2010s

Food trends identified as important for 2019 were eating for gut health, food shopping more frequently, “peganism” (a cross between paleo and vegan diets) and the growth in faux meat products. By 2019, veganism had lost its crank status and become almost mainstream. There was an increasing emphasis on reducing waste, including moves to eliminate plastic bags, takeaway coffee cups and single-use straws. Good Food declared 2019 the “Year of the Prawn” but maybe no-one was listening. More

With the a growing number of Australians adopting a vegan lifestyle, Vegan Australia launched a vegan certification program in January 2019. Vegan Australia was formed in 2012 and incorporated in 2014 as a registered non-profit charity. It aims to campaign nationally for veganism and to support and coordinate the activities of other vegan groups.

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In September 2018 a 21-year-old man was rushed to hospital in Queensland after swallowing a sewing needle that was embedded in a strawberry. Other instances of needles in strawberries were soon reported around Australia. In November, police arrested a woman who had worked as a supervisor at the Berrylicious and Berry Obsession berry farm in Wamuran, north of Brisbane and charged her with the sabotage. More

From 1 July 2018, the two major supermarket chains planned to ban single-use plastic bags at the checkouts. On the same date new legislation came into effect in Western Australia and Queensland banning the bags for all supermarkets, takeaway stores, pharmacies, goods sold online and markets. Bans were already in place in Tasmania, South Australia, the ACT and Northern Territory. But in New South Wales and Victoria, supermarket customers did not go quietly into that good plastic-bag free future. More

All the pundits predicting the 2018 food trends agreed on one thing. Vegetable-based foods were HOT, they said.  It seemed more Aussies were going vegan, which is no doubt why pizza chain Domino’s  announced its vegan pizza range in January 2018. Initially there were three different varieties, all using vegan cheese, or you could build your own from a list of veggie ingredients.

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In January 2018, Nestlé sold the iconic Australian chocolate bar to the South Australian confectionery company Robert Menz, returning it to Australian ownership. The Violet Crumble ownership change was announced by no less than the Premier of South Australia, Jay Weatherill. He said the manufacturing operation would return to South Australia, creating 30 new jobs. More

Instead of publishing a separate book for each state, in 2017 Fairfax made the move to a national Good Food Guide. This meant one book, one awards night and one lot of publicity. Quite a cost saving, you’d think. However, they were spinning it as a response to Australians’ greater mobility. More

Some people have suggested 19 January should become a national holiday to commemorate the day we saw Vegemite Australian-owned again. Bega Cheese bought the factory and a number of Kraft brands in a deal worth $460 million. Bega is listed on the Australian stock exchange and many of its shareholders are the dairy farmers who supply its milk. More

The Macquarie Dictionary named ‘halal snack pack’ as a runner-up word of the year for 2016, behind ‘fake news’.  However, online voting for the people’s choice award put it first. The dictionary defines this gourmet’s delight as ‘a fast food combining layers of hot chips, grated cheese, halal doner kebab meat, garlic sauce, barbecue sauce and chilli sauce. Abbrev: HSP’. More

In September 2016 the Daily Juice Company announced that the Sunnyboy was being deleted. The pyramid-shaped ice-block in a Tetrapak was part of a typically Australian childhood and the Twittersphere exploded with protests. Some, however, pointed out that pure nostalgia wasn’t enough to keep the brand alive and a lack of sales made the product’s death inevitable. The Sunny-boy trademark (with its original hyphen)  was first registered by Berri Limited in 1964.

