As major Australian supermarkets continue their push away from nationally advertised brands toward private labels, UK retailer Marks & Spencer, the quintessential private label retailer, has tentatively reversed the trend by committing to using branded products for the first time. The famous UK institution has announced that they will trial an offering of around 350 branded products in 19 of their stores in June. “This trial aims to offer customers greater convenience but not... ...Read more »

A strike by German dairy farmers began on Tuesday with farmers refusing to supply milk to factories in response to falling farm gate prices, the German Federal Association of Dairy Cattle Farmers (BDM) said in a statement. The boycott, orchestrated by the 30,000 strong BDM, is in response to anger about farm gate prices falling by about 15 per cent this year. BDM data indicates that north German dairy farmers currently receive approximately 27 Euro cents per litre of milk supplied with their... ...Read more »

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is calling for Country of Origin labelling to be strengthened as the Senate Inquiry into Meat Marketing in Australia continues. Country of Origin labelling is a concept which has already been witnessed in the seafood industry but other the meat industry has not been subject to similar laws. As a result the Senate initiated an inquiry by the Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport into meat marketing in March this year. The inquiry... ...Read more »

Retailers, including Coles and Woolworths, are working with the Office of Fair Trading to identify a brand of tongs which is believed to be the possible cause of metal found in food products around Australia in recent months. A joint national police investigation led by the Queensland Police Service in conjunction with Queensland Health and other State Health Authorities was carried out in relation to the matter. The investigation established that there was no evidence of criminal activity or poor... ...Read more »

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Egg Group has warned that egg prices will have to rise if fuel costs continue to soar. VFF Egg Group President Brian Ahmed claimed the egg industry was a victim of the factors leading to rising food prices. “Producers have been forced to absorb much of the historic highs being experienced with grain prices, which represent over 50 per cent of input costs,” Mr Ahmed said. “Now on top of that we are being hit with these fuel price increases.” “Something... ...Read more »

South Australia’s wine makers and grape growers are the first industry group in the nation to sign an agreement to accurately track and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Premier Mike Rann signed the Sector Agreement on climate change at the London Wine Fair with Orlando’s Chief Winemaker, Philip Laffer, on behalf of the SA Wine Industry Association and Jim Caddy, Chairman of CCW Co-op Ltd, on behalf of the Wine Grape Council SA. Premier Rann claims this is an important... ...Read more »

Discussion about unit pricing has been a hot topic in the Australian press for months, but what is the debate really about? Australian Food News spoke with Dr Alan Kallir, who made a submission to the ACCC’s grocery price inquiry, and summarised other comments to simplify the issue. What is unit pricing? Unit pricing involves retailers providing a price per unit measurement on the price tag (e.g. $/kg) in addition to the sale price. Consequently, shelf price tags will need to have two... ...Read more »