Australian dairy farmers have voted to lift the Dairy Service Levy rate by 10%. [ + ]

Submissions must be received by close of business on Friday 11 May for the APPMA 2012 Annual Scholarship Submissions. The 2012  winner will be announced during the AIP National Conference which will be held on the 14 and 15 June at Marriott Hotel, Surfers Paradise. [ + ]

Holst Centre, imec and their partners in the EU FP7 project ORICLA have fabricated an radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit made in low-temperature, thin-film technology that allows reader-talks-first communication. The technology behind this prototype is used to create RFID tags that are cheap enough and have enough performance to be used as intelligent item-level tags on the packaging of retail consumer goods. [ + ]

The old adage ‘you are what you eat’ may have received some extra credibility after scientists proved that trans fats can make you angry. Researchers at the University of California’s San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated a link between consumption of dietary trans fatty acids (dTFAs) and aggression. [ + ]

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has called for submissions on an application for a bacteriophage preparation to reduce the risk of Listeria monocytogenes. [ + ]

Campbell Brothers has announced that its testing services business, the ALS Group, has acquired two UK companies: Eclipse Scientific Group and Advanced Micro Services (AMS) for around AU$39m. The acquisition is expected to be completed by 3 April 2012. [ + ]

Bavarian brewery Paulaner has announced growth rates of nearly 40% in the Asia-Pacific region for 2011, which it claims is a new export record for the year. [ + ]

Thirty-four guest speakers from nine countries will present at the 2012 Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) National Conference. The conference, held over 14-15 June at Surfers Paradise, is open to both members and non-members of the AIP and is ideal for those in the food, beverage, manufacturing and packaging industries. [ + ]

O-I’s Vortex bottle has played a major role in a sales boost for Western Australia’s Gage Roads Brewing Co. The company has reported a 25% year-on-year increase in its Wahoo Premium Ale sales, since the introduction of O-I’s Vortex bottle and changes to the beer’s label and secondary packaging. [ + ]

Despite the current economic climate, the snack food industry showed continued growth in 2011, particularly in new product activity, a report from Innova Market Insights has shown. [ + ]

FMC Corporation has opened a Technical Centre in Singapore, featuring a state-of-the-art food laboratory. FMC said its new facility - located in Singapore Science Park 2 - will serve the technology and formulation needs of FMC’s growing food and beverage customer base in Singapore and South-East Asia. [ + ]

To the relief of parents whose children suffer anaphylactic reactions to eggwhite, researchers are working on modifying egg proteins so hens start laying allergy-free eggs. [ + ]

The CSIRO has developed a salt-tolerant variety of durum wheat that gives a 25% higher grain yield than other varieties on salty soils. [ + ]

Tasmanian organic food producer Bellamy’s Organic has responded angrily to claims made about its products on the Channel Seven program Sunday Night, which aired on 11 March. [ + ]

The NSW Food Authority has lifted the suspension on Hawkesbury Valley Meat Processors’ licence. Operations at the Wilberforce facility are permitted to recommence on 12 March, subject to strict conditions set by the Food Authority. [ + ]