Australian restaurants could soon be forced to follow some of their American counterparts by posting calorie counts on menus. The Preventative Health Taskforce, set up to provide recommendations to the Federal Government on health policy going forward, is contemplating a number of labelling approaches. The Taskforce is to submit the ‘National Preventative Health Strategy’ to the Department of Health and Ageing in June this year, with many potential changes affecting all in the food industry. Chairman... ...Read more »

Kraft Australia has requested approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to use phytosterol esters in their low-fat cream cheeses and low-fat processed cheeses. Phytosterol esters, commonly known as plant sterols, are prepared by the reaction of phytosterols with fatty acid methyl esters or free fatty acids. They occur naturally at low levels in common vegetable oils and have been reported as an effective way to reduce cholesterol absorption. Phytosterols are classified as a ‘novel... ...Read more »

Chris Bowen, the Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs, has today announced the details of the Federal Government’s plans for the roll-out of a mandatory unit pricing regime. They include, as anticipated, an exemption for grocers that operate stores no greater than 1000m2, with the law set to be established by July 1, 2009. A transition period of six months will be granted to all retailers impacted by the legislation change. Unit pricing, the display of the price of goods per... ...Read more »

‘G’Day USA’ Australia Week 2009 has commenced with gourmet Australian food and wine from more than 35 Australian food businesses enticing American palates during the annual month-long supermarket promotion being held in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco (1-31 January). Entering its sixth year, G’Day USA is the largest foreign country promotion held annually in the US. This year’s supermarket promotion has been expanded to include San Francisco’s renowned... ...Read more »

Major Australian based food and beverage manufacturers have, for the first time, publicly made available company action plans which spell out in black and white how and when they will market a range of their products. Australian Food and Grocery Council CEO Kate Carnell said that the commitment is in-line with the Council’s recently announced Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative. “Companies participating in this initiative have publicly committed to advertise to children... ...Read more »

Australian Food News is all about bringing readers the latest news about the issues, products & people that can impact on their food business. We thank all our contributors who have supplied a wealth of information & stories during 2008 and look forward to bringing you even more valuable news in 2009. So how do you make the headlines on these pages? It’s pretty simple really, send us what’s happening at your company that will be of interest to food retailers & restaurateurs,... ...Read more »

Food retailers & restaurateurs will be watching their own cash registers to see evidence of Roy Morgan research which indicated that Australian consumer confidence increased for the fourth week in a row, as the Government’s stimulus packages was delivered to Australian families and pensioners. The latest weekly Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating increased 1.5 points from the previous week, to 99.9. The rating was 26.9 points below the average index registered in December 2007, but was... ...Read more »

Tighter economic conditions are impacting some organic sectors and producers, and by-passing others, according to the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA). Speculation on whether organic items are in the ‘dispensable luxury’ category when consumer spending curbs, have not been upheld in the organic meat and dairy sectors, but fruit and veg may be under pressure. Alister Ferguson, National Sales Manager for The Australian Organic Meat Company (Sanger Australia), said sales show Australian... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), the nation’s peak body representing food and grocery manufacturers, believes the Federal Government’s plans to cut greenhouse emissions by between 5 and 15 per cent by 2020 still has the potential to compromise the domestic and international competitiveness of Australia’s largest manufacturing industry. The government’s White Paper was released today, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd indicating the plan to cut emissions by at least... ...Read more »

Australia’s Consumer Affairs Minister, Chris Bowen, has told reporters in Sydney today that the framework for a national unit pricing scheme is nearing completion and will be revealed early next year. Unit pricing, one of the recommendations from the ACCC’s Grocery Price Inquiry, requires supermarkets and grocers to display the price per unit of measurement e.g. per gram or kilogram as well as the product price for packaged goods. “It’s been the law in Europe for 10 years,... ...Read more »