Food Magazine September 2012

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Foodmagazine INGREDIENTS | PROCESSING | SAFETY | PACKAGING | EXPORT

INFORMING FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURERS

SEPTEMBER 12

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INSIDE

2012 FOOD MAGAZINE AWARDS

ALL THE

BEST

WHAT'S FRESH

06

PACKAGING

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MEAT

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FOOD SAFETY

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Can farmers beat the carbon tax?

The winners from the night and the stories of how they got there on Page 14

Educate now to ensure the future of the industry

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Tougher regulations for the bottled water industry

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WELCOME

Foodmagazine

www.foodmag.com.au ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER – Martin Sinclair E: martin.sinclair@reedbusiness.com.au EDITOR – Jessica Burke P: 02 9422 2862 F: 02 9422 2722 E: jessica.burke@reedbusiness.com.au ACCOUNT MANAGER – Mark Ryu P: 02 9422 2151 M: 0404 803 356 E: mark.ryu@reedbusiness.com.au QLD SALES MANAGER – Sharon Amos P: 07 3261 8857 F: 07 3261 8347 M: 0417 072 625 E: sharon.amos@reedbusiness.com.au SA, WA & NT SALES – Mark Ryu P: 02 9422 2151 M: 0404 803 356 E: mark.ryu@reedbusiness.com.au PRODUCTION COORDINATOR - Tracy Engle P: 02 9422 2707 F: 02 9422 2722 E: tracy.engle@reedbusiness.com.au DESIGNER - Rizwan Nawaz P: 02 9422 2322 F: 02 9422 2722 E: rizwan.nawaz@reedbusiness.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS – CUSTOMER SERVICE Aus NZ O/S 1 year subscription 99 109 119 2 year subscription 189 199 209 P: 1300 360 126 F: 02 9422 2633 E: customerservice@reedbusiness.com.au RBI Manufacturing & Electronics Group Tower 2, Level 3, 475 Victoria Ave Locked Bag 2999 Chatswood DC NSW 2067 P: 02 9422 2999 F: 02 9422 2722

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Check yourself Self regulation is the most effective way to ensure safe, successful and happy industries.

L

et’s all just come right out and admit what we all know. We talk about it amongst ourselves, feel secretly pretty smug about it and sometimes almost take it for granted.

I’m talking about the amazing, self-sufficient food and packaging industries we have here in Australia.

As I discussed last month, it’s imperative that we embrace, appreciate and protect our EDITOR: Jessica Burke farming and manufacturing food@reedbusiness.com.au industry from being ruined by the major supermarkets and cheap imports.

And here’s why. We do good food. We’re great at it.

We are fabulous at sourcing, altering, manufacturing, packaging and distributing foods and beverages.

And a huge part of that are the high standards and ethics the Aussie industry has, most of which are self imposed.

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right ahead and implement standards and procedures that are far higher than those imposed by the regulating bodies, and they don’t feel a need to make a big song and dance about it.

We’re really fortunate in this country that companies and individuals within the food manufacturing sector do want to self regulate, because when it is a choice, and not forced, the outcome is far more likely to be positive.

It’s not just the bottled water industry either, food companies overall are self regulating the heck out of themselves, particularly with marketing unhealthy foods to children.

There was a fair amount of kicking and screaming and complaining about the fact that the responsible marketing to children

AFGC told the Food Magazine Leaders Summit recently, while the industry is self regulating without force from governments and agencies, it is actually driven by consumers because companies know in this day and age that they can’t afford any public relation mistakes, as it could cost them their position in the ever-competitive market.

Public figures and companies are more accountable than ever before, and just in the last couple of months alone, supermarkets, media organisations and retailers have all been very publicly humiliated over social media.

Some people question whether these companies should abandon social media sites, but the reality is that they have to be there.

Because if companies aren’t

While the industry is self regulating without force from governments, it is consumer driven. code wasn’t going to be brought into legislation, when it was first unveiled a couple of years ago.

And while there were a few teething problems in the beginning, now the initiative is working exactly as it was supposed to.

As Cristel Leemhuis from the

moving forwards, they’re going backwards, and the public accountability that has exploded this year is part of that.

And that’s why it pays to be one step ahead, like most of the Australian food and beverage industry already is.

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WHAT'S HOT ONLINE

All GM foods to be declared on labels if Californian bill passes

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BY JESSICA BURKE

Heineken wins control of Tiger Heineken has won the controlling stake in Tiger beer, buying out Fraser and Neave’s shares for US$4.5 billion.

The Dutch beer company raised its offer price for the 40 per cent share in Asia Pacific Investment Pte Ltd (APIPL) from 50 Singaporean dollars per share up to 53.

The offer was dependant on a vote by shareholders of Singapore-based Fraser and Neave’s, and on Saturday it confirmed it had accepted the offer.

APIPL is a joint venture between Heineken and Fraser and Neave which operates Asia Pacific Breweries (APB).

In addition to the Tiger brand, APB range also includes popular Asian brands Anchor beer, Baron’s Strong Brew, ABC Extra Stout, Archipelago beer and Bintang beer.

Heineken’s chief executive, Jean-François van Boxmeer, said in a statement that the operations will stay largely the same.

“Our Asian headquarters will continue to be based in Singapore, and we remain 100% committed to the growth and success of APB and the Tiger brand,” he said in a statement.

If the offer is officially approved, Heineken will have a stake of more than 80 per cent in APB, leading to automatic takeover offer for the remaining shares, which would cost the company another 2.5 billion Singaporean dollars.

As part of the deal, Fraser and Neave has confirmed it will not “solicit, engage in discussions or accept any alternative offer or proposal” for its interests in APB, a clause which refers to a rival bid from the family of Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

Charoen, who controls Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), South East Asia’s second biggest brewer, made a 55 Singapore dollar per share offer for a smaller stake in APB. ThaiBev is Fraser and Neave’s biggest shareholder with a 26.4 per cent stake, meaning it will play an important role in the upcoming shareholder vote

Genetically modified (GM) food is a controversial issue that is set to become an electoral one in the US, with one state set to vote on the practise.

In November, California will be the first state to vote on whether declaration labels will be mandatory on all genetically modified food.

Up to 18 states in the US have attempted to pass similar laws in the same way, but so far all have failed to make it to the statewide ballot.

But in California, Proposition 37 as it is known, has received over a million citizen signatures, indicating it will be successful and foods that have been genetically modified with have to include that information on labelling.

Those against genetically modified foods believe consumers have the right to know if what they re eating has been created or altered in such a way.

Major food manufacturers including PepsiCo, Nestlé and Coca-Cola, however, are opposed to the legislation, arguing that fears over the lack of long term health

Would you eat deep-fried butter?

It’s a well known fact that Americans like their deep fried food; in fact, if this year’s state fairs are anything to go by, they will pretty much deep fry anything.

At the recent Iowa State Fair guests were able to get deep-fried offerings of everything from Snickers, Twinkies and Cheesecake, all the way to deep-fried butter.

Apparently, the strange concoction, of simply a stick of butter that is coated in batter and deep fried, was back by popular demand after debuting at last year’s fair.

The deep-fried butter on a stick, created by entrepreneur Larry Fyfe, who has spent decades inventing and selling foods for fairs, is sold for $4 a pop.

Officials of the Iowa Fair approached him last year to asked him invent the

4 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

impacts of genetically modified foods are misguided.

They even argue that the benefits of genetically modified food far outweigh the perceived negatives.

"Bioengineered crops are the safest crops in the world," Bob Goldberg, a molecular biologist who's a professor at UCLA and a member of the National Academy of Science said.

"We've been testing them for 40 years.

"They're like the Model T Ford.

"There is not one credible scientist working on this that would call it unsafe."

Up to 80 percent of all processed foods sold in the US are made with genetically modified ingredients, including corn, soybeans, sugar beets and cotton oil.

If the proposal became law in California, genetically modified processed foods would be required to include the words 'Partially produced with genetic engineering' on the front or back label, while foods entirely made through GM systems would h have to declare so with a sign on the shelf.

deep-fried butter option to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the fair’s giant butter cow.

Fyfe was not confident he could do it, thinking the name if it would turn people off, and based on recent attempts that had failed, such as the Texas State Fair.

The success of Fyfe’s creation is dependant on the half-stick (two ounces) of butter remaining very cold, close to freezing, until a customer places an order.

Then it’s dunked into a funnel cake batter that contains cinnamon and other spices, and dipped into vegetable oil at high temperature to heat for up to 90 seconds, before being drizzled with

honey glaze and served.

Apparently it tastes similar to French toast or cinnamon rolls at first, but the butter then starts oozing out everywhere.

To that end, a boat provided when it is served catches most of the butter, which is then eaten with a plastic fork.

Fyfe concedes that at fairs in the US, “dignity goes right out the window.”

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NEWS

to longer terms”, adding that there is an “urgent priority that needs to be given to addressing the immediate challenges faced by businesses and employees”.

The first point the report lays out is addressing these challenges and “the real and imminent danger of large losses of jobs and capabilties”.

It also looks “to help reboot economy wide growth, encourage investment, and reduce the costs of doing business” via a targeted stimulus and initiatives such as new regulation and taxations have also been proposed.

The report also seeks to address competitiveness issues in the market, putting forth “the development of

globally oriented innovation precincts”.

This report also outlines the need to “address the multiple barriers facing SMEs, and to help more SMEs grow into mid sized firms”.

“The agenda proposed here is a complex one. It will require sensible sequencing and the engagement of multiple stakeholders. Notwithstanding the urgent pressures on parts of manufacturing, the non-government members of the Taskforce stress the need to get it done right rather than get it done fast,” report states.

It goes in to say that the industry must focus on invention and innovation, with government assistance, if it is to succeed.

tonne to $310 a tonne.

Experts predict it could remain around $300 a tonne by the end of the year.

The company has also revealed it regrets its choice to manufacture $1 Australia’s largest baker has confirmed bread for the Coles private label, as it is that the price of bread will increase due already unprofitable. to the US drought.