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Roy Morgan research found that between 2012 and 2016, the number of Australian adults whose diet is all or almost all vegetarian rose from 1.7 million people (or 9.7% of the population) to almost 2.1 million (11.2%). In New South Wales, there was a 30% growth in this kind of diet. More

In a controversial move, the consumer affairs ministers from the various Australian states and territories agreed in March 2016 on a new free range eggs standard. While this did provide certainty for consumers, the stocking levels and conditions for hens were decried by Choice as not truly “free range”. More

A survey commissioned by Canstar Blue revealed a list of supermarket brands Australians said they couldn’t live without. As the trend towards private label brands continued, Canstar Blue said only the most popular brands would survive. Only two of the top brands, Dick Smith Foods and Sanitarium, were Australian owned. More

We’d had the International Year of the Potato. Then the United Nations declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses. As in beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. The motivation was both ecological and health-oriented and the UN cited the rise of obesity as a reason to eat less meat and more vegetable protein. So – pulses.  Lentil doughnuts anyone? More

In March 2015 Aldi was the first of the major supermarket chains to sign up to a new voluntary Supermarket Code of Conduct. Metcash IGA said it would implement the code on a trial basis for 12 months. The code gives the ACCC more power to investigate complaints by suppliers.
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Although some nutrition scientists had sounded warnings about sugar as early as 1972, its dangers were largely ignored by those who were recommending low fat diets to prevent heart disease. In Australia, the 2015 release of a film called That Sugar Film marked a renewed call to declare sugar a health hazard. More

Reversing the usual direction of cultural exchange, Starbucks  introduced the Flat White coffee in US outlets. This Australian (we claim) invention had already made it to London and New York. But in 2015 the Flat white at Starbucks was promoted as: “The perfect balance between rich ristretto shots and creamy, steamed milk with our new Flat White espresso drink”. More

In a world first, McDonald’s trialled a new cafe concept in Sydney’s Camperdown, opposite the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Macca’s healthy cafe, dubbed The Corner by McCafe carried no traditional McDonald’s branding and featured grain and legume salads, exotic flavours and even tofu.

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According to research company Roy Morgan, Australians drank less fruit juice in 2014. This continues a four-year trend. They reported that over 1.5 million fewer Australians aged 14 years or more drank packaged juice in an average week compared with 2010. More

In a response to growing concerns about obesity, the Health Star Rating system was developed by the Australian, state and territory governments in collaboration with industry, public health and consumer groups. It’s a voluntary program, with foods displaying ratings from a half to five stars. The healthiness of foods is determined by an algorithm that assesses risk and positive nutrients in food. More

Commenting on 2014 food trends, Larissa Dubecki and Jane Apelgren of The Age Good Food Guide identified pickles, kale, milk sheets, beef cheeks and pork jowl as among the hot ingredients over the past year. Salted caramel, they say, has had its day, replaced in the sweet stakes with licorice, coconut, popcorn and bacon. It’s bye bye sous vide and hello smoke and flame. More

A report by research company IBISWorld showed that the growth rate for alternative milks such as soy and almond milk is outstripping growth for the good old dairy variety. While milk and cream processing grew by an average of 0.2% per year over five years, soy and almond milk production grew by an average of 5.9%. More

According to a survey by online wine retailer Vinomofo, Riesling was Aussie wine-drinkers’ preferred white in 2014, ahead of Chardonnay. Sauvignon Blanc comes third. Shiraz was the preferred red, with Cabernet declining and Pinot Noir making gains. The wine survey found that nearly half of us drink wine on three to five days each week. More

In a PR triumph, supermarket chain Woolworths announced a five-year deal with struggling Victorian fruit packer SPC Ardmona to supply fruit for their Select house brand. The announcement followed an unsuccessful attempt by SPC to obtain financial support from the Australian government. More

The Coles store in Sydney’s Broadway has become the first supermarket in Australia to use Google Business Photos.  In the style of Google’s Streetview, you can see  360-degree interior imagery of the refurbished Broadway store. You can  click through from the street and check out the key features of the store. But the shoppers remain incognito – all faces are blurred. More

It was a landmark GMO legal case. A Western Australian farmer sued his neighbour after losing his organic status, when GM canola seedheads blew onto his property. Steve Marsh can no longer sell his oats as organic. He’s been stripped of his organic certification and export licence. He sued for loss of income. This was the first civil damages case brought for contaminating organic crops by negligence. The court ruled against Marsh.  More

