Catalyst: Strategic – New Zealand-China joint research partnerships 2020/2021

The global human population is expected to grow by a billion within the decade, reaching 10 billion by 2050. To ensure food security around the globe, agricultural practices need to change to produce food with lower environmental impact, less ethical concerns and with greater health benefits. The rise in consumer preference for plant-based meat analogues has fuelled the innovation of meat-analogues that have similar taste and texture to animal derived meat products e.g., meat-analogue burger patties from Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger.

However, the nutritional quality of meat-analogues has received less attention. Compared to animal proteins, plant proteins lack specific essential amino acids and the process of turning them into analogue products can impact their digestibility and negatively impact the nutritional properties of the product.

The research team, a collaboration from Massey University and China Agricultural University, are experts in how processing of proteins affects their digestion and bioavailability. Together, they will develop a new generation meat-analogue from quinoa, a high-quality plant protein that delivers superior nutrition.

Quinoa is a native South American, seed-producing pseudo-cereal that can grow in many varieties of soils and is able to tolerate extremes of temperature and drought conditions. Quinoa seeds are relatively high in good quality protein (15%), fibre and minerals compared to other cereals; and contain all the essential amino acids in amounts sufficient to meet the needs of children and adults.

This research into the development of high-value novel products from quinoa will yield exciting opportunities for NZ growers and deliver superior nutritional options for the health conscious.

of biodiversity, its resilience and possible recovery if damaged by human activities and identifying areas that could be important for protection. Ultimately, outputs will improve the scientific knowledge base of deep-sea ecosystem structure and function, as well as be applicable to decision-making by environmental managers to reduce or mitigate environmental risk and balance exploitation and conservation.

The global human population is expected to grow by a billion within the decade, reaching 10 billion by 2050. To ensure food security around the globe, agricultural practices need to change to produce food with lower environmental impact, less ethical concerns, and with greater health benefits. The rise in consumer preference for plant-based meat analogues has fueled the innovation of meat-analogues that have similar tastes and textures to animal-derived meat products e.g., meat-analogue burger patties from Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger. However, the nutritional quality of meat analogues has received less attention.

Compared to animal proteins, plant proteins lack specific essential amino acids and the process of turning them into analogue products may impact their digestibility and negatively impact the nutritional properties of the product. The multidisciplinary research team, a collaboration from Massey University and China Agricultural University, are experts in how processing of proteins affects their digestion and bioavailability. Together, they have developed a new generation meat-analogue from quinoa, a high-quality plant protein that delivers superior nutrition.

Quinoa is a native South American, seed-producing pseudo cereal that can grow in many varieties of soils and is able to tolerate extremes of temperature and drought conditions. Quinoa seeds are relatively high in good quality protein, fibre, and minerals compared to other cereals; and contain all the essential amino acids in amounts sufficient to meet human nutritional requirements.

In this project, the research team completed production of sustainable quinoa protein concentrates, their incorporation into various food protypes, and 22 evaluation of their physicochemical, structural, and nutritional properties (using both in vitro and in vivo digestion methodologies). The collaborative research has led to the fundamental understanding and applied knowledge creation for developing quinoa protein concentrates using more sustainable technologies (such as airclassification). Also, various conditions for traditional alkaline-based protein extraction process for quinoa protein production have been optimised. Further various applications of quinoa flour and quinoa proteins have been evaluated e.g., formulating a functional quinoa-based beverage (milkalternative) prototype and understanding its functional properties and the challenges in developing such beverages. In addition, optimisation of quinoa-based meat analogue prototype production from air-classified quinoa protein concentrate has been successfully completed.

The textural and structural properties have been investigated for such meat analogues. Most importantly, the digestion behaviour of these quinoa-based meat analogues has also been studied using in vitro dynamic gastric and INFOGEST intestinal digestion model to determine the kinetics of gastric emptying and protein digestion. Further, the nutritional and protein quality of the air-classified quinoa protein enriched concentrate and its meat analogue has been studied using an in vivo pig model to determine the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) protein quality values to understand the impact of processing (and extrusion) on these meat analogues.

