Australia’s main consumer advocacy group CHOICE has launched a nation-wide campaign against food product labels which carry misleading nutrition claims. It has called on Australian consumers to identify products with claims about ‘reduced fat,’ ‘low carb’ and ‘high in fibre’. CHOICE is calling for consumers to become actively involved in ‘Shame the Claim’ searches. This is the latest move in CHOICE’s on-going campaign against nutrition claims on food product labels in Australia... ...Read more »

An ambitious new online grocery store, Groceryrun.com.au, is being launched today. It aims to provide more competition for Australia’s leading supermarkets and is claiming its business will “halve grocery bills” of those who shop through it. Groceryrun.com.au says it has conducted a 12-month trial with “CatchOfTheDay” offering groceries as part of a two day monthly shopping event where the company claims it sold on average two grocery items a second and netted over $1 million in 48 hours. CatchOfTheDay... ...Read more »

New Zealand-based dairy giant Fonterra has recalled several batches of its Mainland Tasty cheese after a shard of metal was found in one of its block cheese products. The products in Australia recalled are:   Mainland Extra Tasty block 200gm with a best before date of 28 February 2012 (batch JI) Mainland Extra Tasty block 400gm with a best before date of 28 February 2012 (batch AI). The products in question are sold in Woolworths, Coles, IGA and Franklins supermarkets. Fonterra’s General Manager... ...Read more »

Reports of vegetables from China entering Australia via New Zealand without being labelled as Chinese have sparked calls from a major farming organization in Queensland to demand the New Zealanders cooperate on tighter Country of Origin Labelling (‘CoOL’) to comply with the mandatory Australian CoOL requirements. According to some reports, vegetables grown with food chemicals that are banned in other countries are gaining access to Australian markets through New Zealand. It has been alleged that... ...Read more »

The Australian House of Representatives’ Economics Committee has made a recommendation that a proposed Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling Palm Oil) Bill 2011 should not proceed. The Private Member’s Bill was rejected by the Economics Committee on the basis that the legislation would require the active sponsorship and facilitation by the Federal Government – which the Federal Government is unwilling to provide. Last month Australian Food News reported on the Federal Government’s... ...Read more »

Wholesale giant Metcash is free to complete its acquisition of Australian supermarket chain Franklins after the Federal Court refused an application by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) for an injunction to prevent the acquisition taking place. The Federal Court also granted an expedited timetable for the appeal hearing with a three day hearing scheduled for 24 October 2011. As a result, Franklins parent company Pick n Pay can now agree with Metcash to waive the condition... ...Read more »

Japanese soft drink company Asahi Beverages Australia Pty Ltd and Woolworths Supermarkets have announced an immediate recall of several home branded fruit juices over fears that they may contain metal shavings. The products in question are Woolworths’ Apple Time Juice Varieties with the following best before dates: Apple Time Apple (2 litre) 28/05/2012, Apple Time Apple Mango (2 litre) 28/05/2012, Apple Time Triple Berries (2 litre) 28/05/2012. These products have been recalled in Queensland... ...Read more »

Projections of how carbon tax will affect commodity prices have been released through the Australian Government Treasury office. In contrast to goods such as electricity and gas, food prices are estimated to increase minimally. According to the Treasury’s new carbon price model, the majority of food product prices will rise. According to the Treasury’s carbon pricing report, the impact of carbon tax on the price milk is estimated to be the equivalent of a 1 cent price rise. Fruit, vegetables,... ...Read more »

Food businesses in New South Wales have been told to clean up their act after a large number of penalty notices were issued to those failing to maintain adequate hand-washing facilities. Over the past 12 months, there have been about 170 offences related to handwashing listed on New South Wales Food Authority’s ‘Name and Shame’ register. Federal Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson said, “Hand-washing is at the very foundation of correct and safe food handling. Just this... ...Read more »

Representing some of Australia’s leading health groups, the Alcohol Policy Coalition (APC) released a paper today challenging a commonly-held belief that red wine is beneficial for preventing cardiovascular disease. According to the ACP’s paper, titled Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease and Alcohol Consumption the potential for any benefit to the heart from red wine is “misunderstood”. The APC paper says that, although red wine contains antioxidants, it is “not a good source of antioxidants... ...Read more »