Kellogg Company, the world’s largest cereal manufacturer, has reported third-quarter 2008 sales growing 9% to US$3.3b – driven by price increases and the trend toward more people eating at home. “The Kellogg business model and strategy continue to give us the ability to offset inflationary headwinds while hitting our targets and delivering sustainable, dependable performance in these very volatile times,” said David Mackay, Kellogg’s chief executive officer. Mr Mackay... ...Read more »

Kraft Foods Inc. has announced positive third-quarter 2008 results as the company executes its three-year turnaround plan. Strong organic net revenue growth of 7.1 per cent was, in part, driven by pricing actions to offset significantly higher input costs. Pricing contributed 8.4 percentage points, but an unfavorable mix reduced net revenue by 0.4 percentage points and volume was down 0.9 percent – reflecting the impact of significant cost-driven pricing actions. “Kraft had a strong quarter... ...Read more »

McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food restaurant franchise, is to banish its current packaging in a bid to improve consumer ties to the brand, with an increased focus to be placed on the product instead of the iconic ‘I’m lovin’ it’ slogan. Speaking to reporters in America overnight, the Global Chief Marketing Officer for McDonald’s, Mary Dillon, noted that the change was the “biggest packaging initiative in the history of the brand”. Each... ...Read more »

The 4th Australian Beer Awards held over the weekend made for a highlight of Good Food Month, and led to some serious beer tasting at the historic Australian Hotel with over 60 liquid ambers in competition for the prestigious awards. A total of nine trophies were presented, with Matilda Bay Brewing Company’s Redback Original Wheat winning best Australian beer and best Australian wheat beer, while their Alpha Pale Ale took out best Australian ale. Boutique label Snowy Mountains Brewery edged... ...Read more »

Liam O’Brien, from the highly regarded Melbourne restaurant Circa the Prince, has been awarded The Yabby Lake Dux Award for topping the class in the inaugural  Sommeliers Australia Education Program. The intensive six-week course gave a select group of 12 up-and-coming sommeliers from some of Melbourne’s top venues an incredible opportunity to further develop their skills, with a view to ‘raising the bar’ and streamlining the accreditation of Australian sommeliers. Sommeliers... ...Read more »

The issue of food safety has reared its head again following the much-publicised finding of faeces in a dessert at a Sydney hotel. The food sample supplied by the family involved in the Coogee Bay Hotel ice cream complaint has tested positive for faecal matter, NSW Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, said yesterday. Minister Macdonald said preliminary laboratory test results carried out by the NSW Food Authority saw the sample test positive for bilirubin. “Further DNA analysis by the... ...Read more »

Foster’s Group, Australia’s largest brewer, has announced that first-quarter results were in-line with expectations and advised that their wine review – originally slated for completion before the end of the year – is unlikely to be released until February. “As previously advised, we expected to complete the wine review by the end of this calendar year,” Foster’s Chairman David Crawford told shareholders at the company’s AGM. “However, we have... ...Read more »

A rapidly changing climate, increasingly expensive oil, and declining land and river health threaten to undo Victoria’s impressive food productivity and prosperity, according to the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF). A new report released on Monday by the ACF – Paddock to Plate: Food, Farming & Victoria’s Progress to Sustainability – suggests a re-think on not just the way we produce food, but also the way it is hauled, stored, processed and consumed, if we are... ...Read more »

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has invited individuals and organisations with an interest in the regulation of food to provide information and comment on two applications to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.The applications are for two enzymes for use as processing aids in the food industry: phospholipase A2 derived from a genetically modified source and a cellulose enzyme preparation produced by fermentation from a non-genetically modified source. Application A1004... ...Read more »

Discounted price, dollar menus, and other promotions are driving customer traffic and keeping the American restaurant industry in the black, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company. NPD figures suggest total restaurant industry traffic rose 1 per cent for the quarter ending August 2008, with the modest gain driven entirely by special offers. As consumers look for ways to moderate their overall food budget without cooking more, restaurant operators have been promoting more deals... ...Read more »