<< Continued from page 5 6 JULY 2016 AUSSIE COLD STORAGE PLAYER FOUND TO BE WANTING A cold chain storage watchdog has attacked the Victorian Government in Australia over claims that it encouraged a business with a history of serial insolvency in Europe to enter the local market. The Refrigerated Warehouse and Transport Association of Australia says it wants explanations as to why the Labor Government recently welcomed plans by Dutch-based cold storage and logistics company NewCold to establish its Asia Pacific headquarters in Melbourne. An investigated by international forensic and risk services company PFK has revealed that NewCold’s European directors have an alleged history of insolvency associated with failed companies in the same industry. RWTA chairman David O’Brien says the Victorian Government should disclose any subsidies or financial assistance offered to the company to establish, and to explain what due diligence was undertaken. “Our own investigation found both of NewCold’s foreign directors have been directors of companies that have gone into liquidation in the United Kingdom,” O’Brien says. “How have they proved financial viability when there is a history of serial insolvency in Europe?” The Australian cold storage industry is estimated to be worth around $6 billion, and is forecast to continue growing at around 2.5 per cent each year. O’Brien says if NewCold decides to buy market share by price gouging, jobs with competing local players could be lost. He says explanations are also necessary over comments made by the state premier that promised the creation of 127 jobs in a business which is highly automated. NEWS SNIPS Fonterra has celebrated the official opening of its new slice on slice cheese expansion at Eltham, with the plant now able to produce enough cheese to fill more than three billion burgers each year. McDonald’s Restaurants (New Zealand) posted a 19 per cent gain in 2015 profit as the local unit of the world’s biggest fast-food chain opened more outlets and lured consumers with custom burgers and drivethrough coffee. Just weeks after officially opening its new UHT milk and cream plant at its premises in Rolleston, Westland Milk Products has launched its whipping cream product into the Chinese market. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has reminded importers and manufacturers that label requirements for some organophosphate and carbamate (OPC) insecticides have taken effect on July 1, 2016. N E W S change of a non-recyclable product to one which is recyclable. “We congratulate the supermarket for its initiative,” he says. A new Massey University study will explore the habits, knowledge, beliefs and responses of New Zealanders who consume caffeine, using genetic testing to identify both positive and negative impacts. More than 70 per cent of Kiwis consume caffeine regularly, but most don’t understand the effect it can have on sporting performance, sleep, mood and cognitive functions. Lead researcher Saskia Stachyshyn says New Zealand has a growing supply of caffeinated products, making this an important research area. “This study aims to gather information on the caffeine consumption habits of New Zealanders and genetic testing will be carried out through saliva samples,” Stachyshyn says. “This information will help determine groups who are at the most risk of suffering the ill-effects of caffeine consumption.” Snail slime, seaweed or mushroom in your face cream anyone? South Korean women are obsessing over beauty products containing the weird and wonderful ingredients not traditionally found in American or European products. South Korea last year exported more than $2.64 billion of cosmetic goods, including the snail extract that is supposed to stimulate the formation of collagen and elastin. The Korean skincare product market, collectively dubbed ‘K-beauty’, is hot in the US where small firms set up by young Americans of Korean ancestry are pushing sales through the roof. Its popularity can be traced back to 2011 when BB Cream first launched in the US. By the way, kelp covered in a hydrating serum is a wildly popular face mask, whilst mushroom is a new ‘ultra-hydrating’ ingredient. ON THE CUSP OF A FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION KPMG’s Ian Proudfoot says significant change is coming to New Zealand’s primary sector and “farmers that ignore it do it at their peril.” Proudfoot, speaking at Federated Farmers’ National Conference Meat and Fibre annual meeting, says the world is on the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution and this will mean thinking more globally. Kiwi farmers who can tell their unique story will prevail as the global consumer becomes more discerning about what they eat and where it comes from. “There is a fusion happening where digital, physical and biotechnological products will redefine how we live and farm,” he said. The primary sector is up to meeting these challenges as changing market forces and conditions are something it is familiar with, he says.
FT-Jul16
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