ELIZABETH REDMAN APRIL 02, 2014 BUSINESS SPECTATOR OIL giant BP has confirmed it will close its Bulwer Island refinery in Brisbane, with the loss of 355 jobs, by mid-2015. The multinational oil and gas company said the growth of very large refineries in the Asia-Pacific region was driving structural change in the supply chain for fuels and putting commercial pressure on smaller scale plants. BP Australasia president Andy Holmes said the best option to strengthen BP’s long-term supply position in the east coast retail and commercial fuels markets was to buy product from other refineries. “And while more of our transport fuel demand will be met by imports in future, ample supplies are available to maintain Australia’s energy security,” Mr Holmes said. “While this decision will significantly improve our competitive position, it will result in job losses and I would like to acknowledge the enormous commitment and contribution made over…

Kate Hagan April 7, 2014 The Age Fast food is becoming less salty, although many items such as pizzas and burgers still contain high levels of salt, prompting calls for sector-wide targets to achieve further reductions. Researchers from the University of Sydney’s George Institute for Global Health studied salt levels between 2009 and 2012 in menu items offered by six large fast food chains: Pizza Hut, Hungry Jack’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Subway and Domino’s Pizza. They found that while the average sodium content of menu items decreased at a rate of about 2 per cent to 3 per cent a year, many products nonetheless contained an adult’s entire recommended daily salt intake in a single serve. Study senior author Elizabeth Dunford said the small reduction in salt levels in fast foods was encouraging but “could easily be undone by the trend towards larger portion sizes”. She said the average Australian consumed…

SUE NEALES APRIL 03, 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN THE shake-up in Australia’s fresh-milk market looks set to continue, with Woolworths dumping dairy processor Lion in two key states as it shuffles contracts worth $300 million for its $1-a-litre Select home-brand fresh milk. From July, major dairy company Lion, owned by the Japanese Kirin brewing and food group, will lose the right to supply Woolworths’ supermarkets in Victoria with about 67 million litres annually of fresh Select milk. The $60m Victorian deal instead is understood to have been won by Lion’s biggest international rival, New ­Zealand-based Fonterra. In Western Australia, Lion has also lost the right to supply Woolies with its local Select milk — which last year achieved local sales of 24 million litres — in favour of West Australian supplier Brownes Dairies. The Woolworths’ contract losses will deeply hurt Lion, supplier of well-known milk brands such as Pura and Dairy…