Unilever Australia Corporate Nutritionist and Dietitian Megan Cobcroft called for the food industry to take responsibility for reducing salt, sugar and saturated fat in their products at Tuesday’s FoodLegal Symposium in Sydney. Unilever, with the assistance of the Heart Foundation, began removing salt and trans fats from margarine products in the 1990′s, and created Australia’s first virtually-trans-fat-free spreads.  Since 2002, Unilever reports that their systematic nutritional... ...Read more »

New research from food and grocery expert IGD has revealed that 85% of manufacturers have either boosted their investment in sustainability or kept it the same during the recession despite just over two-fifths (42%) believing it is not yet high enough on the shopper agenda.Three-quarters (76%) of suppliers think that sustainability will play a greater role in their trading relationships with retailers in the near future, while just over 40% view increased global competition for resource (41%) and... ...Read more »

The Food Business Forum, which brings together management from around 400 retailers and manufacturers operating in 150 countries, recently released a mid-year update to its annual Top of Mind report, discovering that corporate social responsibility (CSR) was steadily being pushed down the list of priorities. The global recession has removed it from the head of the list, as pricing, assortment and store formats become top-of-mind. Pre-eminent food industry body CIES, canvassed the top ten business... ...Read more »

Foster’s was rewarded as one of Australia’s leading businesses at the Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI) Awards – held last night at the 10th National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development at Parliament House in Canberra.Senator Nick Sherry, Federal Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, presented the awards, with no food or beverage company managing to claim one of the top three awards. The winners were EnergyAustralia (Best Performance), Sensis (Best New... ...Read more »

The annual Global 100: Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list has featured nine companies that either manufacture or distribute consumer staples, two more than last year. Announced at the Economic Forum in Davos, the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations list was created for the fifth time by Corporate Knights Inc. and Innovest Strategic Value Advisors Inc., and once again did not feature any Australian companies outside of the financial and materials sectors. Coca-Cola (beverages),... ...Read more »

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents the UK’s food and beverage manufacturers, and Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, are working on a formal set of National Occupational Standards which underpin the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in the food and drink industry. Employers are currently consulting on the draft standards, which will define the knowledge and skills that all employees should have to make the industry as a whole,... ...Read more »

Good corporate citizenship reflected by ethical labour, environmental and social practices cannot be ignored by companies looking to differentiate themselves in a competitive market, according to a new survey conducted by TNS Canadian Facts. A key factor in the success of a business over the long term is the trust that is built between the company and consumers. Businesses that breach that trust can often suffer the consequences. In fact, about half of Canadians (49 per cent) say that they are... ...Read more »