Three varieties of Kamfen brand noodles  that have been found to have microbial contamination. The brand-owner EKO Australia Pty Ltd has voluntarily issued a consumer-level recall today. The three recalled Kamfen products are: •Kamfen Buckwheat Noodles: 340g in plastic packaging •Kamfen Beijing Noodles – Abalone Chicken Soup Flavour: 160g in plastic packaging •Kamfen Sichuan Noodles – Abalone Chicken Soup Flavour: 160g in plastic packaging Date markings: •Kamfen Buckwheat Noodles:... ...Read more »

New research has outlined the likely growth industries within the Australian food and beverage sector for the next few years, with water, coffee and ice cream forecast to be among the leading lights. Private label goods, meanwhile, are likely to steadily increase their market share as retailers push their own brands harder than ever before. Private label is not as well developed as in many European countries but has been a growing feature of the market, Leatherhead’s Global Food Markets research... ...Read more »

The ACT Government has today outlined its new supermarket policy, which they argue will offer Canberra’s grocery shoppers “more choices, more suburban supermarkets and potentially cheaper prices”.Chief Minister and Minister for Business and Economic Development Jon Stanhope said the plan would guide future supermarket development and, in particular, address a shortage of larger, full-line independent supermarket stores in central Canberra and Gungahlin. “This Implementation... ...Read more »

Unit pricing became mandatory in supermarkets across Australia yesterday, with Competition Minister Dr Craig Emerson suggesting the move will see the average family save at least $96 a year. Unit pricing, a recommendation stemming from the ACCC’s Grocery Inquiry, is where grocery items are priced by reference to common units of measure such as per 100 grams and per 100 millilitres. For example, a 600 gram jar of jam that costs $4.50 would have a unit price of $0.75 per 100 grams. “Unit... ...Read more »

The Federal Government has been told to learn from an “episode of waste and mismanagement” in reference to the GroceryChoice debacle, while the role of the ACCC has come under fire. A leading retail representative has also been criticised in a Senate Inquiry report, with calls for an investigation into a possible breach of the Trade Practices Act. The Inquiry had been launched to look at the handling of the price monitoring website GroceryChoice, an election promise of the Rudd Government. The... ...Read more »

The Federal Government is moving with states and territories to ensure planning laws do not “unjustifiably restrict competition in grocery retailing”, Competition Minister Dr Craig Emerson has advised. A NSW government review of anti-competitive features of its planning and zoning laws is underway and the Federal Government is looking to work with the state government on a range of measures. In its grocery inquiry report, the ACCC found that planning and zoning legislation restricts competition... ...Read more »

New legislation likely to be introduced in the ACT, that will render Coles, Woolworths and IGA ineligible to apply for certain sites, has been questioned by the competition watchdog. The changes to planning laws are designed to improve competition but Graeme Samuel, Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, believes they are incongruous with the principles of open markets. “They are recommendations that would not appear to be consistent with the findings of the ACCC in... ...Read more »

Switching between supermarkets has not been as easy for consumers as they suggested, according to new research from the British branch of market research firm Mintel. Studies last year in the US, Australia and the UK indicated that as many as one in three would actively consider a change to their primary grocery store, but this has yet to eventuate with the study showing just four per cent have switched over the past twelve months. Mintel said that the research indicated grocery discounters are not... ...Read more »

Shoppers are likely to make a number of changes to their shopping habits in coming years with discount grocers and local food producers to be among the big winners, according to research from Britain. The research into likely grocery behaviour in 2012, from grocery analysts IGD, shows more than half (54%) of shoppers will be more careful about spending money in the future than they are currently, with discounters to come onto the radar more often. About three in every ten respondents (29%) said they... ...Read more »

Financial constraints are restricting ‘green and ethical living’, according to the British-based division of market researchers Mintel. Indeed, one in five consumers are not in a financial position to think about green or ethical issues. Even before the recession, price premiums were a barrier to more widespread take-up of green and ethical products and the evidence of altered priorities is that 12% of adults stated that they could no longer afford price premiums for green or ethical... ...Read more »