Farm Pride, one of Australia’s largest egg producers, has released flood relief egg packs to raise money for flood victims across Australia.Farm Pride will donate 20 cents from every Flood Appeal pack sold to The Salvation Army Flood Appeal. Farm Pride general manager Zelko Ledich said the egg producer was pleased to support the appeal, which is raising money for flood affected families in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. “This is a great cause and we are pleased to assist The... ...Read more »

Whole Foods Market has increased its sales and earnings per share forecasts for the 2011 fiscal year on the back of strong first-quarter results. The US health food retailer yesterday (9 February) increased its diluted EPS targetto US$1.76-1.8 a share, up on the $1.66-1.71 a share it previously forecast. It is expecting sales to grow 10.7-12.8%, up on the 10-12% previously forecast. “Based on our consistently strong top- and bottom-line results, along with ongoing signs of increasing consumer... ...Read more »

The ‘best of the best’ Australian dairy products received their crowning glory at Wednesday’s 2011 Australian Grand Dairy Awards (AGDA), with 19 Champions and two Grand Champions awarded in front of members and supporters of the country’s dairy industry. Themed a ‘salute to migrant Australia’, the awards celebrated the contribution and dedication of Australian immigrants to the dairy industry. Dairy Australia Managing Director Ian Halliday said this year’s awards... ...Read more »

Australia continues to be one of the world’s fastest growing markets for Fairtrade Certified products with sales tripling in just 12 months to over $120 million in 2010, Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand (Fairtrade ANZ) announced today. Fairtrade ANZ CEO Stephen Knapp said the outstanding sales growth was matched by a significant jump in Australian consumer awareness of the Fairtrade Label – rising from 23% in September 2009 to 37% in November 2010 (Mobium Group 2010). “Across the country,... ...Read more »

Sour cherries could help athletes reduce muscle damage to recover faster from a tough workout, according to new research published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Researchers at the Sports and Exercise Science Research Center at London South Bank University, in the UK, gave 10 trained athletes 1 ounce of a proprietary cherry juice concentrate, CherryActive (made from sour Montmorency cherries) twice daily for seven days prior... ...Read more »

UK grocery operator Waitrose has ended its contract with a duck farm accused of animal cruelty. Allegations emerged yesterday (8 February) that workers at Hall Farm picked up ducks by their necks and swung them before throwing them into the flock. A Sky News investigation also discovered sick and injured birds as well as dead birds which had been left to rot among the flock. Hall Farm is contracted to Green Label Farms, which operates Gressingham Foods’ poultry operations. Green Label Farms... ...Read more »

Announced at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards in Melbourne tonight, Victoria’s Jindi Old Telegraph Road Fire Engine Red has won the prestigious Grand Champion Award 2011 and Best of Category Award for Washed Rind Cheese. Having won a bounty of local and international awards, the privately-owned specialty cheesemaker said this win has taken them higher in the cheese world. “Our Brie first put Jindi on the map having won the Best Brie in the world in 1996, 2002 and 2004. This award for our Washed... ...Read more »

A senior EU judge has said all food sold in the EU contaminated with even the slightest trace of genetically modified material must have a special regulatory approval. In a formal opinion on a case involving honey contaminated with pollen from Monsanto’s EU-approved MON 810 maize, ECJ advocate general Yves Bot has said “the unintentional presence…even of a minute quantity of pollen…means that such honey must be the subject of an authorisation”. This means that contaminated food... ...Read more »

ALDI’s Olive Tree Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been awarded Product of the Year in the Cooking Ingredient category in the 2011 Product of the Year Survey of Innovation. Stefan Kopp, ALDI Managing Director – Buying, said that the supermarket is very proud of its olive oil products, and is honoured and delighted to have won the Award. “We are passionate about quality and work tirelessly with our suppliers to ensure our products are the best they can be. This award is a reflection... ...Read more »

World food prices surged to a new historic peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month, according to the updated FAO Food Price Index, a commodity basket that regularly tracks monthly changes in global food prices. The Index averaged 231 points in January and was up 3.4 percent from December 2010. This is the highest level (both in real and nominal terms) since FAO started measuring food prices in 1990. Prices of all monitored commodity groups registered strong gains in January, except for... ...Read more »