The Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency's 'Food and beverage workforce study' has found that our agrifood industry is in transition and needs to attract skilled workers to grow new export markets in the Asian region. [ + ]

Simplot will downsize operations at its Bathurst vegetable processing plant, cutting around 110 jobs in the process. The plant will produce only frozen and tinned corn and Chiko Rolls. [ + ]

Vegetable prices have dropped more than 10% from last year's price, the Consumer Price Index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown. [ + ]

Chocolate is set to be the next big thing in China, according to Canadean. The market research firm says that, although sugar confectionery remains the largest category in the Chinese market, chocolate is set to be the fastest growing. [ + ]

The release of the South Australian Integrated Transport and Land Use Plan has been welcomed by the ALC. The plan aims to achieve a greater level of integration between the public and private sectors in the provision of port and freight networks. [ + ]

BASF has been presented with the 2013 Product Line Strategy Leadership award from Frost & Sullivan, based on a recent analysis of the European resins for protective coatings market. [ + ]

A paper produced by Washington State University will help advertisers to more effectively target the fast-growing organic food market, the authors say. [ + ]

Tesco, the first major UK retailer to publish its own total food waste figures, claims that 68% of bagged salad is wasted and 35% of this waste occurs in the home. [ + ]

NSW's best exporters were recognised on 16 October at the 2013 Premier's NSW Export Awards. The awards showcased a range of innovative companies across all export sectors, including those with links to the food industry. [ + ]

A 'traffic light' food labelling system appears to be working at a US hospital, with customers who noticed the labelling - and are influenced by nutrition information - opting for healthier options more often. [ + ]

Research investigating the tendency of spray-dried glucose-based powders to crystallise over time could mean better scale-up and prediction of crystal growth in commercially produced lactose-based powder products. [ + ]

Recognising the need for a real-time biosensing system to detect pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, a team of researchers from Auburn University has come up with a system which includes a magnetoelastic biosensor. [ + ]

Ferag Australia has been announced as the newest member of the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA). [ + ]

Woolworths has announced it will reduce frozen vegetable imports by sourcing all its Select brand frozen vegetables from Australian growers through Simplot. The retail giant says it will stop importing frozen vegetables by May 2014. [ + ]

While we might jokingly admit to a chocolate biscuit addiction, researchers have found that Oreos are genuinely as addictive as cocaine - in lab rats, at least. And, what's more, the rats eat them in the same way as humans: they go for the centre first. [ + ]