Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has announced Michael Crowley as its next managing director, starting in the role on 27 May. Crowley is currently CEO of Herefords Australia.

Up to 750 SMEs will benefit from CSIRO's latest investment into its SME Connect initiative, which is aimed at boosting R&D opportunities. Its flagship program, CSIRO Kick-Start, has facilitated more than 280 projects since it began in 2017. 

Australian cultivated meat company, Vow, has unveiled its latest creation, an entirely new animal called Quailia. CEO George Peppou says it embodies Vow’s purpose, to create “utterly delicious” meat using cell-culturing technology.

New Zealand dairy company, Synlait Milk, has received a small reprieve in what has been a particularly challenging year with a two month extension to repay NZ$130 million that was due on 28 March.

For many manufacturers, food safety is a necessary cost centre they want to spend as little as possible on while still satisfying regulatory compliance. Troy Gosetti, a product specialist with global food safety company Neogen, explains how a different approach – using advanced workflow and analytics technology – can lead to greater ROI.

A $5 million grant from the Investment Attraction Fund will see Tassal expand its Yaloon/Cone Bay barramundi production in the Kimberley's Buccaneer Archipelago. In December, Tassal signed a seven-year lease with the state government to use two sites at the Broome Tropical Aquaculture Park, where it plans to build a new nursery facility.

The WA government is one of a number of states – and wine producers – expressing their relief at China officially dropping the heavy tariffs it imposed on Australia’s wine industry in 2020.

A $1.85 million support package for the South Australian wine industry will help it prepare to re-enter China, South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, announced following the news China had lifted its tariffs on Australian wine.

Former director of Bellamy’s Australia, Jan Cameron, has been fined $8000 following her conviction for using an offshore corporate structure to hide her substantial holdings in the company.

Suntory Oceania will be the exclusive ANZ manufacturer, sales, and distribution partner for the US energy drink, Celsius. The deal should see the functional beverages on the market in late 2024.

Personal health, sustainability, and enhanced sensorial experiences are the biggest consumer themes that will shape the food and beverage sector across the region, according to the latest research by Kerry. Kerry ANZ Business Development director, Taste, Emma Stride explains.

The federal government has welcomed China’s decision to remove the heavy tariffs it imposed on the Australian wine industry in November 2020. In its 28 March announcement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the situation in China’s wine market had changed so the “anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariff” was no longer necessary.

Entries are now open for the annual Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards. Open to commercial food producers of all sizes, it is one of the largest programs of its kind. 

Victorian brewery, Bodriggy Brewing Co, is the first brewery in the state to achieve carbon-neutral certification and only the second in Australia to do so. The independent Abbotsford-based brewery achieved certification under the federal government’s Climate Active program.

According to Rabobank data, Australian consumers are facing higher chocolate prices heading into Easter, with retail chocolate prices up 8.8 per cent on the previous year as global cocoa prices soar.

In the ultimate “it’s just not cricket” news, Belgian researchers have used a machine learning method to make better tasting alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers.