Joe Hockey has finally resolved the long-running saga of ADM's takeover bid for GrainCorp. [ + ]

The bidding war for Warrnambool Cheese & Butter continues, with Murray Goulburn increasing its takeover offer to $9.50 cash per share, or $533 million in total. [ + ]

Coming first doesn't always mean being a winner. The food and beverage industry beats all other industries when it comes to the number of workplace accidents in Australia. GTAV has launched an app that will help OHS understanding. [ + ]

Roquette has won Most Innovative Food Ingredient at the 2013 Fi Europe Excellence Awards for its Microalgae High Lipid Algal Flour. [ + ]

A Cornell University study found that consumers are willing to pay a premium for products labelled 'free from' something, but only if the packaging includes negative information on whatever the product is free from. [ + ]

Those with a food allergy have a 1.81 in a million chance of dying from anaphylaxis, compared with an 11 in a million chance of being murdered, an Imperial College London study shows. [ + ]

Researchers at the University of Münster and Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology in Germany have identified key regulatory genes in plants that 'switch off' flowering, allowing plants to live longer, grow faster and become bigger. [ + ]

Saputo has convinced Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) to further amend the terms of Saputo's previous offer of $9 cash per share. [ + ]

Sugar Research Australia is inviting researchers and postgraduate students to apply for research funding and scholarships to help build the profitability, productivity and sustainability of the Australian sugarcane industry. [ + ]

For the first time ever, foodpro will be held in Melbourne (in 2014). The event will feature more than 300 food and beverage suppliers and around 10,000 industry visitors. [ + ]

A new report from Smithers Pira estimates the global market for functional and barrier coatings used in paper and board applications will reach $5.1 billion by 2018. Worth $4.2 billion in 2012, the market is expected to increase by almost 420,000 tonnes by 2018. [ + ]

Eight companies have formed a partnership with WWF to encourage the responsible development of bioplastics. The Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance comprises: Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Ford, HJ Heinz Company, Nike, P&G and Unilever. [ + ]

In the US, 20 independent retailers have implemented the third-party HowGood rating system that tells customers just how sustainable a product is. [ + ]

Researchers from across multiple disciplines within the University of Newcastle (UoN), as well as government members and experts from within the Central Coast food and beverage industry, are linking up to develop solutions for complex problems in the food and beverage industry. [ + ]

If you have packaging-related knowledge that you would like to share with the Australian packaging industry, the place to do it is at the Australian Institute of Packaging's National Conference - and the call for papers is now open. [ + ]