Page 63 - Food&Drink Magazine November-December 2021

ACCC chair Rod Sims said that while there were concerns expressed by some suppliers, many other suppliers did not raise competition concerns.
“PFD makes up about two per cent of the overall demand from food suppliers, which was a key factor in the lack of concern from some suppliers,” said Sims.
PFD will continue to operate independently under CEO Kerry Smith. A separate board and governance structure will now be implemented.
SENATE INQUIRY INTO MEAT, ALT PROTEIN LABELLING
A senate inquiry into the
use of animal protein
labels by alternative
proteins will specifically
look at the potential
damage done to the meat industry. Queensland
senator Susan McDonald launched the inquiry, saying it was up to the makers of non-meat products to come up
with their own product names rather than trading off animal protein labelling.
The inquiry follows a roundtable discussion held on food labelling by federal agriculture minister David Littleproud last year.
The Alternative Proteins Council (APC) cautioned against the inquiry becoming a conventional protein versus new proteins debate as it implied new protein industries would grow at the expense of more conventional ones.
ACCC CONSIDERS JBS, RIVALEA ACQUISITION
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is considering whether a public review is required for JBS’s acquisition of pig breeder and processing company Rivalea for $175 million.
JBS announced it has signed an agreement to buy 100 per cent of Rivalea Holdings and Oxdale Dairy Enterprise (together, “Rivalea”) from Singapore-listed food company QAF Limited for $175 million.
JBS said Rivalea’s vertically integrated business with product
lines across several categories would allow JBS to increase
its product
diversification in Australia. Rivalea accounts for 26 per cent
of hogs processed in Australia. JBS Global CEO Gilberto
Tomazoni said the acquisition would result in JBS becoming the largest pork processor
in Australia.
YEAR IN REVIEW
$9.25M SETTLEMENT IN KRAFT HEINZ, BEGA DISPUTE Kraft Heinz Australia will pay a $9.25 million settlement to Bega Cheese, as the lengthy legal proceedings in relation to Bega’s peanut butter products neared the end. In November 2020, Bega won a case against Kraft Heinz Australia, which had argued Bega rebranding Kraft Peanut Butter with its moniker was a violation of its intellectual property rights.
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