Industry News
Gruppo Campari acquires Copack
Gruppo Campari has acquired the business assets of Copack Beverage, a leading Australian contract beverage packer, for $20 million. [ + ]
Applications open for Premier’s NSW Export Awards
Applications for the 2013 Premier’s NSW Export Awards are now open. Several changes have been made to the Awards, including a brand new category being added. [ + ]
Fruit growers benefit from energy-efficiency grant
An energy-efficiency grant could help Australian fruit growers reduce their costs by up to 20%. APAL has received $636,970 in funding as part of the Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program. [ + ]
Coles in trouble again over misleading labelling
Coles has paid $61,200 in fines after being accused by the ACCC of displaying misleading country-of-origin labelling on fresh produce in five of its stores. [ + ]
New CEFC finance agreement to benefit manufacturers
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has committed $50 million in Energy Efficiency Loans (EELs) to help businesses improve their energy productivity. [ + ]
Positive year ahead for Australian dairy, Rabobank predicts
Despite a difficult past season, the Australian dairy industry can look forward to a more positive year ahead, according to Rabobank’s Dairy Quarterly report. [ + ]
Fish shipment fresh after 33-day sea journey
Global Fresh Foods has sent its first commercial sea shipment of fresh fish to Tokyo from Chile using its fuel-cell based oxygen management system. The shipment will spend up to 33 days at sea before arriving in Japan. [ + ]
Food and drink manufacturing robot app goes live
The UK food and drink industry’s careers campaign Taste Success has launched the MunchBot app, which aims to encourage young people to consider a career as an engineer in the industry. [ + ]
Competititveness and Sustainable Growth Report released
The AFGC has released the first Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth Report, which it says is the most detailed financial health check ever undertaken of Australia’s $110 billion food and grocery manufacturing sector. [ + ]
Spring Gully Foods no longer in a pickle
Spring Gully Foods is back under family control after several months under the administration of Meertens. The company’s 300 creditors voted to accept a DoCA which will return them 100 cents in the dollar on outstanding debts. [ + ]
Nestlé acts to improve European youth unemployment
Nestlé has launched a youth employment initiative in Europe which will offer jobs and create thousands of apprenticeships and traineeships by 2016. [ + ]
Industry collaboration key to sustainability
The food industry needs to collaborate more to address sustainability challenges. This was one of the key messages of the European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit. [ + ]
Tetra Pak goes green in Brazil
Tetra Pak says it plans to sign an agreement with Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resins producer in the Americas, for the supply of LDPE made from sugar cane to its packaging material factories in Brazil. [ + ]
Sanitarium responds to low-fibre accusation
Sanitarium has defended its Up&Go liquid breakfast drink after consumer watchdog Choice called its ‘high in fibre’ claim into question in an article that critiqued the nutritional claims of liquid breakfasts. [ + ]
Do GM crops equal better yields? UC researchers say no
North American crop production has fallen behind that of Western Europe, despite US farmers using genetically modified seed and more pesticide, University of Canterbury researchers have found. [ + ]