The Thai sugar group Mitr Phol has acquired a controlling stake in four Australian sugar mills through the takeover of MSF Sugar. MSF Sugar was formerly known as the Maryborough Sugar Factory and is based in the far north of Queensland. Mitr Phol’s acquisition price for its controlling shareholding stake was more than AU$300 Million. Australian Food News reported in January 2012 that MSF sugar had accepted a $4.45 per share takeover offer by Mitr Phol. According to its latest takeover bid notification... ...Read more »

One of Australia’s leading diabetes experts has criticized a reported study published in the journal Nature, on February 2, 2012 that was written by Dr Robert Lustig, Dr Laura Schmidt and Dr Claire Brindis of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). The co-authors  claimed that high consumption of sugar “largely mirrors the effects of drinking too much alcohol” and should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco. Dr Alan Barclay, head of research at the Australian Diabetes Council,... ...Read more »

A report on foreign investment in Australia from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has found that foreign firms accounted for ownership of about half of the nation’s dairy, sugar and red meat sectors. The report, commissioned by the Australian Government’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), also says that current foreign ownership of agricultural land, business and water entitlements in Australia is comparable... ...Read more »

The Directors of Australia’s only ASX-listed sugar miller, MSF Sugar (formerly Maryborough Sugar Factory Limited), have accepted a A$4.45 per share takeover offer by Thai sugar company Mitr Phol. In a media statement released yesterday, the company’s directors recommended that MSF Sugar shareholders also accept the offer in the absence of a superior proposal. According to Mitr Phol’s most recent shareholder notice (lodged with the ASX on 17 January 2012), Mitr Phol currently owns 26.9 per... ...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 »

Researchers from The Australian National University have discovered a new treatment for Type-1 diabetes by using a new form of complex sugar, heparan sulphate. Diabetes Type-1 is an auto-immune disease which currently affects some 130,000 Australians. The research breakthrough has been published today in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, a leading American medical journal. Dr Charmaine Simeonovic and Professor Christopher Parish from The John Curtin School of Medical Research have identified... ...Read more »

The European Parliament has voted in favour of putting in place tighter legislation on the composition of fruit juices, ensuring companies stick to stricter labelling guidelines. Companies will no longer be able to add sugar and sweeteners to drinks labelled as “fruit juices” under the EU’s new labelling rules. It is already industry practice not to add sugar to juices, and that practice is now being written into law. The new legislation will apply to all juice products regardless of whether... ...Read more »

Consumer concerns surrounding health issues such as obesity are giving the confectionery markets a challenging time in the EU, where sales of sugar and gum confectionery have remained stagnant over the past four years (2008-2011), from €8.6 billion in 2008 to an estimated €8.9billion in 2011. According to global market research company Mintel’s latest research, sales declined the most in mature markets such as Germany, which despite remaining the largest market in Europe has seen sales drop... ...Read more »

Sucrogen, the Australian-based sugar subsidiary of Singapore-listed Wilmar International Limited, has been given approval to purchase Proserpine Sugar Mill by the mill’s creditors, Westpac Bank. Sucrogen’s offer comprised a headline price of A$120 million, plus a working capital adjustment, normal settlement adjustments, as well as absorption of the mill’s normal operating costs and certain critical capital expenditure incurred from 31 October 2011. Sucrogen CEO Ian Glasson said the creditors’... ...Read more »

Scientific researchers have formulated a new type of sugar that might help prevent heart disease, according to latest research from The University of Melbourne, in Australia. Dr Corin Storkey and Professor Carl Schiesser from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology at The University of Melbourne, together with Professor Michael Davies from the Heart Research Institute, in Sydney, have formulated promising heart disease preventatives based on sugar and selenium. Their... ...Read more »