Dairy multinational co-operative Fonterra has reported a first-half profit rise of 18 per cent for the six months leading to February 2012. However, the dairy giant’s consumer business profits in New Zealand and Australia have continued to drop. Announcing its results today, Fonterra said its net income rose to NZ$346 million in the six months ended, from NZ$293 million a year earlier. Fonterra cited surging demand from Asia for the strong half year results, adding that the volume of shipments... ...Read more »

Foster’s new chief Ari Mervis told investors this week that SABMiller, which acquired the Australian brewer in December last year, plans to make Foster’s the biggest selling brewer in Australia. Foster’s beer sales fell 4.5 per cent in Australia during the six months leading to December 2011. Speaking at an investors’ meeting this week in London, Mr Mervis, said SABMiller intends for Foster’s to increase its Australian sales by between one and three per cent each year over the next... ...Read more »

Researchers from the University of Scranton, in the United States, say that popcorn contains more of the healthful antioxidant substances called “polyphenols” than fruits and vegetables. The university’s Chemistry Professor, Joe Vinson, presented the findings at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) this week. Previous studies have found low concentrations of free polyphenols in popcorn, but Dr Vinson’s study was the first to calculate total polyphenols... ...Read more »

An independent commission of scientific leaders from 13 countries, including Australia, has released today a detailed set of recommendations to policy makers on how to achieve food security in the face of climate change. The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change (CSACC) has released the report, titled ‘Achieving food security in the face of climate change’. The CSACC report outlines seven recommendations to help governments, agribusiness and food companies deliver evidence... ...Read more »

Australia’s leading pie manufacturers are the latest to have “voluntarily” agreed to reduce salt levels in thier products over the next two years as part of the Australian Government’s Food and Health Dialogue. The Food and Health Dialogue, which comprises leading manufacturers and retailers as well as the Australian Government, met in Canberra on 23 March 2012 to discuss plans to reduce salt content in their food products. Savoury Pies Impacted The Dialogue is currently engaging the savoury... ...Read more »

More than 60 per cent of senior executives in Australia believe the Australian Government should intervene in, and regulate, the activities of Australia’s two leading supermarkets, Woolworths and Coles, according to a survey undertaken by international law firm Baker & McKenzie. Baker and McKenzie surveyed 162 senior executives in Australia to ascertain the hurdles their businesses face, and what actions governments and regulators need to take to ensure that Australians will continue to... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today announced that it does not propose to intervene in Australian-based multinational packaging company Amcor Limited’s proposed AU$238 million takeover of the privately-owned Aperio Group. Amcor and Aperio are two or the leading companies in Australia’s flexible packaging market. According to the ACCC, if the acquisition were to be completed, the merged company would account for in excess of 30 per cent of Australian sales of flexible... ...Read more »

A group of health Australian health and consumer organisations have renewed calls for the Australian Government to introduce legislation on front-of-pack labelling for packaged foods in Australia. The Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance, which represents five leading Australian chronic disease NGOs,  met this week as government consultations continue in the lead-up to an expected announcement on a new labelling system later this year from federal, state and territory governments. In November... ...Read more »

New research from the University of California, in the United States, has found that consumption of certain types of chocolate is linked to some favourable metabolic associations with blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol level. Beatrice Golomb PhD and colleagues at the University of California studied 1,018 men and woman without known cardiovascular disease, diabetes or extremes of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. To measure chocolate consumption, 1,017 of the participants... ...Read more »

Food Standards Australian New Zealand (FSANZ) has called for submissions on three proposed sets of changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Nutritive Substances and Novel Foods: New approach FSANZ has released a consultation paper on a proposed new approach to regulating both ‘nutritive substances’ and ‘novel foods’. Under the current Food Standards Code, ‘nutritive substances’ are “foods that are not normally consumed as food on their own or used as an ingredient”,... ...Read more »