Japan

18-May-2012 - Demand for bread and ramen noodle products made with domestic wheat varieties is growing in Japan but the country needs to invest in its weak local production of the grain, government institute says.

Fluxome granted Japanese omega-3 processing patent

09-May-2012 - Natural ingredients supplier, Fluxome, has been awarded a patent for its omega-3 production technology in the ‘important’ Japanese market.

Clean label starch patent secured in Japan amid surging 'free-from' demand

23-Apr-2012 - National Starch has received a patent for its clean label starch technology in Japan, amid a surging demand for such ingredients across the country.

Japan’s beverage and ice cream firms invest to avoid summer meltdown

17-Apr-2012 - Beverage and ice cream manufacturers are investing in power alternatives at Japanese facilities, as the tentative electricity network will not see a major uptick this summer.

Coca-Cola Japan to ‘cultivate new product category’ with Latino tea product

19-Mar-2012 - Coca-Cola has been driving growth across Japan in 2011 with NPDs and expanded distribution channels; its latest tea product is set to carve an entirely new product category in the local market, the company said.

Nuclear fears pummeled seafood trade between Korea and Japan

21-Feb-2012 - The previously robust seafood trade corridor between Japan and South Korea took a huge beating because of nuclear contamination fears in the wake of the Fukushima incident last year.

Industry Insight

Japan: Acting in earnest to internationalise its functional food market

09-Feb-2012 - Japan’s functional food manufacturers have recently shifted activities towards the global market amid a shrinking population and declining domestic demand, claims an industry expert.

Japan poultry ban: “Not on food safety or human health grounds”

02-Feb-2012 - Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has suspended poultry imports and eggs from Australia following the bird flu outbreak in Victoria earlier this week.

News in brief

Japan bans all poultry imports from Australia in wake of bird flu outbreak

01-Feb-2012 - Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has placed a ban on all poultry, egg and egg-product imports from Australia following the bird flu outbreak in Victoria earlier this week.

Salt tolerant rice for Tsunami soils ready within two years

23-Jan-2012 - A method for marker-assisted breeding, conceived in 2009 through a collaborative research project between the UK and Japan, is now focused on developing rice breeds tolerant to salt-sodden Japanese soils following the Tsunami last year.

Highly nutritional plankton, an ideal food ingredient: Japan

16-Jan-2012 - A microscopic plankton, known as ‘euglena’ is an ideal functional food ingredient due to its highly nutritional profile combined with lack of acute taste and smell, according to Japanese company.

Exclusive

Japan baby formula radiation fears raised as early as mid-November

14-Dec-2011 - Following the discovery of radioactive substances in its baby milk formula, it has now emerged that Meiji Holdings Co. was contacted about possible contamination three weeks before it decided to recall the products.

Growth opportunity in Japan’s alcohol-free beverage sector

13-Dec-2011 - Japan’s alcoholic beverage market is shrinking and sluggish according to a Datamonitor report, but analysts have noted opportunity in the growing alcohol-free sector due to consumer focus on drink driving laws.

Rice shipments halted from Fukushima, Japan

24-Nov-2011 - Distribution of rice cultivated in the Fukushima prefecture has been restricted following the detection of unsafe levels of radioactive contamination found in samples harvested this season.

Strategy needed to tap into Japan’s sluggish and shrinking alcoholic beverage market

24-Oct-2011 - Drinks manufacturers need to be strategic to succeed in the struggling Japanese market, paying attention to the trend for gourmet and healthier beverages and the younger generation’s preferences, according to an industry report.

Generix bets on a changing urban India for its supplements business

30-Sep-2011 - India-based Generix Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd. is betting on changing lifestyle patterns and an increased awareness of health and fitness issues in India for its new nutraceuticals business.

Chr Hansen inks Japanese probiotic-plant extract deal

27-Sep-2011 - Danish probiotics giant Chr Hansen says its just-announced alliance with a Japanese botanical supplement maker will yield plant-probiotic combination food supplement products on European and global markets kicking off in Q1 2012.

Japanese scientists to breed rice resilient to radioactive cesium

05-Sep-2011 - In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japanese scientists from the Fukushima Agricultural Technology Centre are working towards a potential solution for the future of Japanese rice farmers – a strain of rice resilient to cesium absorption.

Gourmet NZ yoghurt may hit Japanese stores

31-Aug-2011 - Demand for gourmet yoghurt has seen a small yoghurt maker from New Zealand attract interest from a multi-million dollar player that would see its products on shelves in thousands of stores in Japan.

Consumer mistrust in Japan as rice is found with radioactive cesium

25-Aug-2011 - Independent Japanese inspectors have found the first case of radioactive contamination in a sample of rice since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident five months ago, on March 11.

Seaweed may reduce blood pressure in healthy kids: Study

23-Aug-2011 - Consuming nutrient-dense seaweed may decrease blood pressure in healthy children and offer earlier-life strategies for preventing high blood pressure in adults, says a new study.

Asahi to acquire Independent Liquor

18-Aug-2011 - Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings today announced an agreement to acquire 100% of Independent Liquor from Pacific Equity Partners and Unitas Capital in a 97.6bn Yen ($1.28bn) deal.

Cautious Kaneka welcomes Novel Foods win for slimming liquorice extract

26-Jul-2011 - After several years and several “dialogues” with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Japanese supplier Kaneka has won a positive Novel Foods opinion for its weight management liquorice extract.

News in brief

Malaysia eases restriction on Japan Imports

13-Jul-2011 - Malaysia last week announced the lowering of restrictions on food imported from Japan into the country, according to Japan’s ministry of agriculture.

Maypro initiates quiet potassium iodide aid for Japan

22-Apr-2011 - New York-based Maypro Group has finally revealed its ‘quiet’ program to donate potassium iodide supplements to Japanese locals at risk from the recent nuclear incident, and asks if there is a way to turn this into a wider industry fundraising effort.