Latest news with #flour
Argaam
4 days ago
- Business
- Argaam
First Mills expects gradual demand uptick in Q3: CEO
First Milling Co. (First Mills) expects demand to improve gradually in Q3 2025 as markets resume normal activity after the summer, supported by growth in the food sector and continued strong demand for flour products, CEO Abdullah Ababtain told Argaam in an interview. He said that the company will maintain its focus on cost control, sustainable growth, and profitability. Ababtain noted that ongoing government support provides a stable environment for precise financial and operational planning, enhances the competitiveness of First Mills' products in the local market, and enables continued investment in efficiency and future projects. Despite seasonal revenue pressure due to the absence of Ramadan sales, the company achieved higher net profit, supported by strong cost management and improved operating margins, the CEO noted. Flour sales rose 5.7%, driven by strong demand for small-size packages across wholesale and retail channels, Ababtain said, adding that the company also expanded distribution of value-added small packs with higher margins. Bran and feed segments witnessed seasonal demand declines during spring, Ramadan, and rain periods, an annual trend. However, the impact was limited by solid demand for other product lines. Ababtain added that this temporary drop is unlikely to persist, as demand gradually recovers and prices improve, especially in the bran segment, which showed positive signs by quarter-end. He noted that the flour and baked goods market remains highly competitive. Still, First Mills preserved performance through product diversification and greater operational efficiency, which supported strong profit margins. The company has a clear strategy to expand its product range and develop value-added offerings to strengthen its market position.
ABC News
21-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Nonna's Bakehouse loses $2.5m lawsuit against Dubbo's Ben Furney Flour Mills
Nonna's Bakehouse has lost a $2.5-million lawsuit against its flour supplier after claiming the "inconsistent" product was ruining its bread. The dispute with Ben Furney Flour Mills reached the New South Wales Supreme Court last week after the Dubbo-based business launched legal action over more than $780,000 in invoices not paid since 2022. Nonna's Bakehouse hit back with a $2.5m countersuit alleging breach of contract and misleading conduct, claiming the mill "nosedived" the quality of its bread with "inconsistent flour". According to court documents, the bakehouse began experiencing problems in 2021 when its bread became "sticky" and absorbed less water, prompting one of its directors to urge the mill to "fix the issue". The mill investigated production data, ran test bakes, sent technical staff to the bakery and made adjustments with its milling processes, but could not identify any fault with the flour. In handing down her judgement, Justice Kelly Anne Rees found that while there may have been some variation in the flour due to seasonal factors and grain sourcing, the real shift occurred in late 2021 when Nonna's Bakehouse changed its head baker. During the proceedings the court heard Nonna's Bakehouse's technical support manager, Sergio Soria, resigned in October 2021 and that Jorge Gironda, who was not a baker by trade, took over the role. The court heard Mr Soria had explained to chief executive Sarah Furney that he did not "agree with the direction" the company wanted to head in. "This isn't Nonna's — this is not who we are or what we stand for," he said of a restructure at the company. Justice Rees found that after the change in leadership the company instructed Mr Gironda to revert to its "original recipe," which contributed significantly to the baking issues. "This departed from Mr Soria's process of adding gluten or malt if needed to achieve a consistent baking product," Justice Rees found. Court documents showed that following a change in bread quality Mr Gironda emailed the mill and insisted it was its job to supply "the right fuel to run the Ferrari". When the mill failed to identify any fault with the flour Mr Gironda requested tests on each bag of the product and not just the bulk tankers. Justice Rees found that despite being told the mill could not meet the bakery's specific needs, Nonna's Bakehouse continued to order flour and refused to adapt its process, which was not required under the contract. In May 2022 Nonna's Bakehouse stopped paying its invoices to the flour mill and, after ignoring offers to set up a payment plan, Furney's ceased supply by August. Justice Rees also ruled that the bakehouse's claims of financial hardship as a result of the mill and its "inconsistent flour" were unsubstantiated. "What is immediately striking from the historical financial performance of the baker, for the 2019 to 2023 financial years, is the significant increase in the baker's sales over those years, increasing by 45 per cent overall," she said. She ruled in favour of Ben Furney Flour Mills and ordered Nonna's to pay $783,178, plus interest and legal costs.
