London-based multinational brewer SABMiller has mounted a more aggressive approach in its attempt to take over the Australian-based Foster’s Group Limited. SABMiller has announced it is taking it is bypassing the Foster’s Group Limited board and making a A$4.90 per share bid directly to the shareholders. The new direct offer to the shareholders comes just days ahead of the release of Foster’s fiscal-year financial results. The market is expecting these to be poor. “As there has been... ...Read more »

Woolworths Limited has recruited the current CEO of Tesco Malaysia as its new Director of Australian Supermarkets and Petrol. Tjeerd Jegen, 40, has held store operations, commercial, marketing and general management roles with three leading international retailers in seven countries. He was Chief Operating Officer for Tesco Thailand before his appointment as CEO in Malaysia, in early 2010. Woolworths Limited Deputy CEO Grant O’Brien said, “Whilst an external appointment might be viewed as an... ...Read more »

News that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of skin cancer has sent a buzz through the world’s media over the past 24 hours. Australian Food News has been investigating how this media storm was brewed. Meanwhile, other very serious skin cancer breakthrough stories appear to have been left unstirred. The news kerfuffle about coffee and skin cancer appears to have begun with the release in August 2011 of a research paper, published by the National Academy of Sciences (NAC) of the USA. This was... ...Read more »

Apple growers across Australia today launched a fightback against the apple import trade. The move comes following officially authorised shipments of apples being imported from New Zealand. This follows the decision of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2010 that found Australia’s biosecurity and quarantine standards to breach WTO rules. Apple growers have taken the step of branding locally grown apple with an ‘Aussie Apples’ sticker, allowing consumers to choose home-grown apples at the... ...Read more »

For the first time in its 100 year history, the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) is bringing its international forum to Australia. The Securing Global Food Safety conferencence is to be held on 26 – 28 September 2011 in Melbourne. The event also incorporates the 14th Australian Food Microbiology Conference, and is presented by the IAFP, the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Inc (AIFST) and the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food... ...Read more »

Leading Australian retail food brand manager and franchisor, the publicly listed Retail Food Group Limited (RFG) today announced a 4.6% rise in net profit, to A$27.2m, for the year ended 30 June 2011 compared with the previous financial year. RFG is the company that owns a number of successful Australian franchise systems including Donut King, Michel’s Patisserie, Brumby’s Bakeries, bb’s cafe, Esquires and Big Dad’s Pies. Despite 193 of its outlets being impacted by severe natural disasters... ...Read more »

A leading food industry consultant has warned that more Australian food processors will be driven out of business as a result of competition between and commercial powers held by major food retailers. In a speech to the Crawford Fund Annual Conference, held this week in Parliament House, Canberra, food industry expert Dr David McKinna, founder of McKinna et al, said Australian food processors’ margins are no longer sufficient to support the reinvestment needed for global competitiveness. The comments... ...Read more »

London-based SABMiller is expected to offer a renewed bid to acquire all shares in Foster’s Group Limited after the Australian brewer releases its full year results on 23 August 2011. In June, Foster’s rejected SABMiller’s A$11.2bn bid to buy all shares in the company. The Board of Foster’s said the proposal “significantly undervalued the company”. The Foster’s share price has now fallen below SABMiller’s original bid price and, according to reports, SABMiller has assembled a multi-billion-dollar... ...Read more »

Despite record rainfall and a bumper crop this year, Australia’s citrus export market is struggling against the high Australian dollar, according to industry body Citrus Australia. This year more than 240,000 tonnes of navel oranges were grown in Australia, compared to 177,000 tonnes last year, but exports have fallen by 13 per cent over the same period. CEO of Citrus Australia, Judith Damiani said, “Aussie citrus growers are really struggling this season as export returns are extremely low... ...Read more »

The Federal Department of Health and Ageing is sponsoring the CSIRO to conduct three workshops around Australia as information-sharing forums for industry, government and researchers involved in food innovation and product reformulation. The workshop programs will include presentations from national and international speakers involved in food innovation and product reformulation as well as opportunities to discuss innovation techniques and challenges. Presentation topics include: - Overcoming technical... ...Read more »