According to a report from Australian food law specialists FoodLegal, Australian beverage and food companies will need to watch closely what emerges from a recent American lawsuit. Foodlegal has reported that parents of a 13-year-old girl from Maryland, USA, have filed a lawsuit against Nestle USA, manufacturer of ‘Deer Park’ and ‘Poland Spring’ bottled waters with added fluoride, and also against Gerber Products Company, which manufactures baby food and infant formula products containing... ...Read more »

Swiss food group Nestlé has unveiled a new baby formula “capsule system”, BabyNes, which consists of a range of single-serve capsules to feed infants from birth up to three years of age.The new system went on sale in Switzerland last week. The company said that it has been working on the product for the past six years. The machines will be sold for CHF249 (US$284.7), while capsules will cost CHF49 to CHF55 for 26 capsules. Nestlé said the product offers consumers convenience, hygiene... ...Read more »

Australian and New Zealand ministers responsible for the regulation of food and beverages met in Canberra last week, and announced a full review of the Policy Guideline for formulated caffeinated energy drinks. The meeting of the Australia and New ZeaZealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council also discussed closer scrutiny of infant formula, scores on doors for restaurants, a review of the mandatory folate fortification of bread flour, and its response to the Blewett labelling review, which it expects... ...Read more »

The war between manufacturers of infant formula and activist group Greenpeace has taken another step, with industry lobby group the Infant Nutrition Council stating that they are not capable of producing formula without any genetically modified content, and that such a demand is “unrealistic and unworkable” – despite the fact that their products are not accordingly labelled. The statement was made by the Council, which represents a number of baby food manufacturers, including Heinz,... ...Read more »

Independent senator Nick Xenophon and Greens senator Rachel Siewert have lent their support to the Greenpeace campaign against unlabelled GM food content, saying they will introduce a joint bill tightening Australia’s food labelling laws. The two senators joined a group of protesting mothers, and Professor Peter Collignon, Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit and Microbiology Department at Canberra Hospital, to denounce the presence of unlabelled genetically modified foods on Australia’s... ...Read more »

US food giant Heinz is to market and distribute its infant feeding ranges directly to the market, following the termination of an agreement with its sales and marketing agency Ceuta Healthcare. Heinz said yesterday that it ended the agreement with the agency after a strategic review of its infant feeing operation. The move, Heinz said, will create “significant benefits” for both new and existing customers, and comes into effect on the 1 August. “Contacting our customers directly about our infant... ...Read more »

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which develops international food standards, has adopted more than 30 new international standards, codes of practice and guidelines to improve worldwide food safety following a week-long meeting.A brief overview of some of the new standards adopted by the Commission* can be seen below: Reduction of Acrylamide in foods The Commission approved measures for reducing the formation of acrylamide in foods. The Code of Practice will provide national and local authorities,... ...Read more »

A probiotic, or “good bacteria”, isolated by Fonterra, has been found to be effective in reducing the occurrence of eczema in young children by almost 50 per cent.A two-year trial of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain HN001, or DR20, conducted by the University of Otago’s Wellington School of Medicine and Auckland University also showed that by the age of two, infants who had been given DR20, but who contracted eczema, had less severe symptoms than children who had not taken... ...Read more »