South Australian juice-maker Nippy’s has unveiled plans to spend A$10 million on increasing its packaging capacity and expanding its milk processing operations at Waikerie and Moorouk in the Riverland region. The Riverland adjoins the Murray River near South Australia’s border with Victoria. Nippy’s, which is owned by the Knispel Group, has been awarded a State Government grant of A$2.61 million to help with this expansion. Managing Director of the Knispel Group, Jeff Knispel, said the... ...Read more »

A group of grocery stores in a remote far northwest region of South Australia will be allowed to work together to improve the supply of food under a ruling by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The Mai Wiru Stores Group, in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, will collectively negotiate terms and conditions with suppliers of essential grocery and supermarket items through a collective bargaining arrangement. Collective bargaining refers to two or... ...Read more »

The South Australian Health Minister, John Hill, has announced new results from the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service showing a decline in the percentage of four year-old children in South Australia who are overweight or obese. In 2003, 20.1 percent of four year-olds were overweight or obese; in 2009 that had fallen to 18.3 percent. The Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service measures the height and weight of 4-5 year-old children to monitor the weight status of preschool children... ...Read more »

Feijoas: they say you either love them, or don’t know what they are. Devotees of this South American sub-tropical fruit, also known as the pineapple guava, will know how difficult it is to find them, short of growing them yourself. Popular for a long time in New Zealand, this tart, distinctively-flavoured fruit is gaining in commercial popularity in Australia, but few fruit-growers have adopted the humble shrub most commonly found in front gardens. Best known in Australia as a flavouring in... ...Read more »

South Australian Minister for Fisheries Michael O’Brien said today that South Australia’s reputation as one of the world’s best-managed fisheries put the state in a solid position to benefit from nationwide retail campaigns in support of sustainable seafood. Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths both announced new sustainable-seafood policies last week, timed to coincide with the Marine Stewardship Council’s Sustainable Seafood Day last Friday. Woolworths will work with the MSC, and... ...Read more »

The South Australian State Government has announced a $620,000 investment in a Riverland fruit packing house, in a move it said would add up to $30 million to the state’s gross domestic product and create 150 casual jobs. Regional Development Minister Gail Gago today announced that $620,000 from the $20 million Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund will fast track improvements to the AgriExchange facility at Murtho and create 150 new seasonal jobs. Gago said the Government was contributing 50 percent... ...Read more »

South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Grace Portolesi, today announced a new comprehensive food security strategy for the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands Food Security Strategic Plan 2011-2016 will bring together a variety of government and non government programs and will provide a further $820,000 over two years for new initiatives. “During my first visit to the Lands I was struck by the price... ...Read more »

The South Australian food industry has achieved new records for gross revenue and the total value of production. Agriculture and Food Minister Michael O’Brien said new figures show the sector was worth $3.5 billion in 2009-10, up seven percent to a new record high. O’Brien said the state’s Gross Food Revenue, an indicator of domestic consumption and exports, also reached a record high of $12.4 billion. Gross Food Revenue captures all food sales that have occurred within South Australia,... ...Read more »

Listening to consumers and monitoring consumer trends is vital if the South Australian food industry is to increase its competitiveness, according to a new food industry market intelligence report. South Australian Agriculture and Food Minister Michael O’Brien last night released the report entitled “Food Consumption and Consumers: Who, What, Where and Why?” It was compiled by Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA) to outline the issues that are shaping consumer trends across... ...Read more »

South Australian Agriculture and Food Minister Michael O’Brien said last night that moves towards vitamin D fortified mushrooms would bolster the South Australian mushroom industry, an important supplier for Australia’s second-biggest vegetable crop. The Australian Mushroom Growers Association said in May that the industry was preparing to adopt the new fortification technology, which raises vitamin D levels in mushrooms by exposing them to flashes of UV light. While wild mushrooms are... ...Read more »