New $12 million facility for LHF
Life Healthy Foods (LHF), a division of New Zealand food producer and marketer Sanitarium, officially opened its brand-new, purpose-built plant in Avondale, Auckland this week as it gears up for export growth.
New editor for NZ Guild of Food Writers’ newsletter
The new editor of the NZ Guild of Food Writers’ online newsletter Pen & Palate, Renee Lang combines two passions – publishing and cooking.
Auckland’s tastiest tickets set to go on sale
Tickets to one of the first big events of the summer, Taste of Auckland, have been on sale since Monday 30th August.
GEOFF’S TAKE: Let’s hear it for (some) supermarkets
Following Countdown’s recent acquisition of several South Island supermarkets beer lovers in Marlborough, myself included, fear a reduction in the variety of their favourite tipple available in the “gourmet province”.
Concerns were first raised in the Marlborough Express in August after Blenheim’s Redwoodtown SuperValue was sold to Countdown, closed for refurbishment and then reopened with a vastly reduced range of craft beers.
No real drop for meat prices
Expect no real drop in prices for New Zealand red meat over spring, says John Clarke, specialist resource writer for grill and FMCG magazines. He highlights developments and consumer product trends for this season’s meat supply in the latest issue of FMCG.
French lighten up over champagne bottles
One of the lesser names of the Champagne trade, Vranken-Pommery Monopole, has stolen a march on its more illustrious neighbours by being the first to release wine in the new, lighter champagne bottle. The company, which makes and markets the Pommery and Heidsieck Monopole brands amongst a portfolio of lesser-ranked champagnes, was the first to respond to the Comité Interprofessionnel de Vins du Champagne’s (CIVC) call to reduce the carbon footprint of champagne packaging.
International food prices surge
Food prices have jumped to the same rate of increase as in the second half of 2009, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The latest FAO food update showed a 5% increase in international food prices for August, taking the Global Food Index to its highest level since September 2008.
No change in depressed US Restaurant Performance Index
The latest US Restaurant Performance Index for July 2010 show sales and consumer traffic to be slightly negative, maintaining the current depression in the trade. Restaurant owners have responded with a decline in industry confidence.
Food show with real balls
The seventh annual Mudrijada – World Testicle Cooking Championship – is currently being held in Ozrem, Serbia, now considered one of the testosterone capitals of the world. Winners will be announced later this week, with results carried in foodnews.
Burger King on the market?
Rumours are rife in Europe and North America that the second largest hamburger restaurant chain, Burger King, is again on the block.
Deep fried beer grabs international media attention
A Texan chef has created a new way to take beer; through ravioli sachets containing the brewed beverage, which are eaten as any other pasta. The idea is to deliver the ‘ultimate culinary experience’, but according to Texas law you need to be over 21 to indulge in this particular gustatory adventure.
Scottish farmers muscle up for the domestic meat market
A campaign to get more Scots to eat local lamb has been launched in Scotland. The market push comes in the form of a £250,000 project that encourages locals to think of Scottish lamb as the best available.
Auckland hotel caught in real estate dispute
The high quality Auckland hotel, the Westin, has shut down half of its accommodation units whilst shareholders battle over ownership of space and brand at the high-profile property.
Dairy prices jump 17%
Fonterra’s latest online dairy auction has delivered good news for a New Zealand dairy sector feeling increasingly under pressure as prices have slid for the past four months, forcing a freeze in payout forecasts for dairy farmers.
Deadly fungi take 18 Italians at peak of mushroom season
Eighteen people have died in the northern regions of Italy in the last 10 days according to health officials. They have been killed by their love of fungi collected during the mushroom season that is currently at its peak in the foothills of the Apennines and European Alps.
Wheat genome sequenced
A research team from the British universities of Bristol and Liverpool has succeeded in sequencing the wheat genome, a development expected to have considerable influence in the food industry. The team will make the sequence available to crop breeders.
Men too under threat from bisphenol A
New research has given plastic manufacturers an additional problem in the support for bisphenol A (BPA). While recent research findings have linked BPA to disruption of human female reproductive health, the latest paper shows a link with male reproduction as well.
Fairtrade evidence shows huge benefits to 1.2 million individuals in agriculture
The Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO) has just released data from its survey of regional Fairtrade audits around the world, which show that 1.2 million farmers and farm workers have benefited from the programme. The information has just been released in a report called “The Benefits of Fairtrade”.
Fatter Duck taking over Bray
Heston Blumenthal is attracting criticism from villagers in his home of Bray in Berkshire, Britain’s most famous food destination with a coterie of highly regarded restaurants orbiting Blumenthal’s world famous Fat Duck restaurant. The chef-king of Bray has now swooped on the last independent pub in town in an apparent attempt to close down competition.
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New folding thermometers for accurately measuring food temperatures
Testo of Germany, one of Europe’s leading instrumentation manufacturers has released a new range of folding thermometers in New Zealand through their sole NZ agent, Eurotec Limited of Auckland.
Mediterranean Made Easier
Adding Mediterranean flavours to the menu is now easier with the introduction of new BUITONI Sugo Lussuoso Pomodoro.
Study Shows Fish Oil Improves Cholesterol Levels
Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death in New Zealand accounting for 40% of deaths annually. In other words every 90 minutes a Kiwi dies from coronary heart disease – that’s 16 deaths a day! Further still 1 in 20 New Zealand adults have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease.
Sign of an end to the golden age of energy drinks
There are signs that the huge increase in consumption of energy drinks has peaked, following the latest retail beverage data released by US research company Mintel. After spectacular growth between 2005 and 2007, growth in the sector slowed significantly in the 2007-09 period.
New Zealand based natural sweetener producer on verge of EU approval for access
BioVittoria, the New Zealand based producer of natural sweetener from the luo han guo fruit (monkfruit) grown in China, is awaiting approval to introduce its products into the European market. This follows GRAS (generally recognised as safe) approval from the USFDA earlier this year.