As part of the project, the Riddet Institute also facilitated discussions with Māori partners & stakeholders who are open to exploring quinoa production as part of high-value, sustainable, land use strategies. After an initial phase of early outreach with a variety of Māori-led organisations, various face-to-face hui with Mana Tāhuna Charitable Trust and their stakeholders, were held regarding the Tāhuna Queenstown Lakes region. Discussions are continued to explore the alignments with and opportunities from quinoa innovation.

In addition, the discussions have led to a wider strategic relationship between the Riddet Institute and the Trust, which will centre around high-value, sustainable, innovation and food resilience for the region. Furthermore, the Trust aims to lead academic capability building pathways for local rangatahi Māori, in collaboration with Pūhoro STEMM Academy, and the Riddet Institute training network.

A number of other Māori-led entities around the country are keen to remain connected to quinoa research developments, and the related academic and economic opportunities for iwi and whānau, particularly after the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and the ever increasing urgency for sustainable and climate-resilient socio-economic options. Overall, this research has resulted into exciting opportunities for local Māori stakeholders and other New Zealand land-owners and growers, generated new scientific knowledge especially focusing on development of high-value novel quinoa products, and our understanding of the digestion and nutritional quality of these potential products.

The deep sea is a poorly studied environment but is recognised as vitally important for the productivity and sustainability of ocean ecosystems. New Zealand has been a world-leader in deep-sea research for many years, driven by the need to understand and manage our offshore fisheries and future effects of climate change. This expertise has led to recent links with Chinese research agencies to help develop their deep-sea science capability through several workshops and opportunistic exchange visits of scientists. Now, however, China has undertaken a number of deep-sea surveys in the central West Pacific Ocean, and this enables these linkages to develop to a more strategic and enduring level of collaboration through joint participation in research voyages, sharing of samples and data, and collaborative data collation and analysis to address major ecological questions and environmental management issues.

The Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) has undertaken deep-sea research on central Pacific seamounts which add to the more than 100 seamounts around New Zealand that have been surveyed by NIWA and partner agencies, especially those extending northwards along the Kermadec and Norfolk Ridges. This combined data set of seafloor images and direct specimen collection provides a rare opportunity to examine trends and patterns across large ocean-basin distances. Joint processing of seafloor images, consistent identification of fauna, and confirmation of species identification from specimens, will ensure a robust dataset for subsequent analyses of biodiversity.

New knowledge of the role of seamounts at regional scales has important international implications for understanding the distributions

The deep sea, with its many seamounts, is recognised as vitally important for the productivity and sustainability of ocean ecosystems. This collaboration of New Zealand (NIWA, Victoria University of Wellington, Te Papa) and Chinese (Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences—IOCAS) researchers focused on analysing biodiversity patterns across seamount sites in the western Pacific Ocean: the Mariana, Tonga, Kermadec and Louisville regions, with supplementary data from the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) for the area around Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Two joint workshops and several taxonomic exchanges were held to facilitate collaboration. Ata workshop in Wellington in 2023we identified comparable seamount sites and data, and established plans for collaborative work on seafloor imagery, specimens for taxonomic and genetic studies, and exchanges of scientists and students. At the second workshop in Qingdao in 2024 we shared data and preliminary results, compiled additional data and developed methods for data analysis. Key results include:

• Standardization of fauna recording between institutes to ensure reliable data integration, with an exchange of seabed imagery and identification guides. Our analysis revealed regional contrasts between three regions—Caroline seamount had lower faunal density and taxonomic richness compared to the Kermadec and Tonga regions. Dominant species varied by region and depth, highlighting distinct ecological compositions.
• Identification of previously unexamined specimens from Tonga, Kermadec Ridge and Caroline seamounts. Select taxa(squat lobsters, corals) were genetically sequenced to confirm morphological identifications.
• Compilation of faunal lists for broad regional comparisons using data from NIWA, IOCAS and OBIS. We found that seamount communities are divided into four distinct latitudinal zones with little species overlap. These zones may be shaped by oceanic currents and dispersal barriers, but detailed studies of individual seamounts are needed to better understand these boundaries.
• IOCAS taxonomists visited the NIWA Invertebrate Collection in 2023 and 2024 to study octopuses, corals, anemones and Mollusca. New Zealand taxonomists examined IOCAS specimen collections in 2024 in a visit that included taxonomic training for students, identifications, collaborative research discussions and sharing of specimens. The NIWA-IOCAS collaboration will result in co-authored taxonomic papers, a conference paper and a technical science report.