Public Summary

Principal investigator: Stuart Macintosh, CEO Pic’s Peanut Butter
Industry partner: Plant and Food Research 
High-Value Nutrition funding: $45,460

Pre-approved health and nutrition content claims for New Zealand grown peanuts

The project objective will determine the nutrient composition and related pre-approved claims for peanut butter made from New Zealand grown peanuts.

Pic’s Peanut Butter (Pic’s) will work with Plant & Food Research (PFR) on this project.

Pic’s will supply samples of New Zealand peanuts for nutrient analysis in trials during 2021. PFR will analyse the nutritional composition of up to four samples of New Zealand grown peanuts, and up to four peanuts grown in Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and Zambia.

The composition and formulations will be assessed against Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), Standard 1.2.7 – Nutrition, health and related claims. The permissible nutrient content claims and pre-approved claims will be determined.

Analysis of the New Zealand-grown peanuts will include the full data required for inclusion in the New Zealand Food Composition Database (NZFCD).

PFR will work with Pic’s to grow their understanding of nutrition and health claim regulations as well as the wider labelling requirements, and how these can be applied in their marketing strategies.

The project fits directly with the High-Value Nutrition (HVN) mission of adding value to New Zealand food products via health claims. It also fits with HVN’s strategies of starting with the consumer and developing new and validating nutritional knowledge of a New Zealand horticultural product.

Research team