Like so many other industries, Goodman Fielder’s managing director including the dairy, produce and food Chris Delaney said the increase in grain manufacturing, the bread sector is price as a result of the drought in the will flow on to consumers, it remains suffering the impacts of being forced Midwest of the United States and that unclear whether the supermarket giants to sell their products at prices less than “the consumer would have to pay for will actually change the shelf price. the cost of production for the sake of that increase’,” meaning higher shelf They could absorb the costs within their supermarket private labels and their prices for shoppers. own businesses, but if past experience is war on price.

Now that the US corn harvest is any indication, that would be unlikely and “Dollar bread is at a loss,” Delaney said. forecast to collapse by 100 million tonnes it would be more probable that the bread ‘’This was not a good investment and I to 274 million tonnes due to the drought, companies and others impacted by the cost wouldn’t do it again if I had a choice.” prices will increase throughout the rest of increases would absorb the costs within Countless industry insiders and experts the manufacturing process. their already struggling structures as Coles have labelled the current private label The price of wheat, often used as continues to sell bread for $1. environment as unsustainable, as farmers a substitute livestock feed grain, Delaney said clauses surrounding rises and manufacturers leave their sectors has also suffered as a result of the and falls such as grains allowed commodity because they can’t break even, let alone unseasonable weather. prices to be factored into product pricing, make a profit.

Since May, the price of Australian to questions by Food eastAcoast wheat D _ milling-grade F DST EJ U N _ has 1 2 . p d f While P a gGoodman e 1 Fielder 2 1 / 0says 5 /the1 flow 2 , 1 but : 1Coles’ 5 Presponse M Magazine about the cost absorptions and on effects of the grain price increases increased by almost half, from $214 a

private label pricing came in the form of one sentence that would seem somewhat threatening to suppliers.

“Coles is happy to review any supplier requests for cost price increases that can be appropriately validated,” the Coles spokesperson said.

When pushed further for comment the response was “sorry, not appropriate to speculate on outcomes.”

The baking company’s private label contract with Coles is up for renewal in the first half of 2013.

Goodman’s private label contract with Coles will be renewed in the first half of next year.

In what has become a yearly expectation, creators each year come up with something newer and stranger to deep-fry, and this year was no exception.

For 2012, it was a deep fried pickle dog, which unfortunately did not go exactly as planned.

Because the allure (if you can call it that) of the deep fried offerings is that they are served on a stick, making it easier to fry and eat.

This year’s deep-fried pickle dawg, however, which involves a slice of pickle, some pastrami or ham and cream cheese that is then deep-fried, had some issues staying on the stick and instead had to be served in a cardboard box.

Where’s the fun in that?

There are 57 products on a stick on offer at this year’s fair, as the fascination with the serving option continues to grow, and expectations are that next year there will be even more.

5 point policy to improve Aussie manufacturing The Government has released its Manufacturing Taskforce report, which has a five point policy designed to get the manufacturing industry moving again.

The report, released today, states that it “looks to shape a more dynamic contribution from manufacturing over the medium term

Bread prices to increase due to US drought, but who will absorb the cost?

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Footprints for the future Creating and maintaining a sustainable business is crucial to success in this day and age, but unfortunately for some sectors there is not a lot of new improvements that can be made, as Jessica Burke reports.

6 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

T

he National Food Plan has forecasted a rise of almost 80 percent rise in demand for food by 2050 and believes Australia should embrace the opportunity to be the Asian foodbowl, but also must consider sustainability in operating.

The paper acknowledges the confliction between farming and coal seam gas mining, and the importance of finding a compromise between them. ‘’The government is confident that mining and farming can co-exist without affecting Australia’s food production capacity but recognises land use planning is a significant policy issue that must be considered carefully,” it states.

Back in June, a joint project between Landcare Australia and Woolworths was announced, which will award up to $15 000 for individual farms or organisations to support projects improving water use, the carbon footprint of farming or nutrient management.

In a bid to encourage, develop and improve sustainable farming practises throughout Australia, the project made $150 000 available, to be awarded to projects that best fit the criteria.

According to chief executive of Landcare Australia, Heather Campbell, the innovation in the farming industry is often overlooked, and this project plans to reward some of the new ideas Australian farmers are coming up with all the time.

“Having seen the incredibly innovative projects funded through the Woolworths Fresh Food Future open grants program last year, I am delighted that we can continue to support the sustainable agriculture sector in this way and cannot wait to see what other fantastic projects come our way through this year’s program,” she said.

The Australian farming industry has had a rough trot of it lately, with the average farmer aged over 60, and nowhere near enough new workers coming through the ranks to fill the void left when they retire.

Children in Australia even think that yoghurt grows on trees and cotton socks are an animal product, a report buy the Australia Council of Educational

Research found, and agriculture degrees across the country are being discontinued as enrolment numbers continue to dwindle.

More pain for dairy farmers Dairy farming has been deemed the second worst job, based on physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook, and farmers are leaving the industry in drovesas they struggle to make ends meet in the supermarket milk price wars.

In May, Dairy Australia received $1 million from the Federal Government to conduct research to assess energy efficiency on dairy farms nation-wide.

As the national services body for dairy farmers and the industry, Dairy Australia helps farmers adapt to a changing operating environment, and work towards a profitable, sustainable dairy industry.

The funding will provide over 900 farmers with information and support to improve farm energy efficiency, hopefully cutting costs for individual farmers and larger organisations, who are struggling to compete in the current retail environment.

In April, Western Australian farmers met with Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder to discuss the impact of the milk price wars on production and try to find a solution.

The farmers want fairer pricing strategies from the group, which includes Coles, and last week the WA Farmers Federation passed a motion to boycott Wesfarmers and its subsidiaries.

The WA Farmers Dairy Council (WAFarmers) say the “predatory pricing” by the major supermarkets have devalued the industry.

The Australian Dairy Industry Council’s project is also supported by the Australian Dairy Industry Council, milk processors and state agencies.

Manager of Dairy Australia’s Natural Resource Management Program, Catherine Phelps, said the cost of using energy is a major concern for farmers and other workers in the dairy industry.

“The conditions are right for a very effective national

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project,” she said.

“The secured funding would help deliver energy assessments to all eight dairy regions across Australia, tailoring it to meet local needs.”

Some of the recommended options will most likely include changes to management practices, optimisation of current equipment and capital investment, according to Phelps.

Dreading the impact The dairy industry is one that is predicted to be hit hard by the carbon tax, and back in January Chris Griffin, president of the Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) told Food Magazine about the expected impact of the tax on the already struggling sector.

“The carbon tax will also cause problems when it’s implemented on the 1 July; we’ve done work to find the costs that will be incurred and they are largely electrical costs,” he said.

“The average increase for dairy operation will be between $5000- $7000, and that will be an overall direct increase in cost that will have to be passed on somewhere.”

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suggested, with opponents predicting a rise in living costs, as the expenses trickle down the supply chain.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also copped immense criticism for introducing the tax, despite an earlier election promise that no such tax would be introduced under her leadership.

Even now, two months after the implementation of the controversial tax, there is still no way to know what the entire impact of it will be on dairy operators in Australia.

“From the information we have at the moment, the average impact on farmers just for electricity costs is between $5600 to $7600 per average farm, which is still the same ballpark of what we predicted in January,” he told Food Magazine this month.

“In regards to fuel, at the moment it is exempt from the carbon tax so we don’t believe there should be any outgoing costs there, but that’s only while it’s not included in the tax.”

“What we’re seeing Australia-wide are some variations, and if you look at the impact, it is highest in Tasmania, then South Australia and Victoria and that is indicative of the cost of power in those states.”

work for the environment, people, the consumers as well as the agriculture sector,” ADF Director Terry Toohey told the recent Food Magazine Industry Leaders Summit.

“So hopefully in the mainland, some of the politicians will take note and see a little part of Australia is driving the rest of the country, or will drive the rest of the country.”

ADF Policy manager Beverly Wallace told Food Magazine the industry is bracing itself for when the impact of the tax becomes clear.

“It’s still early days in regards to electricity, nobody has received a bill with the carbon tax included yet and until they have that bill in hand to show the increase, we wont know the exact impact.

Griffin explained that while the government is offering incentives to farmers to improve their sustainability, often there is not a whole lot that can be done within their operations.

“That’s a step in right direction and there are a number of things farmers can do and can attempt to do to reduce emissions of all kinds but in all of those, there are not a lot of gains in efficiently-run dairy operations at the moment.

"Australia has come out ahead of the game in a way with implementing the carbon tax, but farmers can't go to their overseas customers and say 'we need extra money because [of] the carbon tax,' the customers would just go elsewhere."

The cost increase caused by the carbon tax will have to be absorbed by the farmers in the milk export market, Griffin told Food Magazine.

“It will have to be absorbed by the farmer because our price is governed by a royal export set price.

“Australia has come out ahead of the game in a way with implementing the carbon tax, but farmers can’t go to their overseas customers and saying ‘we need extra money because Julia has put on a carbon tax,’ the customers would just go elsewhere.”

The carbon price will be fixed at $23 a tonne for its first three years, and applies to the 294 heaviest polluters in Australia.

The tax has been heavily scrutinised since it was first

“One impact is the carbon tax and another is the increase in electricity price.

“Some states will feel a lot more impacted because states have actually imposed higher rates not to do with carbon tax so they’re kind of being hit twice, like in Tasmania and New South Wales.”

As the industry continues to become more difficult to survive in, Tasmania is held up as a rare success story, so if the impact of electricity and carbon pricing is detrimental to the state, the sector will have little to aspire to.

“The area of growth that will really show will be Tasmania, because the government in Tasmania has a different attitude towards agricultural sectors, where they are willing to say ‘let’s work out a way that’s going to

“Conservation planning or looking for carbon benefits in planning trees is not very likely in dairy operations, for example, if you plant trees you minimise the land you can farm off, so has to be a balance.

“Unfortunately there are not a lot of gains to be made in those areas.”

Wallace agreed, saying “if a dairy farmer is running their farm the best they possibly can, there’s not much potential of an increase in carbon.”

Griffin said the government needs to listen to the industry and give dairy farmers more of a chance in an already difficult environment.

“We’ve always said we would like to see a slower phase-in, but unfortunately we’re past that and it has www.foodmag.com.au | September 12 | Foodmagazine 7

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been implemented is underway.

“I doubt there will be any support, but we’ve said all along that ‘this is an issue for us’ and up until now hasn’t been any real assistance.

