Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released details of changes being considered to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and has invited individuals and organisations with an interest in food standards to comment on the proposals. The changes include the fortification of cereal-based beverages with selected vitamins and minerals, two new GM foods, the addition of phytosterols to fruit juices and fruit drinks and an examination of benzoate and sulfite additives in food.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released the results of its 21st Australian Total Diet Survey (ATDS) of preservatives in food.

Tropical fruit wine has found international approval and is now being exported to Singapore and Taiwan by a winner of the Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC) Rural Women's Award. Developed out of frustration with the 'excessive' wastage of tropical fruit in traditional markets, tropical fruit wine has rapidly developed into a new regional industry.

The process of integration between the two former competitors Aarhus United and Karlshamn AB has been accelerating since the new company AarhusKarlshamn AB was established. The new company has the opportunity to combine deep knowledge of vegetable oils with extensive knowledge of the markets in Europe, Nafta, South America and Asia.

At the Australian Beverages Council's annual general meeting President Andrew Dawson (Cadbury Schweppes) was re-elected to lead the Council for the coming year.

As the largest growing beverage worldwide, bottled water manufacturers are rapidly growing in numbers. But as a packaged food product like any other, bottled water is also in constant need of safety controls to ensure superior quality for its consumers.

Cormack Packaging's annual Innovation Awards of 2005 are under way. The competition gives third year industrial design students from University of Technology Sydney and New South Wales University an opportunity to design an innovative closure suitable for the food and beverage industry.

Food packaging manufacturer, Confoil has sold its display cabinet business known as Confoil Equipment as part of a strategy that will see Confoil focus on its core business of food packaging.

With the acquisitions of well-established ingredient specialists Bronson & Jacobs (B&J), Woods & Woods (W&W) and Keith Harris (KH) in the last 15 months, adding to the previous acquisition of Fernz, Orica has established a platform on which to grow their food ingredients business in the region.

Melbourne researchers are developing an ultrasound technology that could transform the Australian dairy industry by overcoming many of the difficulties currently encountered in dairy processing.

The chairman of the Australian Packaging Machinery Association, Mr Jim Strang, in accepting an invitation to become chairperson of the World Confederation of Packaging Machinery Associations, said: "The invitation to lead COPAMA represents recognition by 14 other national packaging machinery organisations that Australia has a vibrant and very important packaging machinery industry and that it is able to provide leadership and support services that contribute to the work of COPAMA.

DSL Packaging - the Australian manufacturers of Schutz Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) - has appointed Paul Logan as the business manager to run its existing New Zealand operations.

Peacock Bros has acquired Walker Datavision Australia integrating customers, resources, staff and expertise into the Peacock Bros Mobile Data Division.

The Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) has called for immediate action by federal and state governments to determine the source, and extent, of the genetic engineering contamination of conventional canola in Victoria.

Umami differs from sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes by providing a meaty, savoury sensation.