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 »

Scientists at the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, have found that the antioxidant properties of decaffeinated coffee may benefit drinkers’ mood and cognitive state, even though the beverage contains no caffeine. The scientists conducted a pilot study on healthy elderly people to compare the cognitive and mood effects of soluble decaffeinated coffee with those of soluble caffeinated coffee and a coffee placebo. The decaffeinated beverages contained variable amounts of chlorogenic... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest cafe group, The Coffee Club, will enter the emerging Chinese coffee drinking market this month, opening a cafe in the Yuexiu District in Guangzhou, with a major franchise license sold to the Guangzhou Golden Swan Enterprise Co. John Lazarou, Director of The Coffee Club, said now is the perfect time for the business to enter China, with a strong coffee culture growing in the country despite most Chinese traditionally drinking tea. “With over 1.3 billion people, a growing middle... ...Read more »

Cafe chain The Coffee Club has announced new additions to its menu for the cooler months, with the ‘Greatest of Britain’ menu featuring a range of hearty British meals. The new menu features meals inspired by traditional British recipes using seasonally-available ingredients, and will be available from May 9 to June 19. The ‘Greatest of Britain’ menu includes a traditional British Beef Pie with mushy peas, mashed potato and gravy, a chicken and mushroom filo, a bacon and zucchini quiche,... ...Read more »

The Fairtrade Association of Australia & New Zealand (FTAANZ) has urged all Aussies to show off their swap to Fairtrade Certified and fair trade products this Fair Trade Fortnight, whether it be their morning coffee, afternoon cuppa, chocolate treat, their t-shirt or even the Mother’s Day gift they give. Fair Trade Fortnight (7-22 May) is Australia’s biggest annual celebration of all things fair trade, recognising the life-changing difference fair trade makes to the lives of more than six... ...Read more »

Coffee made in espresso makers, above all that made from capsules, contains more furan — a toxic, carcinogenic compound — than that made in traditional drip coffee makers, although the levels are still within safe health limits. “Preparing a coffee in a drip coffee maker is not the same as making one in an espresso machine or from capsules, because these give rise to differing levels of furan,” Javier Santos, a professor at the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the University... ...Read more »

Eating a fatty fast food meal is never good for you, but washing that meal down with a coffee is even worse, according to a new University of Guelph study. Researcher Marie-Soleil Beaudoin has discovered not only that a healthy person’s blood sugar levels spike after eating a high-fat meal, but that the spike doubles after having both a fatty meal and caffeinated coffee – jumping to levels similar to those of people at risk for diabetes. “The results tell us that saturated fat interferes... ...Read more »

Nestlé has announced plans to double production of Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee capsules, with a CHF 64 million (A$67.7 million) investment in a new international production line in Spain, creating 150 new jobs. The new line will form part of the Nescafé Dolce Gusto site at the Company’s Nescafé factory in Girona, near Barcelona – the largest Nescafé factory in Europe. It will increase the company’s production to more than 2.5 billion coffee capsules a year by 2012, for export to more... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest café group The Coffee Club has finalised its 2010 financial year results, announcing a 16.6% increase in sales, taking global sales to $264 million for the year. The company attributed its strong Australian performance – almost 32% growth in annual profits – to streamlined business operations and strong consumer demand. The company also described its operations in as perfoming “exceptionally well”, with 300% sales growth for 2010, fuelled by the opening... ...Read more »

Cafe chain The Coffee Club has declared Sydneysiders Australia’s coffee consumption champions, with research revealing more than one in four of the city’s adult population visit cafes 4-7 times per week. The research was undertaken by Nielsen on behalf of The Coffee Club, and clearly shows Sydney is host to Australia’s highest rate of coffee consumption. Kevin El-Hassan from Hurstville, Sydney, enjoys up to four cups of coffee daily and visits coffee outlets at least ten times per week. “It’s... ...Read more »