Next-generation snack foods with taste appeal and specific health benefits are the first target of a new $18.4 million six-year research program.

Consumer preference for soft drink and bottled water brands is significantly influenced by whether the beverage container closure is clear or opaque, according to a recently completed independent research project commissioned by Milliken & Company, a provider or additives for plastic containers.

Despite the efforts of food retailers and food-processing plant managers to maintain a clean, safe environment, strains of the deadly pathogen Listeria monocytogenes can persist for up to a year or longer, according to Cornell University food scientists.

In seeking to eat healthier food, more consumers are turning to vegetable-based meat substitutes that resemble chicken and beef. However, while many meat substitutes can be made to taste like beef or chicken, the texture is often mushy or flaky. A team of researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia is helping create vegetable-based meat substitutes that are remarkably similar to the texture, appearance and feel of actual meat.

The Co-op in the UK is using its loaf with the announcement that it is launching 100% degradable plastic bread wrappers.

Developing retail packaging can be a minefield for marketers irrespective of whether you are an experienced campaigner with strong brands that offer leverage for newly created products or the new kid on the block with a great idea that will allow you to displace those firmly entrenched brands.

WineTech 2005, the national wine industry suppliers' trade show, will again be held within the heartland of the Australian wine producing industry, Adelaide, in July next year.