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France has become the first country to ban all plastic cups, plates and cutlery in a law that will take full effect in 2020.

The measure was passed last month, but businesses have until 2020 to fully comply, according to the Associated Press.

All disposable dishes in France will instead have to be made from biologically sourced materials and the products must be able to be composted.

BioPak founder and director Richard Fine told PKN Packaging News the news was "fantastic".

"The rest of the world should start adopting the same measures," he said.

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"There's no reason we have to use plastic single-use items.

"Their environmental cost is mounting up and now that we have more bioplastics players coming on board consumers can make choices that will not pollute the environment."

Biopak offsets all the carbon emissions associated with the production, transport and disposal of its sustainable, plant-based packaging.

France banned plastic bags in July, a move other countries have also made, but France is the first to extend these types of bans to plastic cutlery and dishes.

France has been a leader on climate change and hosted the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015.

The country's newest ban has attracted criticism from packaging industry lobbyists, who say that the ban violates European Union rules on the free movement of goods, the AP says.

Food & Drink Business

Australia’s native food industry has received a boost – with Indigenous-owned Cooee Foods Australia acquiring native ingredients suppliers, Creative Native Foods – placing it under First Nations ownership for the first time in its 25 years.

The Top 10 remained a stable list this year, with five companies holding their position – Fonterra (#1), JBS (#2), Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (#3), Asahi (#4), and Thomas Foods International (#7). The biggest change was Treasury Wine Estates dropping out of the list, from #10 to #13.

Food & Drink Business and IBISWorld present this year’s Top 100 companies, a ranking of Australia’s largest food and drink companies by revenue. This year reflects a sector positioning itself for immediate term viability and long-term competitiveness.