Master patissier Adriano Zumbo, maestro of the macaron and guest star on Ten’s Masterchef, has landed his own SBS series, Zumbo, beginning 10th February 2011 at 7.30pm. The mouth-watering observational documentary series will deliver a compelling mix of behind-the-scenes kitchen reality and cast-driven story lines, as Zumbo and his team bring his famous creations to life in pursuit of dessert perfection. In each half hour episode, Adriano, 29, and his young and vibrant team will reveal the... ...Read more »

Politicians and growers are urging consumers to support Australia’s fruit and vegetable growers by buying local flood-affected produce, rather than unblemished imported fruit and veg. Chief Executive Officer of peak horticulture organisation Growcom, Alex Livingstone, said that where produce had only been dinted or blemished on the skin but was otherwise unaffected, consumers should buy it. “The abundance of relatively cheap food we have enjoyed in the past has made us complacent about the... ...Read more »

With thousands of children across Australia preparing to head back to school, families are being urged to study up on lunch box food safety. “The basic rule of thumb is to keep it cool for school in order to reduce the risk of food poisoning,” NSW Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said. The return to school coincides with some of the hottest months of the year and summer temperatures provide an ideal environment for bacteria to thrive.  The bacteria that cause food poisoning grow... ...Read more »

The first global guidelines for bycatch management and reduction of fishing discards were released recently by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. They now go to the Committee on Fisheries for endorsement when it meets in Rome at the end of the month. The guidelines were agreed by fisheries experts from 35 countries who met at FAO last month. The guidelines cover all types of bycatch including discards, that is, fish that are caught accidently and then thrown back into the sea either... ...Read more »

The emerging online supermarket space has been dominated by Coles and more recently Woolworths, with bananablue in SA providing the most competitive and viable independent online offer. Bananablue has been growing strongly over the last twelve months, and has undertaken enhancements to its business model and IT systems, in preparation for national expansion. A key part of that development has been to enable individual retailers to fulfill online orders from their own stores, thus allowing customers... ...Read more »

Fonterra today announced details of a comprehensive support package to help flood-affected dairy farmers in northern Victoria, including a $50,000 donation to the Victorian Farmers Federation Disaster Relief Fund.”We have been carefully monitoring the flood situation in northern Victoria and staying in close contact with our farmer suppliers and manufacturing site personnel in affected regions,” said Heather Stacy, National Milk Services Manager. The floods have caused some challenges... ...Read more »

Unilever has named the head of its operations in south-east Asia and Australasia as president of its business in western Europe.Jan Zijderveld, Unilever’s executive vice president for south-east Asia and Australasia, replaces Doug Baillie in western Europe. Baillie has been named as Unilever’s chief HR officer, following the recent departure of Sandy Ogg. “Jan will bring considerable experience of both Asian and European markets to his new role, building on the competitive position... ...Read more »

UK poultry and fish group Boparan Holdings has decided to table a takeover bid for Northern Foods, the maker of Goodfella’s pizza and Fox’s biscuits planning to merge with Ireland’s Greencore. On Friday evening (21 January), Boparan made a GBP342m (US$547.2m) offer for Northern after weeks of speculation and ahead of a Takeover Panel deadline that expired at 7pm tonight. The bid, worth 73p a share, has been backed by Northern’s board, which had spent over two months supporting... ...Read more »

Welcome to the supermarkets of the future: self service checkouts, ‘Tap N Go’ card readers, new smartphone barcode scanning apps and trolleys complete with computers and GPS tracking.  They promise speed, convenience and even more information for customers and retailers. But just how useful are they? Consumer group CHOICE has reviewed these new innovations to see if they live up to the hype, by truly benefiting consumers and retailers. Self service checkouts allow consumers to scan,... ...Read more »

Amid the recent flood devastation in Queensland a motivated group of business people, primary producers and restaurateurs with the support of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), have set up a website www.supportQLDproducers.net to allow retailers, wholesalers and growers of local Queensland produce the opportunity to let consumers and potential stockists know how they can still access their products despite the recent devastation.Support QLD Producers has... ...Read more »