Page 7 - Food & Drink Magazine July 2018

CoOL labelling rolls out
Single-use
bag ban
made official
COLES and Woolworths both farewelled the single-use plastic bag across outlets across Australia last month, in a bid to help solve Australia’s disposable plastic bag problem.
The change has seen mixed reaction among shoppers, with some accusing the chains of hypocricy due to the amount of plastic still used in store packaging. Others supported the move, and have begun to bring their own reusable bags when shopping.
Customers who forget to bring their own bags have
a range of new alternative shopping bag options, including a new 15 cent reusable bag which is made from at least
80 per cent recycled plastic.
Profits from some bags are also given to charities, such as Woolworths’ Bag for Good range.
Woolworths stores now also offer flexible plastic recycling options in all supermarkets via the REDcycle program, which is a closed loop recycling solution where customers can return soft plastic packaging used on produce, biscuit packets, frozen food bags, rice and pasta bags, confectionery packets and shopping bags, which are then sent to recycling partners. The material is delivered to
REDcycle to be
turned into
recycled plastic
products such
as outdoor
furniture. ✷
NEWS
FOOD manufacturers raced to meet the deadline for compliance to country of origin labelling laws on 30 June.
The Federal Government introduced the new country of origin food labelling system in 2016, with businesses given two years to change labels to the new format.
The changes require food manufacturers and importers to clearly identify where products are produced, grown, made or packed – a move designed to increase transparency and help consumers make informed choices.
KHQ Food & Beverage lawyer Amelia Edwards said the new compliance obligations are much more onerous than those that apply to imported foods.
“Small producers are feeling this compliance burden more heavily than the big players, terrified about expensive
product recalls and fines in the millions if they don’t comply,” Edwards said.
The Le Mac Australia Group offered assistance to companies holding onto old printed rewind stock without the new Country of Origin labelling logo, and Task by Kirk worked with large and small businesses to prepare them for the change.
The ACCC has now begun
conducting market surveillance checks on
10,000 food products to ensure businesses are now complying.
“We are now entering the compliance phase, where we are making sure businesses are presenting accurate information about country of origin to their customers” ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said in a statement lastmonth. ✷
12 startups get a hand-up
A group of tech startups will take part in a six-month accelerator program developed by BlueChilli and supported by Coca-Cola Amatil.
Picked from Australia and New Zealand, the 12 startups were chosen from a group of 40 to participate in the inaugural Xcelerate program.
Coca-Cola Amatil is a key partner in the six-month program, with tech start-up accelerator BlueChilli to give the early-stage entrepreneurs
the chance to make their innovative idea a global reality. Since the program’s launch
in April, there were 300 eligible entries submitted, which were narrowed down to 40, each of which were selected for a bootcamp.
The objective of the bootcamp was to provide the founders with an opportunity to assess the viability and strength of their ideas.
For the 12 chosen to go through, the accelerator will
provide them with an initial $38,000 equity investment, mentoring, training, and a complete technical team to help build their ideas into businesses and accelerate their growth.
The six-month program includes a co-working space, weekly workshops, talks
and office hours with Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, regular mentor contact, and
a structured program for each entrepreneur, designed to give their idea the best chance of business success. Also included is a technology
team and dedicated product manager to help build
the business offering.
Following the six-month program, the most successful startups will be eligible for up to a further $500,000 investment from BlueChilli and its venture partners, and up to a further $200,000 investment from Coca-ColaAmatil. ✷
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | July 2018 | Food&Drink business | 7