Archive for January, 2010
Friday, January 29th, 2010
A market research business in the US, Mintel, has predicted some interesting flavours to look for in 2010, with some new ones marking an appearance. It will be interesting to see if any of these are also worth looking at in Australia.
Lynn Dornblaser, Mintel’s leading new products expert, said “As the economy recovers, we expect people to continue the trend of eating at home. The home cook is becoming more advanced with his or her cooking skills by trying new spices and flavours, as well as preparing everyday items in new ways.”
The following are just some of the predictions;
Cardamom - although more commonly associated with ethnic foods, this intensely aromatic plant, with a strong, unique taste, will become much more readily used in the home as well as in business. As an example, a chocolate company in the US has just launched a Cardamom and orange flavoured chocolate.
Sweet Potato - is appearing everywhere - candied, fried, baked and boiled. This is also the case in Australia. They contain dietary fibre, beta carotene and Vitamin B6.
Hibiscus - Often associated with teas, this flower is now appearing in other beverages, including flavoured waters.
Cupuaçu - this is a fruit from the Amazon and contains at least 10 vitamins and antioxidants. It also has amino acids and some essential fatty acids, and is already being called a “superfruit”.
Rose water - traditionally known as a fragrance, this flavour is starting to appear more commonly as an addition to recipes to give a subtle background taste.
Latin - Cilantro and other Latin origin spices and dishes are starting to be available for use in the home as well as in businesses in the US.
Friday, January 29th, 2010
According to The Border Mail, as of 25 January 2010, there are now 111 cases of gastro like illness in the NSW / Vic border city of Albury.
Around 20 of those cases have now been confirmed as salmonellosis. The cases have occurred since 10 January and it is expected that there will be an increase as more people hear about the situation and report their symptoms as well. Most of the cases were from Thursday, January 14 to Monday, January 18.
Tests were done on foods and the suspect premises, and the NSW Food Authority revealed, on the 25 January, that home-made aioli — a garlic mayonnaise that includes raw egg — had tested positive for salmonella.Acting director of Albury’s public health unit, Alison Nikitas, said “It’s not due to ongoing transmission, but people calling us during the week as they become aware of it”.
The premises, which is described by some visiting it’s Facebook page as “one of the nest eateries in Albury”, has been closed since Friday 22 January and a Prohibition Order was issued later that day by the NSW Food Authority. The premises owner said the authority was now conducting cross-contamination tests; “we’re still co-operating with NSW health authorities and hope to maybe open toward the end of the week”.
Raw egg is a recognised significant potential Salmonella source and has been involved in several food poisoning outbreaks in Australia over the last two years. Obviously, not using raw egg in uncooked products, like aioli, would reduce the food safety risk, however there are some foods that require this ingredient. Cross contamination and good temperature are therefore key food safety issues in these types of products.
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The National Preventative Health Agency Bill was introduced into the Senate in November 2009, and is designed to set up the National Preventative Health Agency to co-ordinate obesity, alcohol abuse and smoking public health campaigns, as well as act as an advisor to Governments on these and other related public health issues.
The Government’s National Preventative Health Taskforce strategy was released in September 2009 and this Agency is one of it’s key recommendations. The Agency is also expected to co-ordinate and run health surveillance, consultation and research.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), on behalf of the food industry, has encouraged the Senate to pass the Bill, so that the Agency can be established by the expected start date of 01 January 2010.
“The new National Preventative Health Agency must make a difference otherwise there’s no point in having yet another arm of Government for addressing this important issue of preventative health,” Dr Annison, AFGC Deputy Chief Executive, said. “We need to ensure that this new agency delivers comprehensive national programs to boost Australia’s capacity to combat preventable diseases. Also, it must not duplicate the activities of other agencies including the NHMRC and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.”
The Agency will be independent and government funded and will have health experts as the key staff.
“Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing sector welcomes preventative health challenges and has already made strong inroads in these areas with a number of voluntary measures including front of pack food labelling, an advertising to children initiative and the reduction of salt and trans-fats in processed foods,” Dr Annison suggested.
