Tetra Pak's Tetra Evero Aseptic has been awarded a 2014 International Forum Packaging Design Award (iF award). The product is said to be the world's first aseptic carton bottle for ambient white milk. [ + ]

The plastic packaging industry in Japan is growing rapidly, with flexible and rigid plastic packaging demand set to increase by 6.9 billion packs between 2012 and 2017. [ + ]

Nominations are now open for the SCLAA's 2014 Supply Chain Optimisation Scholarship. The scholarship winner will receive a free place in the 2014 Supply Chain Optimisation course at the University of Queensland. [ + ]

Daily exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), even at very low concentrations, has been shown to cause foetal abnormalities in primates, raising questions about its effects on human foetuses. [ + ]

It's what we've all been fearing: the hipster vegetable revolution is upon us. According to market research from AUSVEG, consumers are increasingly favouring obscure vegetables to spice up their midweek dinners. [ + ]

Japan, home of canned bread, square watermelons and jellyfish ice-cream, recently went one step further to create - wait for it - healthy cola. [ + ]

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has announced a new Traceability supplement as part of its Journal of Food Science. The supplement includes articles, summaries and a white paper. [ + ]

The New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) is welcoming nominations for the 2014 NZIFST Food Industry Excellence Awards. The awards will be presented at the NZIFST Conference. [ + ]

Eating strawberries can lower your cholesterol, researchers have found, but you may need to eat quite a lot - in the order of half a kilo each day - to have the desired effect. [ + ]

Treating baby food puree with high-pressure thermal sterilisation (HPTS) instead of conventional thermal processing showed a reduction of furan, food scientists from the Technische Universität Berlin have found. [ + ]

Fonterra's new $120 million UHT milk processing facility will be up and running shortly, following 12 months of construction. The site's first Anchor UHT product is expected to roll off the line in March. [ + ]

The predicted global coffee shortage has sparked panic buying, after fund buying led to the equivalent of the total global annual coffee production being traded in a five-day period last week. [ + ]

GEA Food Solutions and SOCACEL have joined forces to develop a new vacuum ham massager. The two companies say the alliance's synergy will result in a massager that sets high standards for performance, reliability and quality. [ + ]

Non-destructive food quality testing could soon be a reality, thanks to researchers from the University of Western Australia. The technique is similar to using infrared thermometers to detect body temperature. [ + ]

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has issued a 'save the date' notice for the biennial AIP National Conference, to be held on 17 and 18 June at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney. [ + ]