John Lopresti, a Biological Systems Engineer at Victoria's Department of Primary Industry (DPI) Institute for Horticultural Development, led the discussion, with focus on optimising product quality through handling chains, at a recent Australian Institute of Packaging meeting.

Nutritional information as provided on food labels tell us little about the effects various food components actually have on our body. But that could change, thanks to a novel concept described by New Zealand researcher Dr John Monro in 'Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture' - the use of virtual food components (VFCs) to evaluate the really physiological effects of what we eat.

Irrigation with wastewater from the canning industry is not harmful to the quality of agricultural soil and may even, in some cases, improve it. This is the conclusion of Iñigo Abdón Virto Quecedo in his PhD thesis defended at the Public University of Navarre.

Vacuum packaging meat products has made it possible to keep them fresh in appearance and taste. The problem is that pathogenic bacteria can grow on the meat in this packaging at both room and refrigeration temperatures.

Brandeis University biology professor KC Hayes and Senior Research Associate Andy Pronczuk at the school's Foster Biomedical Research Laboratory, and Senior Scientist Daniel Periman in the Physics Department have discovered a way to produce chips and other snack foods that can actually lower your cholesterol while you eat them - without having any impact on taste.

Alcoa Closure Systems International has begun commercial production of Vino-Lok, its 'glass-on-glass' closure system for wine bottles that it developed as an alternative to corks and synthetic stoppers. Alcoa will supply the new glass closures from its Worms, Germany, facility to several wineries in Europe that provide wines to Lufthansa.

Gribbles Molecular Science (GMS) and Sunshine Technologies (ST) have formed a joint venture company, id-DNA Pty Ltd, focusing on the use of DNA technology in the biosecurity area.

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is re-designing its website, taking the association into the world of email, online newsletters, up-to-date-news, events, technical papers and more. The AIP website will be the main communication tool from 2005 to members, supporters and industry and van be visited at www.aipack.com.au

Sherwood Technology has announced its collaboration with Domino to supply DataLase. The companies have recently signed a supply licence agreement. The agreement will enable Domino to supply a total coding and printing solution to a number of sectors worldwide, including pharmaceutical, food and beverage and product security.

VeriSign and EAN, an international standards organisation for supply chain systems,have announced an alliance to launch the EPCglobal Network in Australia.

Australian chemicals and consumer products group Orica has announced the expansion of its Chemnet specialty distribution business through the acquisition of Keith Harris Flavours and Fragrances from KH Foods Limited.

Does Swiss cheese come from Swiss cows? How about blue cheese? Professor of animal science at McGill University's Macdonald campus KF Ng-Kwai-Hang has the answer to these questions. He has spent the last 25 years studying the genetics of cows and how this affects quality and types of cheese. Basically, cheddar cheese can be made from all milk, but the taste and quality will be different from breed to breed and also within a breed.

Food can only reach households in top quality if stored in the right packaging. Active wrappers protect sensitive products from light, air and mould, and intelligent packaging indicates whether the food is still as fresh as it should be.

Cranberry and oregano extracts combined with lactic acid may inhibit the growth of bacteria in meat and fish say researchers from Massachusetts. Their findings appear in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Three of Australia's major poultry companies, Inghams, Bartter Steggles and Baiada, have committed to avoid genetically engineered (GE) food and feed, in response to consumer demand. This decision by the companies is claimed to be one of the biggest single shifts away from GE foods since the introduction of GE labelling laws in 2001 and welcomed by consumer groups.