Although it is recognised at all levels that is not going to be quick or easy to reduce the impact that obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse has on the community, the establishment of this Agency is welcomed, to drive programs to achieve this.
“We will only reverse this trend with a comprehensive and strategic approach involving governments, industry, the community and individuals. We all have to commit to make Australia healthier, whether in the workplace, at school or home,” Dr Annison said.
Monday, January 25th, 2010
The following information is from Food Surveillance Australia New Zealand (Summer 2009) and included here with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
The Food Standards Code defines ready-to-eat (RTE) meat as meat products (including poultry) intended to be consumed without further heating or cooking, and includes:
• cooked or uncooked fermented meat
• pâté
• dried meat
• slow cured meat
• luncheon meat
• cooked cured or uncured muscle meat
• other ready-to-eat meat that is susceptible to the growth of pathogens or the production of toxins
On any given day, between 20% and 50% of the Australian population consume RTE meats, including smallgoods, deli meats, manufactured, fermented and processed meats (MLA, 2006).
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) estimated the daily serving size of these products to be between 28 and 58 grams per person (MLA, 2006).
The National Risk Validation Project report (Food Science Australia & Minter Ellison Consulting, 2002) identified producers of fermented and manufactured meat products to be high risk businesses. That project estimated foodborne illness attributable to fermented and manufactured meats in Australia to be in the order of $77 million per year. This was based on the nature of food operations, the frequency of illness in relation to product consumption rates and the severity of illness.
Since 2004, according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) there have been 30 recalls of RTE meat products in Australia, with 26 (86.7%) due to microbiological contamination. In addition, there have been documented food poisoning outbreaks from RTE meats in Australia and overseas, due to L. monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, E. coli O157 and O111, Staphylococcus and Salmonella.
The NSW Food Authority conducted this survey with the aim of gathering up-to-date information on the microbiological quality of RTE meats sold in NSW. This survey specifically targeted the RTE meat products considered to be high risk, namely those which had been further processed by slicing and then packaged to extend shelf life.
From August to November 2008, a total of 154 packaged sliced RTE meat products were purchased from supermarkets, greengrocers, farmers markets and retail butcher shops in the greater Sydney area.
The safety of RTE meat products relies largely on adequate processing (cooking, curing or fermentation) and/or the use of preservatives. This survey specifically targeted high risk RTE meat products which were sliced and packaged. Packaging of these products may involve modified atmosphere packaging or vacuum packaging, with the result of extended shelf life potentially allowing the psychotrophic pathogen L. monocytogenes the time and conditions to grow to levels that may cause infection in susceptible individuals.
Sliced meats pose a higher risk as slicing is normally undertaken after cooking, allowing recontamination via the slicing blade and subsequent handling.
The survey found that 95.5% of samples complied with the microbiological criteria. Of those samples found not to comply, one sample of ham contained E. coli at a level slightly above the limit (4 cfu/g) and six samples (two ham, two salami, one silverside, one roast beef) were positive for the presence of L. monocytogenes at low levels(≤ 10cfu/g). Follow-up action was undertaken by NSW Food Authority officers in accordance with the level of risk posed. Followup action included inspection of the premises where the product was manufactured to assess compliance with Food Standards Code requirements.
The presence of L. monocytogenes in six samples supports the current risk management strategy of communicating to at-risk groups, particularly pregnant woman, that sliced packaged RTE meats should be avoided.
The full report on this survey can be found on the NSW Food Authority’s website: http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/science-and-research/market-analysis/smallgoodmeats-rte
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
A recent survey by an independent market analyst, Datamonitor, has shown that more than 75% of Australians are concerned about the importance of their health and maintaining it. Around 71% of those surveyed are also making a deliberate attempt to eat healthily “most” or “all of the time”.
This also applies to alcoholic purchases, according to Katrina Diamonon, Consumer Markets Analyst for Datamonitor, with more than a quarter of those surveyed making healthy choices.
