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Breakfast meeting, school run, work lunch, gym class, dinner date – if your diary looks a little like this, you’ll know that life’s too short for bad skin – so banish blocked pores for good with the new Pore Extractor Pomegranate Mask from Murad!

Boasting an intensive Volcanic Clay formula, Murad’s new Pore Extractor Pomegranate Mask rescues clogged pores after just one use, with its unique formulation acting as a magnet to help extract impurities and excess oil from pores.

If glowing skin is on your wish list, Pomegranate Extract works to visibly refine pores, while strengthening and rejuvenating the top layer of skin, giving you the luminosity you want. Pore Extractor Pomegranate Mask also features biodegradable Polylactic Acid polishing beads, clever creations that serve as an exfoliate, lifting away dirt, debris and dead skin cells that have clogged pores throughout the day, leaving your skin visibly smoother and minimising pore appearance.

Pore Extractor Pomegranate Mask is part of Murad’s Pore Rescue® collection of scientifically formulated solutions to clear and refine the appearance of pores, reduce T-zone shine and improve skin texture.

Pore Extractor Pomegranate Mask (RRP $79; 50ml) will be available at Caci Clinics nationwide from 9 August 2017.

For more information, visit www.murad.co.nz

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Written on behalf of Murad by Impact PR. For further information or images, please contact Mark Devlin, [email protected] (021509060).

Vehicle designs of the future will take into account the evolving demands of our modern lifestyle – including how to stop your bag of takeaways from spilling on your front seat, according to a leading car maker.

Volvo’s New Zealand general manager Coby Duggan says their recent global research into how motorists use their cars has provided a number of insights which are being integrated into upcoming vehicle designs.

“One of the key out-takes from the research was a better understanding of the universal issues faced by drivers when it came to storing items associated with  today’s lifestyle.

“No matter what part of the world they came from, motorists all needed to address issues like having mobile devices sliding around in the mid-console, takeaway bags at constant risk of falling over and fumbling to take petrol cards out of their wallets.

“The underlying issue is a lack of suitable and functional storage space inside their car,” he says.

Duggan says a new approach to vehicle design will seek to address these issues as well as a range of others.

“A shortage of suitable storage spaces in areas like doors can be particularly noticeable in smaller SUVs.

“Volvo’s first entry into this compact SUV space will be the XC40 and it will be clear to drivers that all elements of the vehicle’s spatial design will incorporate the latest customer research with the designers choosing a completely new approach .

He says by moving speakers from the door and developing a world-first, air-ventilated sub-woofer, Volvo created enough storage in the XC40’s door compartment for a laptop and a tablet, or a couple of water bottles.

“The designers wanted to ensure that in additional to aesthetic considerations, the vehicle’s features remained usable in the way they were intended – so that cup-holders can be used as cup-holders  – and that the design itself provides separate areas for storing coins, cards or charging cables.

“Another area of focus was developing usable space for phones which offers wireless charging as well as the option for USB ports,” he says.

Duggan says a small fold-away hook has been added to the glove compartment, allowing drivers to secure small shopping or takeaway bags.

The XC40 will also offer slots for credit and service cards that can be neatly inserted into the dashboard, making them readily available when needed. In the tunnel console, under the armrest, there is a large storage area with room for a tissue box. A special, removable bin allows you to discard and quickly get rid of waste.

“In the boot a smart floor system has been added which can fold and separate your luggage and allows you to use the entire load space without removing the floor from the car. The rear-seat electronic folding mechanism gives you a flat loading floor at the touch of a button,” says Duggan.

The XC40 includes a fold-up boot divider with two hooks to help secure shopping bags or other luggage. A private locking storage compartment is also available under the load floor.

The XC40 SUV will be launched in New Zealand in Q2 2018.

The quality of beef, pork and their products, including the level of their contamination with pathogens has a significant impact on the health of consumers. In order to eliminate the risks associated with the consumption of potentially hazardous food, the European Union has introduced the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). This system plays a key role in ensuring the free movement of safe and healthy food in Europe.

