Sustainability

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 →

Unilever has announced that by 2025 it will eliminate more than 100,000 tonnes of plastic packaging and collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells. The company, owner of brands including Lipton, Ben & Jerry’s and Walls Ice Cream, has announced new commitments to reduce its plastic waste and help create a circular economy … Continue reading Unilever announces new commitments for packaging waste →

A fully compostable shrink-wrap for cucumbers has been developed in South Australia and is set to be launched on international markets. The compostable wrap is manufactured by BioBag World Australia and took 12 months to develop in partnership with South Australian produce and packaging businesses IG Fresh Produce. It was launched in September as an … Continue reading Compostable cucumber wrap from BioBag World →

Ahead of chairing the ‘Agribusiness and food processors: Smart energy use from farm to plate’ speaker session at the inaugural Energy Efficiency Expo, Bradley Anderson (Manager of Business Energy Solutions at the Energy Efficiency Council) shares his advice for food businesses looking to manage their energy intensive operations and improve efficiency. Question: What are the … Continue reading How to improve your energy efficiency →

High Pressure Processing (HPP) has been around 30 years but has become mainstream in the last few years, and will disrupt the juice industry, according to Botanica managing director, Richard Magney. HPP is a cold pasteurisation technique used to eliminate vegetable flora. Utilising 6000 bar of pressure (there is 37 bar of pressure in your … Continue reading HPP technology will change the future →

Sister companies, Caspak Australia and Caspak New Zealand, who specialise in flexible packaging, have merged their operations and brands. While financial management of the companies will remain country-based, the merger will result in streamlining and increased efficiencies of both businesses. The merger will see the companies operate as a single entity in order to pool … Continue reading Caspak streamlines Australasian businesses →

A Coles supermarket in Sydney’s west has become the first Australian supermarket to trial zero waste to landfill, as one of several initiatives to help Coles meet its commitment to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket. As part of a trial, the supermarket in Wentworth Point is sending zero waste to landfill, preventing the equivalent of … Continue reading Cleanaway and Coles team up over waste initiative →

A new report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has delivered generally positive news for wild fish stocks in Australian Government managed fisheries. Acting ABARES Executive Director, Peter Gooday, said the latest Fishery status reports 2019 revealed 70 per cent of fish stocks reviewed were not overfished and not … Continue reading Positive outlook for Australian fish stocks →

Shoppers recycled enough pieces of plastic to go around the world one and half times at Coles last year, representing a  32 per cent increase on the previous year. Revealed in Coles’ Sustainability Report, Coles customers recycled 905 tonnes or 226 million pieces of soft plastics – including packaging such as biscuit packets, lolly bags, … Continue reading Coles increases recycling of soft plastics by 32 per cent →

As the world grapples with the waste crisis, a two-day hackathon event has brought together Business and Built Environment students and industry experts to brainstorm ways to combat the issue. Jointly hosted by UNSW’s Grand Challenges program and food rescue organisation OzHarvest, students tackled the important question: How can we reduce residential food waste in high-density … Continue reading Challenges abound for food waste solutions →

Honesty when it comes to claims on-pack is becoming more important as consumers start to question the sustainability of packaging. With the 2025 National Packaging Targets significantly shifting the packaging design landscape in Australia, a critical element that is coming up short is truthful and accurate environmental claims on-pack, and this issue needs to be … Continue reading Being truthful about sustainable packaging claims →

A2 milk had a rocky start when New Zealand businessman Howard Paterson and research scientist Dr Corran McLachlan founded the A2 Corporation in 2000. The milk, which claims to help reduce the risks of digestive problems, diabetes and heart disease because it is said to contain only A2 beta-casein, seemed to hit a nerve with … Continue reading A2 disruption to milk market not a bad thing →

An independent inspector-general of Live Animal Exports to oversee regulation of the industry is a step closer today with the Bill to establish the position as a statutory appointment passing the Senate. Agriculture Minister, Bridget McKenzie, said the community deserved greater assurance that animal welfare outcomes for export livestock were being met and monitored. “Australia’s … Continue reading Improving oversight of live animal exports →

Bottled water has been a refreshment for Australians for the best part of three decades. According to a recent IBISWorld report, the industry in Australia for the past five years through to 2018-19 was valued at just over $700 million, and is expected to grow by 0.8 per cent over the next year. IBISWorld believes … Continue reading AquaRush bottling facility designed to meet expanding industry needs →

Devil’s Elbow Brewery is fast becoming a highlight on any visitor to Dubbo’s itinerary. Named after a bend in the Macquarie River that runs through Dubbo, the brewery is set in the town’s industrial precinct with over 400 people on site during the working week. Being the only food and beverage option in the area … Continue reading pH system ensures compliance with strict council wastewater regulations →

The AIP Use of Lifecycle Assessment Tools for Sustainable Packaging Design training course is aimed at providing an introduction and learning framework for packaging industry professionals to apply lifecycle thinking to their working contexts. This includes an understanding of the reasons why lifecycle thinking is critical, as well as how the method may be used … Continue reading AIP training course heads to NSW →

Over one billion tons of food is wasted every year. The Food and Agriculture Organization also estimates that in developing countries, up to 40 per cent of total food produced can be lost before it even reaches market. As such, implementing methods of safely storing and transporting food is crucial for being able to continue … Continue reading Frozen foods can help reduce waste →