The current FSANZ Labelling Review will no doubt find the results of the survey of great interest. Food manufacturers should be close attention as well, as the results from this survey will have far reaching effects and reinforces the belief in the food industry that consumers are looking for more information on food and drink labels. They are then using this information to make purchasing choices. This will obviously have a significant impact on new and existing product labelling.
48% of the Australians surveyed report that they rely on the product’s nutritional information shown on the packaging to help them make purchasing choices, compared to a global average of 44%.
“This attentiveness puts additional pressure on food and beverage manufacturers to respond via effective product reformulation that is communicated in an engaging, believable manner,” Diamonon advised.
Of particular interest to those surveyed are the usual suspects of low or no added sugar (46%) and low or reduced fat (44%), even though there are new trends like gluten free or soy rich.
“The implication is that, while newer health considerations offer considerable future potential, they are not yet mass market considerations,” Diamonon noted. “Marketers must therefore adopt tempered expectations when it comes to using the newest ‘vogue ingredients’ in health-driven product reformulation.”
Salt is emerging as a distinct issue in the minds of Australians due to the increasing public knowledge of the relationship between our health and what we eat and drink. According to many groups, including the Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health (AWASH), this will be one of the most significant issues in food labelling in 2010. AWASH has launched a program called “Drop the Salt!”, which aims to reduce salt consumption by Australians to only 6 grams by 2012.
Even though manufacturers will be revising product composition and labelling to address this increasing consumer expectation of “healthier” foods and easy to understand information, there is a problem. There seems to be an increasing scepticism by consumers of product labelling. Manufacturers must follow the requirements of both the Trade Practices Act and the Food Standards Code in labelling products, so there must be no misleading claims. However, the results from the survey show that only 25% of Australians believe that any nutritional claims made are trustworthy. There needs to be some serious work done to address this significant issue, and hopefully, the Labelling Review will assist with this.
“In short, if Australians make a real effort to review the actual ingredient composition of the foods they eat, they give themselves the best chance of achieving those ever-elusive new year’s resolutions once and for all,” Diamonon concluded.
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
The Supermarket Guru, Phil Lempert, is a specialist working with the large supermarket chains in the USA by analysing trends. He has made some predictions for what will happen with the retail food industry in the next year in the USA, and these are of interest in Australia as well.
Consumers want simple, cost effective foods that they can prepare themselves at home and remain high quality.
“Americans are taking a hard look at every aspect of their food, from where it comes from to what’s on the ingredient label,” Mr Lempert said. “Major brands are responding in positive ways to ensure they meet these consumer demands in 2010.”
The following are the seven primary trends that Mr Lempert has observed;
• Less is More - Consumers are looking for simpler and easy to understand labels and whole foods without unnecessary additives.
• The Changing Face of Private Label - Due to the poor economic situation during 2009, many shoppers were purchasing the Store Brands, due to the savings. It is expected that major manufacturers will develop co-branded private labels with the retailers using their own ingredients, in effort to increase their sales again.
• Getting Back to Basics - Home cooking is where it is all happening, as a result of the Global Financial Crisis and it is expected that this will continue throughout 2010. The huge success of cooking shows across the whole world in 2009 simply reinforces this. Looking for simple, quality ingredients and recipes will be the major trend
• The Butcher’s Back - People are relay wanting to know where their food is coming from so butchers shops and greengrocers are back in vogue.
• Power of the Collective - With the ever increasing social networking occurring through Twitter, Facebook etc, we should expect that more shoppers will depend less on advertising and more on their discussions on these sites , as well as word-of-mouth to help them make decisions on what foods to buy and when.
• Relaxation Foods - With most people having a very busy lifestyle, foods that are branded as “relaxation “foods will be on the increase. Relaxation foods will be the new comfort foods. Mr Lempert is even predicting that this trend will also cause a resurgence of after-dinner beverages, eg cocoa etc.
Visit www.supermarketguru.com for information about Phil Lempert and The Supermarket Guru.
