Global consumption of alcoholic drinks fell in 2015, the first such drop in over a decade. [ + ]

For the first time, the largest and most comprehensive health survey in Australia has compared food consumption against the Australian Dietary Guidelines, and some of its findings are alarming. [ + ]

Scientists with Deakin University's Centre for Advanced Sensory Science conducted experiments using a range of sweeteners and found there is not a strong connection between sweet taste, diet and body size. [ + ]

George Weston Foods has announced the planned departure and retirement of Andrew Reeves, chief executive, and the appointment of internal successor Stuart Grainger. [ + ]

Researchers have demonstrated that fruits can stay fresh for more than a week without refrigeration if they are coated in an odourless, biocompatible silk solution so thin as to be virtually invisible. [ + ]

ISO experts have formed a committee aimed at developing a standard to make unit pricing work effectively. [ + ]

Australian vegetable growers will be provided with a practical overview of the export process at a symposium to be held on the Gold Coast. [ + ]

Melbourne's La Trobe University will lead a five-year, $5 million effort to help Papua New Guinea's ailing cocoa industry. [ + ]

Many of us want to eat healthier, but not so many are doing anything about it. That's the message from a comprehensive study into the who, what, when and where of Australia's food choices. [ + ]

$10 million of the $15 million Primary Opinion has offered to pay for a 48% stake in Maggie Beer Products (MBP) is to be used to grow the company. [ + ]

The most common office-related complaint is our co-workers' bad eating habits. [ + ]

Home delivery service My Food Bag is seeking expressions of interest from equity investors as it reviews its capital structure. [ + ]

Beca's Food & Beverage has welcomed Peter Gilbertson to its Industrial team as senior consultant – Food & Beverage. [ + ]

Finalists have been announced for the APPMA 2016 Scholarship. [ + ]

Cambridge Engineered Solutions has appointed Applied Industrial Technologies as a preferred distributor in Australia and New Zealand. [ + ]