CHOICE and the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) have united forces to call for the establishment of a Supermarket Ombudsman as a part of a joint submission to Senate Economics Committee’s inquiry into the impacts of supermarket price decisions on the dairy industry. The groups, often in fierce opposition to eachother, have agreed that an Ombudsman would help create a level playing field in the highly-concentrated retail and supermarket industry and provide “much-needed leadership”... ...Read more »

Spicing up your daily diet with some red pepper can curb appetite, especially for those who don’t normally eat the popular spice, according to research from Purdue University. “We found that consuming red pepper can help manage appetite and burn more calories after a meal, especially for individuals who do not consume the spice regularly,” said Richard Mattes, distinguished professor of foods and nutrition who collaborated with doctoral student Mary-Jon Ludy. “This finding... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced that it does not intend to oppose Woolworths Limited’s proposed acquisition of The Cellarmasters Group. The ACCC said it had concluded that the proposed acquisition would be “unlikely to substantially lessen competition given the presence of several significant competitors in wine retailing, production and associated services”. The competition regulator said it had consulted widely with competitors, suppliers and customers... ...Read more »

Milk that fights cholesterol absorbtion, from specially fed cows, is being developed by Victorian Government scientists, with the aim of eventual commercial availability. Victorian Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh said the search for cholesterol-fighting milk was the focus of collaborative research underway at the Department of Primary Industries’ (DPI) dairy research centre at Ellinbank. “The research being undertaken at Ellinbank could show that milk can play an instrumental... ...Read more »

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has called for comment on a plan to reduce the minimum alcohol levels in Australian wine, after the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia applied to reduce the minimum level for flat and sparkling wine from 8% to 4.5% alcohol/volume. “This will align Australian produced wine with the European Union, which is Australia’s largest wine export market. It will also address a regulatory disadvantage for the Australian wine industry compared to imported wine... ...Read more »

Shares in Associated British Foods tumbled in morning trade yesterday after the George Weston and Don/KR Castlemaine parent company cut its full-year profit outlook, despite an improved first-half performance from its sugar and grocery businesses. The company, which had predicted a rise in full-year earnings, said that price competition and higher cotton prices were hitting its Primark discount fashion business, and that profits are “now expected to be similar to last year’s”. The... ...Read more »

Bread giant Goodman Fielder has announced a reduction in its expected profits following a “soft” third quarter, with businesses affected by retailer competition between Coles and Woolworths, fallout from the floods, commodity costs and the high Australian dollar. “At the time of the release of the company’s Interim results, the company anticipated that NPAT for the year would be in line with the prior year’s normalised earnings. The company now expects FY 2011 NPAT to be in... ...Read more »

Dieters are so involved with trying to eat virtuously that they are more likely than non-dieters to choose unhealthy foods that are labeled as healthy, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. It seems dieter focus on food names can work to their disadvantage. “Keeping your weight-loss goal in mind as you scan the lunch menu at a café, you are careful to avoid pasta selections and instead order from the list of salad options,” write authors Caglar Irmak (University... ...Read more »

Italian companies are reportedly not preparing a counter-bid for Parmalat, the country’s largest dairy processor and owner of Australian milk brand Paul’s, which is subject to a EUR3.4bn takeover offer from France’s Lactalis. Reuters yesterday cited sources within the Italian government as saying no rival bid is being lined up for Parmalat, a business some ministers have labelled as “strategic” to the country’s economy. However, state financial holding Cassa Depositi... ...Read more »

Fonterra has recorded its highest ever month for exports with 229,000 tonnes of its dairy products leaving New Zealand shores in March.Gary Romano, Managing Director of Fonterra Trade & Operations, said the record shipments are the result of continued growth in global demand for high quality dairy products from New Zealand. “Our supply chain team were effectively closing the door on an export container every 2.6 minutes. That’s equivalent to 560 containers a day.” “As... ...Read more »