More MPI Listeria Workshops
Date: 20 May 2013The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the New Zealand Institute of Food Safety and Technology (NZIFST) is holding a second series of implementation workshops with manufacturers of ready-to-eat foods to support the publication of the MPI reference material “Guidance for the control of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods”. Workshop: Listeria – Prevention is Better Than Cure The overall objective of the workshops is to assist food operators to develop a ... more
Independent Liquor buying out The Mill
Date: 20 May 2013Auckland-based manufacturer Independent Liquor is preparing to make a move into the retail trade for the first time, announcing it has reached an agreement to purchase The Mill, a nationwide chain of alcohol stores. The liquor maker has not disclosed a price, but says the acquisition is expected to be confirmed by the middle of this year, pending certain conditions. Today, Independent chief executive Julian Davidson said the purchase would give his firm better market access, while also ... more
Mystery as China blocks NZ meat
Date: 20 May 2013Tens of millions of dollars is at stake as mystery grows over why tonnes of New Zealand meat is being blocked at China's borders. And the bill could skyrocket if the matter is not resolved very soon. The Government insisted at the weekend that it was "working around the clock" to resolve the problem, but ministers would not comment further yesterday on what had caused the impasse. Officials say the meat crisis is because of an issue with import certification, caused by ... more
Tea grower brews plan for success
Date: 20 May 2013When Tzu Chen first saw camellia trees flourishing in the Waikato, it seeded what could have been viewed as an impossible dream. Chen, an avid tea lover, was struck by the similarities between the camellia and tea plants. It got him thinking that tea could be grown in New Zealand, but with no prior knowledge of the industry he did not realise what a hard job that would be. He and his son Vincent Chen, who is the founder of Waikato-based Zealong Tea, New Zealand's only tea ... more
Mammoth milk dryer caps season
Date: 18 May 2013The roof is on the world's largest milk-powder dryer in stage two of Fonterra's more than $500 million Darfield milk-processing plant. D2, as the 30.8-tonne-an-hour dryer is known, will take over the position as the world's most powder-productive dryer from the E4 28-tonne an hour dryer at Edendale in Southland when it begins processing wholemilk powder in August. It has taken more than 550,000 man hours to reach this stage. Canterbury operations manager Richard Gray said capping ... more
Waitaki Wine Doctors see double
Date: 17 May 2013Drs John Forrest of Forrest Wines and Jim Jerram of Ostler Wines are today celebrating double successes with gold medals for their 2010 Waitaki Valley Pinot Noirs. Awarded by the prestigious 2013 London International Wine Challenge, this echoes the 2012 event when the John Forrest Collection 2009 Pinot Noir was awarded a gold medal together with the Ostler Caroline 2009 Pinot Noir 2012 also winning gold at the equivalent event in Shanghai. Waitaki Valley in New Zealand’s ... more
New Zealand has record year of success at International Wine Challenge
Date: 17 May 2013New Zealand's winemakers collect 38 Gold medals at IWC including 13 gold for their Pinot Noirs. New Zealand winemakers demonstrated their excellence at the 30th International Wine Challenge winning 38 Gold medals in a record year of success. Thirteen of the much-coveted Gold medals were awarded to Pinot Noir. "New Zealand's Pinot just gets better and better and it is hard to beat in terms of quality, consistency and value. One theme that came through in judging this ... more
World dairy prices drop 2.1 percent
Date: 16 May 2013Prices of dairy products extended their decline from a record high as a resurgent US dollar weighed more generally on commodity prices and concerns abated about the impact of drought in the North Island. The GDT-TWI Price Index fell 2.1 per cent compared to the last sale two weeks ago in only the second decline this year. The average winning price fell to US$4,549 a tonne from US$4,597 a tonne. The price reached US$4,968 a tonne last month, the highest since the GDT platform began in July ... more
New Zealand Cheese Month set to launch this October
Date: 16 May 2013What: New Zealand Cheese Month When: October 1- 31, 2013 Where: Nationwide The inaugural New Zealand Cheese Month will launch on October 1, giving cheese-loving Kiwi’s a month-long excuse to purchase, eat and enjoy New Zealand speciality cheese. New Zealand Cheese Month is about celebrating our country’s delicious and diverse range of cheeses, trying new cheese, using cheese ... more
Fonterra Milk For Schools rolls into Otago, Southland
Date: 15 May 2013An early morning farm visit and a small convoy of milk tankers, tractors and buses through the main street of Invercargill heralded the start of the nationwide rollout of Fonterra Milk for Schools yesterday. After hosting students from 12 local schools at a farm, a convoy of vehicles made its way through the town’s main street en route to Waverley Park School. Carly Robinson, Group General Manager Global Co-operative Social Responsibility said: “Today is a big ... more
