Fonterra has partnered with the CSIRO to drive innovation in sustainable farming, manufacturing, health, nutrition and consumer dairy products. CSIRO will use its scientific capability to help propel Fonterra's V3 strategy. [ + ]

In the year to March 2010, 8.1% of Australians said they'd eaten a frozen or chilled ready-made meal in the last seven days. In 2014, this figure has risen to 9.4%, according to new figures from Roy Morgan Research. [ + ]

As of 5 August, all foods sold in the US that are labelled gluten-free must comply with the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) gluten-free definition. [ + ]

Due to high demand for its retail carry bags, Cardia Bioplastics has set up its own film and bag manufacturing plant in São Paulo, Brazil. The company has leased new purpose-built facilities and plans to commence operations in September 2014. [ + ]

For some of us, the thought of a glass of wine on Friday night is what keeps us going when the Wednesday afternoon slump hits. However, a new study into the contamination of French wines could have consumers rethinking their end-of-week tipple. [ + ]

While more than 1.25 million Australians keep themselves going with energy drinks each week, workers in the transport, retail and recreation industries are up to twice as likely as the rest of us to reach for a pick-me-up in a can. [ + ]

Interested in learning more about the state of retail-ready packaging? A free seminar session will be held on the topic at FoodTech PackTech 2014 in New Zealand. [ + ]

Organic food brand Five:am has been acquired by PZ Cussons for $80 million. Best known for its organic yoghurt, Five:am manufactures its products out of a state-of-the-art facility near Melbourne. [ + ]

The Chinese bakery and cereals market is not only the world's largest by volume, but is set to become the second-most valuable. The market is expected to reach $47 billion by 2018, making it second in value only to the US. [ + ]

The Australian Made Campaign has renewed calls for mandatory country-of-origin labelling (CoOL) on all food products after it was revealed that some unpackaged foods would not be required to carry country-of-origin labelling. [ + ]

The RIC Group has been announced as an Associate Alliance Partner with GS1 Australia. The mobile applications company helps SMEs take advantage of the GS1 system with its warehouse management solutions (WMS). [ + ]

Registrations are now open for the 2014 AIP Ignite Packaging Mentoring Program. Delivered by Emberin, the program gives women in the packaging industry the chance to develop their leadership skills and enhance their careers. [ + ]

Jim van der Poel has announced that he will retire from the Fonterra board in November. He has been a director of Fonterra for the last 12 years. [ + ]

In conjunction with LATMA, the AIP is hosting a joint technical dinner on 3 September at the Box Hill Golf Club. [ + ]

The supermarket milk price wars have forced fresh milk producers to seek new markets and revenue sources, according to IBISWorld. China has been the focus of many producers' efforts. [ + ]