Indian confectionery retail sales grew by seven per cent last year, boosted by “key indulgence categories” such as chocolate and functional gum, says Euromonitor.
General Mills is throwing more and more resources behind an ‘intellectual outsourcing’ project that has significantly reduced its product fail rate. But gaining the trust of start-ups has not been easy, says Kamel Chida, associate director of its Worldwide...
India has more than 175 million Muslim people but still does not have access to many Halal products from reputed brands, prompting Intertek to expand its services in India to include Halal certification of food products.
New Zealand-based dairy giant Fonterra is now looking at expansion in India after a successful foray in China, including a recent bumper bond listing in Shanghai.
Asian food safety authorities are increasingly considering health logos for food and beverage products that meet certain nutritional criteria to help combat rising obesity rates in the region, international food policy consultancy EAS said.
Singapore-based Veredus Laboratories has launched a portable test kit that can detect bacteria and viruses that cause the most common foodborne illnesses in collaboration with Geneva-based chipmaker ST Microelectronics.
Digital technologies are creating major opportunities for the food industry, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).
India-based rice exporter Kohinoor Foods Ltd has formed a joint venture with US-based spice maker McCormick for the marketing of basmati rice and other food products in India.
DKSH Holdings Ltd, the Swiss market expansion services group, has invested in a new innovation centre in Thailand as part of an initiative to introduce new concepts and ingredients to the local confectionery and bakery industry.
Mumbai-based food processor ADF Foods Ltd, which garners a majority of its sales revenue from overseas markets, is now looking to penetrate deeper into its home market of India.
Ingredient supplier, Beneo, has announced a 20 per cent hike in the price of its sweetener Isomalt, citing rising inflation rates and the need to secure a flexible supply chain.
DKSH Holdings Ltd, the Swiss market expansion services group focused on chemicals, food and drug industries, is making plans to further boost its business in India through local acquisitions, local newspaper Mint reported last week.
Private equity firm Lazard Australia is in talks with potential strategic partners in Asia to sell a portion of its stake in Australian biscuit maker Unibic Pty Ltd, Unibic’s managing director Michael Quinn told Reuters last week.
The State Food and Drug Administration of China has banned eight food products made by four mainland firms after they were found to be contaminated by an industrial chemical.
Intake of flour containing 40 per cent lupin flour in place of conventional wholemeal flour could significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, according to research from Australia’s Victoria University.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is calling on researchers to submit projects investigating probiotic benefits in women and children, and has set an August 15 submission deadline.
Puratos is launching its bakery enhancers in the Middle East and in Asia in response to growing demand for “western type” cakes with a long shelf life, said the firm.
The Australian medicines regulator is warning people off a weight management herbal called St Nirvana, after product testing revealed illegal doses of the banned pharma ingredient, sibutramine.
Leading cocoa processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has announced it is kick-starting its Ivory Coast sustainable cocoa initiative – Serap – in Indonesia in a bid to boost cocoa quality from growers in that region.
DSM has signed a joint venture agreement with a Chinese biotechnology company that will give the Dutch ingredients supplier its first enzyme manufacturing plant in China.
Flaws in administrative arrangements and the lack of legal basis for controls mean there is no guarantee that Indian basmati rice exports comply fully with European Union aflatoxin limits, said a report from Brussels.
Botanical extract manufacturer Chengdu Wagott is to open its second stevia facility in China, which it says will boost its Reb A capacity from 200 tons per year to 500 tons.
China is poised to over take Western Europe in the consumption of EPA- and DHA-rich oils, according to research conducted by market analysts Frost & Sullivan and the Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED).
Forest fragmentation driven by demand for palm oil is having a catastrophic effect the level of biodiversity, and may be endangering certain species, according to scientists from the Queen Mary University of London.
The Indian supplements market is ‘ripe’, according to Jeff Hilton of Integrated Marketing Group, who has been conducting research in advance of a new launch later this year of a product line that combines the Ayurvedic tradition with modern ingredients.
At Vitafoods Europe 2011, Jess Halliday caught up with event director Chris Lee to talk about the show’s ambitious expansion plans into Asia and South America.
French dairy Danone has built on its 2010 joint venture with Australian co-op Murray Goulburn by belatedly launching its €4bn global selling probiotic yoghurt Activia on the market there.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has updated its highly popular nutrient database to include new information about fatty acids, iodine, vitamin D and more.
NutraSweet has welcomed a recently announced Chinese crackdown on food additive counterfeiters, amid fears that substandard versions of its patented neotame sweetener are being sold on the Chinese market.
Australia and New Zealand’s food standards body has approved an application for higher maximum permitted levels of steviol glycosides in ice cream and several beverage categories, which will enable a more acceptable taste profile in finished products.
CSM has opened a new facility for dry bakery mixes and mixes in China, which will allow it to step up capacity to meet demand from Asia and better serve local tastes.
Leading food manufacturers, academics and the US government will be working with a top level Chinese delegation over the next few weeks as part in an international effort to promote global food safety.
Australian biotech firm Marinova has reported “exceptional” demand in the US and Asia for its fucoidans, bioactives from brown seaweed researchers believe could help to explain the health and longevity of the Japanese.
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”.
Nestlé and General Mills’ joint venture Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) is investing €27m in a new Malaysian factory to enable the local production of Nestlé breakfast cereals in the country for the first time.
Danisco has announced the latest in a string of capacity upgrades at its cellulose gum facility in China, in response to increasing demand from the food and oral care industries.
Barry Callebaut, in a bid to meet its strategic need to diversify its cocoa origin and boost the viability of cocoa production in Malaysia, has announced a new research programme.
New York-based Maypro Group has finally revealed its ‘quiet’ program to donate potassium iodide supplements to Japanese locals at risk from the recent nuclear incident, and asks if there is a way to turn this into a wider industry fundraising effort.
Eight of the top 12 soy drink consuming countries are Asian with Hong Kong residents consuming the most at 17 litres per year each, according to TetraPak data.
Immature rice grains may contain ‘a remarkable amount of bioactive compounds’, giving them great potential for applications in nutraceutical foods, according to new research.
Nestle is planning to buy a 60 per cent share in China’s Yinlu Foods Group for an undisclosed sum, in a move that will help household brand Yinlu gain more traction in the Central and Western regions of the country.
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...
A new research project aims to optimise the production and quality of oil palm, helping to produce more sustainable crops, by using molecular genetics to boost crop breeding.