The Keto diet (or ketogenic diet) was originally developed in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy. It echoed some of the body chemistry associated with fasting, which even the ancient Greeks had determined relieved the “falling sickness”. It was largely abandoned for this purpose when new epilepsy drugs were developed. However, it has now become a popular way to lose weight. The diet involves eating a high-fat, moderate protein diet with very few carbohydrates, which “teaches” the body to burn fat rather than carbs for energy. More

Research conducted for Woolworths by Bernard Salt of KPMG showed that Australians’ shopping habits have changed significantly over the past 25 years. Just 35% of an average family’s food budget is spent on the main weekly shop – and that primary shopping day is increasingly likely to be Sunday, not Saturday. The research also linked stay-at-home adult children to higher household food spending and cast light on the changing contents of the trolley. More

Despite a growing community focus on the welfare of farmed animals, the Queensland Government  changed its legislation to redefine what constitutes free-range eggs. Previously, Queensland was the only state to give legal status to the national Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals, which specifies a maximum of 1,500 birds per hectare. The new standard of 10,000 birds per hectare handily fell in line with what Coles defined as free-range. More

According to Roy Morgan research, there are more Aussies drinking cider than ever before. In the 12 months to March 2013, nearly one in five Australians aged between 18 and 24 drank cider in an average four week period. This compares with just one in 25 in 2008. While young people are most likely to drink cider, there’s a steep increase among  35 to 49-year-olds too, from  3 per cent to 8 per cent over the past two years. The Australian Cider Festival was first held at Manly’s Hotel Steyne in October 2012. More

Rowena Foods, manufacturers of that favourite of cinema-goers, the Choc Top, was bought by Bulla Dairy Foods. Rowena’s Choc Tops have been part of the cinema experience since 1990. The company supplies  the two biggest cinema chains, Hoyts and Village. More

The lunch! event held in Sydney for the take-away food industry incorporated competitions for the best sandwich, wrap, juice and smoothie. The overall winner in the sandwich section,  Mal Gill from Lady Marmalade & Shady Palms, Brisbane, cleaned up with a wrap including Berbere spiced shredded beef brisket, sweet potato, beetroot hummus and bitter leaves. His winning lunch roll was a Tokyo Pork Belly Sub with spiced pear relish, miso mayo, raw Brussell sprout slaw and five-spiced crackling.  It’s a long way from toasted ham and cheese!
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According to ‘Australian Food Statistics’, a report produced by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) in 2013, with data extracted from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and other sources, the  value of food and liquor retailing in Australia grew by 4 per cent in 2012–13 to $141.4 billion   Of that spending, supermarkets and grocery outlets accounted for 62%, cafes and restaurants 14%, take-away outlets 11%, liquor retailing 7% and other food outlets 6%. More

Roy Morgan research released the results of a snack food survey showing that 33 per cent of Australians bought potato chips in an average four-week period during the 12 months to March 2013. This was down slightly from 36 per cent in the year to March 2009. Other popular snack foods were chocolate coated biscuits (20 per cent), savoury biscuits (19 per cent), and corn chips (16 per cent). In New Zealand, potato chips are even more popular, with 44 per cent having bought them in an average four week period.>Australian Food News

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Australian industry research group BIS Shrapnel reported a 34% decrease in the number of corner stores between 2010 and 2012. They attributed this to the rise in the number of petrol stations incorporating convenience stores with expanded food and beverage offerings. Many of these are owned by Coles or Woolworths. An estimated 2725 corner stores remained, with the average annual takings decreasing from $985,000 to $750,000 in the previous two years. More

In March 2013 the remaining factory of iconic Australian brand Rosella closed down after the receivers failed to find a buyer for the business. Much was made of the return of Rosella to Australian hands when Unilever (who acquired it in 1963) unloaded it to Stuart Alexander & Co Pty Ltd in 2002. The business was sold again in 2006 to Gourmet Food Holdings, but receivers were appointed in December 2012. By then Rosella was reduced to one Sydney factory with 70 employees. In April 2013 the brand (but not the business) was bought by local company Sabrands.  >>See Rosella Preserving Company founded, 1895.

