Two supplements have been banned from sale by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention after receiving advice from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Buffalo burgers should be considered a healthy and alternative option to the classic beef variety. That is the message being emphasised by Indian processor Allanasons Private Limited at Gulfood Manufacturing this week.
Companies must embrace sustainability as a long-term business value, especially in the Middle East, as global trends move towards fast-shifting trading patterns in the F&B industry.
Dubai authorities are believed to have closed almost half of all the emirate’s shawarma stands after new food safety and hygiene regulations came into effect at the start of this month.
A face-off between Egyptian authorities and the country’s biggest food company ended last week after Edita Foods Industries’ sugar supply was returned following confiscation by officials.
Participation at the Middle East’s biggest food manufacturing show has increased by more than a third over last year, according to Dubai World Trade Centre, the organiser of Gulfood Manufacturing.
Global sales of halal products have surged in recent years, yet the potential for further growth, both in Islamic and non-Islamic countries, remains vast.
Lower oil prices and disruption from conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have prompted the chief executive of Nestlé Middle East to brand the last year’s business as challenging for the Swiss multinational.
Lebanese company Master Chewing Gum & Candies has introduced a gourmet gum brand in unconventional flavors such as mojito as it looks to seize on the Middle East’s changing gum market.
The UAE is poised to unveil the world’s first international halal certification network as the Dubai-based International Halal Accreditation Forum drafts a set of bylaws that should come into operation later this year.
Fruit-based beverage retailer Smoothie King has expanded into the Gulf through a partnership with Dubai conglomerate Al Ghurair and opened of its first outlet in the region.
Despite global commodity prices being at their lowest levels in years, livestock producers in Egypt face surging input costs on the back of a depreciating Egyptian Pound, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
World Food Programme of the United Nations has distributed food in and around Qayyarah after a siege had made the northern Iraqi town inaccessible for over two years.
UAE-based investment firm Food Capital has acquired a significant stake in Ice Cream Dana Group of Saudi Arabia, the owner of 20 stores under the Yummy Yoghurt, Bun & Patty, Pimento and Maltoot brands.
Dubai Municipality has signed an agreement with a Swiss traceability company for a smart inspection solution for food products that will deliver a digital halal logo and a smartphone app.
Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council chairman Simon Crean has visited the Middle East to iron out welfare and black market concerns worrying Australia during Eid’s bumper trade period.
Over the past three years Iran has managed to increase production of table poultry and red meat by 20% to reach an overall figure of 820,000 tonnes (t) of red meat and 2.2 million t of poultry.
Companies exporting dairy to Jordan will be forced to cut all partially hydrogenated oils or face a ban on business as the country becomes the latest to bar their use.
One of the Gulf’s biggest food and beverage companies has completed the acquisition of 70% of Al Safi Food, effectively granting it a local platform to manufacture and distribute food and beverage products in the Kingdom.
The on-again-off-again sale of a majority stake in Kuwait Food Co, otherwise known as Americana, to a Gulf-based consortium has been scrapped by the Al Kharafi family, bringing to an end months of negotiations over a deal worth billions of dollars.
Saudi Arabia is now recognised as the third most obese nation in the world, while more than one-third of children in the country have been found to be overweight.
Homes and restaurants in the UAE toss out food worth an estimated AED14.7bn (US$4bn) each year, according to the Emirates Environmental Group. The waste is then dumped in the country’s landfills where capacity is shrinking.
China, India and Saudi Arabia’s growing markets are spurring global demand for food processing machinery, which is expected to grow at an annualised rate of around 8% until 2020.
Dubai-based camel milk producer Emirates Industry for Camel Milk & Products has been awarded a VAT exemption certificate by the UAE’s Ministry of Economy, which the company hopes will help it increase exports of camel milk to other Arab countries.
Global online food delivery company Foodpanda has announced a deal to merge its Hellofood business with HungerStation in Saudi Arabia to create a market leader in one of the world’s biggest food delivery markets.
Kuwait’s Mezzan Holding, one of the Middle East’s biggest manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages, has reported in an increase in second-quarter revenue of 2.4% over the same period in 2015 to KWD52.8m (US$175m), and a 3.9% increase in year-to-date...
Abu Dhabi retailer Fathima Group will invest AED200m (US$55m) to open seven new hypermarkets in the next few months as part of an aggressive expansion strategy in the GCC and India.
A simple labelling mis-translation gave rise to widespread rumours that an international chocolate brand’s formulation contained alcohol, Dubai authorities have revealed following a probe.
Iraq’s inability to tackle the cause of bird flu means the deadly virus is likely to spread across neighbouring countries, according to an expert on animal diseases.
Global cooking oil major Mazola is placing its focus on expanding even further into the Middle East’s growing non-retail sector by appointing Farm Fresh as its new distributor for food-service business in the UAE.
One of the Middle East’s biggest food importers has unveiled the region’s largest production factory. The new Arab & India Spices plant in Ajman was built with an investment of AED350m (US$95m).
Local dairy major Almarai was named Saudi Arabia’s favourite brand in the YouGov 2016 Mid-year BestBrand rankings, alongside Emirates airline in the UAE and Facebook in Egypt.
Qatar could see the introduction of “sin taxes” as the government seeks new ways to fund spending over the next three years, according to a ministerial report.
Euromonitor International has pinpointed several promising chocolate markets that may help manufacturers offset slowdowns in traditional emerging markets such as China and Brazil.
