The potential impact of neighbourhood environment on residents’ body fat has been highlighted in a recent US study which examined the body mass index of low-income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants. Read more »
Forget meat and three veg - beetle and three veg could be the staple meal of the future, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. Read more »
Synthetic wheats made from ancient wheat and wild grass species can create a bridge for transferring novel sources of genetic diversity from wild relatives into varieties already being farmed. Researchers are claiming that UK wheat yields could be boosted by up to 30% with the introduction of a new wheat bred from a wild grass species. Read more »
Flame pasteurisation - the flash roasting of vegetables over an open flame system - is now bringing breakout cooking efficiencies while reducing yield loss for processors who prepare onions and vegetables. Read more »
A new research project is helping agro-food sector small and medium-size enterprises, such as bakeries and breweries, improve their environmental sustainability. Read more »
Flock to the What's New in Food Technology & Manufacturing stand - 715 - at AUSPACK PLUS 2013 and collect your free sheep! Read more »
A research project at Indiana State University into Kraft’s Capri Sun, a popular packaged drink in the US, has found five types of fungus. Read more »
The horsemeat scandal, which broke in January 2013, has already made its mark on British consumers who are raising concerns over the way in which meat from overseas has entered the UK food chain. They are voting with their feet and showing increased preference for British products. Read more »
Minced beef and chicken are by far the riskiest meat and poultry products in the American food supply and pose the greatest likelihood of hospitalisation, according to a new report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Furthermore, according to the non-profit group's analysis of more than 33,000 cases of foodborne illness connected to products regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, chicken nuggets, ham, and sausage pose the lowest risk of foodborne illness. Read more »
The global meat industry is growing. The consumption of fresh meat worldwide has increased by some 3% a year over the past five years. And, as a result of the increasing development of the highly populated threshold countries and the growing importance of meat in the diet, consumption is set to continue to rise further in the coming years. Since meat products always contain spices and condiments and since technically effective additional substances are also used, the mood among suppliers of ingredients and additives is also buoyant overall. Read more »
Researchers have found that electron-beam pasteurisation may reduce the possibility of food poisoning caused by viral infection of raw oysters. This would reduce the $200 million that virus infection risks are estimated to be costing the US each year. Read more »
Contaminated industrial plants cost billions every year. Special coatings can prevent the build-up of contaminants. Researchers are now able to adapt ultrathin coatings for an extremely wide range of applications - even inside pipes in food processing equipment. Read more »
Whether on a display panel, in a magazine, on a label or packaging, 2D barcodes attract attention, albeit for not being part of the aesthetics. Rather, you notice them because they interfere with the main picture. More often than not, they have not been blended into the global representation and therefore appear as an out-of-place element. Read more »
Exposing packaged liquids, fruits and vegetables to an electrical field for just minutes might eliminate all traces of foodborne pathogens on those foods, according to a Purdue University study. Read more »
Energy in the form of electricity and gas is as essential to a food company as its staff, machinery and ingredients, which is why securing supply of both commodities at the lowest possible costs is paramount. Read more »
Safety, quality and hygiene are, more than ever before, top priorities in the meat-processing sector. Consumers expect and demand safe products made using perfectly hygienic methods. Read more »
For the last 50 years the Australian Institute of Packaging has followed this credo: To serve as an independent professional body of packaging specialists; To promote professional standards of competency through education and training; To advance and promote the standing of packaging specialists as a profession; To serve and establish the confidence of the community in the packaging profession; To aim towards professional qualifications for all Members; To uphold professional integrity and ethics within the profession of packaging. And its continued existence is a testament to the institute’s success. Read more »
The Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA) is Australia’s national organisation that has been representing the packaging machinery industry for 30 years. It spread its wings in 2010 and now represents the processing industry and other allied industry groups as well. Read more »
New research from Harvard University helps to explain how waterborne bacteria can colonise rough surfaces - even those that have been designed to resist water. Read more »
Researchers have discovered the secret of potato chips - why it is that once you pop, you can’t stop - and have even come up with a complicated-sounding name for the phenomenon: hedonic hyperphagia. Read more »