Thailand has confirmed a new bout of bird flu, sparking fears of a
return of the winter outbreak that left over 20 people dead and
devastated the region's poultry industry, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
Reports from both New Zealand and Australian food authorities
suggest that foods in the region are cleaner, after separate
studies indicated that residue levels in the food supply were lower
than elsewhere in the world.
Foodborne diseases pose a serious threat to densely populated areas
of Asia and the Pacific - both to the health of the people living
there and to these regions' chances of exporting their products to
more developed markets in...
An Australian beef industry leader has indicated that the
Australian beef sector is riding a short-term boom following a
series of bans on US beef exports to major Asian markets.
Japan may be about to review its policy of testing all slaughtered
cattle for mad cow disease, a practice Tokyo has asked Washington
to adopt as a condition for resuming US beef imports. This is
encouraging news for US meat processors,...
Vietnam is seeking to import between 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes of
corn for feed as it moves to restock poultry flocks hit by the
outbreak of bird flu earlier this year, even though the FAO has
warned the country not to resume poultry...
Japan's poultry industry is the latest sector to feel the effect of
avian influenza. Reported outbreaks of the virus in the
health-conscious country have eroded people's appetite for chicken
and hammered down the price of...
After a week of denials and perhaps months of cover-ups, Thailand
has finally admitted that it has been hit by Avian 'flu, the
poultry virus that has ravaged other parts of East Asia. A Thai
minister told reporters that two boys...
In a move guaranteed to fuel further speculation that Thailand is
covering up cases of Avian 'flu, Japan today suspended poultry
imports from the south east Asian nation. The country continues to
deny that it is covering up cases...
The recent outbreak of Avian 'flu in East Asia - described by a WHO
spokesperson as being "potentially more dangerous than
SARS," - is devastating the poultry industries of Vietnam,
South Korea and Japan. We examine...
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has expressed
serious concern about the spread of Avian flu in East Asia. And
perhaps more worryingly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has
warned that the outbreak has the potential...
The Chinese government is to establish a digital monitoring system
for agricultural food products to ensure food sanitation and
safety. The move is designed to increase the country's export
potential by helping food manufacturers...
Japan's health ministry claims it may have found another case of
mad cow disease in a 23-month-old bullock slaughtered last month,
bringing the total number of cases in Japan to eight.
Japan has asked 26 beef-exporting countries to provide
country-of-origin certificates for beef shipments to help prevent
the spread of mad cow disease.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand has alerted food manufacturers
and food retailers about over ingredients supplied by Australia's
largest contract manufacturer of complementary medicines.
GeneScan, a leader in the field of 'molecular biological testing of
food and feed, has established its presence in Japan by naming
FASMAC of Kanagawa, a subsidiary of Nippon Flour Mills, as its
exclusive licensee in Japan.
The Japanese cabinet endorsed a set of bills on Friday to ensure
the safety of food and protect consumer health in the wake of a
series of scandals and incidents to hit Japan in recent years.
A new laboratory in southern India will provide food manufacturers
with a range of services in the domain of food technology.
Technical support for the project will be provided by the UK-based
Reading Scientific Services.
Representatives of the Indian seafood industry have said that in
the light of the ban on five major Indian seafood units in the
European Union, seafood exporters in the country are likely to
focus their trade on the US market rather...
In answer to European consumers' increasing worries about food
safety, suppliers in Asia are likely to face stricter conditions
next year, both at government and private sector levels, according
to a report in the Bangkok Post.
The Indian Export Inspection Agency (EIA) has issued directives to
five major seafood processing units across the country to cease
production, according to a report from Business Line.
Intelligent packaging has been an increasing focus of industry
attention lately. With the recent announcement that Food Science
Australia had developed tamper-evident packaging that "bruises",
many heads were turned. FoodProductionDaily.com...
Interest in the use of high pressure processing to combat microbes
in food products has grown since Japan, more than 10 years ago,
first made the method commercially available. Dr. Michelle Bull, a
research microbioligist at Food...
China's Guangdong Province, is integrating Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Point (HACCP) into the growing local food
businesses for dairy, meat and snacks production.
Investigators have raided a subsidiary of Japan's leading meat
processor to collect evidence it may have illegally profited from a
government programme to buy up homegrown beef potentially
contaminated with mad-cow disease, a...
A proposed new body would disseminate food safety information to
the entire food chain in Karnataka state in a bid to improve the
image of Indian food on key export markets.
Shrimp traders and farmers in Thailand have pooled resources to pay
Baht15 million (€236m) for chemical-residue testing equipment to
ensure that exports will reach food safety standards.
China has warned Dutch authorities that it will not put up with the
destruction of its exported meat and seafood, found to contain
trace residues of antibiotics.
