The Foodplus program has been approved for co-funding from the Primary Growth Partnership. The program will investigate how to generate more value from beef carcases. [ + ]

The food safety sector looks set to boom in the coming years, with a new study from the Freedonia Group suggesting that demand for food safety products will rise 8.4% per year to $18 billion in 2016. [ + ]

APPMA has welcomed IDM Instruments and Lantech Asia Pacific as the association’s two newest members. [ + ]

Science writer Julian Cribb warns of a series of ‘tipping points’ - points of no return that the global food system will reach in the next 50 years unless there is a radical change to farming systems, cities and the world diet. [ + ]

Nuts are back on the menu for dieters, following the release of a Nuts for Life health report that busts the diet myth that eating nuts makes you fat. [ + ]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has decided not to oppose the proposed acquisition of Pfizer Nutrition by Nestlé. [ + ]

Not everyone likes fish, even though it is a natural source of omega-3 fatty acids. Now researchers have shown it is possible to incorporate fish oil into milk and dairy-based beverages in amounts sufficient to promote heart health without destroying the product’s taste or limiting its lifespan. [ + ]

Aluminium foil tray manufacturer Confoil recently received a Worksafe Award for Employer Excellence at the Worksafe Victoria annual awards. [ + ]

Coffee has been named king of hot beverages in Australia, usurping tea’s position as the at-home drink of choice among Australians, according to BIS Foodservices’ Coffee and Beverages 2012 report series. [ + ]

The ‘Operation Hayride’ compliance operation has uncovered widespread and deliberate importation and distribution of prohibited food in Australia. In the second completed prosecution one company director has been gaoled and his company fined. More prosecutions are expected. [ + ]

With 22 weeks to go, 90% of the exhibition space for AUSPACK PLUS 2013 has been sold, which organisers say is a testament to the show’s track record. [ + ]

A dust suppression solution has won Tecpro Australia and the University of Wollongong the Australian Bulk Handling Review Award for Dust Control, Technology, Application or Practice. [ + ]

Scientists have published the genome sequence of the watermelon. The scientists say the information could dramatically accelerate watermelon breeding to produce more nutritious, tastier and more disease-resistant fruit. [ + ]

PerfoTec has been awarded the Green Tulip (Groene Tulp) Award at the Accenture Innovation Awards in the Netherlands. The company was presented the award on 8 November. [ + ]

University of Illinois scientists have developed a method that reduces the number of E. coli O157:H7 cells that can live undetected on spinach leaves. [ + ]