Baker burnt by carbon tax memo Just after the tax was introduced on July 1, national bakery chain, Brumby’s issued an apology after internal documents were leaked to the media, showing the company instructed outlets to significantly raise prices of products and blame the carbon tax. ‘’We are doing an RRP [recommended retail price] review at present which is projected to be in line with CPI [consumer price index], but take the opportunity to make some moves in June and July,’’ Brumby’s managing director, Deane Priest, wrote to franchisees in the company’s internal publication, Backmix. ‘’Let the carbon tax take the blame, after all, your costs will be going up due to it.’’

The federal government slammed the ‘’reprehensible’’ behaviour, while the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched an investigation over

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Improving sustainability In April Bundaberg Sugar revealed it has invested $40 million on upgrading a mill in southern Queensland to avoid increases in financial payments when the carbon tax is officially introduced.

“Probably the biggest improvement is that the lower moisture bagasse means that the boilers burn more efficiently, which means there’s les CO2 into the atmosphere and also less emissions generally from the boiler stacks,” general manager David Pickering said.

“The carbon tax is coming in from the first of July, so we want to make sure that we’re operating below the threshold.

“This will allow us to produce more

"The [expected] average impact on farmers just for electricity costs is between $5600 to $7600 per average farm" the comments in the memorandum to staff.

Brumby’s parent company, Retail Food Group, took full responsibility for the comments and apologised in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), saying the advice should not have been issued and that it was not representative of the company’s policies or practices. ‘’We therefore express our genuine regret over this isolated incident and unreservedly apologise for this unacceptable error of judgment,’’ it said.

While the Gillard government has slammed the comments, the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott said they were understandable. ‘’I can fully understand why every single business in this country is looking at its costs and thinking of how much its prices have got to go up, because that’s what the carbon tax is going to do to them,’’ he said.

The ACCC has pledged to catch any others doing the same, after it was given more power to issue fines to companies and individuals misleading others about the price impact of the tax.

Some food and beverage manufacturers have criticised the tax, saying the impact on their businesses willAbeDsignificant, _ F D WAwhile D S Eothers P _ have 1 2 .been p dimplementing f Pa ge changes to cope.

8 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

bagasse, which is a renewable energy, rather than coal.

“That means that we, in the marketplace, can remain competitive with our product.”

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Understanding the importance of sustainable salmon farming Ensuring sustainable operations has become a crucial part of salmon farming. Linda Sims, Head of Sustainability at Tassal details the journey the company has been on.

I

n an ever-changing market it’s not enough for a company to simply be profit-orientated, because your customers and stakeholders will demand that you be socially and environmentally responsible too.

Tassal has been farming Atlantic Salmon in Tasmania for over 25 years and sustainability is at the core of everything we do. There is always room for improvement too, which is why a longer term view is critical when it comes to sustainability. By considering the long-term effects of social, economic and environmental factors in an integrated matter, taking into account all your stakeholders, you will reduce any environmental impacts as a result of economic activities and ultimately end up with a better product or service.

Farming salmon responsibly Salmon farming is an exciting, growing yet complex industry and we believe the approach should be

10 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

focused on doing so responsibly. Aquaculture is widely acknowledged as the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world and responsible aquaculture should contribute to sustainable food solutions to support the food needs of a growing population and provide an alternative to wild caught fish and other seafood.

Our sustainability journey has been led firstly by the development of a team dedicated to environmental and social sustainability. Having a dedicated team focused on sustainability has been a key driver in boosting our focus, and is something I would encourage other companies wanting to prioritise sustainability to consider.

Sustainability also extends right through to the nets used, the feed given to salmon and also maintaining salmon health and welfare. We are leading the way in copper reduction and net cleaner innovation, with a focus on being copper-free within the next two years, which will be a global first. Aquaculture Salmon are

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efficient converters of fish meal and fish oil to edible protein. This means that with salmon we get a lot from what we put in. Our objective is to become a ‘net fish’ producer, in other words, produce more fish for human consumption than we use for feed. We’re working with suppliers to find efficient substitutes for fish meal including vegetable and land animal proteins. In terms of salmon welfare, healthy fish are happy fish and we’re committed to this as a top priority. Salmon, like other animals, need the right conditions to be healthy.

Our farmers choose sites that provide appropriate growing conditions, obtain or develop good quality fish stocks that are adapted to their environment and also provide nutritious food to the fish and reduce potential sources of stress. Managing the water quality and health of the seafloor beneath salmon farms is a key component to fish performance, quality and ultimate our sustainability.

Reporting on sustainability In March 2012, Tassal unveiled its first Sustainability Report which published our achievements to date, together with a snapshot of future sustainability initiatives across all operations. This level of engagement and transparency was a new frontier for Tassal, but one that I’m glad we forged. If you want to be sustainable and responsible, it’s essential you also be accountable and through a report such as our Sustainability Report we can communicate effectively to all stakeholders and the industry. The Sustainability Report will be an ongoing and essential part of our business operations moving forward. Businesses wanting to innovate A D _ FinDthis R Uarea D Sshould E P _consider 1 2 . phow d ftheyPare a ge going to report on their sustainability efforts. It will

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ensure you are continually looking for ways to improve and communicate your commitment to sustainability across your business.

healthy marine environment.

No time like the present While your business’s sustainability journey will

Sustainable Partnerships Forging partnerships with likeminded organisations is also extremely beneficial and helpful to implementing and committing to sustainability throughout our company. Tassal started a sustainability journey with WWF in March 2012 to work together to achieve the highest global standard of responsibly produced seafood.

Through this partnership, Tassal is aiming to be the leader in sustainable aquaculture production in Australia with all our products meeting best practice environmentally responsible standards.

Managing the water quality and health of the seafloor beneath salmon farms is a key component to fish performance, quality and ultimate our sustainability.

Currently, we’re working with WWF to become the first aquaculture operation in the Asia-Pacific region to undergo and achieve Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification. WWF considers ASC the most credible certification for responsible aquaculture. Tassal is also a signatory to the WWF Global Seafood Charter.

This charter sets out clear principles and objectives to safeguard valuable marine ecosystems, ensuring the long1term1viability 6 / 0 of 8 /seafood 1 2 , supplies 9 : –0 as 3 well A as M benefiting businesses and local communities that depend on a

start with a simple change in mindset, remember that implementing a responsible and sustainable direction across your business is a long-term strategic approach.

The rewards speak for themselves however, which is why I believe it’s a necessity for any business operating in Australia and around the world to be economically and socially sustainable to remain competitive for the future. Tassal has been investing in sustainable practices across the business for years and will continue to do so in years to come.

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A D _ F D A Z T MA Y _ 1 2 . p d f

PACKAGING

The Labelling Machine Company

The importance of education T

Over the past 49 years, the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has played a significant role as the educational arm of the packaging industry, and it is continuing to expand its reach, as Pierre Pienaar, FAIP, AIP Education Coordinator writes.

hrough training courses, seminars, national conferences, technical dinners and its flagship Diploma in Packaging Technology and Certificate in Packaging, the AIP continues to provide professional and personal development to everyone in the packaging industry.

The AIP’s range of education opportunities on offer to individuals and corporate companies seeking to expand their knowledge and commercial opportunities across the breadth of the packaging industry are internationally accredited by the PIABC in the UK and are the benchmark for training worldwide. Graduates of AIP courses are recognised internationally expanding their global employment opportunities.

The Diploma in Packaging Technology and Certificate in Packaging are both internationally recognised qualifications for those wishing to pursue a career in the packaging industry, or for those who are already in the industry and who wish to extend their knowledge and expertise.

Now that the Australian Institute of Packaging Contact is a member of the prestigious World Packaging Organisation (WPO), we have the unique opportunity of not only keeping abreast of packaging trends worldwide but also the educational opportunities and standards on a global scale. Once students have qualified having successfully completing the Certificate in Packaging (Level 3) or the Diploma in Packaging Technology (Level 5) their qualification will be recognised not only in the current 27 countries studying similar courses but in all 52 member countries within the WPO. If we do not educate now, we will not have enough suitable and practical knowledge in the industry as soon as seven years from now. Currently we have a substantial level of very experienced packaging engineers and technologists who will be retiring within 10 years, leaving precious little experience in the industry.

The 2012 updated course is now in line with the National Occupational Standards.

The updated 2012 course includes assessment with is greater focus on the subject material and relating the questions directly to the content. Whereas previously

Where reliability comes as standard

an examination question would be focused on simply recovering data, the future approach is to strengthen the justification of a choice of material or a comparison of performance between materials or to explain a theory.

The primary objective has been to bring a level of uniformity across all Diploma level courses as well as the level of knowledge required, effort and the assessment objectives. The final Unit is focused directly on a piece of research, ideally where the student has been involved in at their workplace. It does improve the students’ prospects in terms of what will be an EU recognised qualification in due course i.e. it will have greater transportability Our very successful half-day training courses on a range of different topics have been exceptionally well supported. There is a continual need for this type of informal education and the AIP will continue to seek out what is needed and seek suitable presenters to train. Courses will be suitably advertised as they come up.

The AIP also offers a Corporate Partnering Program where businesses opt for a tailored training program that focuses on their specific requirements and provides a learning experience for a specific group of

"If we do not educate now, we will not have enough practical knowledge" employees or an entire workforce. Training programs can be designed to lead into a qualification if required or to provide a set of information specific to a business or market area. Perhaps this will be the time you decide you can no longer ignore the need for increasing not only production but increasing knowledge so that production increase will flow on from this.

The AIP is also leading the way in establishing formal educational training in developing countries in South East Asia.

The first course is planned for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in October 2012. This is to be followed by training in Bangladesh in January 2013 and then later next year in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

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www.foodmag.com.au | September 12 | Foodmagazine 13

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And the winners are...

The Food Magazine Awards are over for another year, and we are so pleased to bring you the winners from the night, along with their journey to becoming the success that they are. Thank you to the sponsors who made the night possible, to the judges for taking time out of their busy schedules to share their expertise and to the entrants and guests. Congratulations to all our winners and we look forward to seeing you when we do it all again in 2013. Awards coverage by Madeline Prince.

