US scientists have used surveys of public school students from Boston, Massachusetts, to suggest an association between high soft drink consumption and teenage aggression. The research, published today in Injury Prevention (an online scientific journal) suggests that teenagers who drink more than five cans of non-diet, fizzy soft drinks every week are significantly more likely to behave aggressively than teenagers who consume less soft drink, even taking into account factors such as age and gender,... ...Read more »

A food innovation workshop in Werribee, Victoria yesterday attracted more than 120 participants from government, the food industry and research organizations to share ways to make Australian food healthier. The workshop highlighted the work of the ‘Australian Government Food and Health Dialogue’ (the Dialogue) established in March 2009 following a 2007 children’s nutrition and physical activity survey which found that many Australian children were consuming a diet high in salt and saturated... ...Read more »

Recent wet and humid conditions in South Australia and Victoria could be conducive to the Botryosphaeria fungal disease infecting grain heads and causing white grain formation, warns the Australian Government’s Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Growers in areas where white grain was an issue in 2010 – particularly the upper north and eastern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia (SA) and parts of Victoria – are therefore advised to keep an eye out for white head formation in their... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest pizza company Domino’s Pizza announced today that it will display kilojoules content details on all its menus nationally. In a statement released today, CEO Don Meij said that the introduction of kilojoules counts on its menu boards, online ordering site and mobile devices was a positive step towards offering customers greater choice. The news comes just days after Australian fast food chain Hungry Jacks made a similar announcement. “We are serious about ensuring our customers... ...Read more »

McDonald’s Corporation, one of the world’s largest food chains, has announced financial results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2011. The company posted higher revenues, operating income and earnings per share compared with the prior year. McDonald’s Corporation reported that its global comparable sales increased 5 per cent, with the US business up 4.4 per cent, Europe up 4.9 per cent and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa up 3.4 per cent. McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer... ...Read more »

Researchers from the Australian Government’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RRDC) today announced the findings of a study which suggest Australian consumers are more willing to absorb price increases in staple foods such as milk, bread, fruit and vegetables. The RRDC study involved a comprehensive analysis of ‘demand elasticities’ in Australia for 15 food categories. The ‘demand elasticity’ is the degree to which a product’s demand or supply reacts to a change... ...Read more »

Australian food industry design and construction company Wiley has been given the green light for the second stage of a multi-million dollar expansion of smallgoods producer Primo Smallgoods. The project involves construction of the largest Australian factory of its kind, with a combined project floor area of 40,000 square metres on an 8.6 hectare greenfield site in Wacol, west of Brisbane. Stage one was completed recently and included construction of a raw material freezer and distribution chiller,... ...Read more »

  The regulation of Australia’s live export industry will be substantially reformed, following the publication of an independent review late last week. The ‘Farmer review’ was commissioned by the Australian Government in response to broadcasts of shocking video footage of animal cruelty in Indonesia. The regulatory changes recommended by the review will be implemented wholesale, on a domestic and international level, to ensure Australian livestock exported for slaughter are treated... ...Read more »

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman, Rod Sims, told the Federal Senate Economics Legislation Committee this week that the ACCC’s ability to control the misuse of market power by Australia’s leading supermarkets is something that it “really needs to test”. Mr Sims was being questioned by Federal Senators about how much power the consumer watchdog has. He said, “We need to see how it goes. If we form the view that we need more power, then we will be politely saying... ...Read more »

Fonterra Australia, a subsidiary of New Zealand-based multi-national dairy giant Fonterra, has launched a guide for dairy farmers on how to manage the electricity cost increases of carbon pricing. John Doumani, Managing Director of Fonterra Australia New Zealand, today said that the unique electricity demands of dairy farmers need to be understood when it comes to carbon pricing and compensation. He said that Fonterra is advocating for greater assistance for farmers to help them in transition to... ...Read more »