Slow Food Australia has launched a public campaign to give Australian artisan cheesemakers the right to produce – and consumers to eat – Australian raw milk cheese. Slow Food Australia is part of the international not-for-profit organisation founded in 1989 to ‘counteract fast food and fast life’, people’s dwindling interest the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. Raw Milk Cheese project co-ordinator... ...Read more »

America’s Food and Drug Administration has informed nearly 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages that it intends to look into the safety and legality of their products. “The increasing popularity of consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages by college students and reports of potential health and safety issues necessitates that we look seriously at the scientific evidence as soon as possible,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and... ...Read more »

Farmers are to be exempt from the planned emissions trading scheme, with Labor agreeing to the Coalition request for an exclusion of agriculture from the scheme. Horticulture organisation Growcom welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement, with Chief Advocate Rachel Mackenzie saying the decision was a significant concession and a win for the agricultural sector. “This is a real win for the horticulture sector as we really didn’t need an extra cost imposition that would have... ...Read more »

The ongoing oversupply of grapes and a volatile Australian dollar are exacerbating the difficulties faced by many Australian wineries, according to the annual financial benchmarking survey for the Australian wine industry – Vintage 2008 report, released today by Deloitte. In its tenth year, the Deloitte survey examines the financial performance of wineries across Australia for the 2008 financial year, and is based on the individual financial results and information provided by wineries. “The... ...Read more »

Lindt & Sprungli, the upmarket Swiss chocolate maker, is the sector’s “obvious” takeover target and could be snapped up next year, one analyst has claimed – with Nestle seen as the favourite to buy the business. Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Capital Markets in Zurich, today (13 November) cut his estimate for Lindt’s share price in 2010, citing the pressure rising cocoa costs will put on margins. In August, Lindt reported a slump in half-year profits and Cox argued... ...Read more »

Consumers are willing to pay a premium for healthy products, according to new research from America. Due to its compelling image as an innovative yet accessible beverage that is good tasting, good for you, and budget friendly, tea has remained profitable, with 2% annual gains in 2008 and 2009, according to Tea and Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Tea in the U.S.: Retail, Foodservice and Consumer Trends, by market research publisher Packaged Facts. Over the next several years, tea’s health halo will gradually... ...Read more »

With privatization, globalization and the transformation of the food chain from the farm to the table, the importance of the private sector has increased, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said when addressing an international private sector forum on food security. Held as a pre-Summit event from 12 to 13 November, the forum is organised within the context of the World Summit on Food Security, taking place from 16 to 18 November in Rome. FAO estimates the investments needs in developing countries... ...Read more »

Unlisted Australian miller Tully Sugar has recommended shareholders reject a share-based takeover offer from the Maryborough Sugar Factory. The Board was adamant that the sugar firm could reap greater returns for shareholders as a standalone business despite the merits of consolidation in the sugar industry. “Tully Sugar has strong long-term prospects as an independent business,” Tully Chairman Dick Camilleri concluded. The Tully Board was also concerned by the recent weakness in the... ...Read more »

The European Food Safety Authority’s scientific panel on additives, the ANS Panel, has lowered the Acceptable Daily Intakes for the artificial food colours Quinoline Yellow (E104), Sunset Yellow FCF (E110) and Ponceau 4R (E124) – three of the food colours linked to hyperactivity in the ‘Southampton study‘. As a result, the Panel concluded that exposure to these colours could exceed the new ADIs (acceptable daily intakes) for both adults and children. The Panel found that the... ...Read more »

Food from NSW restaurants, take-aways, bakeries, caterers, pubs and clubs will be safer to eat when legislation passed by the State Government this week takes effect, according to the state’s Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald. “The new Food Amendment (Food Safety Supervisor) Bill will require food businesses in the NSW hospitality and retail food service sector to appoint a food safety supervisor,” he advised. “These Food Safety Supervisors will need to complete... ...Read more »