The burgers at Grill’d in Chermside are not only being made with love but also pride, as franchise owners and husband and wife team Elton and Cindy Berrange celebrate their prestigious win as Queensland’s Franchisee of the Year (2 or more staff) in the FCA 2010 Excellence in Franchising Awards.Grill’d Chermside is now in the running for the national award to be presented at the gala dinner on Tuesday 12 October held as a finale to the 2010 National Franchise Convention. Elton and... ...Read more »

For the second year in a row, two of Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre’s budding young chef’s out-cooked seven other states to win top spot in the 2010 Nestle Golden Chefs Hat Awards in Melbourne last week. Cameron Wetton (21) and Shane Middleton (20) created a three course meal for the judging panel from which they achieved one silver and two gold medals for culinary excellence. The two gold medal winning courses included an entree of citrus butter baked barramundi with beetroot... ...Read more »

US food giant Kraft Foods has begun selling Cadbury’s Dairy Milk bar as Fairtrade in Canada.Cadbury, five months before it was acquired by Kraft, announced in August last year that it would begin selling the bar as Fairtrade in Canada, Australia and New Zealand by this summer. The Fairtrade-certified Cadbury Dairy Milk bars are now available in stores across Canada, the firm said on Monday (20 September), and includes all Dairy Milk bars without nuts, fruit or other inclusions. This includes... ...Read more »

Brazilian meat giant JBS yesterday (21 September) revealed what it had paid for Australia’s Rockdale Beef after receiving competition approval to buy the business. JBS, which signed a deal to buy Rockdale in March, said it had paid A$40m (US$37.9m) for the business, although the price tag is “subject to further adjustments based on the level of the working capital at completion”. Rockdale’s assets include a meatworks capacity of around 200,000 cattle a year and a feedlot... ...Read more »

The Australian dairy industry remains confident that the impending locust plague will not affect the safety and ongoing supply of Australia’s dairy products. Dairy Australia,  the national services body for the Australian dairy industry, said that Australian dairy products are known for their safety, quality and reliability, attributes which have formed the platform of a long standing reputation for supplying world class dairy products, and that it would work with farmers and government to ensure... ...Read more »

KFC has added a new medium to the advertising for its controversial Double Down burger, with an announcement that the company will recruit female university students to wear sweatpants with advertising printed on the rump. The KFC Double Down burger, not available in Australia, is a burger without the bun, featuring bacon, cheese and special sauce between two chicken fillets. The creation, introduced in April this year, has triggered something of a love-hate sensation in the US, with health advocates... ...Read more »

Diet and exercise have long been the top two elements of effective weight loss. Now add a third: reading the labels on packaged foods. Washington State University Economist Bidisha Mandal has found that middle-aged Americans who want to lose weight and who take up the label-reading habit are more likely to lose weight than those who don’t. In some cases, label reading is even more effective than exercise. “I’m finding that reading labels is useful,” said Mandal, an assistant... ...Read more »

Red Rooster has built on the popularity of its limited edition Ultimate and Deluxe free range burgers, with the introduction of a new permanent stable of D’Lish Free Range products. The new range includes the two rebranded burgers (now the Free Range D’Lish burger and Free Range D’Lish Burger with Cheese & Bacon), two tortilla wraps with the same ingredients, and a salad. The new burgers are also slightly smaller than the prototypes, with a round bun instead of the original,... ...Read more »

Fonterra has signed an agreement with the Government of Yutian County in China, which formalises the final stage of due diligence on two potential Fonterra dairy farm sites. “This agreement is a positive step in the negotiation process with Yutian County,” said Fonterra China Managing Director Philip Turner. “We’ve always said that we believe the bulk of China’s growing demand for dairy will be met by locally produced milk. “Our first farming operation in China, Tangshan Fonterra... ...Read more »

A Sydney bottle shop chain, Chambers Cellars, has found itself on the NSW Food Authority’s Name and Shame list for twelve labelling breaches, including the failure to declare the number of standard drinks contained in imported beer products. “Food labelling, whether it relates to food or alcohol, is an important tool for the consumer in terms of understanding exactly what the product is they intend to consume,” Minister Whan said. “There are serious health and safety implications... ...Read more »