Mukul Shukla has been appointed as general manager for the Middle East for packaging solutions specialist tna. Shukla will oversee tna's Middle Eastern operations, including sales, customer service and support from Libya to Sri Lanka. [ + ]

Launches of quinoa-containing products rose nearly 50% in the 12 months to September 2013, Innova Market Insights has reported, and have risen more than fivefold over a five-year period. [ + ]

Kagome Australia's $21 million expansion of its Echuca operations will receive support from the Victorian Government. The expansion will replace 7000 tonnes of imported tomato paste with locally grown product. [ + ]

In 2007, metal closures held 51% of the market; in 2013, metal closures held 48% of the market, with plastic closures holding 49%, a new report from Canadean shows. [ + ]

A 'traffic light' labelling system used in a US hospital cafeteria has resulted in positive changes up to two years after it was first implemented. [ + ]

The comment period for the FDA's determination that artificial trans fats in processed foods are not generally recognised as safe (GRAS) has been extended by 60 days to 8 March 2014. [ + ]

University of Adelaide PhD student Dr Tonghzhi Wu has found that the gut's response to artificially sweetened drinks is neutral - it is no different to drinking a glass of water. [ + ]

The largest US food processors could be obliged to take action to prevent large-scale food adulteration under the new food defence rule proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [ + ]

Children whose mothers eat more peanuts or tree nuts (P/TN) during pregnancy are less likely to develop P/TN allergies themselves, researchers have found. [ + ]

PureCircle's Rebaudioside M (Reb M) has been classified as GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) by the FDA. The FDA has issued a No Objection letter for the use of Reb M as a general sweetener for foods and beverages in the United States. [ + ]

Using low-calorie sugars as a structuring agent, researchers from The City College of New York have reported the successful transformation of vegetable oils to a semi-solid form, offering a potential alternative to trans fats. [ + ]

The Electrical Trades Union has slammed an opinion piece in The Australian which accuses SPC Ardmona workers of being overpaid and undercommitted to helping the company through its struggles. [ + ]

The Department of Agriculture has officially approved Life Technologies' MicroSEQ Real-Time PCR workflow as an Approved Test Method to detect pathogens in export meat and meat products. [ + ]

Australian-made Prosecco will continue to be marketed and sold under the name Prosecco, after the Registrar of Trademarks upheld an objection to an application seeking to register the Italian geographical indication (GI) Prosecco as a GI in Australia. [ + ]

Fonterra and Nestlé have opened a NZ$45 million dairy distribution centre in Brazil through joint venture Dairy Partners Americas (DPA). [ + ]