Australia is presently suffering a severe shortage of CO2 required for soft drinks to bubble. Ironically, the Australian Federal government recently passing a law to impose a carbon tax (still to come into effect) and this law aims to discourage production of carbon dioxide (CO2). In actual fact, the current shortage is  a consequence of necessary State government protective measures responding to non-comformances with environmental safety laws  by an upstream supplier to the CO2 plant.The temporary... ...Read more »

A report commissioned by the Australian Government has found that its own alcohol guidelines are considered “unrealistic” and “confusing”. The report, published by market research company Horizon Research, evaluated effectiveness of the government’s ‘Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol’ in educating Australians about the health risks of excessive alcohol consumption. The guidelines were released by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)... ...Read more »

The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), has called for a ban on the sale of premixed alcohol and energy drink (AED) products in Australia. Research into consumption habits, commissioned by FARE and undertaken by Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, found that young people in Australia are regularly consuming between three and five alcohol and energy drinks a night, and some drinking as many as ten. Turning Point’s lead researcher, Amy Pennay, said that mixing alcohol and energy... ...Read more »

The program for this year’s National Organic Week (NOW) launches today; themed ‘Be Organic: Taste the Difference, Feel the Difference, Make a Difference.’ The week promises to be a celebration of our growing organic industry, which is tipped by independent research house IBIS World as one of the fastest growth industries in Australia in 2010. Now in its third year, industry associations the Centre for Organic & Resource Enterprises (CORE) and Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA)... ...Read more »

According the recently released 2010 Wider Beverages Report by leading market information company Nielsen; the latest trends in the Australian beverage market reflects a world where people are spending more on their favourite beverages but overall consuming less. The report reviews the wider beverage market in Australia, covering milk to cordial; liquor stores to corner shops. The report illustrates that there has been a decline in beverage volume sales per capita versus the same time five years... ...Read more »

Men’s Health has released a run-down of the 20 unhealthiest drinks currently available in America in their popular Eat This Not That section. The feature compares drinks across a variety of categories – including functional drinks, smart water, energy drinks, coffee, smoothies and shakes – to snackfoods with equivalent calories. Topping the list at number 1 is the Coldstone PB&C 24fl oz (just over 700ml) thickshake, which weighs in at 2010 calories – the entire recommended... ...Read more »

The High Court of Australia has ordered Lion Nathan National Foods to scrap the word ‘Barefoot’ on its Barefoot Radler beer range, after losing a trademark case against US wine giant E. & J. Gallo Winery. Gallo is the current registered owner of the registered trade mark ‘Barefoot’ and took the brewer to the Federal Court more than two years ago, claiming Lion Nathan’s Barefoot Radler brand infringed Gallo Winery’s ‘barefoot’ trademark, used to... ...Read more »

Brazilian orange juice manufacturers Citrosuco and Citrovita announced earlier this week their plans to merge to form the biggest orange juice producer in the world with sales exceeding two billion reais ($A1.23 billion). Chief Executive of Citrosuco Tales Lemos Cubero told Estado news agency that after the merge, the new company will have the capacity to produce 25 per cent of all orange juice in the world. The two companies Citrosuco and Citrovita will each have 50 per cent stakes in the new company.... ...Read more »

After a solid start to the financial year, Lion Nathan looks strong against drinks giant and leading rival Foster’s after posting an almost 7 per cent rise on the prior corresponding period. Kirin, which now owns Lion Nathan, National Foods and Dairy Farmers declared Lion’s Australian and New Zealand business delivered revenue of $687 million for the three months to the end of December, a growth of 6.6 per cent compared to the same period one year ago. According to The Australian, this... ...Read more »

A new survey of 1,800 chefs has discovered that ‘beer sommeliers’ will represent one of the hottest trends in drinks at restaurants next year. The National Restaurant Association revealed that alcohol has gained a firm foothold among top restaurant menu trends. According to the survey, locally produced wine and beer is the fifth hottest trend on restaurant menus in 2010, and culinary cocktails and artisan liquor both rank in the top 20. Additional alcohol trends to be seen in restaurants... ...Read more »