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European certification business Cert ID Europe, with food science consultancy HACCP Australia,  launched the first non-GMO certification program for the Australian food industry. (HACCP stands for hazard analysis and critical control points and  is a systematic preventive approach to food safety.) More

For a few weeks leading up to Australia Day,  McDonald’s in Australia became ‘Macca’s’, on the website, in advertising, on menus and even on signs on selected stores. McDonald’s research found that 55 per cent of Australians called the company Macca’s and they have  submitted the word to the Macquarie Dictionary for consideration. More

In June 2012, international food company Nestlé sold Peters Ice Cream to the Australian private equity firm, Pacific Equity Partners. The change in Peters Ice Cream ownership saw this famous Australian brand back in local hands. In 2014, however, PEP sold the brand to UK-based R&R Ice Cream which in turn partnered with Nestlé to form Froneri.

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Described as the food delivery business for home cooks, HelloFresh delivers a weekly box of ingredients including fresh meat and vegetables, along with the recipes for preparing them. This home delivery concept originated in Germany in 2011 and in 2012 MasterChef finalist, Tom Rutledge, founded the Australian arm of the business, originally delivering in Sydney. Since then, home delivery of ready-cooked or cook-it-yourself meals has expanded exponentially.

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The Australian Year of the Farmer was launched by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, in October 2011 on the site of Australia’s first farm, Farm Cove, now the site of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. The aims of the year were to celebrate the continuing importance of farming to Australia and to strengthen the connections between rural and urban Australia.
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On June 11, 2011, Toowoomba broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest lamington at the Newtown Rugby League Club. The record-beater weighed 2361 kilograms,  equivalent to 45000 normal lamingtons, and eclipsed the previous record held by Ipswich. Both cities claim to be the birthplace of this Australian classic and Toowoomba is contemplating erecting a “big lamington” as a tourist attraction. More

Someone who has seen (and done) it all posted this amusing summary of restaurants’ food presentation styles since the 1950s.  Eras include the Miniscule Era, the Gigantic Era, the Stacking Era, the Sprinkling Era and the Drizzle Era. The writer is clearly of the ‘old school’ and more than a little scornful about molecular gastronomy. More

Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger could hardly have predicted the effect their new social media platform would have on food – in particular, on restaurant food. Shortly after getting the platform up and running, Krieger posted a picture of his Vietnamese meal, starting an Instagram food photography trend that has influenced restaurant decor and made the appearance of food just as important as (or, some argue, more important than) the taste. More

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2010, there were an estimated 134,000 agricultural businesses across Australia operating on 400 million hectares (or 52% of the nation’s landmass), including 26 million hectares under crop (Agricultural Commodities, Australia, 2009–10, 7121.0). Around 60% of Australia’s agricultural production is exported (ABARES, 2011). More

As we entered the second decade of the 21st century, the latest “in” cuisines were Korean, Mexican, South American (BBQ) and Scandinavian (thank you noma). Or, if you believed Matt Preston, the new cuisines were Spanish, Latin American and Japanese. More

The major supermarket chains introduced house brands in the 1970s but these were initially sold on price. They were often seen as low quality and unlikely to offer serious competition to branded products.  However, by 2010, house brands had reached 24.5 per cent of sales in Coles, with more than 3800 own-brand lines. More

Macarons  became “the new cupcakes”. Consisting of two almond meal and egg white biscuits, sandwiched together with ganache, macarons in their current form were invented in Paris in the early 20^th century by Pierre Desfontaines Ladurée (although forms of almond cookie had been around for much longer). More