The Biotechnologies Group now has regulatory approval to process marine products for human and animal consumption.
This means companies looking to test extraction and formulation methods, scale up innovative products, and take them to market can now access these services in one place.
“In particular, we specialise in extracting the high-value marine phospholipids seen in many brain-boosting nutraceuticals and food products,” says Paul Rose, Biotechnologies Group Leader. “Companies now have access to our pilot to production scale manufacturing to produce food grade, high value marine oils right here in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Because marine sources such as mussel, krill, and fish intersect with food safety regulations, they require the same level of oversight as traditional animal products. The Biotechnologies Group is now qualified to process and handle marine products at food grade. They also have the scale up capability to process raw materials ranging from a few hundred grams to hundreds of kilograms.
“The global shift toward sustainable and functional bioactive natural products is accelerating,” says Dr Rose.
Government’s current plan is to grow aquaculture in Aotearoa New Zealand to more than $3 billion by 2035[1]. In 2024, the industry was worth $750m.
“New Zealand’s marine sectors are well positioned to lead in high-value ingredient innovation, and our new regulatory approval provides businesses with the right technical and regulatory support,” says Dr Rose.
“Our team has extensive expertise in the extraction of highly valuable bioactives from all sorts of products, including marine biomaterials,” says Teresa Moreno, Principal Project Engineer.
Pressurised extraction using supercritical and subcritical fluid extraction is a clean, gentle extraction method that can produce rich bioactive extracts. Bioactive extraction techniques use different solvents, including ethanol, supercritical CO2, and subcritical propane and dimethyl-ether.
“Over the years, we have developed and optimised an innovative process utilising dimethylether or DME, which is an excellent solvent for marine phospholipids,” says Dr Moreno.
The Biotechnologies Group are world leaders in using this technology and the only provider in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“The new authorisation in our Risk Management Programme will allow us to go one step further and offer our services to food manufacturers in the marine sector, all the way from R&D and proof of concept to commercial manufacturing.”
Risk Management Programmes are a regulatory requirement under Aotearoa New Zealand’s Animal Products Act. They ensure that any facility handling animal-derived or regulated biological materials operates in a way that protects food safety, traceability, and product integrity for human or animal consumption.
The approval from the Ministry for Primary Industries ensures marine products handled by the Biotechnologies Group can move smoothly through regulatory and export pathways.
“Companies can also be confident that materials are processed in a compliant and controlled environment, and any food safety risks are actively identified and managed,” says Dr Rose.
The regulatory approval for marine products joins the Biotechnologies Group’s existing approvals for processing and handling a wide range of food and nutraceutical innovations using bioactive extraction. These include bee, yeast, fruit and vegetable, edible oil, sugar, nut and seed products.
The Biotechnologies Group is the applied research arm of Callaghan Innovation. It is funded through 30 June 2027 to partner with health, food and beverage, agritech and horticulture innovators. The Biotechnologies Group bridges the gap between natural products and the market with specialised, sector-focused scientific and engineering services. It helps businesses tackle the technical challenges that stand between their ideas and commercialisation.
In February 2025, the Government announced that the Biotechnologies Group was intended to join the Bioeconomy Science Institute (one of the new Public Research Organisations) by June 2026.
[1] Aquaculture - Presentation - Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries - March 2025 - New Zealand Infrastructure Investment Summit 2025