News.com.au
18-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Popular bread brand sues for $2.5 million
A popular Aussie bread brand has sued its flour mill for $2.5 million in damages after accusing it of 'nosediving' the quality of its bread with 'inconsistent' flour. Nonna's Bakehouse – which supplies more than 100 different types of baked goods to Woolworths, Aldi and Harris Farm – and Ben Furney Flour Mills battled it out in the NSW Supreme Court this week as part of an ongoing disagreement between the two companies. The Dubbo-based flour mill lodged the legal action, which sought $800,000 from the bakery for the unpaid invoices from 2022, with Nonna's countersuing for $2.5 million for a breach of contract. The court heard how the bakehouse's issues began in 2021 when its bread became water absorbent and 'sticky' with director Francesco Sergi urging the flour mill to 'fix the issue'. Despite test runs, visits to the factory and meetings, Ben Furney Flour Mills was unable to identify any issues with the flour provided. The court heard how the bakery's research and production manager, Jorge Gironda, pleaded with the flour mill to: 'Please provide us with the right fuel to run the Ferrari.' In May 2022, Nonna's stopped paying invoices to the flour mill, resulting in the flour mill ceasing supply in August. However, Justice Kelly Ann Rees found the change came after Nonna's changed its head baker, who resigned in September/October 2021, with Mr Gironda taking over. Judge Rees found that after taking over the role, Mr Sergi had told Mr Gironda to revert to an 'original recipe'. 'Mr Sergi appears to have taken the opportunity of a change of baker to return to the baker's original recipe. 'This departed from (the former head baker's) process of adding gluten or malt if needed to achieve a consistent baking product.' Judge Rees also ruled the bakehouse's claims that they had suffered a 'substantial loss' as a result of the 'inconsistent flour' were unfounded. 'What is immediately striking from the historical financial performance of the baker, for the 2019 to 2023 financial years, is the significant increase in the baker's sales over those years, increasing by 45 per cent overall,' Judge Rees said. 'Whatever is said to have been wrong with the flour provided by the miller, it does not appear to have affected sales.' Judge Rees ruled in favour of Ben Furney Flour Mills, ordering a payment of $783,178 together with interest at 10 per cent per annum. Nonna's Bakehouse was also ordered to pay the flour mill's legal costs.
Al Jazeera
18-07-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Suffocation, stampede, death: Tragedy at Gaza's aid centre
Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – Eighteen-year-old Hani Hammad never imagined that his daily search for flour would end with him suffocating and being trampled. On Wednesday morning, he left his tent in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza's Khan Younis, where he's been displaced from Rafah along with his seven siblings, heading to a food distribution point run by the much-criticised, United States-backed GHF. 'We left at dawn and stood among the thousands gathered. About 5am [02:00 GMT], they [US staff and Israeli army] signalled to open the gate, and people rushed forward,' Hani told Al Jazeera. 'The gate was open, but people were packed into a very narrow corridor leading to it – only about seven metres wide,' he said, struggling to catch his breath after arriving at Nasser Hospital gasping and barely conscious. 'I got in with the crowd with difficulty. Suddenly, American guards started spraying pepper spray and firing gas bombs, and people began stampeding through the corridor,' he added. 'I collapsed. They trampled my face.' 'I felt like I was dying. I couldn't move forward or backwards. I collapsed. My face and side were trampled. No one could pull me out. But God gave me a second chance,' Hani said. He was rushed unconscious to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on a tuk-tuk and initially placed beside the bodies of others who had died, some from suffocation, others from bullet wounds. 'I was unconscious, couldn't see or hear. I drifted in and out. They put me beside the dead. I thought I was one of them.' Early Wednesday, 21 Palestinians were killed, including 15 by suffocation, while trying to collect food aid. The incident occurred near a gate managed by the GHF in western Khan Younis. Dozens more were reportedly injured, with some still in intensive care. Hani is the oldest of eight siblings who live next to their uncle's tent – their parents remain in Jordan, where they travelled for medical treatment just a month before the war began. 'I feel like I carry a huge burden. We've endured the pressures of displacement and war without our parents and without any help from them,' he said. Though he acknowledges that lining up for aid from the GHF is a major daily risk, he adds: 'Our intense hunger pushes me to go every day.' 'There's no other choice. I have no money to buy the overpriced goods available in the markets. My only option is to try my luck with aid distributions,' says the young man. 'Each time is a near-death experience. There's gunfire, tanks, drones and attacks. What kind of aid distribution is this? We are exhausted, truly exhausted.' 'We're shot at like animals' Mohammed Abedin, 24, now lies in a hospital bed with a leg wound after heading to the same aid centre in Khan Younis early Wednesday. For the first time, he says, he chose to turn back after sensing the danger of the crowd surge. The young man, a first-year accounting student, arrived about 3am (00:00 GMT) at the distribution site, but he noticed that things looked different. The same site had been closed for two days before reopening. 'Before, we used to enter from several access points, and the entryway was wide. But this time, we were funnelled through one long, narrow corridor, fenced in with metal,' he says. 