Category Archives: Industry News

The latest news for the South Australian food industry – funding opportunities, grants, government and non-member news.

After three months of successful running, the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market is looking forward to the winter months with a great line up of guest speakers and demonstrators to compliment the excellent range of fresh seasonal food available every Saturday.

High quality South Australian food tourism experiences will now be recognised as part of the 2012 South Australian Tourism Awards with the introduction of a new category – Excellence in South Australian Food Tourism.

Within the sweet biscuit market there are two opposing forces at work globally, according to Innova Market Insights. The treat image of biscuits is driving the premium sector forward, while rising health concerns have also raised interest in better-for-you products.

Food and wine enthusiasts will this week flock to South Australia as the State serves up the country’s premier food and wine festival, Tasting Australia.

Increasing interest in foreign cuisines has been particularly significant for the cooking sauces category, which alone accounted for half of tracked global sauces launches in 2011, well ahead of bottled table sauces with over a quarter and mayonnaise and dressings with about a fifth,” says Lu Ann Williams, Research Manager at Innova Market Insights.

Australasia’s foodservice players have joined together to improve supply chain processes and standards in the foodservice sector; and are now calling on industry participants to get actively involved.

Kangaroo Island Spirits (KIS) brings home Double Silver from this years San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Food SA will stage the next two years of the South Australian Food Industry Awards. Previously managed by PIRSA, the Awards have celebrated the achievements of the local food sector for the past fourteen years, recognising and rewarding industry leaders and companies.

More and more people are concerned with the source of the food they eat. For many, the bland generic offerings of indeterminate origin that fill the shelves of the major retailers are just not acceptable.

Despite ongoing economic difficulties, new product activity in the global snack foods industry appears to be continuing unabated, with launch numbers recorded by Innova Market Insights showing a strong double-digit increase in 2011.

The new year is now well and truly under way. Knowing what to expect will give you a head start. The problem is that no one has a crystal ball good enough to be certain of the future.

Cherries have long been appreciated for their taste, but growing evidence about their health benefits is now putting them squarely in the frame for ‘superfruit’ status and they are increasingly being used in juices and juice drink blends.

South Australia’s Industry Leaders Fund (ILF) has opened the 2012 call for grant applications.

The State Government is calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from groups or individuals who have the vision, enthusiasm and commitment to revitalise Adelaide’s Riverbank precinct.

A bumper grain harvest in 2010, coupled with stronger prices for livestock, has seen South Australia’s gross food revenue reach a record high of $13.7 billion.

Rising interest in naturalness and growing awareness of the potential health benefits of botanical ingredients have combined with the desire for something more unusual to develop the demand for floral ingredients and flavourings.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand today invited comments on an application for food derived from a corn line genetically modified to be tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate.

Isn’t Product Recall covered under a standard Public and Products Liability policy?

In 2010 the Mt Pleasant Natural Resource Centre (MPNRC) Coordinator and Centre volunteers discussed the idea of having a Farmers Market in Mount Pleasant. There was general agreement that the idea was worthwhile, and it was decided to conduct an extensive audit to establish if there was community support for the idea.

Despite financial constraints it appears that consumer interest in making ethical food choices is continuing to increase, with recent data from Innova Market Insights (www.InnovaDatabase.com) showing that products positioned on an ethical platform of some kind accounted for over 7% of total global food and drinks launches recorded in the 12 months to the end of October 2011. This is up from less than 6.5% in the previous year and from less than 2% five years previously.

You now have the opportunity to achieve improved productivity, a better bottom line and far greater staff retention under a new initiative recently announced by the State Government.

Innova Market Insights has identified ten key trends to impact the food and beverage market through 2012 and beyond. The top trends relate purity, authenticity and sustainability, as consumers continue to look for products with added value, despite the ongoing economic uncertainty.

Some of South Australia’s finest food businesses have been recognised at the Premier’s Food Industry Awards, announced at the Adelaide Convention Centre last night.

The Food and Beverage Development Fund wants to help individuals realise their aspirations and achieve their full potential. We provide financial support of between $1,000 and $10,000 per applicant to further skills and knowledge through training and education within South Australia’s critically important food & beverage industries.

