Cannabis, including industrial hemp varieties, can be used to make a range of dietary, cosmetic, and medicinal products. These range from medicinal cannabis extracts through to hemp seed oils, hemp ‘milks’, and hemp protein powders. Some of these products are already in the market while others are in active development following recent legislative changes in New Zealand.

This workshop will give an overview of typical product characteristics and current product trends, followed by a more detailed discussion on the processing techniques used and regulatory requirements in New Zealand for manufacture of these products. The workshop will be followed by a tour of supercritical fluid extraction, mixing, blending, and drying operations located at The FoodBowl.

Programme:

• Overview of the hemp/cannabis plant and product opportunities derived from it
• Overview of licensing and regulatory requirements for handling different plant varieties and manufacturing different classes of products
• Medicinal cannabis products:
• Product characteristics
• Extraction, decarboxylation, concentration of cannabinoids
• Current trends in R+D and new product development
• Hemp seed products:
• Seed oil products and processing
• Hemp protein products, including hemp ‘milks’ and powders
• Facilities tour

Please note that hemp fibre products represent a further industrial processing opportunity but are not directly discussed in this workshop.

About the Presenters:

The workshop will be presented by representatives from Callaghan Innovation’s research and technical services group, Food and Beverage and Process Engineering research team managers Owen Catchpole and Stephen Tallon, and lead researchers in hemp and cannabis products Teresa Moreno and Campbell Ellison.

 Dr Catchpole manages the Food and Beverage research and development team and has more than 30 years of research experience, spanning products from microalgae through to marine oils, and herbs and spice extracts. He manages several active research programmes on the production and formulation of food and beverage products from hemp seed and plants.

Dr Tallon leads the Process Engineering team at Callaghan Innovation’s pilot product development suite in Lower Hutt. The team has extensive experience in a wide range of industrial separation technologies, including operation of a comprehensive product development and test facility for extraction, fractionation, and formulation of natural products.

Campbell Ellison is a Food Technologist working in the Food and Beverage R&D team, with a focus on high value product development and value addition of natural by-products. He has experience producing hemp-based “milks” at the FoodBowl and high protein hempseed products utilising supercritical and other technologies.