Poultry manufacturer Luv-a-Duck Pty Ltd is being taken to the Federal Court of Australia by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC says the company’s claims that its ducks are ‘range reared and grain fed’ are false, misleading and deceptive. Luv-a-Duck claims on its packaging, website and brochures that its birds are ‘grown and grain fed in the spacious Victorian Wimmera Wheatlands’. But the ACCC alleges this is not true and that the ducks do not “have substantial... ...Read more »

Australian-owned and operated Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd will close all its stores across Australia for an hour on Saturday 9 March 2013 for specialised training. Domino’s are remaining mum about exactly what the training will be, but say the move is “the first step in the making of something big”. “What we are planning and training for is the biggest initiative we’ve launched in years and in order for us to meet this challenge, set the bar high and get it right – this closure needs... ...Read more »

Schweppes Australia has launched a new ad campaign to promote the process which gives its soft drinks their “Schweppervescence.” The 60 second video advertisement features two people tumbling through mountains and forests to a dramatic soundtrack that ends with them landing in water and emerging to the surface with the caption “This is Schweppervescence.” Ben Goss, senior brand manager at Schweppes, told creative media outlet Mumbrella that Schweppes had always been about “the sensory experience.” “The... ...Read more »

Australian sparkling wine brand Yellowglen has repositioned itself in a new campaign as “Australia’s Premier House of Sparkling.” With a new website, video marketing and an extravagant competition, Yellowglen’s re-launch aims to market it as Australia’s “premier” sparkling wine. The new campaign gives Australian customers the chance to win a gem from the virtual “House of Sparkling” chandelier on the website. Gems include diamonds, sapphires and rubies and are valued at over $8,500... ...Read more »

US-based soft drink company SodaStream has challenged rival companies PepsiCo and Coca-Cola in its latest campaign, which features an advertisement banned from being aired at the Super Bowl. The SodaStream ad features Coke and Pepsi deliveries of soft drink bursting into pieces, while a customer makes a soda with a SodaStream machine from his own home. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola were both major sponsors of the Super Bowl, and US TV network CBS chose not to run the advertisement. Another SodaStream ad... ...Read more »

Following years of success in the European Union, Europe’s probiotic foods and supplements industry is expected to experience a €130 million decline over the next five years. The pronouncement comes from Euromonitor’s Health and Wellness Editor Ewa Hudson ahead of the presentation she will be delivering at next week’s Probiotech & Microbiota 2013 conference in Brussels. Ms Hudson spoke exclusively with NutraIngredients to inform them that Europe’s probiotic industry decline was likely... ...Read more »

Following the gazettal of new Country of Origin labelling requirements for unpackaged meat this month and the October 2012 launch of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) guide to interpreting country-of-origin claims, consumer group CHOICE has proposed further reforms “to simplify origin claims”. Angela McDougall, CHOICE’s food policy advisor, claims that the current origin labelling provisions are still “confusing with a proliferation of vague and muddy claims”. Under... ...Read more »

Popular food claims such as “natural,” “made with,” and “whole grains” have made the US-based EnviroMedia’s Leanwashing Index’s annual list of food marketing words that mislead consumers. Launched by Enviromedia in 2012, the Leanwashing Index  allows consumers to post and rate the validity of health claims made in advertising, marketing and packaging processed foods on a scale of “authentic” to “bogus.” EnviroMedia launched the Leanwashing Index with input from a panel of... ...Read more »

Kraft Foods Australia has launched a new specially formulated peanut butter with No Added Sugar or Salt, in a new campaign that declares today “National Peanut Butter Day.” Created with health conscious consumers in mind, Kraft Foods No Added Sugar or Salt Peanut Butter is made up of 91 per cent lightly roasted peanuts. It contains high quality hi oleic peanuts, which Kraft Foods claim have a fatty acid combination similar to olive oil, with more of the “good fats, essential to a balanced diet.” Kraft... ...Read more »

Australia’s Woolworths supermarket chain has announced its commitment to have all the wild-caught fish it sells certified by the Marine Stewardship Council by 2015. Sydney’s famous Taronga Park Zoo has teamed up with Woolworths to launch a new program which aims to improve marine conservation in Australia. A spokesperson for Woolworths said that 100 per cent of Select canned tuna, which is 1.2million kg of tuna, will be ‘pole and line’ caught by the end of 2013, substantially reducing the... ...Read more »