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Health warnings on packaged alcohol and a draft standard on nutrition, health and related claims were among the issues discussed at the 11th meeting of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council in May. It was chaired by Senator Jan McLucas, Commonwealth Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing and comprises ministers responsible for food issues in Australia and New Zealand. Matters considered at this meeting included: Strategic direction on the Australian and New
Zealand food regulatory system The document articulates the scope and objectives of the food regulation system, the approach that will be taken to policy development, standard setting and implementation. Further information is available from the Food Regulation Secretariat at www.foodsecretariat.health.gov.au. Newly endorsed Policy Guideline on the Addition
of Substances other than Vitamins and Minerals New initiatives in policy development
Mandatory health warnings on packaged alcohol Review of Draft Standard on Nutrition, Health
and Related Claims Review of the operations of the Ministerial
Council (Reproduced with permission of Food Standards Australia New Zealand) Yellow™ and White Pages® directories honour Australia’s food and beverage industry In 2008, Sensis is recognising Australia’s unique food and beverage industry by dedicating the cover photography of the 2008/09 Yellow™ and White Pages® directories to the theme Celebrating Australian Flavour resulting in a series of 59 colourful covers featuring both well-known and unsung heroes of the food and beverage industry. There is a particular focus on niche and regional producers and manufacturers. Group Manager, White Pages®, Melissa Reynolds believes the Celebrating Australian Flavour theme provides Sensis with an opportunity to recognise Australians who are making outstanding achievements in their local food and beverage industry. “Australia is now so well known for its home-grown food and drink, people often associate certain produce or culinary personalities with a region of Australia. In Celebrating Australian Flavour we are proud to honour a broad cross-section of the colourful food personalities from around the country and give insight into their fascinating stories. Our cover subjects were selected for not only contributing to the food and beverage industry but in many cases also to their local community, be it economically, socially or environmentally,” said Ms Reynolds. The new directories are being progressively released throughout the year. South Australian Premier’s Food Awards The Eleventh Annual South Australian Premier’s Food Awards have
gone ‘green’ in 2008 and are now open for applications.
All South Australian finished food and beverage businesses are being
encouraged to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and enter. SA Agriculture,
Food and Fisheries Minister, Rory McEwen said that
the ‘green’ twist this year will be the focus of the Awards
theme of ‘Growth’. “I would absolutely encourage others to enter as the people we’ve met and the contacts made have been invaluable. The Awards presentation gala dinner is totally inspiring, you realise what a fantastic community of food producers and innovators you belong to in SA” said Graham and Annemarie Brookman. Applications are now open until 1 August 2008, with further information available from www.safoodawards.com.au. San Remo sponsorship to promote healthy eating Netball Australia will join forces with Sam Remo Macaroni Company in playing a leading role in promoting the importance of healthy eating and an active involvement in sport. In a major sponsorship deal, San Remo will support the Australian Netball Team, the Athlete’s Foot National Netball Championships, the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship and take up the naming rights to the NetSetGO! Junior development program aimed at 5–10 year olds. “We believe that SanRemo should be encouraging healthy, balanced eating habits and helping to ensure we have a healthy nation of children,” said San Remo Managing Director Maurice Crotti. Netball Australia CEO, Kate Palmer said that the sponsorship would provide opportunities to promote both the sport and the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle in the community. San Remo will also work with nutritionists and Netball Australia to develop ‘kid-friendly’ healthy recipes using pasta that encourages a balanced diet of carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables that are low in fat. Cadbury Schweppes Ringwood Sustainability Award nominee Cadbury Schweppes, has been rewarded for its commitment to reducing environmental impact by being recognised at the Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards 2008. The Premier’s Sustainability Awards recognise Victorian businesses, community groups, individuals and public bodies that are reducing their environmental footprint and using resources in innovative ways. The company’s Ringwood manufacturing plant was nominated in the large business category at the awards ceremony in April. This was in recognition of the significant and measurable change in minimising the environmental footprint at their Melbourne facility which recorded a 19% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2007, saving over 10 