Thailand will ban all plastic waste imports by 2021, making it the latest country in South east Asia to take policy-level action against a rising influx of foreign plastic scraps, much of which comes from food and beverage packaging.
New Zealand Food Safety is looking to further enhance the country’s food recalls and food safety system by seeking views on new proposals that stem from the 2013 Fonterra crisis.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is stepping up efforts to detect glyphosate traces in imported pulses, with Canadian- and Australian-imported lentils coming under scrutiny.
Manufacturers in Australia may soon have to re-label all plant-based products containing the terms ‘meat’ and/or ‘milk’ in them, as politicians request Food Safety Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to review the standards surrounding these.
Hemp seeds in New Zealand can now be treated as ‘any other edible seed’ as new legislation changes allow for it to be sold as food, said New Zealand Food Safety Minister Damien O’Connor.
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) decision to review the country’s 2015 Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act (LCA) could be good news for manufacturers with alcohol-containing food products, especially confectionary and dessert items.
The results of a ‘world first study’, showing how the consumption of fish and omega-3 helps alleviate depression will be revealed at the first NutraIngredients-Asia Omeag-3 Summit in Singapore in February.
Vietnam is looking to New Zealand for assistance in food traceability and food safety, with the sixth Vietnam-New Zealand Joint Trade and Economic Commission (JTEC) agreeing a raft of collaborations.
Food manufacturers in Malaysia, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have responded to the upcoming 2019 introduction of sugar taxes on drinks and juice ‘with concern’, saying that this is ‘not an effective policy response’ to combat obesity and chronic disease.
Twenty-nine fermented soy sauce products, including the likes of Xie Yuan and Lee Kum Kee, have failed to meet China’s production standards, according to a sample test conducted by Jiangsu Consumer Council.
The milestone Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Singapore (EUSFTA) is expected to significantly benefit food manufacturers in the South East Asian city state.
The global halal certification system is increasing costs for manufacturers, largely due to the lack of international alignment, according to the State of the Islamic Economy Report 2018/19.
Leaders of the Philippines sugar industry are requesting that the government completely suspend the second phase implementation of the controversial Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law in view of the country’s high inflation rate.
Malaysia will impose an excise sugar tax on sugar-sweetened beverages starting April 1 2019, in an effort to combat rising overweight and obesity levels in the country - but experts are less than optimistic about its efficacy.
Fiscal incentives like a sugar tax and lower-sugar subsidies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption are unlikely to be effective, a new Singapore study reveals.