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act has been approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
This sets the stage for this important piece of legislation to go to the full Senate for final debate and, hopefully, approval. However the bill will most likely have to wait until early 2010 to face the full Senate, due to the time involved in President Obama’s healthcare reforms.
The HELP Committee did make some amendments to the Bill, including the removal of the clause requiring that food businesses pay $500 per year to help fund the increased inspections required by the bill. This has of course, caused some heated discussion, as it will require that the increased inspection program is going to be paid for by the taxpayer. A review of the cost of implementing this program is being done by the Congressional Budget Office.
This idea raises some interesting questions for Australia, about whether such a requirement would work here, or even be needed.
Committee chairman Senator Tom Harkin said that “this is a forward looking bill that comprehensively reforms our current food safety system yet is adaptable enough to keep pace with an evolving industry.” “It recognises that preventive controls are an essential means to improve food safety, and it addresses the need to enhance surveillance, improve emergency response coordination, and heighten the scrutiny of imported foods. Importantly, it also recognises that, while changes to our system must be real and effective, they must not be excessively burdensome.”
The following are some of the new requirements in the bill;
• All manufacturing, processing and packing facilities must tackle hazards and adulteration through risk based preventative control plans
• FDA must have access to all documents in these plans
• Restaurants and most farms are exempt
• The safety of imported food and suppliers must be verified
• FDA can deny entry to foods if they lack safety verification
• FDA must do inspections of high risk plants annually and others at least once every four years.
• FDA will have authority to order mandatory recalls and can detain adulterated or misbranded food.
• FDA will receive greater funding to allow for the increased inspections
The changes to the US food safety controls and legislation are of significant interest to regulators and the food industry in Australia, as the US is a major importer of food from this country.
Monday, January 18th, 2010
It is well recognised by health authorities and governments across the world that in general, humans are getting fatter, especially in western countries, like the USA and Australia. This has emerged as a significant health issue.
There are many government programs being developed and implement across the world to try and reduce this growing problem. Much pressure is being placed on food manufacturers to reduce the fat and sugar content of their products and to make food “healthier”. The large quick serve or fast food or convenience businesses are now offering salads and other alternatives to their standard menu, to try to reduce a person’s kilojoule intake at each meal and in total.
The saying “we are what we eat” is quite true for most people. We need to keep the amount of energy we take in to be less than that we use, to not put on weight - there are however, exceptions due to medical or other conditions. Diet and fitness businesses are thriving and many are certainly helping lots of people.
The Taiwanese government is taking a world first approach by planning to introduce a tax on “junk”foods, in an attempt to reduce the consumption of these types of foods. This is a method being considered worldwide to try and reduce the increasing obesity.
The Apple Daily has reported that the Bureau of Health promotion is drafting a bill to tax foods such as soft drinks, confectionery, a range of fast food / quick serve and alcohol products. It is expected that all revenue raised will go toward health programs.
The bill is expected to go to the Taiwanese Parliament for debate shortly, and if passed will be introduced in 2011.
In Australia, the Preventative Health Taskforce recommended in it’s report, that this issue of a junk food tax be given more analysis before it is considered in this country, to determine the reduction in consumption of these types of foods, and therefore the potential impact on obesity. It is a very polarising issue.
The Taskforce recommended carrying out a National Risk Factor Survey in 2010, to gather information for the consideration of junk food taxes and other potential obesity reduction measures.
“This is where we need to commission independent modelling, really to look for a rationalised tax and excise regime for alcohol that discourages the harmful consumption and promotes safer consumption,” Rob Moodie, who chaired the Preventative Health Taskforce said, upon releasing the Taskforce’s report in August 2009.
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
In October the Franchise Council of Australia presented the eight awards of the MYOB Excellence in Franchising Awards at a ceremony in Perth at a Gala Awards Dinner. The awards recognize the important role that franchisors have in the food industry and reward those who demonstrate excellence in what they do.