Simply the best INGREDIENT INNOVATION + HEALTH & NUTRITION: CO YO CORPORATE PTY LTD CO YO Coconut Milk Yoghurt Natural

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relative newcomer to the food industry, CoYo Corporate made big waves at this year’s Food Awards, taking out the Ingredient Innovation and Health and Nutrition awards along with the ultimate recognition of being the Best of the Best in food manufacturing.

Henry and Sandra Gosling are the husband and wife team behind the CoYo dairy free, coconut yoghurt which has taken a known fruit with a high fat content and used it to now have nutritional benefits.

Sandra said the idea for their unique health conscious product was an accident.

“This was a “silly idea” that came to mind at 3.00am on a Sunday morning,” she explained.

“It had nothing to do with any specific reason as to change from dairy to coconut.

Henry had managed a dairy factory that made yoghurt and after researching (Google) the coconut yoghurt market that morning at 3.15am he was surprised that no one other than a company in America was doing it. He was born in Fiji and thought he knew a lot about the coconut, in fact he knew very little.”

Henry then set about researching the coconut and how it could be best utilised to create a product that was great tasting,

with the right texture.

“The more he researched, he realised that it was an oil he was dealing with and obviously there may have been others that would have tried and then moved on. It was really in the end his stubbornness that drove him and he became obsessed with the whole concept of making yoghurt from coconut milk. After five months of daily experiments he finally cracked the right combination between coconut milk, starches, sweeteners and cultures,” Sandra said.

Sandra became the taster as did her yoga class mates, who each Monday tried the next so-called successful batch. On 19 November 2009 one of the yoga ladies said, “My god this is”Heaven in a mouthful” and it was then that he knew he had made the grade.

Not only were Sandra’s yoga friends enamoured with the product but the health food industry was too, however some slight alterations needed to be made to address the health and nutrition of the product.

“The response was at first guarded, considering that it was targeted to main stream stores. Once the health food stores heard about it they grabbed it. Feed back was important and slowly the ingredients were changed from the original recipe to provide what the public wanted. Out went

14 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

the sugar and Xylitol replaced that and then completely vegan cultures were added.”

The marketing for CoYo has been focussed on educating the public through in-store tastings by informed presenters. There is a lot of fat naturally in coconuts, so the marketing needed to focus on the health improvements that were made by the Goslings.

“The main challenge in making the product was taking such a high fat ingredient and then trying to make a yoghurt from it.

Dairy has about 3.5-4 percent fat verses coconut at 28 percent, [so that] was the challenge. We decided early on that if we were to succeed we would need to promote the coconut not the yoghurt,” Sandra said.

Information packs have been sent to appropriate organisations including the Celiac Society, the Food Intolerance Society and fitness and weight loss groups.

In terms of expanding the brand through exporting, CoYo Corporate has approached the market hesitantly, as the natural state of the product means it has a limited shelf life. CoYo licensed the manufacturing of the product to a United Kingdom company, Planet Coconut Pty Ltd which is run by another couple, Bethany and Paul Eaton. The yoghurt has

won various health related competitions in Europe and will begin exporting to Sweden in the near future.

Sandra and Henry are also in talks with companies in California, Germany, Malaysia and New Zealand.

It has been humble beginnings from Henry’s childhood love of coconuts to now being an expert on the fruit and creating an ever expanding international enterprise.

“As a kid Henry would have to grate coconuts to provide coconut milk for the family meals daily. As he grew older his brothers and sister took on that chore.

To take this what is now known as an amazing super food and turning the milk into yoghurt has been a journey, it is a journey each week as we learn new things about this raw material, it is fickle, un-predictable, and at times very frustrating. Our yoghurt makers learn something new each time, temperature, cooling, state of the coconut milk at time of manufacture. Varieties of coconuts make such a difference to the end product as we found out when we changed brands during a shortage in December last year.

The subtle changes were noticed not only by our customers but through our processing we learnt a lot more about the coconut”.

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Flavour without the gluten BAKED GOODS: BYRON BAY COOKIE COMPANY Falwasser Gluten Free Rosemary & Sea Salt Crispbread

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he Byron Bay Cookie Company is this year’s winner of the Baked Goods category for its Falwasser Gluten Free Rosemary Sea Salt Crispbread.

Djacinta van der Meulen, marketing assistant at Byron Bay Cookie Company said that the team were ‘exceptionally excited’ with the win.

The judges were impressed with the incorporation of flavorsome ingredients that are able to be consumed by people who are coeliacs.

“The Falwasser is a great looking and tasty gourmet snack which hits the mark for ceoliacs and people wishing to consume a gluten-free diet. It is a great all round entry- Byron Bay Cookie Company is going from strength to strength.”

When Byron Bay Cookie Company purchased Falwasser in 2009, the brand had a loyal following of customers but demand was growing for it to develop a gluten free crispbread that would retain the flavours and textures of a standard crispbread.

The Falwasser crispbreads are still baked in the original bakehouse in Ashmore on the Gold Coast and are exported internationally to the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Dubai and Taiwan, to name a few. The crispbread is known as the thinnest on the market and is surprisingly strong and flavourful in spite of being gluten free.

“All of our products go through strenuous testing for both taste and quality,” van der Meulen said.

“We will not release anything that we are not 100 percent happy with. Our subtle flavours are not over powering so they are the perfect accompaniment to cheeses, pates and dip, and they taste great on their own.”

The judges added that the move into

savoury flavours has been a success.

“This company is well known for its quality sweet baked products so a venture into savoury has really tested their innovative ability. The gluten free wafers have been well thought through with great ingredients and packaging.”

In addition to complying with industry standards, all of the ingredients suppliers

undergo a strict selection process and must meet the highest quality compliance before being approved and included in recipes. Local ingredients are used whenever possible.

From humble beginnings in 1990, Byron Bay Cookie Company was originally baked in an old farmhouse stove in the hills of Byron Bay, a region famous for its fresh ingredients and unique flavours. From being sold at the local markets the Company now bakes hundreds of thousands of cookies weekly, including the increasingly popular Gluten Free range, which is shipped throughout Australia and around the world. Byron Bay Cookies supply prominent Australian companies such as David Jones, Bunnings, Lite’n Easy, Qantas, Jetstar, as

well as cafés and gourmet food stores.

Venturing into the savoury side of things, the company has aimed to provide the best quality, and as the product name suggests, the crispbread has to be packed adequately so it remains crisp.

Boasting a 12-month shelf life the range of crispbreads is doubly wrapped using modified air packing; firstly shrink-wrapped into a plastic tray then flow-wrapped to guarantee its freshness.

The quality assurance team retests the packaging for its freshness on a regular basis and they also test new material and make the necessary adjustments to the packaging if required.

Van der Meulen says that successful marketing has been a matter of engaging with retailers.

“Having key distribution and retail partners and promoting well through those channels has been very much a contributing factor to the success of the brand.”

Other flavours in the Falwasser Crispbreads range are cheese and onion, pepper and chive, sesame seed and natural as well as gluten free natural and the award winning gluten free rosemary and sea salt.

www.foodmag.com.au | September 12 | Foodmagazine 15

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Australian first design PACKAGING DESIGN: O-I O-I Vortex Bottle

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packaging,” he said.

O-I partnered with Western Australia’s Gage Roads Brewing Co. to launch the Australian- first application of internal embossing in May 2011.

The impact of the new bottle design as well as secondary labelling changes “Our coincides with the recent announcement experience that Gage had experienced a 25 percent in recent years year-on-year increase in Wahoo Premium has taught us that Ale sales since the introduction of the packaging which Vortex bottle. appeals to the consumer It also allows the use of the full label and grabs both their attention and surface and is 100 percent infinitely imagination is vital,” said Hayler. recyclable.

It is not just within Australia that Gage Roads Brewing Co.’s former O-I has had success, the bottle has CEO, Nick Hayler, said internal been adopted by Miller Lite beer in embossing provided a distinct point-ofthe United States where it was credited difference that was difficult to replicate with improving Miller Lite’s sales by 6

by Wahoo’s competitors. percent, a significant margin in the highly “When you consider consumer competitive beer industry. In addition, purchasing behaviours, it’s easy to DB Breweries was the first company to appreciate the importance of capturing A D _ F D S Y M M A R _ 1 2 . p d f their P attention a g e and 1 standing 2 1 / 0out 2 from / 1 2the, 1 launch : 5 9 internal P M embossing technology in New Zealand, after applying the Vortex retail noise,” he said.

t this year’s Food Magazine Awards, O-I took out the Packaging Award for its unique internal embossing on the new Wahoo Premium Ale beer bottle.

Peter Sexton Bruce from O-I Australia collected the Award on the night and said that it is the innovative design of the bottle that sets it apart from other makes.

“It’s an innovative design whereby you have the embossing on the inside of the bottle so it provides a unique positioning in the market for the customers in terms of packaging and glass solutions

As used in UK and European hospitals, and now fast being adopted in food preparation areas, commercial kitchens, and the food manufacturing industry as well.

bottle design to its Tui Blond Lager in 2011. When asked what the benefit of the internal embossing is, Sexton Bruce said: “Uniqueness is probably the main thing and also that they can identify with the actual brand and therefore differentiate in the market and have shelf presence.”

O-I is also proactive in managing its carbon footprint and has launched a list of sustainability goals to be met by 2017.

These include aims to reduce global energy consumption by 50 percent, reduce carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 65 percent and nearly double its use of recycled glass so that a global average of 60 percent of each as well as eliminating workplace incidents.

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www.baxx.com.au 16 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

TESTS INDICATE EFFECTIVE ELIMINATION OF THE FOLLOWING ESCHERICHIA COLI (E COLI) STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES PSEUDOMONAS and ASPERGILLUS NIGER CAMPYLOBACTER BACILLUS SUBTILIS SPORE SALMONELLA SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE MRSA, C.DIFF(SPORE FORM) AND NOROVIRUS

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How sweet it is to be natural CONFECTIONARY: HEILALA VANILLA LIMITED Heilala Vanilla Syrup

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he winner of this year’s Confectionary category is Heilala Vanilla for its Vanilla Syrup entry.

Development of Heilala Vanilla’s Syrup came as family owner-operators John Ross, daughter Jennifer Boggiss and husband Garth Boggiss saw the troubling breadth of very unnatural syrups on offer.

