Aquaculture specialist Clean Seas Tuna has reported a new milestone in its pioneering Southern Bluefin Tuna research, reporting a succesful transfer of its young tuna into sea cages. After last month’s world-first succesful transfer, the company has followed with a second batch of 60 young tuna fingerlings. A total of 85 juvenile tuna are now living in the company’s sea cages, with Clean Seas reporting that they are feeding extremely well and have grown to around 15cm in length. The company’s... ...Read more »

Patties Foods Ltd has announced an immediate recall on Four ‘n Twenty pies with a use-by date of 12, 13 and 14 July 2012, after the company found plastic fragments in a batch of the iconic Australian pies. The recall applies to individually packaged pies, sold at a variety of convenience stores, service stations, milk bars, canteens and other small retail outlets. Also being recalled is the Four ‘n Twenty six-pack, sold at Woolworths, Coles/Bi Lo, Metcash/IGA and Franklins. The company... ...Read more »

Chocolate giant Lindt & Sprüngli has won its trademark dispute with Austrian company Franz Hauswirth GmbH, with the Vienna Commercial Court ruling that Hauswirth must stop producing and selling its Easter bunny, which is wrapped in gold foil and carries a red or red-white-red ribbon. The Court confirmed that there is a risk of confusion with the ‘Gold Bunny’ trademark of Lindt & Sprüngli, which the company registered as an EU three-dimensional Community Trademark in 2000. “The... ...Read more »

The chairman of Australian food manufacturer Goodman Fielder has warned that the company “continues to confront commodity cost pressures and significant price volatility”. In a letter sent to shareholders last week, Max Ould said the breads-to-spreads manufacturer said its “challenge” will be to recover the increases in the marketplace. However, he added that it will be “even more difficult” for Goodman Fielder to recover its cost increases “given the extreme... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has reportedly abandoned one of the two potential buyers of grocery chain Franklins it nominated in its court bid to block Metcash from buying the retailer. According to The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday (7 April), The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission no longer puts forward Spar International’s Australian business as a competitive alternative owner of Franklins. The ACCC told the court that it had abandoned its submissions that... ...Read more »

Tasmania’s Department of Health and Human Services today renewed the public health warning not to eat wild shellfish from the Huon Estuary and parts of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, after a man fell ill with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) after eating contaminated mussels. Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Chrissie Pickin, said the man, in his 50s, developed PSP this week after eating mussels foraged at Dover from waters currently affected by toxic algal bloom. “The individual concerned... ...Read more »

Health food and breakfast cereal giant Sanitarium has announced its own traffic light labelling system, the Healthy Eating System, which it says goes beyond basic traffic light labels to include highlights of positive and negative nutrients and frequency of consumption. Sanitarium’s Science & Technical Manager, Dr Greg Gambrill, said the aim of any Front-of-Pack Labelling should be to improve eating habits in line with public health policy initiatives as identified in the recent Blewett... ...Read more »

Eating a fatty fast food meal is never good for you, but washing that meal down with a coffee is even worse, according to a new University of Guelph study. Researcher Marie-Soleil Beaudoin has discovered not only that a healthy person’s blood sugar levels spike after eating a high-fat meal, but that the spike doubles after having both a fatty meal and caffeinated coffee – jumping to levels similar to those of people at risk for diabetes. “The results tell us that saturated fat interferes... ...Read more »

Food rescue charity OzHarvest has announced a new one-day intiative, Shout Lunch, Fight Hunger, encouraging Australians on May 20th to donate the cost of their normal lunch and bring a packed lunch instead. The charity is encouraging workplaces to get together on Friday May 20, bring a plate to work and donate the money saved to helping the hungry in Australia. Registered participants already include the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Toga Hospitality, Vibe Hotels, Medina Apartment Hotels, Macquarie... ...Read more »

The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan could have a “dire” impact on the country’s food and agriculture sectors, analysts at Rabobank have warned. Concerns over food safety and supply problems are likely to hit exports and lead to a rise in imports, particularly from the US, Australia and China, Rabobank said yesterday. In a report on the impact of the crisis on the food sector, Rabobank said imports of seafood, meat, fruit and vegetables are likely to grow. The analysts said... ...Read more »