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... two of australia’s largest fast food chains, mcdonald’s and hungry jack’s, will not be following kfc’s lead by removing toys from their children’s meals ... both told australian food news that they will continue to provide toys with their children’s meals ... a spokesperson for hungry jack’s told australian food news, “the toy has been a fundamental part of its kids’ meal offering for almost 40 years ... “hungry jack’s is a strong supporter of and signatory to the australian qsr industry initiative for responsible advertising to children

... the australian food and grocery council (afgc) has applauded the decision by the federal government to oppose the food standards amendment (truth in labelling palm oil) bill 2011 ... tabled into the australian parliament as a private member’s bill by independent senator nick xenophon, the legislation was rejected by a senate committee in july, but passed by the australian federal senate through an alliance between independent senator nick xenophon, the greens and the coalition ... the afgc has warned a house of representatives economics committee that the bill will put australian manufacturing and export operations at “high-risk” and add substantial extra costs ... yesterday, afgc chief executive kate carnell said the palm oil labelling bill would cost the australian food manufacturing industry a$150 million and “would not save any orang-utans” ... “industry’s challenges include high labour prices, less flexibility on wages, higher energy power prices, high transport costs, growth in private label brands and near-record high global commodity prices for sugar, diary, cocoa and wheat and the high australian dollar making imports cheaper ... ” federal government opposes the bill the federal government has opposed the bill on the following grounds: first of all, that the bill will be of significant cost to the australian food industry (estimated at up to a$150 million) at a time when manufacturers are “struggling due to increasing costs and the high australian dollar” ... secondly, that the bill contravenes world trade organization requirements for food labelling adversely impacting industrial trade ... 3 per cent of the world’s palm oil and the majority of australian manufacturers have already committed to using palm oil certified by the roundtable on sustainable palm oil (rspo) ... ” fourthly, that the bill does not promote health benefits as levels of saturated fats are already listed on the food product labels ... submissions have been made to australian parliament from major players in australia’s food retail industry

... with the new zealand-based dairy multinational fonterra announcing a drop in profits from its organic dairy operations in new zealand this week, australian food news has been investigating the current state of australia’s organic dairy industry ... australia’s “growing and under-supplied” organic dairy market “supply of australian organic dairy has continued to struggle to keep up with demand and in fact has even been importing new zealand organic dairy to supplement local supply in australia ... in the short term, this remains good news for australian organic dairy producers to continue to supply into a growing and under supplied market,” dr monk said ... “even if organic dairy rises to 5% of the total australian or new zealand dairy product market in the coming decade, the likes of fonterra may still view this as too “niche” for such a large company,” dr ... monk said, “organic dairy producers in australia have worked hard and well to establish a credible niche with a sustainable premium in the australian market ... this has been an important element of the success story of australian organic dairy to date and arguably something possibly less evident in new zealand

... the australian food and grocery council (afgc) is urging the federal government to act quickly to keep australia’s food manufacturing industry alive ... the afgc has called on the australian government to “remove unnecessary regulation and duplication, such as food labelling changes, and reduce costs of doing business” ... the afgc also says it is “critical” that australian government fast-tracks its national food plan ... the afgc’s ceo kate carnell says several food and grocery manufacturing operations have already moved offshore because of the challenges facing the industry in australia ... at the moment, many leading food and grocery companies are seriously weighing up their future options for manufacturing in australia,” ms carnell said ... “it’s vital that the government creates a broad-base policy that supports a viable, competitive and robust food and grocery manufacturing sector that will continue to deliver high quality products for australia and the export market ... ” over the past two months, around 300 job cuts have been announced across the a$102 billion food manufacturing sector ... recent australian food industry cutbacks have included: - 150 jobs lost at spc ardmona following the announced closure of its mooroopna factory by the middle of next year, and - 146 jobs lost at heinz following the closure of its girgarre factory in north-east victoria ... the afgc’s state of the industry 2010 report showed a total loss of 3,400 jobs since 2006-07 within the food manufacturing sector ... “industry’s competitiveness is being heavily impacted by cheaper imports due to the high australian dollar

... chinese food group bright food has finally reached a deal with manassen foods to buy a 75% stake in the australian food manufacturer from its current owners ... chairman wang zongnan of bright food, said his group is “fully committed to working in partnership with australian growers, suppliers, customers and the local management team in a way that benefits all stakeholders in manassen foods” ... mr zongnan also said bright food is committed to long term investment in the australian food sector ... he expects to achieve “synergies through expanding manassen foods’ domestic and export businesses”, to provide australian products and brands with direct access to the chinese market, which is one of the fastest growing markets for packaged foods in the world ... simultaneously, via manassen foods’ own distribution network, bright food intends to introduce its china-sourced portfolio of products and brands into the australian market ... ” bright food senior executives are due to visit australia later this month for an official signing ceremony ... this transaction is subject to regulatory approvals including the australian foreign institute review board and chinese regulatory bodies

