A healthy lupin snack and a sweet and salty ice cream have clinched the 2010 WA Department of Agriculture and Food Student Food and Beverage Product Development Awards.Western Australian Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman today congratulated the award recipients and participants for their creativity. The annual awards form part of a link between the Department of Agriculture and Food’s food technology unit and Curtin University’s food science and technology program. “The... ...Read more »

Coles Supermarkets in the Northern Territory and Foodbank NT have joined forces to support the territory’s most vulnerable residents through an ongoing hunger relief partnership. From Tuesday 9 November, Coles NT Supermarkets will donate shelf-stable food products, general merchandise, cleaning products, health and beauty items and much more to Foodbank NT. This commitment comes off the back of Coles’ $3.6million contribution to Foodbank in the last financial year and the recent donation... ...Read more »

SABMiller on Friday published research into beer drinking culture around Europe. The findings include:- Britain is the biggest round-buying nation, with 82% of people saying that they buy beer in rounds – three times more than in Germany, where drinkers prefer to pay for their own drinks individually - British bosses are amongst the most sociable in Europe – and the most generous, whereas French bosses are the least likely to ever go out for a beer with their teams - British women are... ...Read more »

The Pom Wonderful LLP v. Tropicana Products, Inc. trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles concluded late today when the jury returned a verdict upholding Tropicana’s product labeling and rejecting outright all of POM’s claims against Tropicana, a division of PepsiCo. Additionally, the jury found that POM, which initiated the litigation, has “unclean hands” and has not been dealing fairly with consumers in its labeling. Following other recent decisions in litigation initiated... ...Read more »

Fonterra said today the announcement of full Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with Russia and its Customs Union partners, Belarus and Kazakhstan, had the potential to make the region an even more important partner for the New Zealand dairy industry. This announcement follows the successful conclusion of preliminary FTA scoping talks between the four countries which started in May 2010.Trade Minister Tim Groser and Elvira Nabiullina, the Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister, made... ...Read more »

The EU is to lift import duties for 666,000 tonnes of sugar from any exporting non-EU country to counteract the effect of high sugar prices. EU member state representatives have backed a European Commission proposal to suspend a EUR98 (US$134.50) a tonne duty on EU imports of raw cane sugar for refining from 1 December to 31 August. This would cover 666,000 tonnes of sugar. “High world market prices for sugar currently make the cost of these imports prohibitive, which risks disrupting supplies,”... ...Read more »

Australian food manufacturer Goodman Fielder has terminated the sale of its edible fats and oils division to Cargill after regulators opposed the deal.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in March that it planned to oppose the A$240m (US$238.5m) sale as it would lead to a “significant concentration of refining assets in Australia”. The ACCC said a deal would also remove “one of only a small number of competing refiners that offer a wide range of fats and... ...Read more »

An international panel of 30 World Health Organisation (WHO) experts has found there is no scientific evidence indicating that Bisphenol A (BPA) should be banned from food products as a public health measure.The leading WHO experts concluded on November 10 that BPA was mostly “eliminated” and doesn’t accumulate in the body. The WHO panel, who met in Canada, also said that introducing public health measures – such as a ban on BPA – would be “premature”. These... ...Read more »

Sunny Queen Farms, one of Australia’s foremost egg producers, has launched a new product that should have chefs breathing a collective sigh of relief. It’s a fresh egg snap frozen, pasteurised, and HACCP and Halal – approved, so no nasty case of salmonella on the side. Simple steps for preparing in the combi or microwave mean greater consistency in presentation. But more importantly, the eggs leave zero risk of a contamination crisis, which is probably a chef’s worst nightmare.... ...Read more »

United Fresh Joins New National Farm and Ranch Alliance to Enhance Industry ImageThe United Fresh Produce Association has joined with 23 other farmer- and rancher-led organizations representing nearly all sectors of agriculture to enhance consumer trust in the U.S. food production system. The formation of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), announced today, marks the start of a multi-year initiative that will coordinate existing efforts and develop new programs that bolster the image... ...Read more »