Perfection Fresh Australia has admitted to cartel conduct by fixing the prices of broccoli, cauliflower and iceberg lettuce sold to Aldi stores in New South Wales. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says the company admitted the conduct on 11 occasions between 2019 and 2020. The company has agreed to pay a $12 million penalty, subject to Federal Court approval at a later date. Court action against three other suppliers and three individuals is continuing. A company spokesperson said it took full responsibility and has strengthened its compliance systems.
Western Australian primary school canteens are set to be given healthier menus after new national data showed fewer than 5 per cent of Australians aged 2 and over eat the recommended amount of vegetables, legumes and beans. The National Nutrition Foundation report also found about $9.2 billion of health spending went on nutrition-related risks such as obesity. Discretionary foods made up almost a third of average daily energy intake. The foundation's freshSNAP program, supported by the Australian Department of Health, works with more than 200 school canteens across WA.
A colourful spring quiche made with beetroot, asparagus, watercress and radish is suited to a light lunch or dinner. The recipe uses a sour cream and parmesan pastry, with prosciutto, brie and fig paste adding richness. Cook times are given for a baked base and filling, with a watercress salad served alongside. The dish is presented as suitable for an al fresco dinner party.
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October is the final month to establish a summer vegetable patch on Tamborine Mountain, before intense summer heat arrives. Gardeners are advised to sow tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers and eggplants, along with salad greens, beetroot and zucchini. Native shrubs such as bottlebrush and lilly pilly suit privacy hedging, while roses, zinnias and dahlias suit formal beds. Key jobs this month include mulching, pruning spring-flowering shrubs after they bloom, fertilising, and managing aphids with natural horticultural oils.
Early spring is a lean period in the vegetable garden, when stored crops have run out and summer produce is not yet ready. Only perennial herbs are typically available to pick in October. The gardener says seedlings should be hardened off over about a week, moved outdoors for gradually longer periods. Frost dates vary from year to year, so the writer relies on 10-day forecasts, covering plants when nights are forecast to fall below 10 degrees Celsius.
Asparagus, snow peas and garden peas are increasingly available as spring sets in. Green grocer Jo Toscano says asparagus is at its best now and is expected to peak in mid-to-late October. Nutrition professor Clare Collins says shopping seasonally can help people add variety to their diets. Broccoli, cauliflower, Asian greens, capsicum and beetroot are also good value this month. Grapes and the first stone fruit are starting to appear, and mango prices are expected to fall as the season grows.
