Following 3.5% annual growth, the US food and beverage additive market is forecast to be woth US$8.5 billion by 2014.

APMA (the Australian Packaging and Machinery Association) has formally added processing into its fold and changed its name to the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA).

ISO technical specification ISO/TS 22002-1:2009, Prerequisite programmes on food safety - Part 1: Food manufacturing, sets out requirements for prerequisite programs needed to realise safe products and provide food that is safe for human consumption. It is intended to be used in conjunction with, and to support, ISO 22000:2005, which gives requirements for a food safety management system.

The new ISO 17367:2009 standard will help manufacturers and distributors to track products and to manage their traceability thanks to standardised RF tags.

Richard Spall has been appointed as General Manager for CRT Group, the wholly-owned subsidiary of national transport and logistics company, QR Limited.

Marel has reached an agreement with the Dutch investor Nimbus on the sale of the Food & Dairy Systems division of Stork Food Systems.

Kokumi taste foods contain various compounds that have no taste themselves, but can enhance the basic sweet, salty and umami taste sensation they co-exist with. Kokumi compounds, such as calcium, protamine (found in milk), L-histidine (an amino acid) and glutathione (found in yeast extract) have now been shown to activate calcium-sensing channels in humans.

Ecolab has developed a cleaning program said to solve the difficulties of removing zero trans fat oil residues from food processing equipment.

The Australian Packaging Machinery Association has announced the launch of the 2010 Annual Scholarship program.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is seeking public comment on an urgent amendment to the Food Standard Code to protect public health and safety regarding traceability and processing requirements of semi-dried tomatoes and ingredients.

The NSW Food Authority’s scheme of accredited independent auditors is on track to deliver more choice for licensed food businesses, while maintaining stringent food safety standards.

NDC Infrared Engineering (UK), an NIR process measurement amd monitoring company, has announced the appointment of B-R Controls as its new distributor for the 710e range of ethernet-enabled online gauges.

Milk from Gippsland and cheese from the Yarra Valley may soon be seen on supermarket shelves in India following the release of a Victorian government report into export opportunities in the lucrative Indian dairy market.

Foodservice usage in France, Germany, Japan, Spain, UK, Italy, US and China declined in the third quarter last year, according to research from The NPD Group. Canada was the only country monitored that bucked the trend.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has invited individuals and organisations with an interest in the regulation of food to provide information and comment on a number of possible changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. The changes under consideration include the approval of genetically modified (GM) maize, cotton and corn, erythrosine as a colouring for icing and a national food safety standard for the production and processing of raw milk products.