More than 75% of Australians believe junk food advertising should be banned during children’s television programs and 18% believe junk food advertising should be banned completely. [ + ]

The Victorian Government will invest $4.4 million to support SPC Ardmona in upgrading its Shepparton plant. The $90 million upgrade will create 45 new jobs. [ + ]

New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra has opened an innovation centre in Shanghai. It says the investment is part of its strategy “to help feed China’s rapidly growing appetite for top-quality dairy nutrition”. [ + ]

Kellogg Australia has reached its 2010 commitment to reduce salt levels in its Corn Flakes and Rice Bubbles cereal products by 20%, eight months ahead of schedule. [ + ]

Consumer interest in beer is on the rise in China, according to recent research by Mintel. The company’s Beer - China - May 2012 report showed there was a marked increase in growth in the volume of beer sales in 2011, with 12% volume growth in 2011, compared to only 6% in 2010. [ + ]

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has extended an invitation to its technical dinner, to be held on 4 July. The dinner will feature two guest speakers from RMIT University’s Centre of Design, Simon Lockrey and Dr Karli Verghese. [ + ]

Greg Combet announced the first 13 grant recipients of the $1 billion Clean Technology Investment Programs. Five grants from the Clean Technology Investment Program and eight from the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program were announced, totalling $8.1 million. [ + ]

There’s good and bad news on the sodium consumption front. University of Arkansas reasearchers have found that non-hypertensive consumers do not consider sodium content when selecting restaurant food, but that educational campaigns about the negative health effects of sodium are effective. [ + ]

The issue of vitamin D fortification will be debated at a symposium in Melbourne next week. Australian and international experts will meet to discuss whether more vitamin D should be allowed into the Australian food supply to combat vitamin D deficiency. [ + ]

Asian consumers have a more positive attitude about the future of bakery, patisserie and chocolate than their Western counterparts, according to recent research conducted by InSites Consulting for Puratos. [ + ]

Most Australians aren’t getting their recommended three serves of dairy a day, researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) have found. Apparently, 73% of women and 58% of men fail to consume their recommended daily intake. Teenagers are worse than adults, with 62% of boys and 83% of girls not managing to consume the recommended amount. [ + ]

Eight grants from the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program and five from the Clean Technology Investment Program comprise the first 13 grants from the federal government’s $1 billion Clean Technology Investment Programs. The initial grants, worth $8.1 million, will help businesses install over $23 million of energy-efficient equipment and will support energy-saving and low-pollution projects. [ + ]

The categories for the 7th Health ingredients, Natural ingredients & NuW awards program have been announced. The awards recognise exceptional innovations and talent within the nutrition and wellness industry. [ + ]

JBT Corporation’s JBT FoodTech business has purchased HG Molenaar & Co’s rotary sterilisation technology, strengthening its in-container sterilisation portfolio for the canned food industry. [ + ]

The Codex Food Labelling Committee, a United Nations subsidiary, has proposed a global standard for mandatory nutrition labelling for adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Rome this July. [ + ]