'When the gates opened, everyone rushed forward, and people began falling underfoot.' Mohammed described a terrifying scene of people crushed against the metal barriers, screaming and gasping for help, as pepper spray and gas bombs were fired by American guards and quadcopters above. 'I was standing close to my cousin, watching. We decided not to go in because of the overwhelming numbers. I saw kids screaming, choking, men and youth trapped. No one could move forward or back.' 'The fenced corridor, with gas bombs raining down and people being pushed through, became a death trap,' he says. Mohammed and his cousin tried to leave, but just as he thought he had made a wise choice, a quadcoptor shot him in the leg. His cousin was also injured. 'There's always random gunfire from quadcaptors, tanks, or soldiers in the area. This time, I was the unlucky one,' he said. 'But thank God, I survived.' Mohammed reflects on the tragic situation faced by Palestinians, caught between starvation and death, forced to risk their lives for food. He supports his displaced family of nine, originally from Rafah and now sheltering in al-Mawasi. 'We dream daily of eating bread. I go for aid almost every day and usually return empty-handed. But the days I brought home just a few kilos of flour felt like 'an eid' [a celebration] for my family.' Flour is the top priority for Mohammed, especially with Gaza being under siege for four months, the borders sealed, and humanitarian and commercial goods blocked by Israel. 'Bread is what drives me to risk death. There's no alternative,' he said, awaiting surgery at Nasser Hospital to remove a bullet from his leg. 'Has the world failed to provide a safe channel for aid delivery?' 'There's no system, no organised relief, no police or UN intervention. We're shot at like animals. If we don't die of hunger, we die in the chaos and stampedes.' In late May 2025, the GHF launched its aid distribution efforts in Gaza following an Israeli-imposed near-total blockade, which is still in effect and has prevented the entry of humanitarian supplies. According to United Nations figures, at least 798 Palestinians have been killed since then while trying to reach or receive aid from the organisation's distribution points. Widespread criticism has emerged from UN agencies and rights organisations that argue the operation is politicised and endangers civilians. The UN has stated that the GHF's operations violate humanitarian neutrality and are inherently unsafe, highlighted by the hundreds of deaths at their sites. 'Either we return with flour, or we don't return at all' Ziad Masad Mansour, 43, displaced with his wife and six children from central Gaza to al-Mawasi in Khan Younis after their home was destroyed in the war, is another frequent visitor to the aid lines. 'I head there at 10 at night and sleep on the sand like thousands of others. We endure the dust and humiliation,' said Mansour, who was wounded in the head on Wednesday. 'Sometimes I manage to get flour, sometimes a few cans. Other times, I return empty-handed. I even help others carry their bags in exchange for some food.' 'Yesterday, there was horrific crowding: gas bombs, bullets, and we were packed tightly in the narrow corridor. I was trying to escape the crush when I got shot in the head and lost consciousness.' Mansour is now recovering at Nasser Hospital. 'More than 20 people died today – for a bag of flour. What more is there to say?'
News24
14-07-2025
- General
- News24
Chicken and waffles
Ingredients - CHICKEN 4 - chicken fillets 500ml (millilitres) - buttermilk 60ml (millilitres) - hot sauce of your choice 1liter - oil for deep-frying - COATING 750ml (millilitres) - flour 125ml (millilitres) - cornflour 15ml (millilitres) - baking powder 5ml (millilitres) - onion powder 5 - garlic powder 5ml (millilitres) - cayenne pepper 5ml (millilitres) - smoked paprika 5ml (millilitres) - BBQ OR chicken spice 5ml (millilitres) - freshly ground black pepper - SAUCE 100g (grams) - salted butter 125ml (millilitres) - honey 125ml (millilitres) - hot sauce of your choice - WAFFLES 500ml (millilitres) - flour 10ml (millilitres) - baking powder - pinch of salt 100ml (millilitres) - sugar - 2 eggs 500ml (millilitres) - full-cream milk 30ml (millilitres) - melted butter 5ml (millilitres) - vanilla essence - TO SERVE - fresh microgreens for garnishing Method Description: Keep four large bowls, a plate, a deep pot and a pan on hand. Hot honey chicken Cut each fillet into three equal strips. Place the strips in a bowl with the buttermilk and hot sauce and stir to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight. Coating Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Remove the chicken from the fridge. Place the strips on a plate and reserve the marinade. Dip the chicken strips into the flour mixture followed by the marinade and then the flour again. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before frying. This will ensure that the coating does not come off during the frying process. Pour the oil into a deep pot over med-ium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken in batches and fry for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. The oil must not be too hot or the coating will burn. Remove the chicken from the oil and place on a wire rack to drain, then transfer to a bowl. Sauce Add all the ingredients to a pan, cook for 5 minutes and pour over the chicken. Toss until well incorporated. Waffles Preheat a waffle maker for 5 minutes. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the salt and the sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla essence. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, whisking until you have a smooth, lump-free batter. Spray the waffle maker with non-stick cooking spray. Ladle the batter into the waffle maker and cook until golden and crisp. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter. To serve Assemble the waffles with the hot chicken strips and top with the reserved marinade. Garnish with the microgreens.
