News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology
The Indonesian government’s latest notification to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has included a stern warning to both domestic and foreign food firms against introducing products with high sugar, salt or fat content.
An inter-ministerial committee from India has put forth a list of recommendations on how nutraceuticals could be regulated, which has received mixed industry response, especially around disease risk reduction claims.
Singapore’s move to extend the Nutri-Grade labelling and advertising prohibitions to key contributors of sodium and saturated fat will likely be ‘effective’, according to industry experts.
South Korea is looking to improve the Children’s Diet Safety Index in its rural areas, after seeing poorer results compared to urban cities and the national average.
South Korean ministries have signed a formal data-sharing agreement with local organisations in order to formulate more timely responses to illegal food and beverage trade at its borders, in response to a reported rise in such cases.
The New Zealand government will introduce a new bill specifically to regulate natural products in the country, but no decisions have been taken on the scope or approach to be adopted, officials have announced.
EUDR confusion and postponement, WHO infant nutrition guidelines, Indonesia Nutri-Level labelling and more feature in this edition of Policy Picks.
Local laws governing infant nutrition cannot be subservient to WHO guidelines that were not approved by member states, says Australia’s Infant Nutrition Council (INC) as it questions the global bodies role over policy.
China may allow health foods in the form of chocolates, candies, jellies, and beverages to go through the official health foods filing process.
Malaysian Palm Oil Forum (MPOF)
Malaysia’s palm oil industry representative body has argued that many aspects of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) still lack clarity, and that more transparency regarding its criteria is needed before it should be implemented.
World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines have ignited debate in Australia over when to introduce complementary food into an infant’s diet, and the policies governing of infant formula manufacturers.
The Japanese government has warmly welcomed Taiwan’s long-awaited decision to relax import restrictions on food exports affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, dubbing this as ‘positive progress’ towards full trade recovery.
The Indonesian government has proposed new regulations that would mandate the use of its upcoming Nutri-Level front-of-pack traffic light labelling system for food products considered high in sugar, salt and fat.
Food manufacturers in India have been mandated to increase the boldness and font size of product nutritional information such as total sugar, salt and saturated fat on product labels.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plans to tackle the growing concern of microplastic contamination in food via a new project with leading researchers.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has agreed to local dairy industry demands for an anti-subsidy investigation to be conducted on certain dairy products imported from the European Union (EU).
India’s food safety authority has announced regulations banning local beverage companies from labelling reconstituted fruit juices as ‘100% fruit juice’ to avoid public confusion.
The Vietnamese government has started to draft a proposal for stricter country-of-origin labelling for food products, to prevent fraud and boost international trade.
Moves to introduce new alcoholic labelling standards in Australia and New Zealand, including listing carbohydrate, sugar, and energy values on pack, have moved a step closer.
Policy gaps including front-of-pack labelling, food taxation, marketing of 'unhealthy' products, and improvements in school nutrition standards are urgently needed in South Asia, according to a new study.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is considering making the Health Star Rating (HSR) mandatory after sluggish uptake from brands, while also reviewing updates to the nutrition information panel (NIP) information on packaged foods.
Foods that do not contain novel DNA will not be considered genetically modified, even though they may have been processed via new breeding techniques, according to new proposals from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
The Thai government has announced the enforcement of new labelling regulations for pre-packaged food products that emphasise increased information clarity for consumers as well as mandating the inclusion of manufacturer information.
The South Korean government has announced new regulations mandating food and beverage firms to indicate portion size changes and any sweetener usage on their product labels.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has emphasised that its recent announcement to allow insect imports for human consumption is underscored by food safety and transparent labelling regulatory requirements to ensure smooth integration of this nascent sector.
Vietnam’s prime minister has instructed the country’s Ministry of Health to review rules governing functional food advertising.
The Vietnamese government has drafted new regulations proposing a phased increase on excise taxes for alcoholic beverages to 100% by 2030 as well as 10% for sugar-sweetened beverages, in attempts to curb overconsumption as well as boosting national income.
Manufacturers of Foods with Function Claims (FFC) are legally bound to four newly added requirements from September 1 – the latest move in regulating Japan’s functional foods industry since Kobayashi Pharmaceutical’s red yeast rice scandal broke out.
The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has announced new, stricter regulations governing food product labelling, specifically prohibiting links to various types of herbal medicines and other health or nutritional claims.
Taiwanese authorities have drafted a new set of regulations for milk product labelling in the country, in the hope of reducing consumer confusion regarding the various items available on supermarket shelves.
The Philippines government has launched a new digital ‘pre-border’ verification and payment system for food and other product imports to improve efficiency, with the scheme to be headed by a multi-ministry committee.
Food firms in Australia and New Zealand have been told that that if current 70% Health Star Rating uptake targets are not hit by November next year, it is likely to lead to mandatory implementation.
The Indonesian government has announced a two-year postponement of its mandate for all food and beverage enterprises to be halal certified, originally set for this year, in view of governance changes and the slow progress being made.
Thailand alt-protein policies, South Korea new cultivated meat rules, EUDR analysis blasted by experts and more in this edition of Policy Picks.
The Thai government has published draft regulations on governance over the alternative proteins industry starting with the plant-based sector, and has suggested banning certain animal-related terms but allowing others.
The ASEAN Secretariat’s newly-launched food marketing standards to ‘protect’ children have put mandatory marketing policies and the establishment of a classification system at the core of its strategy, calling on the 10 member states to put these into...
The Philippines Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formalised new regulations requiring food firms to obtain a new specific ‘Samples Only’ import permit for all products meant for research use after a year of deliberations.
The South Korean food authorities have highlighted that public health and potential food safety concerns will be its top priorities when developing the upcoming regulations to govern cultivated meat in the country.
Abu Dhabi is implementing a ban on various “avoidable” single-use Styrofoam consumer products, which will take effect from June 1, 2024.
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has introduced new distribution guidelines in an effort to protect food manufacturers from retailer practices and prevent food product wastage.
The Japanese government has clarified that the final responsibility to ensure the safety and quality of food packaging lies with food manufacturer producing the end-product that will reach consumers.
Palm oil industry experts have criticised a new EU-backed analysis that identified ‘shortcomings’ in Malaysia’s national sustainability certification scheme that prevent it from being fully accepted under the new EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR).
Targeted messaging based on personal characteristics and demographics might have more success in garnering support for controversial sugar taxes than focusing on the impact to the food industry, claim researchers in Australia. Several countries in...
News
The UK Government plans to take a ‘light touch’ approach to post-Brexit checks on food in a bid to avoid red tape and bureaucracy, according to the exports minister.
Adopting a Japanese style diet could help achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) worldwide, according to new research.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is seeking public comment on draft regulations for the newly-coined ‘defined foods’ category, which will cover novel foods, genetically modified foods and insect-related foods.
Philippines' kids foods sugar ban, China's revised Seed Law, Taiwan's ad penalties and more feature in this edition of Policy Picks.
New evidence suggests that brands and government need to scrap altruistic messaging about climate change and focus on health and culture to promote sustainable eating in Asia.
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is facing major pushback from ministers and trade organisations within Europe, alongside continued pressure from palm oil producer nations in Asia, casting doubt on hopes for a smooth implementation.
China regulators are considering subjecting the local ready-to-cook (RTC) foods category to additional mandatory standards and regulations in response to general public concerns over the food safety and quality.