The main foods in which the chemical acrylamide has been detected include fried or roasted potatoes, potato crisps, coffee and cereal-based products, including biscuits and toasted bread.

A joint WHO and United Nations expert committee on food additives agreed there was evidence that acrylamide caused cancer following laboratory tests in animals this year.

“Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has assessed the new data and agrees with the conclusions,” a FSANZ spokeswoman said.

“The authority has acknowledged there is a need for ongoing research into health impacts of acrylamide in food.

“The FSANZ has been working with industry to reduce the levels of acrylamide in food.”

Acrylamide is mainly formed in carbohydrate-rich foods by the reaction of asparagine (an amino acid) with reducing sugars (particularly glucose and fructose) during high-temperature cooking, usually in excess of 120C, such as baking, grilling or frying.

Methods that can decrease the amount of acrylamide in potato chips include increasing the surface area by cutting potatoes into thicker slices and washing, blanching or par-boiling to reduce the sugars in potatoes before frying.

Manjimup biggest truffle producer in Southern Hemisphere

Manjimup, Western Australia has found itself on the world culinary map as the biggest producing region in the southern hemisphere of black truffles.

While France, Spain and Italy are the biggest growers in Europe there is a seasonal shortage of black truffles. It’s during our winter that Manjimup turns up the heat on the truffle business.

One local producer, The Wine & Truffle Company exports its truffles to restaurants in Japan, New York, Korea and Europe, flying them in during their own country’s off-season and paying top price for the pleasure.

With the price of Australian truffles going for over $3000 per kilogram it is easy to think that truffle farming is the culinary equivalent to a gold rush. “Everyone thinks it’s an industry where they’re going to be trillionaires if they enter it,” says Alan Nelson Chief executive of The Wine & Truffle Company.

“But it’s very hard. We still don’t know why a truffle produces. We still don’t know why one tree will produce and another one won’t.

“We still don’t know how to get consistently good truffles out of different trees. It is a real mystery. And that’s what is unique about them.

“We don’t even know when the season will start. It’s sort of knife-edged stuff as to whether it will start at the end of May or the beginning of June and it only goes through for about 14 weeks.”

Truffles are unique underground mushrooms that grow on the roots of oak and hazelnut trees that either naturally host the fungi or have been inoculated with truffle spores.

Truffle production in Australia began in Tasmania in the 1990s with assistance from Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC). Production has spread to all other states.

The food replicator is placed above the food to be copied. It then scans and identifies all of the food components, molecule by molecule. A receiver in another location generates the same combination of molecules to replicate the source meal.

Quantifying something as subjective as taste isn’t easy. Chefs from Deutsche Lufthansa carried out their tests in a low-pressure chamber at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics.

Fraunhofer technicians can reduce air pressure inside to simulate cruising at 10,000 meters. They can suck moisture from the air, the way jet planes do. They even pipe in engine noise and vibrate the seats to replicate a truly unpleasant airplane dining experience.

The studies showed that cabin air quickly evaporates nasal mucus, which helps odor receptors function.” Up to 80% of what we consider taste is actually smell”, said Andrea Burdack-Freitag, the Head of Research for Lufthansa.

To measure this, passengers were given glasses of water with seven different concentrations of colorless artificial flavorings, and asked to note at which level they registered a sensation. Similar tests were run with scents.

The results were then compared to known reaction levels at sea level. But how do you turn the data into recipes?

“There’s no simple rule, ‘Just add 20% more herbs and spices’—it really depends,” said Burdack-Freitag. A lemon sauce might need less lemon and more seasoning. Tomato sauce holds up well, while delicate cream sauces just seem bland.

Seasonings like cardamom, lemon grass and curry survived better than salt and sugar – the ideal meal to serve at altitude would therefore be curries

People flying Economy do have one slight consolation over their Business and First Class co-flyers. People crowded into Economy emit lots of moisture, which keeps cabin humidity at around 15%. In sumptuous first-class cabins, humidity can plunge to 5%, sapping the bouquet from champagne and caviar.

Meat and Livestock Australia has started a red meat revolution in the form of beef ‘masterpieces’.

Its goal is to provide chefs with the information they need to master under-used and underrated cuts of red meat – the ‘masterpieces’, as the association calls them – adding excitement to menus.

In partnership with wholesalers across Australia, MLA has launched the first four ‘masterpieces’ in its programme – the flank steak, the point-end brisket, the bolar blade, and the oyster blade. These cuts allow chefs to deliver wow factor, with the potential of improving plate-cost as well. The association has tested the cuts, securing the elements of core recipes for each.

