The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), the peak industry body for Australia’s food and grocery industry has announced the formation of a new forum designed to promote the health benefits of breakfast cereals for Australian consumers. Australia’s breakfast cereal products market is worth over $1.2 billion in retail sales per annum and employs over 3000 people, mainly in the rural and regional areas. The AFGC has initiated with The Australian Breakfast Cereal Manufacturers Forum (ABCMF)... ...Read more »

Swiss-owned food giant Nestle Australia has sold its Australian-based Peters Ice Cream business to Australian Food Group, a company owned by Private Equity group Pacific Equity Partners (PEP). Following a sales process over recent months, Nestle Australia announced at the end of June 2012 that it had agreed to sell Peters, including its Mulgrave factory in Victoria, to Sydney-based PEP for an undisclosed sum. PEP has acquired the long-term licence to market and sell in Australia household brands... ...Read more »

The global baby food market is forecast to reach US$38.7 billion by 2015, according to a recent report by leading research group A.M Mindpower solutions. Additional evidence, through observations of the baby food market in Australia and elsewhere, also supports the view that strong global growth rate in baby food markets is set to continue and will likely be driven from the Asia-Pacific region. Trends in Australia – Pharmacy ‘home brands’ and organic products In Australia, companies including... ...Read more »

The iconic Australian chocolate and confectionery brand Darrell Lea has been placed into voluntary administration by its directors. The company, started 85 years ago by the same family from a small factory under the first arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, now has 69 stores owned or licensed across Australia, whilst its well-known products are sold in more than 1,800 retail outlets in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The business employs about 700 people. Insolvency specialists PPB Advisory... ...Read more »

Nestlé is using zero gravity research to develop its understanding of the foam technology used in its products. The study could help Nestlé scientists create better air bubbles in chocolate, coffee, dairy and pet food. Scientists at the Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland are working with the European Space Agency (ESA) on foam experiments designed to produce the ‘perfect’ bubble. Bubbles are added to products, such as chocolate mousse and coffee froth, to make the right texture or consistency. The... ...Read more »

Nestlé has responded to a Fair Labor Association (FLA) report, compiled in November 2011, which found that Nestlé’s cocoa supply chain included the use of child labour in the Ivory Coast. Nestlé has said that it will work with its partner, the International Cocoa Initiative, a foundation that works with the cocoa industry, civil society and trade unions, to set up a new monitoring and remedy scheme recommended by the FLA. In a media release last week, Nestlé and its partners state that they... ...Read more »

An international group of public health academics has collaborated in research finding that provocatively describes the role of big companies in low- to middle-income (LMIC) countries as a “manufacturing epidemic”. The article, commissioned by peer-reviewed online publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS) for their ‘Big Food’ series, was published yesterday in the PLoS Medicine Journal. The research suggests that low and middle-income countries are being “targeted” by large processed-food... ...Read more »

Suppliers, manufacturers and distributors in Australasia’s foodservice sector are collaborating to improve supply chain processes and standards. Key players in the foodservice sector have formed the ‘GS1 Australasian Foodservice Industry Steering Group’ (FISG). The group’s aim is to drive improvements in cost efficiencies, methodologies and traceability in the foodservice supply chain. FISG members include PFD Food Services, GS1 Australia, McCain, Bidvest, Snap Fresh, NAFDA, Food... ...Read more »

One of the world’s largest food and nutrition companies, Nestlé, has announced its intention to acquire US-based global nutrition company Pfizer Nutrition for US$11.85 billion (AU$11.5 billion). In its announcement, Nestlé said the acquisition (which is subject to regulatory approval) is a strategic move to enhance its position in global infant nutrition. Pfizer Nutrition is a global pediatric nutrition company with a portfolio of brands encompassing everyday and specialty infant and toddler... ...Read more »

Nestlé has announced it is collaborating with the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, in Switzerland, to examine the microscopic ice crystals found in both snow and ice cream. In a media release, Nestlé said its new collaboration aims to help solve a universal problem for all ice cream manufacturers: how to maintain the product’s original texture and structure for longer. The research relies on the only x-ray tomography machine in the world that allows long-term observation of tiny particles... ...Read more »