs andimpacts on the environment; reducing the risk of pests anddiseases gaining a foot-hold in New Zealand and helping tomanage those already here; working with rural communitiesand agribusinesses to ensure they both remain sustainablefor future generations in a global environment; and makingthe most of opportunities beyond food and fibre. www.agresearch.co.nz The OECD area employment rate – the share of the working-age population with jobs – fell by 4.0 percentage points, to 64.6%, in the second quarter of 2020, its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2010. Across the OECD area, 560 million persons ... More>> Spark turned on 5G in downtown Auckland today and has partnered with Auckland Transport (AT) to showcase some of the latest in IoT (Internet of Things) technology and demonstrate what the future could look like for Auckland’s CBD with the power of 5G. 5G is ... More>> Since the border closed in late-March 2020, net migration has averaged about 300 a month, Stats NZ said today. In the five months from April to August 2020, overall net migration was provisionally estimated at 1,700. This was made up of a net gain ... More>> Lake Tasman, New Zealand | 2016 | Photo: Dr Jenna Sutherland Meltwater lakes that form at glacier margins cause ice to recede much further and faster compared to glaciers that terminate on land, according to a new study. But the effects of these glacial ... More>> ALSO: