China's quality watchdog has said that it has found excessive amounts of potentially harmful rare-earth elements in oolong tea brands manufactured in and around Shanghai.
China and Malaysia have set up a working committee to determine the permissible level of nitrite in bird's nests, with an eventual aim to overturn the ban on their export from Malaysia to China.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) are currently in the process of reviewing an application regarding the use of a GM-derived enzyme as a processing aid.
China has announced new regulations and a renewed focus on the quality and safety of functional foods being sold in the country, as part of a series of crackdowns meant to reinforce food safety in the country.
In a last minute move, the industry body for food processors in India has appealed to the Indian judicial system against banning the sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and near schools.
Failure to introduce reforms in Australia’s food and grocery sector now could see the country’s domestic industry become significantly less competitive by 2020 as falling growth will translate to job losses, a new report suggests.
A day after Australian supermarket chain Woolworths said that private labels are at the centre of its expansion plans, it came under a stinging attack along with its rival Coles from the Australian industry minister.
The Green Party in New Zealand has said that mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) for foods sold in the country would be one of its top priorities in any post-election policy agreement.
India is strengthening its focus on efficient water use during production amid increased pressure to ensure food security for the country, a government minister said.
Calls for imposing a Denmark-like ‘fat tax’ in New Zealand defies common sense and would add a heavy financial burden on the common Kiwi, said the head of the country’s food council.
Walmart China’s doors will reopen to the public today, following the two week closures of its stores during an investigation into allegedly mislabelling regular pork as organic.
Chinese exporters face increasing pressure working with America following the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new re-inspection fees that add the an increasingly complex regulation system, according to a consultant.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has said that operating profits of Australia’s food manufacturers are expected to fall by an average of 4.4% in 2012-13 because of the Federal Government’s carbon tax.
Australia’s top competition regulator has said that it would keep an eye on the country’s two top supermarket chains over long-standing concerns that they were wielding too much power in the country’s food sector.
New Zealand’s dairy firms, including Fonterra, are looking to buy up farms in India’s burgeoning dairy sector, but may not find going down that road free of bumps, a new government report indicates.
The primary Indian food safety watchdog has said that it would soon introduce an online licensing system for food businesses in the country in order to streamline food safety issues.
Beneo is still waiting for an approval from the Indian authorities for the use of its prebiotic fibre, oligofructose, in infant milk powder products in the country.
A panel within India’s food safety regulator has recommended the approval of stevia as natural alternative to sugar for soft drink concentrates, chewing gums and other processed food products.
Three employees of a steamed bun production factory in Shanghai have received jail terms of up to nine years for producing and selling tainted steamed buns, Shanghai’s Higher People’s Court reported on Monday.
Consumer rights group Choice began its Campaign for Better Food Labelling last week by calling for a nationwide search to find food labels that carry dodgy nutrition claims.
Australia’s Premium Wine Brands and Treasury Wine Estates call on the government to reform the current value-based levies and abolish the wine equalisation tax (WET), as the country’s tax summit looms on the horizon.
Sales of energy drinks are booming, but a new report from Rexam also highlights growing concerns about high caffeine soft drink use amongst young people, especially in the developing world.
Australia’s controversial palm oil labelling bill may not be passed into law following new recommendations by a committee of the Australian House of Representatives.
A market for Indian honey in the North American market has prompted Intertek to launch a honey certification service for manufacturers and exporters in India.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has criticized India for its protective trade policy on food items, in an environment that is causing record food prices across the world.
Malaysia has introduced new regulation to govern the export of edible bird's nests from the country to China, where incidents of contamination were reported last month by quality regulators.
Some food manufacturers are misleading shoppers in terms of unclear labeling in relation to the inclusion of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in their products, according to a media report.
Poultry companies in Australia are being taken to court by the country's competition regulator over what it says is “misrepresentation” in labelling of their chicken meat products.
Food safety in China saw another big push with food inspectors combing down food units that are selling moon cakes, a food product that is in great demand during the mid-autumn festival.
A prominent consumer group in Australia has come out in support of traffic light labelling in Australia – but a food industry survey claims the current system is adequate and working.
A top level panel in India has slammed the food processing sector in India for the apparent wastage of food every year due to a lack of the necessary infrastructure in the country's food supply chain.
The palm oil labelling bill in Australia is entering its next phase, with the House of Representatives set to vote on whether it becomes law – and the current government saying it intends to oppose it.
A new regulation in India would mean that exporters of rice products to the US will have to get a new pest-free certification for them, an official at the government's food exports body said.
Like China, other Asian countries need a long-term regulatory mechanism to form a coordinated supervisory system if they are to enforce higher food safety levels, according to a white paper released last week.
The Philippines wants to be self-sufficient in rice and corn by 2013 and the 5.5% agricultural growth in the first half of 2011 could mark a positive start, according to the country’s agricultural secretary.
The passing of the new food safety act in India earlier this month has knelled a death bell for gutkha and tobacco-chewing products like pan masala and supari in the country after a long drawn out battle in courts.
The recall process in Australia has received an overhaul after the introduction of a new service that is aimed at making the process more efficient and transparent.
Food safety authorities are calling for public comment on changes that would allow raw milk (non-pasteurised) products to be processed and sold in Australia.
A new proposal in China plans to change the process of how food products are disposed when they are past their expiry date or do not meet food safety standards in the country.
Taiwan has told countries that had placed a ban on the import of its food products that it has managed to gain control of the DEHP food contamination problem from earlier this year.
Food manufacturers in India may have to gradually reduce the salt content in their packaged food products if a proposal from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is accepted as a standard.
Indian buffalo meat exporters have come under the scanner for possible foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) contamination in Philippines, local media has reported.