“There are a number of Vanilla Syrups available; all contain either whole or partly artificial chemical vanilla flavours.

Genuine and real Vanilla is one of life’s great pleasures, so we wanted to create a product that could have a wide range of applications, in coffee’s, cocktails, over pancakes and ice cream”, said Jennifer.

Garth Boggiss said that in order to come up with the syrup idea, Heilala Vanilla engaged food technology researches at Massey University in New Zealand to help develop the techniques of extraction and seed processing technology.

“There was actually a project that university students worked on for us so they looked in the market at what was available and they looked at a category that really needed a pure vanilla flavour added to it so it was actually a university project,” Garth said.

The vanilla used by Heilala is farmed

on Tonga using sustainable practices and the farm was originally set up as an aid project by John Ross who was originally a dairy farmer. The challenges of farming have a direct impact on the end result of the vanilla syrup as Jennifer Boggiss points out: “We have two current challenges; firstly increasing our supply of Vanilla from Tonga, both from our plantation and other growers in Tonga. Vanilla is sensitive to climatic conditions and the last two seasons have been very wet. As we grow our product range and markets – which now include retail, food service and food manufacturing in New Zealand, Australia and USA the supply of Vanilla becomes critical to our future growth.

The second challenge is ensuring we are constantly innovative and researching new food products that are 100 percent pure vanilla. Heilala Vanilla is globally unique; being the only vanilla company that is ‘plantation to pantry’”.

Jennifer says that the Vanilla Syrup has many applications and fills a gap in the market.

“There were vanilla syrups on the market but no 100 percent Pure Vanilla Syrups, the existing syrups all were

artificial, chemical flavoured Vanilla.

Heilala Vanilla is all about 100 percent pure vanilla so we thought why not create a pure vanilla syrup to add to our product range then we worked on creating demand for the product, to educate consumers on pure vanilla syrup and its many and wide range of applications – Vanilla syrup is similar to maple syrup but has more applications.”

The syrup can be used in coffees, cocktails, smoothies and milkshakes, drizzled over ice cream, yoghurt and fruit as well as poured over pancakes and French toast.

Currently Heilala Vanilla exports to Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and USA through distributors in

export markets which supplies directly to larger retail groups.

Those Distributors that Heilala Vanilla partner with have a passion for premium 100 percent pure food products; have a current product range of premium food products and a high end customer base. Currently 50 percent of sales are from export and the aim of the company is to build this to 70 percent in the next two years.

“The biggest achievement for Heilala Vanilla Syrup was being accepted by Williams Sonoma for ranging in their 200 plus cookware and food stores throughout USA and Canada early in 2011. The sales of Heilala Vanilla Syrup continue to increase in Williams Sonoma, the most exclusive food and cookware retail chain in the USA market,” Jennifer said.

www.foodmag.com.au | September 12 | Foodmagazine 17

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Simplicity the key to sweet ORGANICS + SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING: URBAN HONEY CO. Pure Raw Honey & Honey Orange Marmalade

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he Urban Honey Co.cleaned up at this year’s Food Magazine Awards, taking home two Awards, one for the Organic and All Natural category and the other recognising its Sustainable Manufacturing processes.

The Company is a small business based in Melbourne that specialises in producing high quality, local honey and honey based preserves such as marmalade and beeswax cosmetics.

Owner of Urban Honey Co, Lyndon Fenlon started with just one hive in 2004 and set out making honey that reduced the distance of produce source to table.

The following five years were spent honing bee handling skills, testing green ideas and building a first-of-itskind network of hives all accessing local and native flora from the rooftops, gardens and green belts of the CBD and surrounding suburbs.

Fenlon has extended on his original honey producing idea to now include honey orange marmalade which is made with organic oranges and the pure local, raw honey, in an ancient process that takes three days to complete.

It comes in thick cut and fine cut and the only additional ingredient is pectin. The orange peel slowly infuses in its own juice and is then slowly reduced down in volume by gentle simmering with the honey and pectin being added at the final stage.

Fenlon said he came up with the idea to combine the oranges and honey simply because of his love for the product.

“I love honey so much I’m always looking for ways to use it differently but still make it the champion in terms of ingredients. Most products that have honey in them also have lots of other stuff (sometimes even sugar as well as the honey) and I just wanted a simple honey product with honey as the star,” he said.

“I already knew that honey is already

a perfectly reduced solution in terms of moisture content, this is because bees evaporate the nectar right down to around 18 percent moisture to stop honey spoiling so therefore you have a naturally processed solution that keeps for a long time and tastes great. I started thinking how I could add complimentary flavours to honey without lots of processing.”

A 17th century family recipe formed the basis of the honey marmalade which adhered to Lyndon’s philosophy to remain as natural as possible.

“I wanted to use ingredients which

didn’t travel from far away and were as pure and natural as the honey I produce. I remembered there had been an old family recipe floating around which originally dated back to the 17th century. It was for marmalade and used quinces and honey as a preserve - they used to cook them and set them into solid blocks and cut chunks off to chew.

I adapted this recipe so I could make a spreadable preserve using Aussie organic oranges.”

In terms of sustainability, it has been important to Lyndon to be sustainable and preserve the environment he works and lives in and once again he considered history in choosing his methods.

“I adopted as many manual processes as possible, re-assessed my values to

make time my measurement of personal wealth and invested lots of it in making sure that there were no waste by-products to what I do by finding a beneficial use for everything.”

The honey for the marmalade comes from Urban Honey’s own local hives, it is hand made from start to finish with the end product being transported on locally built rickshaws and bicycle trailers. The bee hives are made of pine and come from a local plantation and the machinery that cuts and sizes this wood is

made from recycled diesel engines which have been adapted to run on steam.

Fenlon explained there have been many benefits of being sustainable.

“I know that every site I use to produce honey is better off for having bees there; also by keeping things as simple as possible it means we are more adaptable to change and less stressed.”

Fenlon went on to say how important sustainability is to his business ideology.

“Obviously sustainability is going to mean different things to different producers, depending on scale and types of products manufactured so I wouldn’t like to dish out any advice on that but I think that nowadays even the most hard- nosed business person would appreciate that if they want to stick around in the long term then it makes sense not to consume more than their output in order to survive.”

Urban Honey Co. products are a available around Melbourne in organic stores, bakeries, cafes, health stores and hotels and he is hoping to expand.

“Eventually I hope that everyone will one day have an option of trying some honey from their immediate local area.”

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Modern take on old ideas DAIRY: FIVE:AM LIFE PTY LTD five:am Organic Yoghurt

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his year’s dairy category winner, five:am, proves that customer’s are responding to modern approaches to food manufacturing and want to know that the company producing their food maintains best practices in sustainability, sourcing of ingredients and of course taste.

Lauren Kempler from five:am says that being organic is a key part of the brand and its success.

“Eating organic is in a way the essence to our brand identity. The concept behind five:am is one of ‘conscious deliciousness;’ that means that we are conscious of hand-picking the finest, organic and all natural ingredients for all of our recipes,” she said.

“We produce our superior tasting yoghurt with a clear conscience knowing that not only is the product good for you but that every aspect of five:am’s production preserves the environment. This means our cows are free to roam, that they, and the fruits used are free from all things nasty (hormones, pesticides, antibiotics...). Eating organic is key to a healthy lifestyle.”

David Prior, the creator of the five:am brand has had extensive experience in the food manufacturing industry as the cofounder of Baroda Manufacturing, he was

responsible for the growth of the business, overseeing its expansion from a start up into one of Australia’s fastest growing businesses within 10 years. Boasting an annual turnover of $25 million, Prior led the company’s acquisition by VISY Packaging in 2007 before starting five:am a little over two years ago.

“Organic and preservative free, five:am yoghurt is one of the few ‘free-from’ foods you will find in the mass market. There’s no two ways about it. Our product is as good as you can get.

The way we make it is superior to other products on the market, which is evident in the taste and better still, it is purely organic,” David said.

Lauren describes David as genuinely subscribing to the beliefs: “David Prior, the founder of five:am, is the living embodiment of what we call ‘five:amness’. Having started his day at 5AM for over a decade, Dave treasures this unique moment where he can pause and create his day. As a surfer and long time Yogi, Dave has always appreciated the health benefits of consuming yoghurt as part of an active lifestyle balance and was inspired to create this for all Australians.”

David was inspired to create a

20 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

product that allowed him to have a clear ecological conscience during one of his early morning ‘moments of clarity’.

This was when the idea for five:am was produced– a purely organic yoghurt that preserves the environment through every

aspect of production.

Sustainability wise, the production process aims to minimise energy and waste as much as possible. Packaging is all made from one material and designed to ensure the least detriment to the environment while still being 100 percent recyclable.

“We started our pack design process by selecting a material with a relatively low carbon footprint. We then designed the container sizes to get the best use of the pallet, meaning less trucks are required to get our product to you,” said Lauren.

The brand has also engaged the public by offering samples in supermarkets, school fetes and the Royal Easter show as well as utilising social media.

“We’ve managed to increase distribution dramatically, keep up communication with our loyal Facebook community and are thrilled to launch our new iPhone app in our ‘it’s about time’ campaign in the next few months,” Lauren said.

David plans to expand both globally and product-wise in the near future, noting the introduction of organic drinking yoghurts and baby friendly options as avenues the company will explore.

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First class passage to Sri Lanka PREPARED FOODS: PASSAGE FOODS Passage to Sri Lanka - Coconut & Cashew Chicken

P

Doutre said that when producing a with the result being a coconut and long shelf life product it is vital to uphold cashew chicken sauce. health and safety standards whilst also Passage Foods has experienced maintaining the flavour of the product. success in Australia and overseas “It is imperative that products do with 3500 stores stocking the range in not lose their flavour profiles, colour, America and proactive initiatives have and that the organoleptic properties are helped achieve this maintained,” he said. success. “Passage Foods “First and foremost the goal, when has been exporting for initiating a product for Passage Foods, over six years now,” is to ensure that we create an authentic Shaun Doutré, account restaurant quality simmer sauce. From manager explained. this base we then need to ensure that the “We had worked closely product retains flavour/ colour and other with Austrade to initially organoleptic qualities. As the product is identify suitable export hot filled the PH levels are the crucial markets; this was followed factor to ensuring the product maintains by active engagement in these qualities over shelf life. Our doy national and international pouch packaging combined with our hot range and has grown to trade shows. At the same fill process ensures that we are able to time we worked at identifying our include flavours from around the world maintain our long shelf life. “ competitors, sourcing distributors with the latest proving to be a winner.

