In the December 2011 issue of Food Technology magazine, published by the US-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), contributing Editor A. Elizabeth Sloan writes about the latest whole grain trends in food: 1.     Food marketing claims relating to the benefits of whole grains are now the most sought after health claims on food packages, followed by claims about dietary fiber, according to the Food Marketing Institute’s (FMI) 2011 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report. 2.      The number... ...Read more »

Australian researchers are hoping to produce new wheat varieties that contain higher levels of protein and extra ‘functionality’, without requiring additional fertiliser. They say their research will allow wheat growers in Australia access to non-traditional markets. The research is being funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) with the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA), and is being conducted in conjunction with Murdoch University, in Perth. Currently, Australian... ...Read more »

The 2011 total winter wheat crop is expected to be Australia’s third-largest on record, according to a new industry report released by specialist agribusiness bank, Rabobank. Rabobank estimates the wheat crop at 25.6 million tones for winter, despite variable crop conditions along the east coast and in South Australia. The expected increase in Western Australian production should compensate for the anticipated fall in the East Coast production. Rabobank senior analyst Dean Smith said that Spring... ...Read more »

Researchers from Australia and China are collaborating to improve global food security by mounting a scientific counterattack on the pests and diseases that ravage food and tree crops. The Australian Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity (CRCNPB) is working with two leading Chinese science agencies and a university to curb losses of grain and other vital crops to insects, moulds and plant diseases. The CEO of CRCNPB Dr Simon McKirdy described the collaboration as making good... ...Read more »

Survey findings published this week by Go Grains Health and Nutrition, an advocacy body for the Australian grain industry, appear to indicate that Australians are eating just over half the recommended daily amount of grain-based foods because of concerns about weight gain. Go Grains Health and Nutrition commissioned market research agency Colmar Brunton to undertake a national survey tracking the consumption of grain-based foods, breads, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta and noodles, and legumes in... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced today that it does not intend to oppose Cargill Incorporated’s proposed acquisition from Agrium of the commodity management businesses of AWB Limited. “The ACCC concluded that the proposed acquisition would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition as post-merger Cargill would continue to face competition from a number of significant sources,” ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said. The ACCC conducted a full review of... ...Read more »

Despite floods, locusts and heavy rain, Victoria’s food producers have broken production records for wheat, barley and canola, said Victorian Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh today. Walsh said the season’s results were an absolute credit to the state’s grains industry, which had faced extremely difficult conditions this year. “Although quality suffered because of the wet and results varied from paddock to paddock and farm to farm, the season still produced a big harvest,”... ...Read more »

World food prices surged to a new historic peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month, according to the updated FAO Food Price Index, a commodity basket that regularly tracks monthly changes in global food prices. The Index averaged 231 points in January and was up 3.4 percent from December 2010. This is the highest level (both in real and nominal terms) since FAO started measuring food prices in 1990. Prices of all monitored commodity groups registered strong gains in January, except for... ...Read more »

Global food prices last month reached the highest since records began, exceeding the 2008 highs that sparked riots across the globe, according to figures from the UN. An index of food commodities tracked by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) rose for a sixth straight month to 215 points, above the previous high of 213.5 in June 2008, the agency said in a monthly report. Sugar prices are at their highest in ten years, reaching 182 points and climbing for a third year in a row.... ...Read more »

Four of Australia’s leading research institutions will collaborate closely over the next three years to fast-track development of new ‘healthier’ varieties of three of the world’s most widely cultivated cereal grains. The new ‘High Fibre Grains Cluster’ will focus on wheat, barley and rice. One of the primary research goals is to boost the amount of beneficial compounds, such as beta glucans and arabinoxylans, which are key contributors to the soluble component of dietary fibre in the... ...Read more »