Australian charity Foodbank today hosted a gala lunch at the Salvation Army in Surry Hills, Sydney, to launch the national distribution of 800 tonnes of pasta and 100,000 cans of pasta sauce, produced for Foodbank under a new food donation model: the collaborative supply program. Under the Foodbank collaborative supply program, manufacturers agree to produce a product, subject to the donations of all inputs (e.g. ingredients and packaging) with the manufacturer’s regular suppliers. Input suppliers... ...Read more »

The first measurements of antioxidant levels in commercial bottled tea beverages has concluded that health-conscious consumers may not be getting what they pay for: healthful doses of polyphenol antioxidants, which may ward off a range of diseases. Dr Shiming Li analysed six bottled teas, and found that they contained significantly fewer polyphenols than a single cup of home-brewed green or black tea. Some contained such small amounts that consumers would have to drink 20 bottles to get the polyphenols... ...Read more »

Queensland dairy farmers, gathering on the Sunshine Coast this week at the annual QDO/DIAA industry conference, have called on any new Federal Government to “immediately begin to work with the dairy industry to refine and implement the recommendations of a recent Senate Inquiry into milk prices,” said the Queensland Farmers Federation today. The Queensland farming industry, particularly the dairy industry, is of great importance to independent MP Bob Katter – one of the three independent... ...Read more »

UK retail giant Tesco has launched the country’s first drive-thru supermarket. The retailer’s Baldock Extra store in Hertfordshire will be used as a trial store for the drive-thru service, the firm said yesterday, before a decision is made on rolling-out to additional areas if successful. Tesco said the store, run by the firm’s dotcom team, has been designed to help busy customers who want their shop picked and packed but who don’t have the time to wait at home for delivery. “This will... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest pizza chain, Domino’s Pizza, has launched a new Square Puff pizza, designed to give customers a ‘full box’ of pizza. Domino’s CEO Don Meij said the Square Puff pizza was unique to Domino’s and is designed to bring focus to giving customers a “premium quality product for amazing value”. “Our new Square Puff pizza is all about giving customers a full size, bigger pizza on our most indulgent Square Puff pastry crust topped with premium quality... ...Read more »

Scientists have reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may not only help with a variety of health benefits, but may also help the aging brain stay healthy. Research from the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging suggests that antioxidant polyphenols present in berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain’s natural “housekeeper” mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline. Dr... ...Read more »

Agribusiness group Wilmar International announced yesterday that it has acquired PT Jawamanis Rafinasi (JMR), an Indonesian sugar refinery, and Windsor and Brook Trading, a Singapore sugar trading company. Wilmar International was the successful bidder on CSR’s sugar and renewable energy business Sucrogen, a sale still awaiting approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board. JMR operates a sugar refinery in Cilegon, Banten Indonesia and services the industrial sugar market. Wilmar International... ...Read more »

Food giant Cargill has announced a $13 million dollar plan to upgrade the wastewater treatment system of its Wagga Wagga beef processing facility, in order to fully capture biogas emitted during treatment, in a move designed to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint by over 17% and significantly improve the facility’s water discharge quality. The project is being implemented in partnership with the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) who contributed AU$ 2.9 million... ...Read more »

Millions of livestock have been affected by the floods in Pakistan and are badly in need of food and medicine, FAO said today. Around 200 000 cows, sheep, buffalo, goats and donkeys have already been confirmed as dead or missing but the final numbers will be much higher, possibly into the millions. If you count poultry losses, then millions of animals have already died with the entire poultry stock wiped out in some areas. FAO estimates that millions of surviving animals are now facing severe feed... ...Read more »

With three regional Independent MPs thrust into the role of deciding the next federal government, agricultural policies will be forefront in the minds of all political parties. Whichever way the cards fall over the days and weeks ahead, farming issues and policies will be under intense scrutiny. The timing couldn’t be more critical for all political parties to reinforce their vision for Australia’s farm sector, with the National Farmers’ Federation’s (NFF) 2010 National Congress... ...Read more »