25th July 2012 Institute of Food Technologists A study published in Chemosensory Perception shows that fats in food may activate certain regions of the brain, thereby influencing how flavors are perceived. The researchers aimed to determine how the brain responds to changes in the fat content of four different fruit emulsions participants tasted. The researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to view the participants’ brain activity upon tasting the emulsions. All samples were of the same thickness and sweetness, but one contained flavor with no fat, while the others contained fat with different flavor release properties. The researchers discovered that when the non-fatty sample was tasted, the somatosensory cortices and the anterior, mid, and posterior insula, regions (that control perception of flavor) were significantly activated more than when the fatty emulsions were tasted, even though they had the same flavor perception. They noted, however, that increased activation in…

AAP July 31, 2012 OIL refiner Caltex Australia plans to raise $300 million through capital markets to help fund changes to its operations. Caltex said today it would issue subordinated notes, priced at $100 each, to retail and institutional investors to raise the funds. “The notes represent Caltex’s first retail targeted capital markets transaction since listing on the ASX, and provides investors with a new investment opportunity in Caltex,” chief financial officer Simon Hepworth said in a statement. The funds raised will be used to pay down existing debts, which would increase the company’s funding flexibility as it implements changes to its supply chain and marketing operations, Caltex said. The company last week announced it would close its Kurnell refinery in Sydney in the second half of 2014 as part of a supply chain restructure. Hundreds of jobs are to go from the Kurnell operation over the next two years

STEPHANIE CLIFFORD July 30, 2012 Ravi Raj, standing, of @WalmartLabs with Pankaj Risbood and Ken Turner examining social media data. Now, it uses Facebook. Visitors to the new Lay’s Facebook app are asked to suggest new flavors and click an “I’d Eat That” button to register their preferences. So far, the results show that a beer-battered onion-ring flavor is popular in California and Ohio, while a churros flavor is a hit in New York. “It’s a new way of getting consumer research,” said Ann Mukherjee, chief marketing officer of Frito-Lay North America. “We’re going to get a ton of new ideas.” While consumers may think of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare as places to post musings and interact with friends, companies like Wal-Mart and Samuel Adams are turning them into extensions of market research departments. And companies are just beginning to figure out how to use the…

MARK MORRI July 31, 2012 The Daily Telegraph A MASSIVE quantity of counterfeit washing powder has been found in Sydney’s south-west today. Police found 33 tonnes of the fake white powder in storage units in south west Sydney at an industrial estate in Chipping Norton. Officers found 3760 nine-kilo buckets of washing detergent inside the premises. The square pails were labelled as OMO, but police will allege they contain an inferior counterfeit powder. Two men are currently assisting police with their inquiries and are expected to be charged with possess/sell goods with false trademark. It will be alleged the men imported bags of detergent and OMO-branded buckets separately from China. They then filled the buckets and allegedly sold them to convenience stores in south-west Sydney and holders of market stalls. Unilever, the registered owner of the OMO brand in Australia, advises consumers that if they come across a bucket of…

Samantha Townsend August 01, 2012 The Daily Telegraph FED up with constant delays on his regular trips to country NSW, cardiologist Charles Thorburn fired off a letter to regional airline Rex to express his concern about the deterioration of its service. The airline’s “offensive and arrogant” response was not what the doctor ordered. Dr Thorburn was dumbstruck when, in response to his complaint, Regional Express – which is majority owned by a group of wealthy Singapore investors – questioned whether he would reimburse patients “who did not get well after seeing you”. The letter, sent by Rex’s corporate services general manager Irwin Tan on behalf of company chairman Lim Kim Hai, went on to say: “Perhaps in the medical profession you are used to dispensing information on how long you make your patients wait or how often you misdiagnosed.” Yesterday, Dr Thorburn said he was outraged by the airline’s sarcastic…

Phillip Hudson August 01, 2012 Herald Sun A GYM has become the first business to be penalised for wrongly blaming the carbon tax for price rises. The Genesis Fitness Club in Berwick, 45km southeast of Melbourne, has been issued with a $6600 infringement notice on the one-month anniversary of the introduction of the carbon tax. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said the gym sent a letter to 2122 members in April promoting a “rate freeze” to beat the carbon tax. It claimed a lengthy contract extension would save between 9 and 15 per cent. “The ACCC believes that GFC Berwick did not have a reasonable basis for claiming the carbon price would increase the cost of gym memberships by 9-15 per cent,” Mr Sims said. “We understand that over 200 members took up the offer and extended their contract. We are concerned that the false claims about…