One of the America’s biggest baking companies, Hostess Brands, which owns the iconic Twinkies brand, has filed for bankruptcy. The Texas-based company operates 36 bakeries in the United States and employs up to 19,000 people. According to reports, the company owes US$944 million to the U.S. Bakery & Confectionary Union & Industry Pension Fund alone. Hostess Brands announced yesterday (12 January 2012) that it has filed voluntary petitions for reorganisation under Chapter 11 of the U.S.... ...Read more »

A leading Australian dietitian believes the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)’s new Australian Dietary Guidelines is a “missed opportunity to promote healthy eating habits” in Australia. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released the revised guidelines yesterday. Criticism of Approach Australian Dietitian and Nutritionist, Nicole Senior, who has previously been a consultant nutritionist to Unilever Australia, said the guidelines need to be revised so... ...Read more »

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)’s new draft dietary guidelines, published today, have been welcomed by leading Australian scientists and nutrition experts. Emphasis on whole foods rather than nutrients Associate Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos, Head of Department of Dietetics at La Trobe University, in Victoria, said the revised dietary guidelines are “critically important” for healthy eating in Australia. Professor Itsiopoulos said that healthy eating and physical... ...Read more »

The Australian Capital Territory today introduced a Bill into the Legislative Assembly that will allow the names of food businesses in the Territory convicted of an offence against the Food Act to be placed on a publicly available register. The Food Amendment Bill 2011 proposes an amendment also requires businesses in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to display their current registration certificates to have suitably trained food safety supervisors at premises. Additionally, closure notices... ...Read more »

A Canberra food business has been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella, which has so far resulted in five people being hospitalised. The ACT Government’s Health Directorate is currently investigating the outbreak. So far 13 people have been diagnosed with Salmonella, all of whom reported purchasing ready-to-eat food from the implicated business on 25 of 26 November 2011. ACT Chief Health Officer, Dr Paul Kelly said today, “Salmonella has been identified in mayonnaise containing raw egg, with further... ...Read more »

A UK-based independent research organisation, has predicted the food and drink trends set to make an impact in 2012. The top 10 food and drink trends identified by Leatherhead Food Research are: Health and wellness  Leatherhead say that health and wellness is a trend which has had an over-arching influence on the developments of the food and beverage industry in recent years and this influence is set to continue into 2012. Key priorities for companies will include the continued efforts to meet guidelines... ...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 »

Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, announced today that Australia’s leading food manufacturers and retailers have voluntarily agreed to reduce salt levels in soup products over the next three years. The agreement between the Australian Government’s Food and Health Dialogue and leading manufacturers and retailers was reached in Canberra this morning. Leading manufacturers Unilever, Heinz, Campbell Arnotts and Nestle, along with major retailers Woolworths, Coles and... ...Read more »

The European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) has responded to criticism over its ruling that bottled water manufacturers are banned from claiming that water can prevent dehydration. The EFSA is responsible for scientific assessment of food and composition and food marketing claims in Europe. On 16 November 2011 the European Commission published a list of health claims made on foods that refer to the reduction of disease risk (EU No 1170/​2011) that had been rejected in previous months by the... ...Read more »

Australian and U.S. scientists claim to have demonstrated for the first time that a hormone that helps people feel “full” after eating can be delivered into the bloodstream orally. Scientists at Syracuse University, in New York, and Murdoch University, in Perth, Western Australia, led by chemist Dr Robert Doyle had their study published this week in the American Chemical Society’s ‘Journal of Medicinal Chemistry’. The scientists are now hoping to find an application for the hormone as an... ...Read more »