The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking legal action against the operators of two Chili’s restaurants for allegedly underpaying teenage staff.The litigation follows an extensive investigation into the Chili’s chain of restaurants which started in 2007. Chili’s (Shellharbour) Pty Ltd and Chili’s (Penrith) Pty Ltd will face the Federal Magistrates Court in Sydney. Court documents allege Chili’s (Shellharbour) Pty Ltd short-changed a 15-year-old part-time teenage girl $212 over... ...Read more »

Kirin Holdings and Suntory have sought approval from the competition watchdog in Japan for their merger plan despite being yet to announce a final agreement on a deal, according to reports from Japan. The merger would create one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies – ranking in the top five globally, with a major presence here in Australia. Together, Suntory and Kirin would combine to create a powerhouse in the beverage industry in Australia; with Kirin having recently purchased... ...Read more »

National Foods has announced 57 redundancies in the wake of a review of operations at their Berri juice factory in South Australia. The review followed a vandalism attack last month. Vandals last month caused a temporary closure of the Riverland plant and left a damage bill of around $500,000. And now almost half the workforce will depart after the company decided to not resume production of long-life juice. Corporate Affairs Manager Geoff Lynch told the ABC that the redundancies were spread across... ...Read more »

An Australian juice, made with the assistance of the CSIRO, has claimed two awards at the prestigious Beverage Innovation Awards in Germany overnight. Preshafood Ltd, formerly Donny Boy Fresh Food Company, received the accolade for “Best new juice or juice drink” plus the overall prize of “Best new concept” across all 24 categories. They were also a finalist in the “Best newcomer brand or business” category. Their juice products were created with innovative technology... ...Read more »

Food retailers and a street food vendor have been caught mishandling and storing food at incorrect temperatures and ended up on the NSW Government’s name and shame website, Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said today.A bakery and a Thai restaurant in Western Sydney and a temporary food stall in Cabramatta have received fines for risking contamination of food due to improper storage and display. “As the warm spring weather continues across NSW, this is a timely reminder for all... ...Read more »

Research from Whole Foods Market, the leading American organic foods supermarket, has discovered that around two-thirds of consumers have altered their cooking and eating habits as a result of the economic turbulence. The results, from its annual Food Shopping Trends Tracker survey conducted by Harris Interactive, found about half (51 per cent) eating dinner at home more often and more than a third (37 per cent) budgeting food shopping trips more strictly. The majority (76 per cent) say they do not... ...Read more »

The Victorian Government has earmarked Singapore and Malaysia as key centres for Australian export opportunities in the coming decade. Tim Dillon, the Victorian Government’s Trade Commissioner for South East Asia, said that new trade opportunities will begin to emerge in these regions as both Singapore and Malaysia invest heavily in industry development initiatives and local business. The recent signing of the ASEAN free trade agreement with Australia will also open up new opportunities between... ...Read more »

Nestlé hopes to boost sales of its impulse lines by launching price-marked packs for a limited period in the UK. The company has added GBP0.29 (A$0.57) price marks to Smarties, Hexatube, Milkybar, Milkybar Buttons and Rowntree’s Fruit Pastels. Later this month, the company will add GBP0.35 (A$0.67) price marks to Aero Mint, Yorkie Milk Original and Kit Kat Senses. According to the confectioner, the company saw a 30% jump in sales when it launched a price-mark promotion in March. “In... ...Read more »

Scarcity of natural resources will leave the consumer industry exposed to higher and more volatile pricing in little more than a decade. By 2020 it is estimated there will be one billion more consumers worldwide, resulting in a fundamental consumption imbalance with demand for natural resources outstripping supply. “Sustainability for Tomorrow’s Consumer”, a report published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, suggests that these pressures... ...Read more »

In response to the increasing number of ‘green’ claims being made by advertisers, the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has published an Environmental Claims in Advertising and Marketing Code. The Code has been adopted by AANA to ensure that marketers apply rigorous, industry-wide standards when they make environmental claims in advertising or marketing communications. The use of the term ‘green’ has come to prominence over the past couple of years as companies... ...Read more »