Sustainability

According to Trent Duvall, 20 years ago the food and beverage processors and manufacturers controlled the narrative in relation to what foods and drinks were consumed by customers. Then, it shifted to the retailers. Today, it is consumers that are running the show. And if you are a manufacturer of food and beverage goods, it’s … Continue reading The rise and rise of plant-based proteins →

Karen Lebsanft, CEO and co-founding director of the Kurrajong Kitchen Group, manufacturers of Australia’s premier flatbread, the Kurrajong Kitchen Lavosh, has been honoured with the Gold Lifetime Achievement Award at the Stevie Awards for Women in Business in New York this week. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honour women executives, entrepreneurs, employees and … Continue reading CEO of Kurrajong Kitchen Lavosh wins gold in New York City →

Food labelling – it can be a minefield. In an era of food allergens, many imported products, as well as a bevy of health and safety regulations, food and beverage manufacturers have their work cut out for them to make sure they create products that meet a wide range of food regulations. It’s something not lost … Continue reading The importance of food and beverage labelling →

Keith Chessell is a packaging evangelist. Being in the industry for the best part of 50 years, he was there at the beginning when consumers and manufacturers alike knew that packaging sustainability was going to be an issue going forward for many industries, including food and beverage. He was there when the Keep Australia Beautiful … Continue reading Why the food packaging industry needs to sell itself better →

Coca-Cola Australia and Coca-Cola Amatil have announced that all Coca-Cola soft drink brands (600ml and below) and all water brands (600ml and below) in Australia are now being produced in 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles. This includes Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Mount Franklin and Pump. This follows the announcement earlier in the year that Coca-Cola … Continue reading Coca-Cola soft drink and water brands now produced in 100 per cent recycled plastic →

Plastic is an incredible material. It can be airtight and watertight, moulded to any shape, clear or coloured, shock-resistant, lightweight, and is chemically stable. Unfortunately, these last two features also mean plastic pollution poses a huge environmental problem. In theory, plastic is highly recyclable. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), typically used in drink bottles, can be recycled … Continue reading Bans are effective, but not the endgame in solving the plastic problem →

People love plants. With their “naturally functional” halo, consumers of all ages want to eat more of them – and in more convenient forms. From cauliflower pizza to beetroot bread, plant-based is a trend that’s growing for the long term. But people also love meat. Despite vocal attacks on meat’s health and sustainability credentials, which … Continue reading Plant proteins hot but meat’s not off the menu →

Two Australian companies offering competing products, Little Green Panda and Stroh, have joined forces in a bid to eliminate disposable plastic straws from the food service industry by replacing them with compostable, plant-based alternatives made from wheat stems. Sharing a mutual commitment to eradicating single-use plastics in the retail and hospitality industries, Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu and … Continue reading Little Green Panda and Stroh tackle drinking straw issue →

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has today launched the Food Services Packaging Sustainability Guidelines, a new resource to help Australian food service businesses to achieve the best sustainability outcomes for their packaging. The guidelines were launched on Thursday at the Australian Waste and Recycling Expo at the Sydney International Convention Centre, during an industry … Continue reading APCO launches new guidelines with regard to food packaging →

Katy Barfield has been named a winner in the Business and Entrepreneur category at the  AFR 100 Women of Influence Awards for being a serial innovator and Australia’s leading food waste warrior with a proven ability to rapidly scale organisations with a social conscience. Barfield has worked relentlessly over the past 14 years to address … Continue reading Food waste warrior wins →

What goes into producing the delicious roast chicken at the heart of dinner tables across the nation? It fries down to an impressive facility that produces 12,000 tonnes of chicken pellets each week to cover South Australia’s feed requirements and service the state’s main hatchery. This is what the team at Ahrens Design & Construct delivered, … Continue reading At the heart of tables across Australia – building Ingham’s state-of-the-art feed mill →

Carlsberg Group is trying to  create the world’s first ‘paper’ beer bottle made from sustainably sourced wood fibres that is both 100 per cent bio-based and fully recyclable. Carlsberg has unveiled two new research prototypes of its Green Fibre Bottle, which are the first ‘paper bottles’ to contain beer. Carlsberg also announced it has been … Continue reading Carlsberg moves to create paper beer bottle →

Brownes Dairy will replace its existing milk cartons with an Australian first, a carton package made entirely from plant-based, renewable materials in a new sustainable packaging move. Tetra Rex Bio-based package is the world’s first fully renewable beverage carton, with the protective layers derived from sugar cane. “There is a lot of emphasis on the … Continue reading Brownes Dairy switches to plant-based renewable packaging →

With Australia producing 7.3 million tonnes of food waste across the supply and consumption chain, and a Federal Government National Food Waste Strategy to halve food waste that goes to landfill by 2030, now is the time for packaging technologists to review pack designs that could minimise food waste and losses. According to the National … Continue reading The role that resealable packaging plays in minimising food waste →

Red tape, bureaucracy, standards and regulations – all can be a bugbear for any company thinking of building or expanding their food and beverage processing plant. Total Construction specialises in total builds – from the ground up and that includes getting all the right approvals. Food and beverage processing factories especially have a range of … Continue reading Don’t let building regulations bring you down →

Oil – in all its forms, including vegetable – doesn’t have the best of reputations when it comes to sustainability and the environment. It takes a long time to break down, can have a disruptive impact on habitats, and can take on toxic forms once used. With tens of thousands of eating establishments throughout Australia … Continue reading Tracing every last drop of cooking oil →

With interest rates at an all-time low – and some industry pundits stating they might go lower – the opportunities for growth, especially for an industry like food and beverage, are enormous. Mark Burgess is the experienced and affable relationship director – consumer goods leader at St.George Bank. His portfolio of customers are in the … Continue reading Why St.George funds food and beverage enterprises →

The Federal Government is working with the states to protect the Murray–Darling Basin’s native fish ahead of an expected hot and dry summer. Minister for Drought David Littleproud released the Native Fish Emergency Response Plan. Make no mistake, we are likely to see fish deaths this summer,” Minister Littleproud said. “We’re facing another hot summer … Continue reading Action to protect native fish ahead of hot, dry summer →

Supply chain, factories of the future, Industry 4.0, and an aging manufacturing workforce – all subjects that recently have started to have an impact on the food and beverage industry. It’s no longer enough to go after market share; processors and manufacturers in this space have to play the long game and ask themselves some … Continue reading Preparing for the future: sustainability, digitisation, and an aging workforce →

Australia will be better prepared to manage significant animal biosecurity threats, such as African swine fever (ASF), through a new comprehensive online field guide for emergency animal diseases. Head of Biosecurity, Lyn O’Connell, said the guide will help vets with early detection, diagnosis and control of exotic and emerging infectious diseases in livestock. “Early identification … Continue reading How to better manage animal disease threats →