If you thought reaching an agreement on price was difficult, wait until you get to the fine details of buying or selling a business.

While the ready-to-drink or iced coffee market is relatively mature and showing only modest growth in much of Asia, levels of interest elsewhere in the world appear to be growing. This is seen not only in the relatively well-established USA market, which is number two in size globally after Japan, but also perhaps more interestingly in Europe, led by initiatives from multinational beverage and dairy companies.

Despite an ageing population and a growing interest in maintaining active lifestyles, joint health remains a very underdeveloped area of the functional foods market as a whole. While there has been considerable activity in dietary supplements for joint health, the mainstream food and drinks market has seen relatively few developments in this area.

The Sustainability Essentials for Executives (SEE) Pilot Program has been designed for CEOs, senior executives and owners of small-to-medium size food manufacturers to achieve early cost savings and address sustainability challenges in the workplace.

ABC delicious., Australia’s top selling food magazine, celebrates food and the people who produce it.

Leading Australian meat wholesaler Holco Fine Meat Suppliers was this month (October) presented with the 2011 Rising Star Award at the 2011 In-Business Top 100 Awards in Adelaide.

A mixture of prominent finished food and local family businesses are among this year’s finalists in the South Australian Premier’s Food Industry Awards.

Dairy products marketed on a bone health platform have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, having originally primarily focused on a naturally high calcium content or calcium fortification, while largely relying on consumer awareness of its benefits. More recently, bone health products have tended to see the greater use of ingredient blends, not only with calcium, but also vitamin D or other ingredients to help boost calcium absorption and bone formation. Ingredients now promoted in bone health applications include vitamin K2, lysine, prebiotic fibres and soy isoflavones.

The South Australian Government will declare quarantine areas in the state’s apple-growing regions to protect apple and pear orchards from the risk of fireblight.

Coopers Brewery has signed a distribution agreement with leading US craft brewer Anchor Brewing Company, which is expected to increase Coopers’ sales throughout America.

Innova Market Insights has reported that confectionery was the leading food and drinks sector in terms of global launch activity in the first half of 2011.

An SA family-owned company behind Australia’s first certified low GI potato is among a record number of entrants in this year’s SA Premier’s Food Industry Awards.

The State Government’s Gateway Business Program is designed to help small to medium-sized companies succeed in the challenging world of exporting.

Love it or loathe it, social networking sites are part of life in the modern world and, by extension, the modern workplace. Whilst such sites can have positive applications, they can also serve as vehicles for unfavourable and even dangerous …

Recent surveys show that potentially as few as 3% of small Australian businesses have the complete protection they need to sustain a healthy business, and that Management Liability is becoming a ‘must have’ of your insurance portfolio.

National Australia Bank has offices in Asia and is continuing to expand in the region. There are branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and representative offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Mumbai. The Shanghai branch is scheduled to be upgraded to branch status later in 2011.

For many small business owners, their business is their largest asset and expected to help fund their retirement. But what is your business really worth and what sets a high value business apart?

The last 12 months have been a difficult period in business. With the Australian economy slowly recovering from the GFC, and being lead by the buoyant mining sector, many other industry sectors have struggled to keep pace. With the rising price of the Australian dollar making many of our exports non competitive on the world market, the fear of increasing interest rates and the lack of capital to fund investment and growth, many Australian businesses have had disappointing results for 2010/2011.

The Annual Awards for Excellence for Restaurant & Catering SA was held last night at a glamourous event at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

One of Japan’s best known beers, Sapporo, is to be brewed by Australian owned Coopers Brewery, and distributed throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

Food SA is a proud supporter of ‘The Goodie Bag’ which combines South Australia’s finest gourmet brands into one amazing showbag.

The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology is pleased to announce the election of Mrs Jo Davey as President of the Institute.

The State Government is seeking industry and community views on the proposed introduction of Australia’s first appellation control scheme to protect the identity of foods produced in South Australia’s premium food-producing regions.

Could your workplace benefit from a week intensive in team building? McGregor Casting is looking for teams of workmates from NSW, WA and SA for a new factual program for the ABC.

Agriculture Minister Michael O’Brien has announced the members of the state’s inaugural Agribusiness Council.

Coopers Brewery has released its 2011 Extra Strong Vintage Ale.