A lawyer pursuing a high-profile anti-trust case against four Chinese firms accused of fixing the price of vitamin C in the US says he expects the judge reviewing the case to make a ruling “any week now”.
Three deaths from nitrite tainted milk in China show that the country still has some way to go to clean up its dairy industry. One of the authors of a new study1 on the 2008 China melamine milk scandal explains what has gone wrong and what reforms are...
Pakistan’s Sindh state is set to make the iodisation of salt compulsory in a bid to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders in the state, where over 50 per cent of the population is at risk.
The Indian Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized nearly 17,000 packets of a Unilever red tea product for making non-approved antioxidant claims.
Dietary supplement manufacturers operating in China will have to do more to guarantee the quality of their supply chains, after Chinese authorities imposed new quality control regulations last week.
The United Nations is promoting the use of zinc supplements in Nepal to battle acute infant diarrhoea that kills 15,000 under-5s per year in the Himalayan state.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and South Korea means European food and drink businesses will benefit from improved trading conditions, and agricultural exporters will save an estimated €380 million a year thanks to eliminated tariffs.
Dutch-based Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) player, Lipid Nutrition, has withdrawn its CLA Novel Foods application in Australia and New Zealand due to the two countries’ policy to reduce all trans fatty acids (TFAs) in the diet.
Ajinomoto’s Advantame has moved a step closer to approval in Australia and New Zealand, as FSANZ has published its preferred option that the Food Standards Code be amended to approve the intense sweetener for sale and use.
Greenpeace has welcomed a pledge towards forest conservation from palm oil supplier Golden Agri-Resources Limited (GAR) which is aimed at “creating long-term sustainable growth for GAR and the palm oil industry”.
The Indian Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) has been blocked from including representatives from the food and beverage industry in a scientific panel set up to advise on safety and standards.
New Zealand opposition party members are calling on the government to fortify the country’s flour supply and bread output with folic acid, following reports of the success of a similar program across the Tasman Sea in Australia.
The United States has not appealed a final World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling issued this week that a US ban on Chinese poultry imports was illegal, officially ending the trade dispute.
The American citric acid industry has asked the US Department of Commerce to investigate possible circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duties in place for citric acid imported from China.
Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency has said it intends to ask food makers to voluntarily label the trans fat content of their products, according to Kyodo News International.
A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has ruled that a US ban on Chinese poultry is illegal – the first such reprimand for legislation brought in under the Obama Administration.
The Korean functional food market hinges on obtaining the nation’s precious ingredient claim approval, but breaking that barrier opens the floodgates to huge market potential, according to an industry expert.
A cranberry ingredient from US firm Proprietary Nutritionals Inc (PNI) can be supported by a health claim in the Korean market, after the nation’s regulator approved a claim linking it to urinary tract health.
Experts from a US food safety watchdog are training scientists from Bangladesh on techniques to help eliminate health hazards from the country’s burgeoning aquaculture industry.
The Food Standards Agency of of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) says that intense sweetener Advantame poses no risk to consumers relative to its proposed usage in a range of foods.
China's quality watchdog has destroyed or blocked the import of a wide range of foreign food and cosmetic products after concerns that they posed potential health risks.
Next week’s Nutracon Asia conference in Hong Kong will include a special one-day workshop on the regulatory state of play for dietary supplements and functional foods in Asia Pacific, giving case studies and showing areas of opportunity.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) is advising parents that energy drinks and energy shots are not suitable for consumption by children and young teenagers due to caffeine levels.
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has backed a generic definition for phytosterols, phytostanols and their esters to replace the formulation-specific approvals that exist at the moment.
The ongoing rethinking of the rules governing herbal products in Australia has highlighted more than 30 herbs for safety review, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
DSM’s lipase enzyme from GM Aspergillus niger is set to be approved by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, opening up opportunities for bakers to use it as a processing aid.
Mooted revisions to regulations governing drugs and supplements in Australia may see weight management products ruled by food regulations, where previously they may have been governed by drug law, TGA discussions have revealed.
Plans are afoot to merge the New Zealand Food Safety Authority back into the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, 3 years after the risk assessor and risk manager were split out.
China has said its aim this year on food safety is to avoid any major contamination crises as it continues to struggle to impose national standards on food producers and processors.
China is launching a new national food safety drive following a wave of recent damaging revelations over melamine-tainted milk products in the country.
Chinese authorities have closed two dairies in the northern region of Ningxia following the discovery of a further 170 tonnes of melamine tainted milk powder, according to media reports.
Body fat burning products intended for weight loss were the largest portion of recent Korea Food and Drug Administration functional foods authorisations.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has signaled its intention to blacklist 125 nutrients including forms of glucosamine, aloe vera and krill because it says they are not being used in products, according to the US Department of Agriculture...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has signed a co-operation agreement with its Japanese counterpart as part of a strategy to boost its knowledge pool and ability to track food across the globe.
Australia has announced it is to reopen its borders to beef imports from countries that have previously reported incidents of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The signing of a free trade deal between the EU and Korea has been hailed by the food and beverage industry, as it will unlock new market access for the sector.
India urgently needs a national food processing policy which incorporates tax breaks for the sector, the nation’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a conference of state food processing ministers this week.
The New Zealand government has pledged to update what it describes as its “outdated” 28-year-old Food Act to make it more relevant to businesses and consumers while improving safety standards.
The importance of the Codex Alimentaria in developing regulatory harmony in a region like Asia where rules differ so greatly, has been emphasised at a recent event hosted by the Asian arm of Belgian consultancy, EAS.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has announced that as of Sunday, Australian bread makers must use folic acid-enriched flour to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) in newborns.
Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), is considering a ban on high caffeine energy drinks in the Red Bull-led sector, after its Primary Industries minister, Ian McDonald, highlighted products loaded with up to 15 times recommended caffeine...
The New Zealand baking industry has said it will move towards a voluntary fortification of some breads with folic acid as the government is expected to delay plans for mandatory fortification.
Formulation of a separate policy for food processing and a targeted R&D programme to boost processing and packaging technologies are two of the latest proposals unveiled by the Indian government for the sector.
