Australian Food News

KFC Australia has announced its intention to switch from using imported palm oil to cook its food to Australian grown and locally sourced canola oil. KFC said the shift to high-oleic canola oil “will help support Australian farmers, and won’t change the taste of its food.” KFC has been trialling the new oil in Tasmanian [...]

Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) has announced new deals with global brewers Grupo Modelo, Carlsberg and Molson Coors to distribute for Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. Publicly-listed Coca-Cola Amatil bottles and distributes The Coca-Cola Company soft drinks and other beverages in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In a shareholder [...]

A coalition of Victorian-based health groups, the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC), has criticised fast food giant McDonalds for promoting its brand through a junior football program in Victoria. The OPC is partly funded by the Victorian Government through its agency VicHealth. The ‘Mac Pack’ is a sporting program created by McDonald’s. The program uses prominent [...]

Taxes on unhealthy ‘food and drinks’ would need to be at least 20 per cent to have a significant effect on diet-related conditions such as obesity and heart disease, according to a new report by UK academic experts. Dr Oliver Mytton and colleagues at the University of Oxford, in England, examined existing evidence on the [...]

A new study by scientists at the University California Los Angeles (UCLA) has found that a diet high in fructose can hamper memory and learning in lab rats. However, according to the same study, omega-3 fatty acids can counteract this disruption in the animals. The peer-reviewed Journal of Physiology published the findings in its 15 [...]

The findings of a new Swedish study, published this week, suggest that a diet high in saturated fatty acids could have a better effect on blood sugar levels and blood lipids than previously thought. Results of the two-year dietary study, led by Hans Guldbrand, general practitioner, and Fredrik Nyström, professor of Internal Medicine at Linköping [...]

While food ministers in the UK continue to debate the pros and cons of Traffic Light labelling and Daily Intake Guides, some of the arguments regarding food product labelling may soon be superfluous in light of new technology developed in Australia. A new iPhone app, due to be launched in September 2012, enables consumers to [...]

UK health ministers have launched a nationwide consultation on front-of-pack food product labelling in a new push to see all food UK food manufacturers and retailers using the same system to provide nutritional information. Currently in the UK it is not a legal requirement to declare Nutritional information on the product packaging. However, companies are [...]

The National Food Allergy Awareness Week, to raise awareness about food allergies in Australia, was launched in Sydney yesterday (14 May 2012) by NSW Minister for Primary Industries and Small Business, Katrina Hodgkinson. Food Allergy Awareness Week is an initiative of Anaphylaxis Australia. The week helps to promote and develop through education, research and ongoing [...]

Tasmanian dairy processor Tamar Valley Dairy has reportedly secured a five-year deal to supply 3,000 tonnes of yoghurt each year to Australian supermarket chain Coles. Tamar Valley Dairy is a family operated company specialising in the production of probiotic yoghurts and cultured milk drinks. According to media reports, the five-year deal will see Tamar Valley [...]

Australian supermarket Coles has announced that 100 per cent of its private label (home brand) products are being re-labelled to make life easier for customers with food allergies. The supermarket’s new labelling consists of: Bolding allergens in the ingredients listed on its private label products. An allergen summary statement on every private label product (i.e. [...]

Despite it already being 10 years in the making, the due date for the completion of the revised draft Standard for Nutrition Health and Related Claims (Standards 1.2.7 – Proposal P293) has been extended from 14 May 2012 to 31 July 2012. Under the proposed revised Standard,  all health claims would need to be scientifically [...]

Australian government agency Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has assessed two new applications to change the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. One application is to allow irradiation of fresh tomato and fresh capsicum for quarantine purposes. A second application is to remove current restrictions on package sizes of low fat cheese enriched with [...]

In an exclusive interview with Australian Food News, internationally acclaimed authority on consumer protection and food security, Associate Professor Patrick Wall, discusses the current challenges in delivering food safety in a global food chain. Patrick Wall is Associate Professor of Public Health in University College Dublin’s  School of Public Health and Population Sciences. Professor Wall [...]

A new education and compliance campaign launched by The Fair Work Ombudsman will target up to 120 cafes, restaurants and takeaway food outlets in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory over the next four months. Fair Work inspectors will audit 50 employers in Adelaide’s Gouger and Rundle streets and at North Adelaide, a [...]

Australian business entrepreneur Dick Smith, director of the Dick Smith Foods brand, has said that people should stop blaming Coles and Woolworths for their size and market dominance. In a submission to the Senate Select Committee Inquiry into Australia’s Food Processing Sector, Mr Smith said Coles and Woolworths’ market dominance is a result of Australian [...]

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has launched a new ‘Future of Packaging’ White Paper, which aims to support a more strategic and proactive role for the food industry in packaging sustainability. The AFGC developed the white paper in consultation with stakeholders including government, retailers, packaging manufacturers, recyclers and consumers, to drive more strategic [...]

A new report published by the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council has blamed the simplification of complex nutritional messages for grain foods like bread and pasta becoming the ‘scapegoat’ for weight gain and bloating. The report, ‘What’s to Gain from Grains?’, was developed by the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council. Authorities in the field of nutrition [...]

An expected rise in prosperity, purchasing power and desire for packaged liquid dairy products among  low-income consumers in developing countries is the Australian dairy industry’s next big growth opportunity, according to new research from food processing and packaging company Tetra Pak. According to Tetra Pak’s latest  Dairy Index study, consumption by low-income consumers in developing [...]

The third tranche of the Australian Government’s anti-dumping legislation through the  was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday (9 May 2012). Dumping occurs when goods are imported into the domestic market at below production cost or through unlawful subsidies from other foreign governments. Australian food manufacturers are hit hard by these practices. The Government’s [...]