The ABARES “Outlook 2012 conference” to be held in Canberra on 6-7 March 2012 will address significant agricultural developments in global markets. ABARES otherwise known as the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, is organizing the conference which will also examine many policy issues facing the Australian agriculture and fisheries sectors, recent movements in global markets, and future opportunities for Australian producers. ABARES provides government-funded research, analysis... ...Read more »

A research conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University has found that women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes seen during pregnancy that increases the risk for certain pregnancy complications and health problems in the newborn. Moreover, the increased risk for gestational diabetes seen with animal fat and cholesterol appeared to be... ...Read more »

Australian supermarket shoppers continue to rank Aldi as top in providing customer satisfaction out of all the Australian supermarkets. This is according to the latest survey findings from the Australian market research company Roy Morgan. Roy Morgan surveyed the views of 7,533 Australian grocery buyers in the six months to November 2011. Aldi gained in customer satisfaction for the fifth month in a row with 94 per cent of those surveyed saying they were “completely” or “somewhat” satisfied... ...Read more »

Latest statistics published by Australian research survey company Roy Morgan suggest Australians are increasingly choosing natural yoghurt. However, fruit or flavoured yoghurt still remained the most popular amongst survey participants with 52 per cent of consumers eating fruit or flavoured yoghurt in a four week period. Drinking yoghurt or pro-biotic/cultured milk was being consumed by 9 per cent of consumers. The research was based on a survey undertaken by Roy Morgan of 18,483 Australian consumers... ...Read more »

Australian scientists say they have identified new genetic markers that will allow Australian producers to increase the lean meat yield and productivity of their sheep. The research, undertaken by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC) in conjunction with Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), will provide sheep breeders with the ability to use DNA testing early in an animal’s life to identify a wide range of traits, including meat quality. The Sheep CRC research,... ...Read more »

Caffeine toxicity from energy drink consumption is increasing in Australia, particularly among adolescents, according to new research published today in the Medical Journal of Australia. The scientists behind the research, Dr Naren Gunja, a clinical senior toxicologist at the University of Sydney, and Dr Jared Brown, senior poisons specialist at the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre, say the figures would justify tightening of regulation for caffeinated energy drinks in Australia. Their... ...Read more »

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, in the United States, claim to have identified a human receptor that can detect fat – irrespective of taste. Their research suggests that some people may be more sensitive to the presence of fat in foods. The researchers found that people with a particular variant of the CD36 gene are far more sensitive to the presence of fat than others. Their study is available online in the Journal of Lipid Research. The researchers studied 21 people... ...Read more »

A team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center and Columbia University have estimated that a nationwide tax on sweetened beverages in the U.S. would prevent nearly 26,000 deaths each year. Their research was based on the findings of previous U.S. research which estimated that a ‘penny-per-ounce’ tax would reduce consumption of sweetened beverages by 15 per cent over a decade. However, it appears the authors of the later study have... ...Read more »

Queensland Government scientists and researchers from the University of Queensland have discovered new anti-microbial properties in a combination of natural-plant ingredients, including two common native Australian plums. A research team led by QAAFI food scientist Dr Yasmina Sultanbawa has discovered that when small amounts of the kakadu and Queensland Davidson plum are combined with organic acids they display new anti-microbial properties. The researchers are now looking at ways to extend the shelf-life... ...Read more »

EU researchers believe that whey protein’s future potential as a packaging material could reduce or replace the use of petrochemicals in food packaging. Researchers working on the EU’s “Wheylayer” project have developed a whey protein layer to replace a petrochemical-based polymer layer in packaging. The natural ingredients in the whey extend the shelf life of food products, and the whey protein layer is biodegradable. Currently, transparent multilayer films, in which each... ...Read more »