Sugar hit
OPINION: Winston Peters has described the decision to sell its brand to Lactalis and disperse the profit to its farmer shareholders as a 'short sighted sugar hit'.
Fonterra introduced ‘Naked Mozz’— a move that will spare a staggering 330 tonnes of cardboard each year, translating to annual savings of more than $825,000.
Each year, over 12,000 tonnes of Perfect Italiano Mozzarella embark on a journey from Fonterra Australia's Stanhope manufacturing site in northern Victoria to be expertly shredded at its secondary processing site in Tullamarine in Melbourne.
From there, it tops millions of pizzas across Australia and travels to countries including Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.
Traditionally, transporting this massive amount of cheese in hefty 10kg blocks for processing meant considerable packaging - including 600,000 cardboard cartons - so Fonterra set itself a challenge to cut out the cardboard on the route to Tullamarine.
In November, Fonterra introduced 'Naked Mozz' - a move that will spare a staggering 330 tonnes of cardboard each year, translating to annual savings of more than $825,000.
Jenny Phillips, Fonterra Australia's sustainable packaging manager, says that this innovative initiative is just one of 26 sustainable packaging projects in progress.
"Our aim is to ensure that by 2025, 100% of Fonterra Australia's dairy product packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Additionally, we're targeting zero waste to landfill by the same year, and reducing waste in our supply chain is pivotal to achieving this goal.
"While the mozzarella is still securely wrapped in plastic which is crucial for food safety and waste reduction, eliminating cardboard will significantly bolster our sustainability efforts.
"The benefits extend beyond reduced cardboard use. This initiative eliminates the need for frequent cardboard waste collections from the Tullamarine site and minimises manual handling to enhance the health and safety of our on-site team.
"This latest packaging project underscores that our much-loved dairy products can be delivered sustainably without compromising on the quality our customers expect," says Phillips.
Metallica's charitable foundation, All Within My Hands (AWMH), teamed up with Meet the Need this week for a food packing event held at the New Zealand Food Network warehouse in Auckland.
After two years, Alliance Group has returned to profit.
According to Zespri's November forecast for the 2025/26 season, returns are likely to be up for all fruit groups compared to the last forecast in August.
Next month, wool training will reach one of New Zealand's most remote communities, the Chatham Islands - bringing hands-on skills and industry connection to locals eager to step into the wool harvesting sector.
Farmers' health and wellbeing will take centre stage with a new hub at the 2026 East Coast Farming Expo.
Dannevirke farmer Dan Billing has been announced as the new national chair of Beef + Lamb New Zealand's (B+LNZ) Farmer Council.
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