000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of taking 2075 cars off the road. The Cadbury Schweppes manufacturing operations site also made reductions in total water consumption, saving 15% or approximately 19 million litres of water, which is the equivalent to the household water use of 104 average Australians. Joe Croke, Environment Manager, Cadbury Schweppes Ringwood said that the company has committed to a global change in reducing its carbon footprint and the Ringwood plant has set the bar high as a target for other manufacturing plants across Australia. “The savings that we made at Ringwood occurred whilst our production volume increased by more than 10%. This clearly demonstrates that reducing environmental impact does not mean a decrease in manufacturing processes, which is an assumption made by some companies. This nomination was a confidence boost for our company and we hope that the changes we’ve implemented across Australia will receive similar recognition,” said Joe. The independent entry and judging processes were managed by the Banksia Environmental Foundation. Further information on the Premier’s Sustainability Awards and previous winners, is available at www.sustainabilityawards.vic.gov.au. Snack brands back in Australian hands Some of Australia’s most popular snack food brands, including Kettle Chips, Thins, Cheezels, CCs, French Fries, Samboy and Tasty Jacks, have returned to Australian ownership through the purchase of Snack Foods Limited from Arnotts by a group of Australian investors, including senior management of The Real McCoy Snackfood Co (www.therealmaccoy.com.au). The acquisition, which was completed in May, will see the integration of The Real McCoy and Snack Foods businesses, which are likely to be renamed Snack Brands Australia. In addition to Snack Foods’ brands, the new entity will manufacture and distribute The Real McCoy’s existing brands, including Real McCoy’s, Jumpy’s and Burgerman, and will manufacture some of Australia’s leading supermarket brands. It will also continue to distribute the successful Pringles brand throughout Australia. Commenting on the acquisition, Paul Musgrave, Chief Executive Officer of The Real McCoy Snackfood Co, said, “The Real McCoy has achieved significant organic growth over the past 15 years as a focused snack foods business, and the acquisition of Snack Foods Limited is a unique opportunity to continue along this growth path. Snack Foods’ brands have strong consumer recognition; we plan to reinvigorate them with extended marketing, product development and distribution programs and to create a stronger, focused business that is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the fast-paced snack foods market. “We have a number of concrete goals which we intend to meet (by the end of July). These will include significant dialogue with customers and employees to ensure seamless integration and the correct strategy for the future.” Mars and Wrigley merge Mars, Incorporated have announced a merger agreement with Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in a transaction valued at approximately US$23 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Wrigley will become a separate, stand-alone subsidiary of Mars. With $5.4 billion in sales, Wrigley is a world leader in gum and confectionery. Under the terms of the agreement, unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, shareholders of Wrigley will receive $80 in cash for each share of Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. The transaction is fully underwritten and not subject to financing conditions. Financing for the transaction will be provided by Berkshire Hathaway, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. At closing, Berkshire Hathaway will make a minority equity investment in the Wrigley subsidiary. The combined company will have a strong foundation of established brands in six core growth categories – chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum, food, drinks and petcare and include brands such as M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, MARS®, Orbit®, Extra®, Doublemint®, UNCLE BEN’S®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, ROYAL CANIN® and BANFIELD®. The transaction builds the Mars business by strengthening and diversifying its confectionery business and enhancing its potential for growth in the chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery and gum categories. “The strong cultural heritage of two legendary American companies with a shared commitment to innovation, quality and best-in-class global brands provides a great basis for this combination. We are looking forward to continuing on our path of growth by jointly developing those values even further,” said Paul Michaels, global president of Mars, Incorporated. The combination will allow Wrigley to retain its character and focus as a stand-alone business while being part of a larger family corporation that has a strong heritage and an entrepreneurial and global culture. “We understand how important Wrigley’s presence has been for Chicago over the past century and have committed to maintain its headquarters and operations in the city. Mars has a long history of involvement in the greater Chicago economy and community, and we look forward to strengthening these ties by maintaining Wrigley’s heritage