Global food-service trends have shown that newly-fabricated cuts of meat, such as the flat iron steak from the oyster blade and regional cuisines from South America to Asia are red-hot – and the latter nations have been using these beef cuts for centuries.

Register your interest in the new ‘masterpieces’ programme at www.chefspecial.com.au/masterpieces.

After scaling the grand Italian travertine staircase (La Scala which translates to “the staircase” in English) guests are welcomed to a vibrant bar and dining haven. Boasting a lively makeover, La Scala on Jersey will offer a fun, sexy atmosphere, and is completely separate from its downstairs counterpart, the Light Brigade Hotel.

Open Tuesday to Saturday from 5.30pm till late, the ever spirited Simpson delivers a Modern Italian menu with a nod to the great classics. The menu exhibits all the Simpson hallmarks, using the best seasonal, organic produce, prepared with minimum fuss delivering big flavours with even bigger personality to create delicious dishes you want to eat night after night, in Simpson’s words “I’m just keeping it simple”.

Hospitality stalwart, David Walters will deliver a seamless front of house experience. Walters is experienced at putting together a well balanced, well priced wine list, having previously won two goblets in the 2009 Gourmet Traveller Wine List of the Year Awards. He will lead a team of savvy Italian and local waiters promising an eventful night out.

“We are delighted to have Darren on board and working with us to create an exciting new Paddington and Woollahra destination. We’re a bit cheeky but we take seriously our commitment to provide excellent food, wine and service. When guests leave, we want them to feel like they are leaving a close friend’s dinner party having had an amazing time and can’t wait to catch up again!”

It’s the largest yearly fall in food prices since 1957 for the country. Three groups contributed to the drop – fruit and veg (down 9.2 per cent), meat, poultry and fish (down 3.9 per cent), and general grocery food items (down 1.4 per cent).

The data also revealed New Zealanders spend about 14 per cent of their grocery bill on fruit and veg, about 16 per cent on meat, poultry and fish, and almost 21 per cent on restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food. It also highlighted that the proportion a New Zealander family spends on their weekly food shopping hasn’t changed for more than 30 years.

The fall in general grocery prices is also believed to be related to the intense discounting by two main supermarket chains, according to The New Zealand Food and Grocery Council.

Some savvy restaurateurs have been quick to make use of the technology by trading their usual, hard-copy, menu lists for iPads.

Rydges Hotel in North Sydney has introduced 10 iPads in its eatery, Mundo Global Tapas + Bar, providing an interactive food ordering system.

The MenuPad application, loaded on the iPads, allows diners to browse menu options, see pictures of the dishes and read about each in detail. Customers can also place orders directly to the kitchen via the gadget.

As well as being handy for customers, the MenuPad ‘app’ is also useful for restaurant staff. Its easy-to-use web interface is a cinch to update, including adding and removing menu items, uploading images, adding wine reviews and even changing the price on public holidays to include a surcharge.

Internationally, the iPad craze is also having an impact on the food scene. In the US, Chicago’s Fairmont Hotel has also replaced menus with iPads at its Aria Restaurant. Its customised iPad application was developed by the restaurant in partnership with interactive agency Envisionit Media.

Using the ‘app’, diners can tap on specific ingredient names for definitions, descriptions and preparation notes. The wine list, organised by region, can also suggest menu pairings, as well as background information on wineries. Plus, the ‘app’ incorporates social media elements, allowing diners to share their favorite items with others via email, Twitter and Facebook.

At present, the cost of the iPad makes it a pretty expensive menu option for most eateries. Likely, high-end establishments will adopt it first, followed by the rest of the industry as the mini-notebook’s price falls. Still, the benefits of providing an interactive, digital menu is as crystal clear as the iPad’s menu pictures themselves – from freeing up waiting staff to focus on providing top-notch customer service to making individual dining experiences truly unique.

Now, the explosion of “smart” phones and text messaging has seen the food service industry tap into another technology trend.

One major chain taking advantage of this phenomenon has been Domino’s Pizza in Australia, launching an enhanced mobile phone ordering platform, with new features like the Pizza Tracker. It allows customers to track the status of their pizza order on their phone – within 60 seconds of accuracy. There are optimised sites for iPhone, Palm Pre and Android devices.

As well, a new company has also developed a text message ordering service for restaurants, which independent operators could do well to benefit from. In the US, Zinglenow.com provides restaurants with a small text message device, with a built-in thermal printer for printing orders. Customers place their order by sending restaurants a text and can then slip in and pick up their meal, without having to wait in line. Zinglenow.com charges a flat monthly rate for its service and several franchises have already signed up, including Subway and McDonald’s. It’s a particularly attractive option for those wanting to attract – and keep – younger clientele.