Ron Mines, better known as the Boxologist, shares his knowledge about the best board grade to use for outer boxes.

Fruit and vegetable spoilage is a major industry problem but new technology may be providing a solution. [ + ]

Tofutown has become one of Europe's leading producers of meat and dairy alternatives manufactured from plant sources. The company uses filling technology from SIG Combibloc and uses a CFA 310 filling machine for its range of soy and rice drinks.

The Xtreme Eating Awards highlight chain restaurant meals that are shockingly high in calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar. [ + ]

Super spaghetti is just one of the items on the plate of Adelaide researchers as they develop better quality pasta with improved health benefits. [ + ]

An innovative biogas and water treatment plant has revolutionised JBS Australia's Dinmore meat processing facility, reducing emissions and cutting operational costs by more than $1 million a year.

That eating beef is environmentally costly is by now widely appreciated. My colleagues and I decided to calculate just how costly beef production is for the environment, and how it stacks up against pork, poultry, dairy and eggs. [ + ]

In Germany, the Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines totalling approx 338 million euros (AU$488 million) on 21 sausage manufacturers as well as 33 individuals for conducting illegal price-fixing agreements. [ + ]

Identifying the source of foodborne disease outbreaks is not always easy. Some outbreaks have quite long incubation times and getting consumers to remember exactly what they ate some weeks ago is almost impossible. However, IBM has developed a tool that may help. [ + ]

Cereal and vegetable oil prices have dropped amid improved global supplies, resulting in a drop in the FAO Food Price Index for the third consecutive month, but it is not all good news as meat prices are up and food insecurity is still rife in Africa. [ + ]

Prepacked produce is becoming the norm and contract packers are finding the benefits of weigh price labellers. [ + ]

"Rotting lizard found in baby formula" makes an arresting headline. It has all the features to make it popular - innocent babies, uncaring international food processors, biosecurity threat to the nation … But are we sure its true? [ + ]

Individual nutritional lifestyle choices are changing the bakery market in developed countries like Germany. [ + ]

The resurgence in home baking has increased sales not only for ingredients used for baking from scratch but also the bakery mixes. [ + ]

Innovative packages are the key in the fight against food loss and wastage. More effective barrier layers, germicidal films and freshness indicators are intended to help products to keep for longer and halt consumers' throwaway mentality. However, despite all these improvements, companies have to keep a constant eye on process efficiency and on costs. [ + ]