there,” added Mr Michaels. Wrigley was founded in Chicago in 1891 and Mars currently operates three plants in Illinois, including a chocolate confectionery plant in Oak Park, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2004. To provide more focus to Mars’ brands and drive growth, the company will be transferring its global non-chocolate confectionery sugar brands, including Starburst® and Skittles®, to Wrigley. Following completion of the transaction, Bill Wrigley Jr. will remain Executive Chairman of Wrigley, reporting to Paul Michaels. He will work closely with Bill Perez, President and Chief Executive Officer, and the current Wrigley management team. The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Wrigley stockholders and certain governmental and agency regulatory clearances. Both parties hope to close the transaction within six to twelve months. DTS Food Laboratories update DTS Food Laboratories and the Australian Food Testing Operations of AsureQuality have combined to create a world class analytical service for the food and allied industries. The combined operation will continue to trade as DTS Food Laboratories and AsureQuality will take a minority shareholding in what will be the largest commercial food testing laboratory in Australia. Further information is available from sales@dtsfoodlabs.com.au. Dairy award to New Zealand researcher The California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF) presented Professor Harjinder Singh, co-director of the Riddet Institute at New Zealand’s Massey University, with the William C. Haines Dairy Science Award in recognition of his contribution to the field of dairy science. It was presented in March at the 10th Cal Poly Dairy Ingredients Symposium in San Francisco where Professor Singh gave a presentation on the use of milk proteins as potential nano-encapsulation and nutrient delivery systems. “Dr Singh is an excellent candidate for this award. He is an authority on milk proteins and their relationship to dairy technology and processing. His research has contributed to the fundamental understanding and functionality of milk proteins and hydrocolloids in food systems, knowledge that has formed the solid basis of the development of new dairy products with improved nutrition, functionality and shelf-life,” said Joseph O’Donnell, executive director of the CDRF. “It is a great honour for me to receive this award recognising excellence in dairy research and development. Many graduate students, postdoctoral scientists and collaborators at Massey University deserve to share the recognition this award presents. The continued support of the New Zealand dairy industry for multidisciplinary, fundamental work on milk protein structure and functionality at Massey University is greatly appreciated. The ability of the dairy industry worldwide to innovate by developing new products with leading edge functionality depends on how well the fundamental knowledge about dairy ingredients can be translated into product development ideas and concepts. Close interactions between industry and academic researchers are essential to make academic research more relevant and to facilitate uptake of knowledge by the dairy industry,” said Professor Singh. Professor Singh holds an endowed Chair in Dairy Science at Massey University, New Zealand. The Riddet Institute, was recently established as a National Centre of Research Excellence in Food Innovation, one of seven such centres sponsored by the New Zealand government and part of a partnership between Massey University, University of Auckland and University of Otago and the Crop and Food Research and AgResearch organisations. He has published 200 peer reviewed papers, 15 book chapters and holds four patents. His research program is directed at generating fundamental knowledge on structures, interactions and functions of dairy components such as milk proteins and the effects of different environments and novel processing technologies. His recent work explores the use of milk proteins and phospholipids in designing nano-encapsulation and delivery systems for bioactive compounds. Established in 2004, the William C. Haines Dairy Science Award was created to recognise individuals who, through their accomplishments in research and development in the field of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, technology, nutrition, and/or engineering, have made a significant contribution to dairy science and the betterment of the dairy industry and consumers of dairy products. Past award winners include David Barbano of Cornell University, Todd Klaenhammer of North Carolina State University and Paul Ross of the Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre. The award is named for William C. Haines, former Vice President of Product Innovation for Dairy Management Inc. A committee of dairy personnel representing producers, processors, manufacturers and researchers make the final award selection. The California Dairy Research Foundation (www.cdrf.org) is
a non-profit corporation that manages the research activities of the
California dairy industry in the areas of basic and applied dairy product
research, nutrition, dairy herd health, and food safety. Nomination
forms for the 2009 award are available online at www.cdrf.org
under “Awards & Giving.” The deadline for 2009
nominations is 22 September 2008. |