Passage Foods has also been proactive and presenting to buyers from large The new range has been developed in marketing its product from designing supermarket chains. We now have by the in-house Indian/Sri Lankan chef coloured packaging to actively USA, afterA aDgap _ FinDthe T market E S S was E P realised _ 1 2 . for p d f significant P a g emarket 1 presence 1 6 / 0in8the / 1 2 , 8 the : 3bright 6 A M seeking media opportunities.

New Zealand, UAE and Malaysia.” a genuine Sri Lankan flavoured product,

assage Foods has taken out the Prepared Food category at this year’s Food Magazine Awards for its new Sri Lankan simmer sauce.

The company has established itself in the marketplace with its Passage to India

The company has appeared in Jet Star in flight magazine with an advertisement appearing next to the food menu and it has also appeared in SBS Feast Magazine which it recognised as attracting an audience that fits with Passage Food’s company ethos.

In store demonstrations have also been key aspects of promoting the range as the company believes that once customers try the product the taste will speak for itself.

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A fresh approach to an Aussie mainstay meats success MEAT & SMALLGOODS: LENARD'S PTY LTD Breast Pastell

L

enard’s is a franchise found throughout Australia which has become synonymous with quality chicken meals for the everyday cook.

Recently, however, the brand chose to re-think its formula and address consumer’s growing kitchen savviness and the public’s obsession with all things gourmet food related by creating a high end product with a more complex and modern approach to flavours.

“I guess we threw out what we’ve been doing for the last 25 years and really went after that gourmet at home market and that was based on some research that we’d done and it’s really paid off as a great new addition to the lenard’s range,” Aaron Lewis, brand manager at Lenard’s, told Food Magazine.

“We’re still about every day and every day products and meals but this has been really well received which is fantastic,” he said.

The concept for the Breast Pastellé was in part born of a Lenard’s marketing research project undertaken in conjunction with Pacific Magazines, the What’s for dinner Australia? survey, where over 2 500 grocery buyers provided insights into their grocery buying and mealtime habits as well as the underlying motivations.

Lenard’s found that the research provided A D _data F DinFregards R E S to E drivers P _ 1 2in . p d preparing weeknight meals.

“The respondents indicated that they’re time poor, with 76 percent using pre-prepared meals to save time, 81 percent wanted to provide a wider variety of meals than they presently do, but 38 percent indicated that they don’t want to buy all the ingredients required to prepare one-off meals and 36 percent said they lack the courage to try preparing new cuisines. In short, they want to serve their families something new and that they are proud of, but they don’t have the time so they need assistance to achieve this.”

Knowing the potential demand for a Breast Pastellé-style product the brand launched magazine

advertising, point of sale material, video content in-store, online, and via Lenard’s Coupon Club f electronic P a g edirect 1 mail.

2 0 / 0 8 / 1 2 , Within two months of the official

national launch of the Breast Pastellé, sales had overshadowed popular Lenard’s favourites such as the Chicken Spring Roll, Cordon Bleu, and Parmigiana which have been part of the Lenard’s range for over two decades.

When asked what the most appealing aspect of the product

is, Lewis said that the quality of the ingredients and flavours are what has made the Pastellé stand out.

“I think the modern flavours. We’ve 1 put 0 : a 2lot6of work A M into the flavours that went into these products- creamy

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Lenard’s has almost 200 franchised stores in shopping centres and has a chicken range comprising of over 150 fresh, ready-to-cook chicken meals.

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www.foodmag.com.au | September 12 | Foodmagazine 23

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More out of life for chocolate consumers SNACK FOODS: MORLIFE Dark Chocolate Coated Roasted Coffee Beans

B

y using innovative marketing techniques and ingredients, Morlife have succeeded at their task of changing perceptions surrounding chocolate, changing it from ‘junk food’ to a beneficial snack food.

Morlife aims to be a leader in the rapidly changing and developing industry of functional foods which is a food that provides a health benefit beyond ‘normal nutrition’.

“Functional foods must enhance health and well-being such as assisting in weightloss, reduction of risk of disease, enhanced performance, physical athletic performance or memory/cognitive functions or help manage a chronic condition such as heart disease and diabetes,” Morlife explained.

Morlife are tapping into a broad market of people who are increasingly aware who seek A Dof_nutrition F D S Uand PA UG _ 1to 2gain . pd not only a great tasting product but one

testimonials, that offers a benefit in some way. a production Morlife’s new dark chocolate coated image gallery roast coffee beans product aims to stand and a language apart from other foods in the snack food translation button. market due to their high antioxidant So far this targeted plan has elicited levels. They are also free from gluten, interest from countries in the Middle East preservatives, artificial sweeteners and South East Asia with China ordering and colours.

49 600 pieces, which has a potential to The packaging has also been a key create an extra $1 million per annum. aspect of attracting customers to the Company representatives product with foil pouches that have a have also attended trade large surface area on the front to take events in Dubai and Malaysia up supermarket shelf space as well as and are currently dealing images and information which reflect the with enquiries from Thailand, health benefits.

Philippines, Kuwait, Morlife has engaged in an extensive Zoe Devine, research marketing campaign in order to increase development coordinator at export opportunities and have launched Morlife said the company a website that is solely for the purpose will continue to go from on focussing on export trade. It contains f company P a g and e product 1 2 information 5 / 0 7 / 1as 2well , 1 strength 2 : 1 2to strength P M as the product becomes known as safety certificates, contact information,

as a great tasting, functional snack food.

“Morlife aims to bring together simple, effective nutritional solutions as functional foods, to take the confusion out of ‘how’ to gain wellness. This is the core driving force behind our business vision, for it is through gaining wellness that we can enable our consumers to, in turn, get ‘more’ out of life.”

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Cheeky Rascals win the de-cider BEVERAGES: REBELLO WINES Cheeky Rascal Cider with Mulling Spice Bag

R

ebello Wines innovative decision to attach an easy-to-use mulling spice bag to its cider range is what has set this company apart in the art of cider making.

In June this year, Rebello launched the mulling cider which is the first of its kind on the Australian market.

It comes with a spice bag attached which contains a combination of cinnamon, star anise, orange, clove, nutmeg, vanilla and all spice berry.

Ruth Gallace, CEO at Rebello Wines said that a member of the company saw an opportunity to pick up on the cider trend that has taken off in Australia in recent years.

Ruth then went on to expand the idea so that the product could be sold in store and is practical and easy for customers to do at home.

“I can’t take the credit myself, one of our team managers is from the UK so he teaches us a lot about cider. Cider

is new to Australia and last winter we were putting together mulling spice bags for a lot of our on-premise customers- so literally measuring out the spice and putting it in a calico bag, tying a piece of string around it and teaching them about mulled cider,” she said.

“It was pretty cumbersome and it got us thinking, ‘how can we make this easy?’

Then, over a cup of tea, I thought ‘just put the spices in like a tea bag!’

“So that’s what we’ve done, put our own mulled spice recipe into a pyramid tea bag as apparently it moves around in the triangle space and infuses better and then we’ve attached that to the necker of the bottle and introduced that to Australia, so hopefully now Australians can very easily make

a mulled cider.”

The successful Rebello Wines company was launched seven years ago by husband/wife team Matt and Ruth Gallace who wanted to specialise in premium strawberry wines, ciders, liqueurs and innovative blends using traditional Italian agriculture and winemaking techniques.

Matt Gallace’s parents own one of the largest strawberry farms in Australia and with this comes quite a bit of waste product that is not suitable for sending to supermarkets or wholesale markets.

This led the couple to experiment with making fruit wines and they have successfully been selling a 100 percent strawberry wine for many years from the cellar door.

The couple were aware of a general negative perception of fruit wines and set about changing this perception. In 2010 they picked up on the cider trend and launched the straight apple variety and the strawberry and apple blend.

The process of making strawberry and raspberry cider is similar to that of traditional English cider. The cider has

been developed to reflect the traditional full fermentation West Country style but with a twist; the addition of berry fruit wine.

However, the point of difference in Cheeky Rascal range is the blending of the apple/pear cider with berry wine, a process that has involved much trial and error in perfecting the process. Making strawberry and raspberry cider, and choosing the most appropriate blend of apple/pear and berry varieties to give us the ideal taste profiles and sugar/acid balance took a lot of work.

Matt Gallace said that the Australian wine industry is exciting and innovative and always looking for new flavours and products.

“It’s an exciting time to be in the industry in Australia, as we’re at the forefront of innovative blending, catering to discerning customer tastes. Our mantra has always been to create great products using fresh local fruit with no concentrates, flavours, colours or additives and move with the consumer, continually evolving to provide Australians with a great product.”

www.foodmag.com.au | September 12 | Foodmagazine 25

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Controlling pests no problem SAFETY INNOVATION: MAKE SAFE BaitSafe

A

ustralian owned company Make Safe have won the Food Safety and Innovation in Non-Food Award for its latest product, BaitSafe, which aims to revolutionise the pest control world.

It can be installed in ceilings, walls, flat roofed areas and between floors, and eliminates the dangers associated with climbing ladders to gain access to hazardous areas.

Gary McMahon is clearly proud of the product, particularly its Australian heritage, as well as the innovation and leadership shown by the company.

“We have never copied, industry copies the success of others, while we have innovated our own success so we intend to be a leader within the industry and not only do we have baitsafe but we have other products that will fall behind baitsafe that will be able to assist not only the pest control industry but the food industry. We are proudly Australian, 100Apercent, D _ F which D WE isDextremely S E P _ 1rare 2 . pdf nowadays but we hope that others will

follow us.”

BaitSafe has been designed to be installed easily by the home owner or a pest control professional and can be done in less than 15 minutes.

The system has also been designed with aesthetics in mind as it has a flat contour design and the base unit is virtually invisible within its surrounding. It can even be painted to match existing room colours.

