Banned preservatives sodium benzoate and natamycin have been detected in some commercial yoghurt drinks sold in Iran, although researchers said there is no serious public health concern.
A total of 22 imported krill oil products – mostly from the United States – have failed the latest round of inspection by the South Korean authorities for mixing different oils in the products.
We reveal the top 10 most-read food safety stories from the food and beverage industry in 2021, featuring news regarding COVID-19 and food safety updates from Malaysia, India, China, Japan and more.
China recently launched its new online overseas food manufacturer registration platform, which is mandatory for all firms looking to export into the country from January, as official seek to improve monitoring and surveillance to ensure food safety.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has completed yet another clampdown exercise – this time round on advertisements of general foods and health functional foods that make claims in improving students’ memory and immunity.
Researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney are developing colourimetric sensors attached to food packaging to let consumers know when to eat products before they go off.
South Korea is implementing new food labelling regulations to mandate the inclusion of food safety instructions on the labels of all packaged fresh food products, in an attempt to prevent further food poisoning outbreaks.
The Australian food system is touted to be one of the safest in the world, but continued reports on major safety issues such as allergens and microbial contaminations are raising questions over whether more needs to be done to protect consumers.
Breastmilk substitute (BMS) companies in Vietnam have been accused of circumventing the restrictions of infant formula marketing by using products for pregnant and lactating women as an “entry point” to influence the purchase of infant formulas, according...
A new Australian government report on imported food inspections has revealed that nutritional label errors are the most common issue found amongst foods entering the country, showing a worrying leap year-on-year.
The Chinese government has published new consumer guidelines focused on sesame oil, in which consumers have been warned to look out for adulterated or blended products over fears of food safety issues.
From genomics to big data, and handheld devices to artificial intelligence, the food industry is awash with new innovations to improve food safety, as the sector seeks to assuage heightened consumer concerns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seafood multinational giant Thai Union is using the principles of forensic science to prevent food fraud, leveraging on DNA technologies to provide traceability and authentication for its seafood products.
Singapore-based Future Ready Food Safety Hub, known as FRESH, will focus on novel foods, aquaculture and agriculture to support the nation’s food security goals and meet the needs of consumers.
The Chinese government has launched a three-month crackdown targeting sellers selling counterfeits or using fake certifications for food and other products via e-commerce platforms, while placing extra onus on the sites to ensure compliance.
Listeria monocytogenes was most commonly detected in minced meat, fish fillet, sausage and raw milk, according to a test of 250 food samples collected from the Menoufiya governorate in Egypt.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has uncovered products containing Viagra and other medicines used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) entering the country under the guise of vitamin C and bromelain supplements.
Research published in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology claims to provide an enlightening but worrying insight into the world of chemicals that are intentionally added to plastics.
Alcohol has emerged as the sector with the largest number of counterfeit cases in India in 2020, with experts attributing this to a lack of enforcement as well as high profits available for counterfeiters during the COVID-19 crisis.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is taking action against 21 e-commerce websites selling protein bars marketed with ‘fake’ claims, including body fat reduction and muscle strength related statements.
The head of India’s largest milk brand Amul has hit out at excess ‘dairy dumping’ from foreign countries and the recent rise of ‘highly processed’ plant-based dairy as major threats to India’s largest agricultural sector.
Hygiene standards, at-home experiences and the vegan and healthy trend are expected to form the post-pandemic future of the food and beverage industry in two of the world’s largest economies, China and India.
Food safety is a business-critical issue. People worry about food safety and security as much as global warming, pollution and poverty, research from confectionery giant Mars reveals. FoodNavigator hears from Dr Guangtao Zhang, director of the Mars Global...
Chinese consumers and GM labelling, widespread omega-3 adulteration found on e-commerce sites, new no-fail wine traceability technology and more feature in this edition of Safety First.
South Korean authorities say that a number of products which claimed to be “100 per cent” krill oil, actually contained vegetable oil and other blends of oils and fats.
Quality control, effective traceability and effective branding are needed to ensure the successful adoption and consumption of zinc biofortified rice in Asia, following its commercial release in several nations, experts claim.
Just as the man made globally famous by a Netflix documentary outlining how he conned wine collectors out of millions of dollars was deported to his native Indonesia, a team of scientists from Australia believe they have found a fast and simple method...
Asia’s insect food firms are hoping a new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Office confirming the viability of insect protein and calling for production to be modernised to ensure safety could be a major stepping stone on the sector’s path to...
Nine out of 19 omega-3 products that were bought through prominent Asian e-commerce sites and marketed as containing a single species, did not contain the ingredients declared on the labels, according to new data.
Pork DNA has been found in two confectionery products in Bangladesh, according to a study analysing 42 imported confectionery samples purchased from the Dhaka region.
Chinese consumers are willing to pay more for the enhanced mandatory labelling of genetically modified (GM) soybean oil, according to new data funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
South Korea has launched a pilot application dubbed the ‘Imported Food Search Lens’ to enable consumers to check the food safety information of imported products by taking pictures of product labels, even if they are not part of any specific traceability...
Monitoring tests of Japan’s food products after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident showed that drinking water, milk and infant food were within the radioactivity concentration limits after five years, but some samples from the wild animal meat and agricultural...
More effective policies to prevent allergen cross contamination are needed in Australia’s food industry, while voluntary labelling needs to more accurately reflect the risk profile, said a lead investigator of HealthNuts, the world’s largest comprehensive...
Japan Consumer Affairs Agency (CCA) is warning general food and health food manufacturers against labelling their products as being effective in preventing or treating COVID-19, to avoid consumer misunderstanding and harming public health.
The spotlight has been focused on the topic of microplastic pollution risk in fishmeal this week as a recent study shows the ingredient, used most often in fish and pig feed diets, can be contaminated by the tiny plastic particles.
Almost half (49.7%) of Chinese consumers surveyed say they were willing to sample cell-based meats, but almost as many (47.2%) said they would not wish to eat it regularly.
Only 15 countries worldwide are still implementing import restrictions on food items from Japanese districts that were stricken by the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown disaster in 2011 – but progress with those that remain may be hard to achieve...
The Japanese government has found no sign of genetically modified (GM) soybean and rapeseed crops having any impact on surrounding biodiversity over 15 years of natural growth, further strengthening its argument for further GM-related approvals in the...
The Food Safety and Standards Authority India (FSSAI) has launched a nationwide investigation into a widespread local honey adulteration scandal and is mulling ‘better’ test methods – but researchers are calling for the agency to take more ‘stronger,...
About 20% of fish products in Taiwan are mislabelled, with snapper, cod and surimi products found to be the most vulnerable to fraudulent substitution.
The Chinese government has issued a series of warnings and directives on the consumption of fermented foods, counterfeit foods and beverages on the back of a deadly mass food poisoning event and the rapid rise of food fraud cases in the past year.