Greenpeace claims John West coerced a company to remove a billboard featuring Greenpeace‘s “Reject John West” campaign advertising. The charity is calling on Simplot to clarify whether this is true. [ + ]

Applications for the ARC’s Industrial Transformation Research Program schemes open next week. The first round funds research into food storage, food processing, manufacturing capabilities and product opportunities. [ + ]

Sealed Air Corporation has entered into an agreement with the Carlyle Group for Carlyle to acquire Diversey Japan for ¥30 billion (equivalent to US$377 million). [ + ]

Australia’s food processing sector will need urgent and significant policy reform if it is to achieve the aspirations identified in the ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ white paper, according to the AFGC. [ + ]

Plantic Technologies has struck an exclusive distributor agreement with LINPAC Packaging, which will see Plantic expand its product offering with the addition of LINPAC’s range of high-barrier films. [ + ]

Schneider Electric has announced that MIX2012, a worldwide power and cooling event, will be coming to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in November. [ + ]

After determining global food losses in terms of kilocalories per person, it has beed established that halving current food losses would mean feeding an extra billion people. [ + ]

IMCD Group has signed an agreement to acquire PT Alam Subur Tirta Kencana, a Jakarta-based food ingredients distributor. The acquisition is IMCD’s first entry into South-East Asia. [ + ]

Macleay River Meats, which trades at Eversons Food Processors, has won the 2012 Prime Minister’s Water Wise Award. The award was presented at the savewater! awards gala dinner on 26 October. [ + ]

Young adults can boost their working memory by increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake, research from the University of Pittsburgh has shown. [ + ]

AUSPACK PLUS will feature the successful Bioplastics Pavilion at the 2013 event. The pavilion allows key industry experts to come together under one roof to help visitors understand bioplastics. [ + ]

Krones AG has been awarded the Bavarian Energy Prize for 2012. The company was presented with the award on 18 October for its energy-efficient EquiTherm brewing system. [ + ]

Royal DSM has reached an agreement with Cargill to acquire Cargill’s cultures and enzymes business for €85 million. The business generates net sales of about €45 million. [ + ]

Nestlé has announced it will invest more than $17 million in a new facility at one of its factories to produce ready-to-drink medical supplements such as Resource, Isosource and Sustagen. [ + ]

Business is booming in Australia’s organic sector. The Australian Organic Market Report shows that organics is worth $1.27 billion and is predicted to grow by up to 15% each year. [ + ]