Scot Braithwaite lives & works in the cattle business in Indonesia, he sent this letter to ABC’s 4 Corners, we are waiting to see the program showing “the other side of the debate” Dear Sir, I must introduce myself. My name is Scot Braithwaite and my life has basically revolved around live export since I was 10 years old. I was unloading cattle boats in Malaysia at the age of 13. I have worked for all the major cattle companies including as a Head Stockman in the Northern Territory.... ...Read more »

Synthetic fat substitutes used in low-calorie potato chips and other foods, such as olestra, could backfire and contribute to weight gain and obesity, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. The study, by researchers at Purdue University, challenges the conventional wisdom that foods made with fat substitutes help with weight loss. By feeding rats Pringles potato chips – either full-fat or both full-fat and ‘low-fat’ olestra varieties – researchers... ...Read more »

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has announced the withdrawl of one product from Australian shelves, an asparagus juice, having been identified as one of the products made with plasticiser-contaminated emulsifiers in Taiwan. At least one factory in Taiwan was found to be using Di-Ethyl Hexyl Phthalate (DEHP) in place of more expensive palm oil in the manufacture of its clouding agents, while another factory was using Di-Isononyl Phthalate (DINP). Both compounds are carcinogenic and can cause... ...Read more »

Campbell Soup Co. has appointed former Coca-Cola Co. executive Gareth Edgecombe to the role of president of its operations in Asia-Pacific.Edgecombe will be responsible for the company’s Australian, Asian and Pacific operations, including the Arnott’s biscuits brand and Campbell’s soup. He will be based at Campbell Arnott’s regional headquarters in Sydney and will report to Mark Alexander, president of Campbell International. His appointment is effective from 8 August. Edgecombe... ...Read more »

Primo Smallgoods is the subject of reported interest from private-equity firms, including Blackstone and Affinity Equity Partners. A Reuters report said last week that private-equity firms are looking to buy 50% of family-owned Primo, which earlier this year reportedly looked at an IPO. Sources told Reuters that Primo’s owners had hired Macquarie Capital to look at an IPO and a sale and approached around ten possible bidders. However, the process was put on hold, the sources said, as Primo... ...Read more »

Woolworths has announced plans to source all its own-label fresh milk products from Parmalat in NSW, a move the company said is not related to its ‘milk war’ with Coles. The company has moved the supply of own-label milk under the Woolworths Fresh and Woolworths Home Brands labels in the state from National Foods (recently renamed to Lion) to Parmalat. Parmalat, which operates in Australia under the Paul’s, Rev and Breaka labels, is an Italian-owned conglomerate, currently under... ...Read more »

A major international report has predicted that average food commodity prices will be much higher this decade than the last. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) and the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have projected maize costs will be almost 20% higher this decade on average, and rice more than 15% higher. It also predicts that butter prices will soar worldwide and stay high, rising more than 45%, with poultry prices increasing 30% to 35%. Wheat prices are... ...Read more »

Patties Foods has announced plants to donate a full day’s production worth of its iconic Four’N Twenty pies – 138,000 pies in total – to Australia’s largest hunger relief organization, Foodbank. More than 70 Patties staff and management are volunteering their time to produce the pies for Foodbank at Patties Foods state-of-the-art bakery at Bairnsdale, in Victoria’s East, on Saturday 18 June. All of Patties Foods’ suppliers, from ingredients through to packaging and transport... ...Read more »

Harmful mineral oils from the printing inks used on cardboard can migrate into food if recycled cardboard is used for food packaging. It may contaminate food even if the recycled cardboard is used for the corrugated card transport box that holds individual packs. In tests on experimental packs of fine noodles, researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, found that food rapidly absorbed 10 times the recommended limit for concentration of these contaminating oils from the transport box. The findings... ...Read more »

Floods, cyclones, and prolonged wet weather are expected to cut some 40 million litres from milk production in the seven months to June 2011 in the northern production region, with production for the first few months of 2011 being down by some 20 percent, Queensland dairy farmers heard today. At the annual Situation and Outlook (S&O) breakfast – where industry body Dairy Australia presented its latest industry statistics – farmers and industry were told that the summer of disaster... ...Read more »