Fruit juice and carbonated soft drink producer Charlie’s Group announced today that it has secured an agreement to range its Premium Phoenix Organics Brand on the chilled shelves of 750 Coles supermarkets across Australia. The deal follows the recent successful introduction of the Charlie’s brand ranged into Coles in 2010. The company said the move is a “significant win” for the Premium Phoenix Organics Brand, which pioneered the organic beverage movement 25 years ago in New Zealand.... ...Read more »

Parmalat said today that it had hired Goldman Sachs to advise the company on the EUR3.38bn takeover offer from French rival Lactalis.The Italian dairy giant made the announcement this afternoon after a meeting of its board of directors. Last week, Lactalis, which owns a 29% stake in Parmalat, said it had made an offer for the rest of the business worth EUR2.60 a share. Lactalis bought its first shares in Parmalat in March in two transactions. The second transaction saw the company buy 15.3% of Parmalat... ...Read more »

Ferrero today launched two new Tic Tac flavours in the US – Wild Cherry and Peach Fusion.The company said the two flavours “embody all things sunny and sweet” and provide a “fruity tanginess and flavourful kick that will help consumers keep things fresh and fun this summer”. It has also launched its Shake it Up summer campaign, which will feature a series of sweepstakes through its Twitter page, running from May through July. Ferrero has also partnered with Flavorpill,... ...Read more »

The International Stevia Council (ISC) announced today the launch of an independent Proficiency Testing Program (PTP) for stevia products. At the moment, there are a wide variety of analytical methods and reference standards being used within the industry to determine steviol glycoside content. Importantly, the quality of the analytical methods and reference standards is not consistent across the industry.  This has resulted in inaccurate and inconsistent representation of product composition and... ...Read more »

The war between manufacturers of infant formula and activist group Greenpeace has taken another step, with industry lobby group the Infant Nutrition Council stating that they are not capable of producing formula without any genetically modified content, and that such a demand is “unrealistic and unworkable” – despite the fact that their products are not accordingly labelled. The statement was made by the Council, which represents a number of baby food manufacturers, including Heinz,... ...Read more »

On land, being small and lurking at the bottom of the food chain is usually a far better strategy for species survival than being big, fierce and perched on top, at least when humans are after you. But talk to sharks and anchovies and they’ll tell you a different story, according to a new study of fisheries collapses led by Stanford researchers. Analyzing over 200 scientific assessments of fisheries around the globe, the team found that populations of small fish such as sardines and anchovies... ...Read more »

With retail prices soaring, new research suggests Australians are likely to eat less fruit and vegetables in coming months, as fresh produce feels the impact of the floods and Cyclone Yasi. The banana and broccoli industries have been particularly badly hit with supply shortages and quality problems, rendering Australia’s favourite fruit and the popular vegetable particularly vulnerable. The Nielsen Company surveyed over 1500 consumers online about their buying behaviour following the natural... ...Read more »

The Fair Work Ombudsman and McDonald’s Australia have embarked on a new national initiative designed to ensure employee pay packets for McDonald’s 85,000-strong national workforce are accurate. McDonald’s, in collaboration with the Fair Work Ombudsman, has set up a self-audit process to review about 8500 pay packets and correct any issues it may find, which the quick-service restaurant chain says is in line with its goal of being an employer of choice for young people, and operating its business... ...Read more »

Blueberries are one of the best-known ‘superfoods’, with a high level of antioxidant chemicals. But are all blueberries equal? New research suggests that some of the less well known cousins of the commercial blueberry may be even better at scavenging free-radicals. The first analysis of the healthful antioxidant content of blueberries that grow wild in Mexico, Central and South America concludes that some of these fruits have even more healthful antioxidants than the blueberries —... ...Read more »

Woolworths has recalled its own-brand 750g bags of almonds “due to the potential presence of Salmonella”, effective immediately, in a product recall issued just before Easter. Bags of almonds with a best before date of 10/11/11 and 11/11/11 are being recalled, having been sold in Woolworths, Safeway and Food for Less supermarkets across Australia between 15 and 21 April. Exactly how many of the almond bags are affected has not been released, nor how the contamination was discovered, but... ...Read more »