News on Food Trends from Australia

In Australia McCain is attempting to entice shoppers to buy their cooked potato chips in their local supermarket through the use of scented advertising panels dispensing the scent of cooked chips at the push of a button.

The Australian vegetable and potato industries are calling for consumers to be given certainty about the food they are eating once-and-for-all, through refined Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) laws, according to AUSVEG.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released the first phase of the 24th Australian Total Diet Study (ATDS) which looked at Australian consumers’ dietary exposure to acrylamide and aluminium.

Claims New Zealand potatoes do not pose a “substantive risk” to the Australian industry have been slammed as irresponsible and reckless by AUSVEG.

AUSVEG, will host a series of potato research and development (R&D) workshops in South Australia this month, as part of activities arranged for the Potato Industry Extension Program.

Recent research has linked the rise of fussy fruit and vegetable eaters in Western society to the population’s increased development of allergic asthma over the past 50 years.

Potatoes South Australia Incorporated, the peak industry body for the potato industry value chain, has been awarded funding of AU$409,800 (excl GST) through the Federal Department of Agriculture’s National Landcare Innovation Grants for a two year project which will help develop a more reliable soil Phosphorus test.

Owners of an old carpet factory in Devonport (Tasmania) have held informal talks with the Devonport City Council about a conversion to a potato processing factory.

Australian minister for the Environment, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, has launched the new EnviroVeg smartphone app for farmers, to help them manage their land sustainably.

A new study of 741 consumers released by the Australian vegetable industry today reveals almost one third of consumers have shown significant interest in buying more Asian vegetables.

Today’s reports that Simplot’s two vegetable processing plants at Bathurst and Devonport will remain open for at least another three years has been welcomed by peak industry body, AUSVEG.

The Potato Marketing Corporation of Western Australia has started a campaign to increase the consumption of fresh potatoes.

Supermarket chain Woolworths has released a report focused on the changes in the spending pattern of their Australian Shoppers over the past 25 years. The report also highlights the dramatic change in the position of the potato in that shopping cart.

A recent study by Roy Morgan Research shows that potato chips are still Australia’s most popular snack food, with a third of Australians aged 14+ in the year to March 2013 buying the product in an average four-week period.

AUSVEG, the National Peak Industry Body for Australian vegetable and potato growers, has welcomed the Prime Minister's acknowledgement of the importance of investment in agribusiness as part of his announcement of an election to be held on 7 September.

Food processor Simplot Australia has rejected the Star system for labelling healthy and unhealthy food.

The State Government of South Australia has awarded AU$43,500 to the Potato Industry for initiatives to make sure workers have skills to meet increasing production demands.

Simplot brand Birds Eye has channeled sports commentating in its latest television campaign for its Hot Chips range.