... the australian parliament is facing a proliferation of inquiries by legislative committees to investigate numerous separate food industry issues ... here is a list of the issues currently being scrutinized by australian politicians in canberra ... (1) federal inquiry into food processing a federal senate inquiry, to be undertaken by a committee known as the senate select committee on australia’s food processing sector, will investigate pressures facing the australian food processing industry ... a key issue is whether australian food manufacturing is competitive in international markets in the face of challenges that include the strong australian dollar, and questions over levels of investment capital, skilled labour, necessary infrastructure, and the ongoing challenges presented by the australian climate ... (2) palm-oil labelling inquiry in federal parliament the identification of palm oil on food labels is being considered in a federal parliamentary committee inquiry by the house of representatives ... the house economics committee has commenced its inquiry into the food standards amendment (truth in labelling – palm oil) bill 2011 that would, if passed, require makers or distributors of foods with palm oil as an ingredient, to specify the oil as ‘palm oil’ ... the farm gate pricing bill, drafted by independent south australian senator nick xenophon and house of representatives queensland independent bob katter, would need the support of a major party, in order to be passed ... (4) federal government’s “national food plan” in june 2011, the federal department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry (daff) released an “issues paper to inform development of a national food plan”, in line with the labor government’s pre-election promise of developing a national food plan (nfp) ... the plan will focus on issues such as food security, food quality, the affordability of food and the sustainability of food

... in a statement passed on to australian food news, the tasmanian premier lara giddings said, “the tasmanian government has had a strong record on pushing a very hard case with the commonwealth around protecting the biosecurity measures here in tasmania ... ” constitutional law issue australian food law expert joe lederman of the foodlegal firm believes the proposed ban could create a constitutional law test case for the high court of australia if the tasmanian government persists with its ban ... mr lederman said, “there are constitutional law difficulties for a state to maintain a ban if it contravenes wto treaty obligations to which the australian government is a signatory ... ‘aussie apples’ meanwhile, in a fightback against the apple import trade, australian growers are mounting a strong marketing campaign for locally grown apples with an ‘aussie apples’ sticker ... the aim of the campaign is to make it easier for consumers to identify and buy australian-grown apples in supermarkets or greengrocers

... this will involve changes to the food standards code relating to storage time and moisture content requirements ... ” meanwhile, fsanz is also calling for comment on application a1051, which is seeking permission for food derived from a genetically modified soybean with a tolerance to the herbicides glyphosate and isoxaflutole, to provide a broader weed management strategy ... generally, any approvals by fsanz of proposals or applications to amend the food standards code are notified to the australia and new zealand food regulation ministerial council

... the latest world bank food price report issued on 15 august 2011 has chartered a 33 percent rise in the real cost of food from july 2010 to july 2011, as food security becomes an increasing global concern ... dr barthwal-datta, a postdoctoral research fellow who leads sydney university’s food security research program says, “communities in conflict have less access to food because their agricultural lands are being destroyed and their infrastructure is being destroyed ... ciss is examining how political, economic, demographic and environmental pressures will impact food security dynamics in the region in the coming decades, and the consequences of this for regional stability ... dr barthwal-datta says asia is a region vulnerable to greater food insecurity because a majority of people in the asian region are spending 80 percent of their income on food ... accordingly, food price spikes are potentially devastating and can make buying sufficient food impossible ... “we know that states in the region haven’t been very good at managing their food insecurity problems ... the same time there’s huge potential within the region to move towards greater food security by investing in agriculture and smallholder farmers ... this will not only increase food production but actually support the livelihoods of these people,” dr barthwal-datta says ... australian food news also notes that drought is currently exacerbating agricultural production problems, with unseasonally dry weather in the horn of africa, the southern states of the united states and mexico, south american countries such as peru and bolivia, and hunan province in china

... australia’s premier consumer advocacy group choice has reignited the food debate over whether australia should adopt a traffic light system for front-of-package labelling of packaged foods ... the idea behind traffic lights is to make it visually easier for consumers to choose a healthier food by comparing these colour codes between products ... ten brands tested by choice met australian food regulator fsanz’s definition of “low fat” (no more than 3% fat) and 11 brands met fsanz’s definition for “low sugar” (no more than 5% sugars) ... industry approach the australian food industry, led by the australian food and grocery council (afgc), has been campaigning for an alternative labelling system known as the daily intake guide (dig) ... afgc chief executive kate carnell told australian food news today, “traffic light labels categorise foods as good and bad – but all foods can form part of a balanced diet ... these labels now appear on more than 4,000 supermarket products in australia and outline the amount of energy, fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in a standard portion of the food and how that translates to average daily intake ... the review of food labelling law and policy, headed by australian health minister, dr neal blewett and published in january 2011 recommended the use of dig labelling over traffic light labelling ... foodlegal bulletin in its april 2011 foodlegal bulletin, food law specialist firm foodlegal highlighted that sweet cereals might become more vulnerable to targeted regulatory moves, compared with government attempts to impose stricter nutrient profile criteria on all food for which health claims were either expressed or implied