Iconic Australian poultry brand Steggles has ramped up its advertising campaign by launching a second television commercial last Sunday, to run concurrently with its ‘no added hormones’ commercial. Steggles Brand Manager Celeste Moroney said: “In the last six months we have focused on re-establishing the Steggles brand. While communicating our key brand messages will continue, we recognise that it’s time to also focus on promoting our products and showing consumers the quality that... ...Read more »

Australia’s oldest brewery has switched over to natural gas, thanks to the extension of the natural gas network in Hobart. The Cascade Brewery has installed three boilers to run on natural gas from Bass Strait. Boilers, along with refrigeration, are the significant energy users in a brewery. At Cascade the boilers produce steam used in its brew house kettles, packaging pasteurisers, fruit processing, and malt kiln as well as for a range of other uses. Cascade Brewery General Manager Production... ...Read more »

Uncle Tobys has added a new variety to its Plus muesli line of breakfast cereals, Plus Essentials for Women. The Plus line integrates a variety of vitamins, functional and ‘superfood’ ingredients into one of the most popular items for nutritional enhancements: breakfasts. The Nestlé-owned company has created the new 97% fat free cereal with pomegranates and berry oat clusters, and added five “essential nutrients for women’s wellbeing”: antioxidants A & E, fibre, iron,... ...Read more »

Nestlé is to spend CHF 50 million (US$50.5 million) on setting up an R&D centre in India to develop its “popularly positioned products” that are sold to poorer consumers. The facility will be built in Manesar, close to Nestlé’s head office in India, which is in Guragon, in the state of Haryana. Nestlé said yesterday that the site, which is expected to be up and running by 2012, will focus on “popularly positioned products” for the Indian market but also worldwide. “The... ...Read more »

US food giant General Mills booked a 12% rise in first-quarter profits as US sales were boosted by growth in the company’s cereal and yoghurt divisions. The Cheerios and Yoplait maker posted net profit of US$472.1 million – an increase of 12.2% – for the three months to 29 August. Net sales were up 1.5% at $3.53 billion. US net sales increased 2% to $2.45 billion, with General Mills’ Big G cereals division posted a 4% rise in sales. Net sales from Yoplait, for which General... ...Read more »

A new Western Australian noodle wheat class, developed specifically for the Japanese and Korean markets, is expected to give the State’s growers and marketers increased flexibility. The Wheat Classification Council (WCC), supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) which oversees Australia’s wheat classification arrangements, has announced the new wheat class Australian Premium White Noodle (APWN). WCC chairman Robert Sewell said APWN would be segregated in WA starting... ...Read more »

The Victorian Government is calling on the community to nominate people who are role models in their community in preparing for the spring locust plague.Visiting the first regional Incident Control Centre in Mildura today with Agriculture Minister Joe Helper, Mr Brumby announced the creation of a new Victorian Government campaign to recognise Victorians who set an example for their communities in preparing for the locust threat. The campaign, Locust Heroes, will seek to recognise individuals and... ...Read more »

Whole Foods Market has launched an in-store color-coded sustainability rating program for wild-caught seafood and commits to phasing out all red-rated species by Earth Day 2013. Partnering with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium, Whole Foods Market is the first national grocer to provide a comprehensive, science-based sustainability rating system for wild-caught seafood. The system’s green, yellow and red ratings make it easy for shoppers to make informed choices at the seafood... ...Read more »

This month, the natural health beverage company Odwalla introduces Heart Health Superfood, a berrylicious new blend that contains 0.4g of plant sterols per 8 fl oz serving. The plant sterols — naturally sourced plant extracts — may help to reduce cholesterol and support cardiovascular health when you drink two 8 fl oz servings per day with meals as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. This new smoothie contains a mix of juices and purées: apple, peach, banana and strawberry.... ...Read more »

SABMiller on Monday announced the introduction of a new beer to the portfolio of Miller Brands, its UK operation. The beer, Kozel, is a 4% ABV Czech lager which is brewed in the village of Velke Popovice, near Prague.Kozel will be launched in draught format with a managed pub operator in 100 selected sites starting from the end of September. Kozel, which means ‘goat’ in Czech, has been brewed in Velké Popovice since 1874 and families from the village have worked at the brewery for generations.... ...Read more »