The company do not currently export as it has only recently been released into the market but there has been interest from distributors in New Zealand, Japan, UK, Europe, Taiwan and South P aAfrica. ge 1 2 0 / 0 8 / 1 2 , 1 0 : 1 7 “We do have plans

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Top quality, top taste READY MEALS: CREATIVE FOOD SOLUTIONS Emily's Kitchen Range 2012

C

reative Foods Solutions has taken home a prestigious Food Award in the Ready Meals category for its Emily’s Kitchen Range which features high quality meals produced by experienced chefs.

The flavours included in the range are the twice cooked pork with beetroot relish, parsnip mash and cracked pepper jus Portuguese chicken with white bean ragout and saffron rice and Atlantic salmon with steamed jasmine rice & dill cream sauce.

The meals were launched nationwide in March this year and are currently in over 750 Woolworths stores.

The range is produced by hand, using meats supplied by Andrews Meats Industries and fresh vegetables, some of which are grown by the company. The packaging used allows the consumer to heat the meal to restaurant quality within a few minutes.

Peter Cox from Andrews Meats who worked with Creative Food Solutions said that producing a quality product requires not only the best tasting ingredients but it also needs to meet safety standards.

“A lot of development has gone into the actual process as far as keeping the quality of the food at the level that we expect it to be at and also maintaining a food safe product.”

Although the meals all have a shelf life of 28 days they are made without the use of preservatives which is done by using a tray sealing machine which is new to Australia and enables the long shelf life.

When asked what the biggest achievement of the range is, Ian Hill of Andrews Meats said that it is the ease and satisfaction in the product that the customer experiences.

“I’d probably say producing a meal that anyone in the street can go and buy- microwave in three and a half minutes and hopefully get a ready restaurant type meal for minimal work, maximum flavour at a reasonable price.”

The marketing of the range has been extensive with in store demonstrations reaching 1000 across Australia which has shown a direct increase in sales by 22 percent.

Wish you were here?

28 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

Catalogue advertising has been used with an estimated 5.5 million homes receiving it which is set to boost sales by 30 percent and lastly there has been media erected on the floor of over 750 stores at the entrances and deli counters of Woolworths stores.

Creative Food Solutions has put in

place the sustainability measures to ensure it will be around for many years to come with a plan to reduce emissions by 20 percent in the next two years and also a decision to offset its carbon foot print and purchase certificates from Carbon Trade Exchange.

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FD.SEP12.PG031.pdf

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MEAT

Meaty issues Australia’s meat sector has faced some tough situations lately, as Jessica Burke reports.

O

of meat were rejected over the past ne of Australia’s most successful year, the emails show and among those and profitable markets has been loads rejected; nine were loads of mutton facing increasing pressure lately, contaminated with faeces. potentially damaging the potential for The industry says the Three shipments of beef from three meat exports. annual exports are worth abattoirs which became contaminated A batch of mince contaminated with more than $1 billion. with a dangerous form of E. coli were E.coli discovered in South Carolina Independent MP and former cattle also rejected by the US. may have come from Australia, amid agreed with Katter’s comments, saying farmer, Bob Katter warned that the New inspection system introduced last revelations that up to 13 shipments of Australia needs to lift its game. regulatory system introduced last year is October, which removed much of the Australian meat has been rejected by the “There is concern that the Australian not good enough and will risk the export government involvement in the regulation US in the past year. meat inspection system is not catching arrangements with the US. of meat, in favour if a more self-regulatory The shipments were rejected the microbiological contaminants in the “A meat inspection system that is selfsystem, is a major part of the problem, because they contained faeces or other matter that posed a potential health risk, and the Australian federal government Up to thirteen separate Australian shipments of meat were rejected over the past year has confirmed meat supply of exports to the United policing is no policing at all,” he said. according to safety monitors.

E.coli bacteria was detected in three States,” he said.

“It’s like you’re asking Al Capone The US is the biggest importer of shipments of Australian beef exported He said the suspension of Australia’s ‘Would you mind ensuring that you police Australian lamb and the second largest to the US. meat export agreements with the US is so that no-one is selling sly grog?’” for beef, with total annual imports worth The ABC’s Lateline program obtained possible, and would spell trouble for “They’re just as likely to cut off the over $1 billion for Australia. emails between senior officials in the US the industry. entire trade. This is a $4,000 million [sic] The US is Australia’s second-largest Agriculture Department which had some “They’ve done it with other countries startling A D _revelations.

F D D E V S E P _ 1 2 . p d f beef P export a g e market 1 and 2 2largest / 0 8 lamb / 1 2 , 1 a2 year : 2 trade,” 4 : 2 he 4 said.

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MEAT

found in meat that has been exported to the United States where they’ve suspended importation of all meat from that country,” he said.

NSW meat industry outlines improvements Another issue that could impact the potential for Australia to export meat to other countries is the treatment of animals within our meatwork facilities, and this year has seen a number of shocking incidents.

Off the back of the discovery of the inhumane treatment of cows in Indonesian meatworks, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard banned the import of beef from the region until it could prove it had changed its systems.

Now there is cause for concern that within some abattoirs in Australia, similar inhumane actions are being carried out.

Shocking footage allegedly taken at a piggery outside Canberra, showing cruel and inhumane treatment of the animals there, was released by activists this month.

Animal Liberation apparently raided the piggery night and recorded images of buckets filled with dead piglets and workers beating the sows while they were alive.

Fly infestations were also recorded in the footage, AD _ F D and B RYass O M police AY_ 1 1 . p d f has confirmed that a piggery near

Free range ducks...not so free range after all.

Australia rigorously adhere to world Murrumbateman is under investigation. best practice when it comes to animal ‘’This piggery is one of the worst welfare,’’ he said. examples of factory farming where ‘’There is no way that we can tolerate animals are treated like ‘production treating pigs like this.’’ machines’ and no thought is given Earlier this year a number of other to their capacity to suffer,” Animal shocking abattoir conditions were Liberation NSW executive director Mark unveiled, including one in NSW’s Pearson said.

Hawkesbury region, an illegal operation ‘’Images also included buckets of dead in Victoria, which led to criminal piglets, a sledgehammer used to bludgeon charges, as well as a broiler farm that pigs, and sows with open sores.’’ was found to be underfeeding chickens, He said Animal Liberation NSW gathered causing them removed from the premises. and verified footage for two months before New laws, which will be introduced contacting authorities on Thursday. in NSW on 1 July next year, will ensure Andrew Spencer, chief of industry the humane treatment of animals in all lobby group Australian Pork Limited, by employing alsoPweighed a g e in4on the 3 1footage. / 0 3 / 1 1 , 2 Australian : 0 5 Pmeatworks, M certified Animal Welfare Officers. ‘’The majority of pork producers in

Misleading claims It’s not just pigs that are risking our standing as a top meat exporter, following revelations that Australia’s largest duck producer is being sued for misleading advertising which claimed the birds were raised in ‘open range’ farms.

Activists filmed the birds at Pepe’s Ducks, showing not only that they were crammed into metal crates, but also that some of them were covered in faeces and had their wings stuck in the metal grates, despite labelling claiming they were “grown nature’s way.”

The label also featured a duck walking across expansive land towards a pond, indicating the animals were raised in such environments.

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slammed the company for the false advertising, demanding correction notices be published and an injunction against Pepe’s Ducks using the free range labels again for the next three years.

In the writ filed in the Federal Court on Monday, it said Pepe’s Ducks contravened trade laws by advertising their duck meat as ‘’Grown Nature’s Way’’ and indicating that the ducks ‘’were allowed to spend at least a substantial amount of their time with access to an outdoor body of water … foraging for food outdoors’’, and were of better quality than barn-raised ducks when ‘’that was not the case’’.

Pepe’s Ducks chief executive John Houston tried to explain their side of the argument to Food Magazine this month.

“One issue we had is that we have

image they use of the mountains isn’t where their water comes from.”

Compensation issues In other problems in the meat industry, a Rockhampton meatworker injured when three knives plunged into his body is seeking more than $750 000 in damages.

Steven Charles Larson was working as a slaughterman at the JBS Nerimbera abattoir in 2009 when the freak accident occurred, leaving him with stabs to his neck, collarbone and hand.

The now 41-year-old wounds resulted in permanent damage and pain to his neck and left hand, and has also ruined his career possibilities, the court has heard.

Documents lodged with the Supreme Court in Rockhampton stated that at 5:45am on 14 July 2009, the Mount Morgan man was preparing for his shift by sharpening his knives in the “kill floor” anteroom.

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"[It] is one of the worst examples of factory farming where animals are treated like 'production machines'" never grown ‘free range’ ducks and haven’t claimed to, what we did have was ‘open range’ previously, but we changed to ‘barn raised’ years ago.

He also explained their side of the ‘grown nature’s way’ claims, saying it’s about the temperature, not the ability for the animals to roam free. “’In the wild, the duck itself, when it sits on the nest, it runs a temperature 98.5 degrees farenheit, and the duck in the wild has a humidity level of 86 degrees [farenheit] and the bird on the nest turns the egg to prevent the embryo from sticking to the inside of the egg,” he told Food Magazine.

“We copy that, in our hatchets, we run at 98.5 degrees with 86 degrees humidity, and we turn the eggs every sixty minutes.

“When a duck sometimes overheats the eggs, she will stand on side of the nest and flap her wings to cool the eggs, knowing even in nature that she has overheated eggs, what an amazing creature.

“We do the same, if we go one degree above, we turn fan on to lower the temperature.

Houston admitted his legal team has told him to give up on the fight, but he says he wants to defend the 40-year-old company and its reputation.

“The cartoon duck with green hills and blue water in the background, that image is the Hawkesbury, its not how we grown the ducks, it’s where we grow the ducks,” he said in defence of the ACCC finding that the image misled consumers to believe it was how the birds were raised.

“A lot of companies do that, Evian water, for example, the

The room was located directly below a set of stairs leading to the floor, and when a colleague was walking up the stairs, she dropped her knife kit.

Three knives fell and speared Larson, according to the claim and he is suing for the loss of his weekly pay packet of $800 for the past three years and then for the next 25 years.

The total compensation will total over $500 000.

