by Dr. Stefan Hayward and Anneri Carinus
I am frequently confronted with the question of: “what do you guys at Innovative Research Solutions (IRS) do? “Usually, this question is answered with: “a lot of things…” leaving more questions than answers. So, let me try and explain…
In short, IRS is an independent research and development company within the food and related industries. At IRS we focus on mainly three areas of interest. Firstly, problem solving and specialised analytical techniques and / or services. These tests mainly include non-routine chemical, biochemical and microbiological testing that will assist route cause analysis during trouble shooting. Secondly, IRS invest resources and conduct research on various product valorisation initiatives. Such research is aimed at process optimisation and valorisation, process waste reduction or the use of waste streams to produce novel products. These initiatives have proved to be of great success and through various strategic partnerships and establishment of research “incubators”, the financial viability and market impact of such research are significantly improved and enhanced. Through such partnerships Synercore is introduced to a broader range of clientele such as Distell, ABInBev and MaltEnto to name a few. Lastly, IRS focusses on novel research and development within the food industry, in-line not only with current but anticipated future trends that could provide exciting product solutions and a competitive advantage to the Synercore group of companies. These projects are regarded as real breakthrough innovation, and usually takes a minimum of more than 3-years to develop!
Apart from commercial partnerships maintained by IRS, we are also an industry partner of the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) at Stellenbosch University. This vision of collaboration between Stellenbosch University and Industry partners was realized in 2018 by Professor Pieter Gouws when he founded CFS. The CFS, an African first, functions as a collaborative research hub comprised of scientists from Stellenbosch University as well as industry partners, including IRS. With its focus on food safety, the CFS serves as a vehicle to provide expertise to its industry partners, policy makers and other stakeholders. At the same time CFS spearheads a social media campaign to increase consumer awareness on matters concerning food safety and security, one of the core value drivers of Synercore as well. Halfrod Luccock once said: “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” True success can only be realised when we collaborate toward the same goal and this is especially important when the goal is consumer safety.
IRS is extremely proud to be collaborating with the CFS and we remain excited regarding the future and opportunities for new product development, food safety and food security in Southern Africa. We believe that we have an important role to play as innovator, collaborator and preferred private research partner within the industry we serve. True innovation can only be realised through collaboration, and with hard work and a bit of luck, we believe we can and will make a difference!
IRS – Aut inveniam viam aut faciam…(we shall either find a way or make one)