Ensuring food safety requires taking action in a coordinated and integrated manner and is of interest to the government authorities, the general public, non-governmental organisations and trade organisations.

The strategy of food safety in the European Union includes inter alia the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). It is a network for the exchange of information on risks of foodstuffs and feed and products intended to come into contact with food between EU Member States. This means that the process of risk analysis of EU beef, pork and their products is much more complex than the analysis of the quality of meat alone. It includes also the entire environment in which farming, slaughter, processing and trade takes place. The information obtained from the RASFF system enables the early prevention of hazards and immediate remedial action, which is an important part of the strategy of food safety.

EU beef, pork and their products are not anonymous.

The threats associated with the consumption of potentially hazardous food include not only microbiological risk, but also the presence of pesticide residues, medicines and other contaminants present in food. It is worth stressing that these threats increase with the increase of turnover in international trade as an anonymous manufacturer produces a product for an anonymous consumer.

In the countries in the Community beef, pork and their products are not anonymous. Since 1978 there has been the Community information exchange system and later Council Directive 92/59/EEC on general safety of products contained an article about the rapid alert system. In turn, the RASFF system itself has been established by Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EC) No. 178/2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and laying down procedures in matters of food safety. It includes the EU Member States, the countries of the European

Economic Area (EEA), the European Commission and the EFSA. The principle of operation of the system is very simple – Member States create a point of contact that collects all information concerning the direct or indirect risk from food or feed and then transmits the data to the European Commission which, after confirming the validity of the declaration of a risk factor, immediately informs the other members of the network. In the European Union, the RASFF as part of the process of risk analysis allows the Member States to act significantly faster and in a more coordinated way in response to identified risks to human health from food or feed.

To the RASFF system database there is both access for entitled entities (via the CIRCA portal), as well as public access through a website (http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/rapidalert/rasff_ portal_database_en.htm), while respecting the appropriate rules of entitlement and confidentiality.

The RASFF system is now an important element of sanitary and epidemiological surveillance and the policy for public health protection. This system allows taking immediate action in relation to the threat, enables quick elimination of products dangerous to health and provides a consistent level of food safety throughout the territory of the European Union. The data from the RASFF constitute the basis for making changes in the food legislation of the European Union and the guarantee of safety of EU beef, pork and their products.

Some of New Zealand’s largest businesses are lagging behind their international counterparts in their levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR) according to new data.

The research which measured CSR performance across more than 17,000 businesses globally found New Zealand companies ranked just 33 out of 36 countries across the CSR criteria of community, employees, governance and environment.

New Zealand general manager of GSK Anna Stove says Kiwi companies are potentially missing opportunities from a growing, ethically conscious market, and at the same time have an obligation to support social causes beyond their immediate interest in short-term profits.

“Increasingly, CSR information is used by customers, suppliers, employees and investors to make socially responsible decisions about who to buy from, transact with, work with and invest in.

“It is becoming essential for businesses to extend the traditional measurement of their financial outcomes to include a degree of their social impact as an indicator of performance – in other words, create a double bottom line,” she says.

Stove says organisations can’t commit to sustainable social investment unless they are profitable.

“While business scale helps provide the resources required for major ethical initiatives, it is the development of an organisational mindset that is the real prerequisite we need to effect change,” she says.

Stove says CSR has now evolved to become a key consideration for prospective employees and this trend is being driven by a demographic shift in the employment market.

“Millennials are expected to make up half of the global workforce by 2020 – and this generation more than others, is seeking a social conscience in the companies they work for.

“Ten years ago, a job candidate would talk about their interest in the products the business sells during an interview, while today the focus is on a company’s work in the community – this marks a major shift in one of the primary drivers of employment decisions,” she says.

Stove says that more research is needed to determine why New Zealand ranked below other markets in the latest study.

“While there could be a number of methodological reasons why NZ companies performed at this level that are difficult to identify, the results are a timely reminder for our organisations to assess their investment in CSR.