Larson is also seeking compensation for his medical expenses, both past and continuing, for the injuries sustained in the accident, saying JBS failed to ensure a safe work environment.

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www.foodmag.com.au | September 12 | Foodmagazine 33

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When is a fillet not a fillet?

Consumers are demanding transparency from food retailers about what their food is made up of, and a fast food chain is the latest to feel the impact, as Jessica Burke reports.

F

The ASB received a complaint from Mineral Salt (450, 451, 452), Salt, be allowed to stay. ast-food chain Subway has been a consumer who realised the meat was Vegetable Oil, Wheat Starch, Sugar, “The “Chicken Fillet Sub” has been forced to rename its Chicken Fillet, processed, and not actually a fillet.

Herbs and Spices, Hydrolysed Vegetable offered for sale in Subway restaurants after the Advertising Standards “I purchased a chicken fillet subway Protein, Egg Albumen, Dehydrated throughout Australia for at least ten years,” Bureau (ASB) found it to be misleading, roll and when I got it home I was Vegetable (Garlic), Yeast Extract, Soy it said in response to the complaint. because it is not in fact a chicken fillet, disgusted to find after biting it that it is Sauce (Wheat), Flavours (Wheat, Milk), “The brand has not substantially but rather processed meat. in fact a processed chicken piece,” the The chicken fillet option, which has "My understanding of a chicken fillet is a fillet of chicken complaint said. been available in Australian restaurants “My understanding of a chicken for 10 years, will now be referred to as not processed chicken meat," the complaint said. fillet is a fillet of chicken not processed the Classic Chicken, because it is made chicken meat.”

Maltodextrin, Acidity Regulators (331, up of processed meat, shaped together to changed the formula for the product 336), Whey Protein (Milk). look like a fillet, and not in fact a genuine during this time period.

Subway blamed the lack of standards chicken fillet, as the name suggests.

“The ingredients for the Chicken Consumers wising up as to what constitutes a ‘fillet’ as part of Subway is in now in the process of Fillet in the Chicken Fillet Sub as listed The restaurant chain tried to defend the the problem. changing website are as follows: A D _ signage F O O DatSitsY1300 M 1 stores M A Y _ 0 9 . name, p d f claiming P a gthat e because 1 2 there 2 / 4had / 0 9 , on 5the: brand’s 2 5 P M “After review, the Food Standards across Australia.

Chicken (82%), Flour (wheat), Water, not been any other complaints, it should

34 Foodmagazine | September 12 | www.foodmag.com.au

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“Based on the above the Board Australia New Zealand does not considered that the advertisement was appear to have a standard of identity or misleading or deceptive and did breach definition for ‘chicken fillet’ and the Section 2.1 of the Food Code.”

Australian Chicken Meat Federation does not include it in its terms of ‘Cuts of Chicken Meat’, it said.

A cut above the rest “The chicken fillet is a formed product Meanwhile, in the US, A meat expert has and the brand has been using the descriptor found a new cut of beef, known as the “fillet” on the basis of the shape of the ‘Vegas Strip Steak,” which is definitely product and that the meat is boneless. not made up of anything but meat, and “No reference or claim has been made that he says will be the best cut yet. that the product is from whole muscle Creator Tony Mata has spent three and the company has made information decades researching beef carcasses to about the product readily available to develop the cut, which will be consumers on its website.” protected by intellectual property Nonetheless, Subway has decided to and patent regulations. change the name of the chicken offering, There are about 20 different and not use the word ‘fillet’ when types of official meat referring to it. cuts, but somehow Mata The ABS ruled that while there was no discovered one that had definitive standard on what constitutes not yet been discovered, a ‘fillet,’ the name insinuates that is a which according to single, quality cut of chicken. value-added meat “The Board noted that the prevailing processing specialist, Jacob community standard on what a fillet Nelson, was thought to be an of chicken is, does not include chicken “impossibility.” presented in pieces or formed or “The Vegas Strip Steak is the latest processed chicken meat. and perhaps last steak to be found from “In the Board’s view, most members the beef carcass,” Nelson said. of the community would associate Because the intellectual copyright chicken fillets with the breast or thigh and patents are still pending, Mata can’t portion of the chicken in one whole say exactly what the cut is, but he has piece or _asFa O cutOofDchicken rather will AD S Y MM A Y than _ 0 9 . p confirmed df P ait g e tick 2 all 2the4 boxes. / 4 / 0 9 , reconstituted into a particular shape.

“This muscle produces a steak that is on

enhances the steak eater’s overall enjoyment.”

“The Vegas Strip Steak was well received by the audience.

“They tasted it, loved it and applauded.”

par with or better than today’s most popular steaks,” he said.

“It does not require aging or marinating to achieve tenderness and its visual appeal

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FOOD SAFETY

Water water everywhere The self-regulation in the Australian bottled water industry is so high amongst reputable companies that they want to make them mandatory to wipe out the dodgy suppliers, as Jessica Burke reports.

A

ustralia’s bottled water representative body wants local producers and sellers to adopt the World Health Organisation (WHO) limits for chemicals in bottled water.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has received an application from the Australasian Bottled Water Institute (ABWI) to adopt limits to the amount of chemicals, as set out In WHO’s Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality.

The ABWI said the move would benefit the packaged water industry and bring Australia and new Zealand onto the same international playing field.

“This application will reassure consumers that chemical constituents in packaged water are regulated on a mandatory level to the same levels as those set internationally,” the submission said.

“The inclusion of such limits will also enhance the ability of the industry to compete in export markets overseas.”

The chemical changes If the changes were to be adopted in Australia, there would be six times more mercury allowed in bottles water sold in here.

Acceptable arsenic and lead levels accepted would drop significantly though, and organic matter would be less acceptable.

Dr Chris Schyzens, Senior toxocoligst and risk manager at FSANZ told Food Magazine the changes would put the Australian industry at the same level as other developed countries.

“Very simply, currently we have 17 chemical analysed in the standard, WHO’s limits has 90, so there is a large increase in chemical detections required.

“Having 90 tested as opposed to 17, from talking to industry, and they are the applicants, they’ve said that their voluntary code, the model code, already follows WHO guidelines, and they’re testing about 49 chemicals.”

The few bad eggs Ben Dutton, general manager of brand marketing at Noble Beverages, which captures and distributes the H2O water brand, told Food Magazine that tightening the code will not make any difference to companies doing the right thing.

“Consider the landscape three or four years ago, the industry was almost nonexistent compared to now.

“The point is that we do have some smaller bottled water companies that might not be taking quality control as seriously as they should be so if WHO standards makes these operators lift their game, that’s a good thing for food consumers.

gives consumers peace of mind.’”

“They are the ones who want this, because they already highly regulate themselves, so they want to ensure everyone else is doing the same.

Schyzens told Food Magazine that for the companies doing the right thing, which most of them are, there is nothing to be concerned about if the WHO

"Currently we have 17 chemical analysed in the standard, WHO's limits has 90, so there is a large increase" “Maybe operators that are drawing tap water off, putting it though filters and bottling it, would have problem if they had to ensure they met these standards.

“If it means these companies have to life their game, overall it is good thing.”

“We’ve seen over the last four years or so that it has been a race to bottom as far as price is concerned and most manufacturers are cutting prices dramatically to maintain their place in the market and smaller companies have felt a lot of pain.

As to whether the adoption of WHO standards would improve the waters that are imported to Australia, Dutton was cautiously optimistic.

“I don’t know, I do know [Australia is] importing water from Indonesia and Malaysia and certainly we have mineral water imported from Europe and the US, but I would be inclined to see most bottled water imported would be regulated.

“The challenge in Australia is that even though the bottles water industry has gone through a huge period of consolidation over the last three years, we have this situation now where a lot of small operators have gone out of business or been bought by major companies.”

Schyzens agrees that the huge increase in the bottled water market in Australia has led to some smaller, dodgy companies creeping into the sector.

But for the most part, he said, Australian water companies are all doing the right thing and just want to ensure the industry is regulated.

“I think that’s the intention, and this has been a call from the industry body, the industry are the ones who have come to us and said ‘here’s a set of values we think would be good for water and that

standards are introduced.

“In the Australian industry, there are a lot that are already testing to quite high specifications, whether that’s because they’re trying to get into supermarkets or retailers, they have so many reasons, including the safety of consumers, to do so.

“One New company is 1 2 . p d f AD _ FZealand D T WM SEP_ trying to enter the New York market,

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for example, and their specifications over there are incredibly high.”

The fluoride debate While Dutton and Schyzens both agree on the vast majority of the potential new guidelines, there is one issue where their opinions differ.

FSANZ wants to accept all the chemical standards except for the fluoride standard, which it wants to maintain at the current Australian level.

“There’s probably two main reasons for that, and it is important to note

“Everyone should be confident that the standard is at 1.0.”

Dutton explained Noble’s stance on fluoride is about giving consumers options “Our brand is a 100 per cent fluoride free brand and the reason we remove it is because we believe people should have a choice whether they drink fluoride or not,” he said.

“People don’t have a choice with government water, but we believe naturally occurring fluoride, not added fluoride, should be the only kind.

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"The reason we remove [flouride] is because we believe people should have a choice whether they drink [it] or not" that the [WHO] document allows for nations to make a call based on local consumption of fluoride so we’re not ignoring WHO advice.

“In 2009, after a lot of research and consultation, we determined the maximum should be 1.0 milligrams [of fluoride] per litre, which is the same as one part per million.

“If you have fluoride in packaged water, fluoride is fluoride, wether it’s naturally occurring or added.

exercise, but when you deploy mass medication through water, people don’t have a choice as to whether they take the medication or not and there are a million and one studies done into this and the way you look at them can support or disagree with fluoride.

“FSANZ has already allowed bottled water companies to add fluoride but I don’t believe any brand has gone ahead and done that.

“Which makes sense, because consumer are buying it because they don’t want added fluoride, however, naturally it can occur in some streams.”

Schyzens did assure, however, that FSANZ would not be implementing minimum fluoride standards, only a cap on the maximum allowed.

“Added fluoride is just for dental reasons, and it is such an incredible public health utility, whilst at same time, we recognise some people are strictly opposed to it, and we’re not saying people have to add fluoride to water, just that they can’t go over one part per million.”

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