Consumers are relying on restaurants to provide value in hamburgers through premiumisation, with a new report highlighting the burger attributes most important to consumers. According US-based foodservice industry consultant Technomic, consumers are more than willing to pay more for a specialty burger, especially a premium burger, regardless of restaurant segment. “(Burgers) may be one area of foodservice where (consumers) are less willing to cut back, despite the current economic environment,”... ...Read more »

The whole food processing industry is experiencing reduced margins due to higher commodity prices, the consumer shift to lower-margin value products, higher administrative expenses, increased pressure to develop new products and maintain market position and the increasing cost of debt. Well managed businesses can respond to these stresses and emerge from the current economic climate in a strong position, ready for future growth. And now there is an event that can give you the inside information... ...Read more »

The price of fresh food could be reduced if innovative work at The University of Manchester to develop intelligent low-cost sensors is successful. Scientists and engineers at The Syngenta Sensors University Innovation Centre are working on technology that will allow more scientific ‘best before’ dates to be set by food producers and retailers. Such technology could slash food waste and associated costs. Researchers are looking at how sensors integrated with Radio Frequency ID (RFID) technology... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest brewer Foster’s has told shareholders that the fixed salary of Chief Executive Ian Johnston will not rise in the 2009/10 Financial Year. “The CEO will not receive an increase in the current year,” Foster’s said in yesterday’s release of their Annual Report. “For senior management more broadly, most salaries will remain unchanged in the year ending June 30, 2010.” Last year, Mr Johnston – who was confirmed as CEO in late September... ...Read more »

The operators of a Melbourne restaurant will face court for allegedly failing to keep proper employment records for more than 70 employees.The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched a prosecution against Baker Group Management Pty Ltd, which trades as Angelucci’s Restaurant and Bar on Chapel Street, South Yarra. The Agency is also prosecuting the company’s operations manager Sam Baker. The Fair Work Ombudsman audited the Baker Group last year after receiving a complaint from an employee. Documents... ...Read more »

A letter sent by Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr has further highlighted Cadbury’s lack of interest in the current multi-billion proposal put forward by Kraft. Last week, the markets were buzzing with news that Kraft had made an offer to the UK-based confectioner worth close to A$20 billion, but expectations of a deal are fading. In a letter to Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Mr Carr said the proposal undervalued the maker of Diary Milk and a combination with Kraft was an “unappealing prospect”. “In... ...Read more »

Mark Best, one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs, will visit Taiwan (27 Sept-4 Oct) in support of an Austrade initiative to promote premium Australian food and wines to consumers in the region. A leader in contemporary French cuisine, Best has achieved rave reviews from food critics and recently claimed the 2010 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Best Chef Award. Later this year the Executive Chef of Marque will present at Madrid Fusion, making him only the second Australian chef after... ...Read more »

Nestlé, the world’s largest food manufacturer, has threatened to move their home base away from Switzerland if the country places a cap on executive salaries.”It would be the beginning of an end,” Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck reportedly told Sonntag, a Swiss newspaper, as he saw it as a sign that the country had lost its legal certainty. High executive salaries, which have bordered on the obscene on Wall Street, have been in the firing line around the world ever since the onset... ...Read more »

A recent report by the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) has suggested that organic foods are more nutritious just a month after a UK report argued there was currently little evidence to indicate that organic food had additional health benefits compared to conventionally produced food. Shane Heaton, Nutritionist for the Biological Farmers of Australia, said the French research was a thorough and critical evaluation of the nutritional quality of organic food, and has found organic foods have higher... ...Read more »

Campbell Soup Company reported a profit decline of US$20 million in the fourth quarter as currency movements and an impairment charge hit the bottom line. On a comparable basis, however, profit rose 11 per cent. Similarly, adjusted sales fell 11 per cent due to the currency impact, one less trading week and the impact of divestitures, but comparable sales rose two per cent. The world’s largest soup manufacturer and owner of the Arnott’s biscuit brand said the results had met expectations... ...Read more »