“If our corporate efforts don’t support our approach to marketing New Zealand’s identity, we will start to see an erosion of our nation’s brand equity. That’s something that will affect our tourism market but also other key parts of our economy like the agricultural sector which seek a premium for our food products,” she says.

She says it’s important to ensure that when an organisation develops their double bottom line strategy that the chosen causes align with the company’s values.

“Locally we are investing in the health and wellbeing of Kiwi children is important to us, which is why we invest in children’s charities, including suicide prevention which has seen us fund Youthline’s support line for two decades, as well as KidsCan and Save the Children working to address child poverty,

Stove says GSK’s global partnership with Save the Children combines scientific expertise and resource with the charity’s on-the-ground knowledge and the organisations aim to save the lives of 1 million children in some of the world’s poorest countries.

“Choosing the right charities to align with is a critical part of getting buy-in from your team and stakeholders. The first step is to conduct due diligence on the organisation, then look at making a long term social investment.

“The aim should be to develop a true partnership which is sustainable as charities may struggle if a supporting partner providing a significant annual donation drops out,” she says.

Stove believes at the same time, contributions must go beyond the financial.

“For employees to feel connected to the company’s social efforts it’s important for them to have direct contact with the charity which can be achieved by giving staff time off to support the organisation,

“Developing a connection with socially positive projects helps employees come to work with a sense of purpose,” she says.

A West Auckland couple bet 200 competitors to win a World trip for two as part of a 4km treasure hunt competition in the central city on Saturday.

More than 200 determined treasure hunters armed with passports and clues completed the hunt around central Auckland, the brisk winter weather no deterrent for those seeking the grand prize, return flights for two anywhere in the world.

Te Atatu South residents Avantika Gupta and her husband Sherwin Tian says they employed a particular strategy to ensure that they had the very best chance of winning.

“We saw the display of boxes and thought they looked a bit unusual so I stood close to those and I told Sherwin to go and stand in the middle of the event space in the crowd just in case I was wrong.”

Gupta says the last clue in the treasure hunt outlined how the winery had been built brick by brick and she knew then she was in the right place and begun pulling apart the branded boxes.

“I only had to go through two boxes and I didn’t realise for a few moments that I had won the prize… I thought ‘oh my gosh’ this can’t be happening.”

The recently married pair now plan to travel to Africa, the Galapagos Islands or Iceland with their winning tickets.

It’s unreal we never win anything, we just came for a good time and wine tasting so it was unexpected,” says Tian.

Auckland winery Villa Maria created the ‘Open Another World’ treasure hunt as a way to encourage Kiwis to try something new, while at the same time bringing the story of the iconic label to life.

The event began at Queens Wharf, the contestants we’re then instructed to follow clues provided at each location, which led them through four popular Auckland bars.

At each venue, contestants were given a selection of Villa Maria wines with matching food choices, along with another clue which ultimately led Gupta to the grand prize – two return tickets to a destination of her choice to experience another world, with a airline ticket from Air New Zealand valued at $6,000.

From Degree Bar, which has been a popular spot for America’s Cup fans keen to watch the competition from the city’s waterfront, next stop was the ever-popular eatery Soul Bar, named once again this month as one of New Zealand’s Top 100 Restaurants in Cuisine magazine’s Good Food Guide. Contestants were then directed to Pilkingtons, an orangery based in the heart of the city, before finishing back by the water at the Hilton, then onto the VIlla Maria container bar for their final clue.

Villa Maria founder and owner Sir George Fistonich was delighted with the response to the winery’s ‘Open Another World’ concept.

“As a proudly New Zealand family-owned winery, we got to where we are by pushing boundaries and defying convention, particularly when we moved to 100% screwcap. We want to encourage New Zealanders to do the same,” he says.

“So often we stick to what we know, but doing so means we don’t experience that feeling of being challenged or transported somewhere new.  The Villa Maria Open Another World Treasure Hunt has been an opportunity for Kiwis to learn more about our story whilst opening their world up to new wine varietals they may never have experienced before.”