Its research team was already working on new developments, with more in the pipeline, the company’s Food and Solutions business chief executive Rennie Davidson said.
The centre was opened last month by ANZCO chairman Sir Graeme Harrison, who said it was part of an $87 million project to generate more value from beef carcases.
The FoodPlus project is a joint venture between ANZCO and the Government’s Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme.
As well as food, the project is researching potential healthcare products.
“We’re one year into the seven-year project,” Harrison said at the opening. “The first year has mainly been about research and now we’re ready to move into some new food developments and we needed a dedicated space to do this.”
Being within Lincoln’s new food and science facility provided synergies and advantages, he said.
The university wanted to provide academic programmes and research aligned to the country’s core commercial interests, Lincoln Assistant Vice-Chancellor business development Jeremy Baker said.
Succeeding at that meant working closely with the industry and ANZCO’s presence was another positive example of creating opportunities, he said.
ANZCO was mixing every day with food and beverage specialists, Davidson said. Working with Lincoln in the early stages of the project gave the company flexibility while it identified longer-term needs.
The project had also provided summer work for some students.
ANZCO was working with customer groups in its food-development work, he said.
