John Durie February 14, 2013 The Australian IF there was any doubt about Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chief Rod Sims’s intention to take legal action against the supermarket behemoths, his parliamentary testimony has put that to rest. Now it’s just a question of when and what issue is chosen. For the past couple of years, Woolworths was in the spotlight in its pacman-style raids on smaller stores, providing healthy retirement funds for their prior owners. But, whenever the ACCC has raised a challenge, Woolies has backed off. This time it’s Coles that is in the firing line. In his Senate testimony, Sims for the first time backed the formation of a legally enforceable code of conduct governing relations between the big supermarkets, and indicated his concern about the impact of shopper dockets on the petrol market. Sims’s comments were quickly backed by his minister, David Bradbury, who wants to…

Suzanne Robson Moreland Leader February 15, 2013 MANY Coles supermarkets have cut back the days they home-deliver or cut out deliveries altogether, and in at least one case have doubled the delivery fee. Brunswick Coles’ decision to cut the number of days a week it delivers from six to three and increase its fee from $3 to $6 has angered pensioner Shane McDermott. The Brunswick resident said he was furious when Union St Coles supermarket staff told him about the 100 per cent fee hike and that they would not be able to deliver his groceries that day because delivery days had been cut back. Mr McDermott, who has a stent in his heart and is unable to walk long distances, said he had previously used the Hope St bus to carry home his groceries but had been left without transport when the bus service was scrapped in September last…

NACS Daily News The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a petition with the FDA, urging the agency to identify a safe level for added sugars in beverages. ​WASHINGTON – The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a petition earlier this week with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urging the agency to identify a safe level for added sugars in beverages, USA Today reports. The filing was supported by 41 nutrition scientists and physicians and health departments of 10 major U.S. cities, arguing that a diet high in added sugars is linked to an increase risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, gout and tooth decay. “Sugary beverages provide almost half the sugars we consume,” said CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson. While the FDA classifies high-fructose corn syrup and other added sugars as “generally recognized as safe,” he said, “at these levels they are being…

Georgina Mitchell and Sally Willoughby February 18, 2013 The Age BRIAN Wilson, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, says the Coles and Woolworths duopoly cut his income by about $80,000 last financial year. For Mr Wilson, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s stepped-up investigation of the duopoly’s power over suppliers can’t come soon enough. Mr Wilson, who has a property near Tamworth in New South Wales, said producers in the New England area went through a competitive tender process to win the Coles and Woolworths milk contracts but many farmers were forced to sell their product at a loss. He said the $1-a-litre milk offered by Coles and Woolworths had a drastic effect on his Tamworth farm and other farms in the region. ”The last financial year, we were probably down $80,000 on our milk income. ”The processors can’t talk with each other to keep their prices up, so it becomes very…

John Rolfe February 18, 2013 News Limited Network THE ACCC’s investigation into Woolworths and Coles includes probing allegations of “cliffing”, where suppliers are given an ultimatum – agree to tougher terms or be pushed off the shelf. It’s believed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is also testing claims that space is being auctioned off, that up-front payments are being demanded for participation in supply-chain schemes of questionable benefit to manufacturers, and that supermarkets have been punishing suppliers who don’t fall into line by cancelling agreed in-store promotion at the last minute. The ACCC most recently examined the grocery sector in 2008. Then chairman Graeme Samuel found no evidence of misuse of market power. Of packaged groceries, his report said buyer power “may adversely affect individual competitors. However, the role of the ACCC is to consider competition, not individual competitors”. Two sources who have had high-level dealings with Mr Samuel…