The Franchisor Social Responsibility Award was jointly presented to Bakers Delight for their partnership with Breast Cancer Network Australia where almost $3.7 million has been raised over the last nine years, as well as the donation of around $143 million worth of bread to charities through the bakery network. Other community involvement includes the Bundraiser campaign, where $1 from every pack of Hot Cross buns sold going to buying equipment for children’s hospitals throughout the country.
Back in Motion Health Group was the other joint winner of this award and has set up the “SOS Foundation”, which is supported by all franchisees as well as through events.
Another award winner, 7-Elevens CEO Warren Wilmot commented that, “the criteria was very thorough, with greater rigour placed on the submission and the interview process. Completing the submission and answering the criteria was extremely beneficial for its self-assessment value, so much so, that we are now using the document as a marketing tool for potential franchisees.”
The following are the other award winners;
- Established Franchisor of the Year - 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd
- Emerging Franchisor of the Year - Grill’d
- Multi- Unit Franchisee of the Year - Banjo’s Bakehouse
- International Franchising Award - Gloria Jean’s Coffee international
- Excellence in Marketing Award - Mr Rental
- Field Manager of the Year Award - Dan Gallo - The Coffee Club
For more information about the awards and franchises go to www.franchise.org.au
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Information in this article has been provided by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and is included with permission.In 2001 FSANZ undertook a Benchmark Survey of Food Safety. The results were significant and it was agreed that there would be periodic surveys done to determine what improvements had been implemented since that key survey.
In 2007 a phone and observational survey was done under the key food safety areas of temperature control, protecting food from contamination, cleaning and sanitation, and personal hygiene and staff illness. These are the key food safety areas that have been identified in the Food Safety Standards.
FSANZ has now prepared a report Safe Food Handling in Australian Food Businesses - Knowledge and Practices: An Interpretive Summary of the 2007 and 2001 National Food Handling Surveys (the Interpretive Summary).
The Interpretive Summary brings together the results of the 2007 Telephone and Observational Surveys The Interpretive Summary further provides an analysis and conclusion as to whether food safety knowledge and practices in each of these food safety areas has improved since the
Benchmark Survey in 2001 and whether there is scope for further improvement.
In addition, the Interpretive Summary discusses improvements since the 2001 Benchmark Survey in relation to general assessment of the premises, staff food safety training, food recall plans, food safety programs, sources of food safety information and awareness of and changes in practices as a result of the introduction of the Food Safety Standards (only applies in Australia).
Due to a number of food safety incidents which occurred at bakeries and sushi manufacturers the time the 2007 Survey was planned, these businesses were an additional focus of the 2007 Survey and results are included in the Interpretive Summary.
The aim of the Interpretive Summary is to provide useful and accessible information for jurisdictions, food businesses and other interested organisations as a first step to identifying and developing targeted compliance and education activities for food businesses to further improve safe food handling knowledge and practices.
Overall outcomes
Overall, the 2007 Survey has demonstrated that food businesses have significantly improved their safe food handling knowledge and practices in most key safe food handling areas since the Benchmark Survey was conducted in 2001. These improvements in knowledge and behaviour of safe food handling since the introduction of the Food Safety Standards are likely to have led to consequent improvements in overall food safety and public health.
The Interpretive Summary identifies a number of specific food handling knowledge or practice items within each key safe food handling area where further improvement is desirable or where knowledge or practice may have declined. A number of business demographics were also identified that may benefit from targeted education or other activities.
The 2007 Survey Report is available at:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/publications/evaluationreportseries/2007nationalfo
odhand4116.cfm
A Food Surveillance News summary article on the 2007 Survey is available at:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/foodsurveillancenewsletter/summer2008.cfm
The 2001 Benchmark Survey Report is available at:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/publications/evaluationreportseries/nationalfoodhan
dling1315.cfm
The Interpretive Summary of the 2007 Survey is available at:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/educationalmaterial/publications/evaluationreportseries/2007n
ationalfoodhand4116.cfm
Further information is available on the FSANZ website at www.foodstandards.gov.au or please contact Mary-Lou Dalzell by phone (+61 2 62712222) or email her at marylou.dalzell@foodstandards.gov.au.
