KR Castlemaine has  launched a campaign for a pre-packaged ham product with the claim to be “natural”, using new technologies to become the “first Australian pre-packaged ham that is artificially preservative-free”. This new range of ham is said to be produced using cutting-edge High Pressure Pasteurisation (HPP) technology. The company claims that it “does not use heat”, thereby preserving texture and nutritional value for the product. HR Castlemaine also says  the new technology ... ...Read more »

Australian Pork Ltd’s annual Australian Ham Week, 3-10 July, kicks off again with the winners of the nationwide quest to name the country’s very best Australian ham. APL, the national representative body for pork producers, said the week was an opportunity to celebrate Australia’s excellent home-made ham, and for consumers to take advantage of its Australian PorkMark trademarked label to identify wholly Australian pork products. “Our research shows that 95 per cent of consumers want... ...Read more »

Primo Smallgoods is the subject of reported interest from private-equity firms, including Blackstone and Affinity Equity Partners. A Reuters report said last week that private-equity firms are looking to buy 50% of family-owned Primo, which earlier this year reportedly looked at an IPO. Sources told Reuters that Primo’s owners had hired Macquarie Capital to look at an IPO and a sale and approached around ten possible bidders. However, the process was put on hold, the sources said, as Primo... ...Read more »

Melbourne has its first fully free-range deli, with the opening of Bezela Foodstore in Carlton. The deli, run by locals Jessica Sissons and Tim Merrett, will stock exclusively free-range produce, with a full spread of cruelty-free deli products. “Unless the animals used for meat and egg production have been raised in a paddock, as they should be, the smallgoods and the meat used in the take-home meals do not make it into the store,” Sissons said. Stocking products from Barossa Fine Foods and... ...Read more »

This Saturday August 7, The Sydney Morning Herald Growers’ Market will feature SBS TV’s Gourmet Farmer, chef and author Matthew Evans. Evans will be on stage at 8.30am and 9.30am to present cooking demonstrations inspired by market produce. He’ll be joined by the Crave Sydney International Food Festival director, Joanna Savill. Signed copies of his latest book, The Real Food Companion, will be on sale too. The monthly Growers’ Market is a chance to sample fresh, seasonal produce... ...Read more »

New Zealand’s Regal Salmon has landed the meat and smallgoods award at the 6th annual Food Magazine Challenge Awards with its Regal Smoked Salmon Pastrami. The win for the Kiwi company comes hot on the heels of its success at the iTQi awards in Belgium where the product gained a two-star award. The Food Magazine Challenge Awards recognise and reward industry leaders in their drive for ‘best practice’ food and drink processing in Australia and New Zealand. They also acknowledge those... ...Read more »

One of Queensland’s biggest pig processors will shut today, with the KR Castlemaine factory closing down in Toowoomba. The 98-year-old abattoir was acquired by George Weston Foods’ subsidiary Don after their purchase of KR Castlemaine (now known as Don KRC). It has been closed due to persistent losses, with the factory reportedly making a loss of around $5 million last year and an expected $6 million this year. Toowoomba Historical Society president Maurice French told the ABC the closure... ...Read more »

A NSW Government crackdown on illegal “backyard ” meat processors in Sydney has today shutdown seven unlicensed operators from selling high-risk smallgood products. Inspectors from the NSW Food Authority targeted illicit meat processors, issuing prohibition orders and confiscating almost 120 kilograms of homemade nem chua – a Vietnamese-style fermented pork mince. NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said that it served as a warning to anyone happy to flout the law. “The... ...Read more »

A food monitoring survey of packaged ready-to-eat meat products within the state of New South Wales found almost all samples complied with health standards.The NSW Food Authority survey showed just 7 of the 154 packaged smallgoods products surveyed were just above the regulatory limit for bacterial quality. “The levels of bacteria found in these samples were very low and the Food Authority visited each of the premises where these meats were manufactured to ensure the producers were complying... ...Read more »

A pioneering business community initiative is on-track to achieve major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from four of the Castelmaine’s largest businesses by 2010. CSIRO has discovered that smallgoods manufacturer, Don KRC, could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while doubling production capacity; a key finding that could be beneficial to food producers across the country. Cited as a case study in the Garnaut Climate Change Review, the Maine’s Power project partnered CSIRO, local... ...Read more »