India frees sugar export controls

15-May-2012 - India has decided to allow the free export of sugar, enabling industry to ship surplus supplies to overseas food manufacturers.

Australia turns significant corner in children’s food advertising: AFGC

10-May-2012 - New research has shown that advertisements for high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods have fallen to almost zero in Australia, according to the country’s Food and Grocery Council (AFGC).

Scientific evidence for advertised claims will be mandatory in India

10-May-2012 - India is a month off issuing new regulations which will clamp down on misleading food advertisements and labelling, bringing an end to unsubstantiated claims on food products.

Australia’s unappetising, business-as-usual Budget: AFGC

09-May-2012 - Australia’s Federal Budget is unappetising, with no bold policies directly impacting the country’s food and drink industry, according to the Australian Food and Grocery Council.

Industry attacks Indian regulators over food safety rules

07-May-2012 - India’s new food safety authority is coming under a broad-based attack from local traders who have termed the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 ‘draconian’ and ‘biased.’

Vietnam seafood export control talks stalled

07-May-2012 - Vietnamese seafood companies have failed to convince authorities to drop testing fees they deem ‘unreasonable’ and inequitable with import requirements.

FSANZ’s raw milk cheese approval awaits ministerial review

03-May-2012 - Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved a proposal recommending the sale of raw milk curd cheeses that is now awaiting review from food regulation ministers.

Mega Food Park to take off in India’s most ‘agri-rich’ state

30-Apr-2012 - The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is set to launch a food park project that is expected to give food processing in the state and the country a mega boost, government sources said.

Front-of-Pack labelling has stakeholder support in NZ, report suggests

30-Apr-2012 - A New Zealand study suggests industry stakeholders favour a new Front-of-Pack (FOP) labelling regime, but more “real-life” research is needed.

China opens its doors to Indian basmati rice

24-Apr-2012 - Chinese authorities have given a green light to the importation of Indian basmati rice, after a long and arduous six-year process of negotiations.

Shanghai wants to ban a range of seafood products

24-Apr-2012 - Food safety authorities in Shanghai are set to ban a range of aquatic food products linked to disease outbreaks in the city.

Bangladesh poultry sector battles Indian egg imports

23-Apr-2012 - The Bangladesh poultry industry is up in arms over a government decision to allow egg imports from India, even as the local industry is on the brink of collapse on the back of bird flu.

Australian ‘toxic’ traditional Chinese medicine curbed with DNA testing, say researchers

19-Apr-2012 - DNA sequencing on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) imported into Australia could prove invaluable in ensuring safe and legal product entry, suggests new research.

India will crack down on misleading food ads

19-Apr-2012 - The Indian government has set up a high level panel to investigate and recommend regulations to food advertisers in a 'serious' crackdown on the menace of misleading food advertisements.

News in brief

Australian health group calls for junk food tax

17-Apr-2012 - Public Health Australia (PHA) has called on the Australian federal government to tax junk foods. 

South Korea opens its ‘huge’ doors to Philippine poultry

17-Apr-2012 - South Korea has opened its market doors to the Philippines' poultry sector, marking a vast opportunity for Filipino manufacturers, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

Chinese watchdog cracks down on fake health supplements

12-Apr-2012 - China's food and drug watchdog has identified 11 fake health supplements being sold in the country that contain banned chemical ingredients.

Indian supplement market ripe for foreign investments

12-Apr-2012 - New regulations will make India’s health supplements market far more attractive for foreign investors, the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplements (IADSA) has said. 

India issues antibiotic controls for food producing animals

10-Apr-2012 - Indian authorities have taken another food safety action with newly issued regulations to govern the presence of antibiotics in food-producing animals.

Indian state drives first nail in Gutkha’s coffin

06-Apr-2012 - The central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has become the first to ban the sale and manufacture of Gutkha products, the traditional and increasingly controversial form of edible tobacco.

Arrests and crackdown in China over rotten meat-tainted cooking oil

05-Apr-2012 - A vast, gang-led network of illegal cooking oil producers has been cracked by Chinese authorities following a five month investigation, with more than 3,200 tonnes of rotten-animal waste oil seized.

Australian grocers reject health claim proposals

05-Apr-2012 - Australia’s biggest food trade group has rejected in its entirety, proposed nutrition and health claim regulations.

Indian regulators harden healthy foods stance

05-Apr-2012 - Stung by a recent report that damned many of India’s top food brands for containing high amounts of sugar, salt, and fats, the country’s food regulators are moving against the worst offenders.

Indian state charges Red Bull over caffeine content; court battle looms

02-Apr-2012 - Austrian energy drink leader Red Bull Gmbh has run into rough weather in India with a state level food regulator, which claims to have confiscated 1.6 million cans of the drink over caffeine content.