UK retailer Sainsbury’s has launched its Christmas campaign featuring Jamie Oliver. Launched on Monday (15 November), the 60-second ‘perfect Christmas’ advert, aims to highlight the fact that Sainsbury’s “has everything viewers need for the perfect Christmas”. Aside from the main ad, the retailer will also be airing will be a series of shorter adverts focusing on Christmas products including several from the recently re-launched Taste the Difference range such... ...Read more »

Wal-Mart Stores raised its full-year earnings per share guidance yesterday (16 November) on the back of a US$191m tax gain in the third quarter and expectations for a solid underlying operational performance in the fourth quarter.The world’s largest retailer increased its full-year EPS guidance to between $4.08 and $4.12 a share compared to the previous range of $3.95 to $4.05 per share. “The full-year increase in our EPS guidance reflects the tax benefit from the third quarter, and our... ...Read more »

Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas tabled an agenda paper at a Ministerial Meeting in Adelaide on Friday, calling for a nationally consistent plan for reducing intakes of energy, saturated fat, sugar and salt from fast food. Lucas said it was time to get serious about developing a national approach to the issue. “In 2009, 1.6 billion meals were served by fast food outlets in Australia. Alarmingly, that means 4.5 million Australians visited a fast food outlet every day,”... ...Read more »

Global consumer goods company Unilever today announced plans to decouple future growth from environmental impact. At the London launch of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan, CEO Paul Polman explained: “We have ambitious plans to grow the company. But growth at any price is not viable. We have to develop new ways of doing business which will ensure that our growth does not come at the expense of the world’s diminishing natural resources.” He also announced plans to help over 1 billion people... ...Read more »

Gourmet chocolate brand Callebaut, owned by Belgian chocolate giant Barry Callebaut, has announced the launch of a new Fairtrade range of chocolate products. Callebaut’s four classic recipes – 811 (dark), 823 (milk), W2 (white) and 70-30-38 (dark) – are the preferred choice of confectioners, pastry chefs and chocolatiers all over the world. They have become global standards, often copied but never equaled in taste, flavor, quality and workability. From January 2011 these products will be available... ...Read more »

Murray Goulburn has announced that it will purchase enough of the newly diluted Warnambool Cheese and Butter shares to bring it back to its original percentage stake in the company, following WCB’s equity raising. “Murray Goulburn’s investment in WCB was made with a longer-term perspective and we remain committed to an investment which allows us to be part of a process that has yet to conclude,” said Murray Goulburn Managing Director, Mr Stephen O’Rourke. “The WCB capital raising... ...Read more »

Australian Greens Deputy Leader Christine Milne has called for more stringent and accurate labelling for locally produced and processed food, based on a strong response in the latest Roy Morgan poll on food labelling. “The poll results released this week show 90 percent of Australians are more likely to buy food that is labelled as ‘Made in Australia,” she said. “At face value, this groundswell of support for local food is encouraging, but as our struggling producers know, it... ...Read more »

The NSW Food Authority’s Scores on Doors initiative, an Australian first in delivering a standardised, state-wide system to rate the food safety and hygiene standards of foodservice businesses, is being developed in close consultation with industry and local government, NSW Food Authority CEO Alan Coutts said today. “The purpose of the Scores on Doors initiative is to benefit the consumer and drive up standards in the food industry,” Coutts said. “This is about improving transparency... ...Read more »

Dietary supplement manufacturers often include health claims on products made with berries from the Vaccinium family – cranberries, blueberries and bilberries. Suggested benefits include prevention of urinary tract infections, reduced risk of certain cancers or Alzheimer’s disease, and improved night vision. Consumers may take such claims at face value, but one common problem with dietary supplement products containing berries is the risk of economic adulteration — dilution with... ...Read more »

SBS has announced a new series starring Luke Nguyen, acclaimed owner and chef of Sydney restaurant Red Lantern, which follows a culinary journey through the northern regions of Vietnam. The series will begin airing on December 2nd, starting in imperial Hue. Travelling north toward Hanoi and Sapa, Luke explores nine regions of Northern Vietnam over ten half-hour episodes. “The cuisine in the northern parts of Vietnam is more delicate, elegant and refined,” says Nguyen, “As I travelled from Hanoi... ...Read more »