International seafood processor Thai Union has given jobs to more than 1,000 workers who were made redundant in a restructuring of its external supply chain.
With various emerging Asian markets now considering legislation or tighter regulation of sugar in soft drinks, one of the key issues of the regional beverage industry in 2016 might well be diminishing volume growth due to higher taxation, according to...
Stevia is closing in on mainstream acceptance as a non-caloric sweetener, but the product will need additional innovation before it is fully accepted by consumers.
A civil lawsuit accusing Nestlé, Cargill and ADM of aiding and abetting child slavery on Ivorian cocoa farms has again thwarted attempts to have the case thrown.
Despite an economic slowdown, Indonesia’s food manufacturing sector is continuing to attract international companies, with investments worth UDR164tr (US$11.9bn) registered in 2015, according to government figures.
Orange fleshed sweet potato is so rich in carotenoids and β-carotenes it could be used to ease vitamin A deficiency amongst malnourished populations in developing countries, a study says.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) will publish maps of all its members’ palm oil plantations – with the exception of Malaysia – in the hope closer monitoring will prevent forest fires and peat land destruction. But is this enough?
Allegations of slave labour at one of the world’s biggest shrimp companies should be a “wake-up call” to the industry, said the man whose company has been at the centre of an investigation into the practice.
A coalition of international labour rights and environmental groups has questioned whether audits carried out by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) were robust enough to root out members that used slave labour.
PureCircle has developed a new family of stevia-based sweeteners designed to shine in low to zero-calorie formulations, an application area that has proved particularly challenging as formulators seek to retain a ‘clean, sugar-like’ taste at higher dosage...
Increasingly urbanised and upwardly mobile consumers have made Indonesia a highly attractive base for companies operating in emerging markets, despite slowing growth in most other southeast Asian economies, Boston Consulting Group has found.
An anti-slavery charity has welcomed Nestlé’s action plan to tackle human rights abuses in the Thai seafood supply chain, and says it hopes other food companies will follow suit.
With the Philippines preparing legislation to introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks, neighbouring Indonesia could now follow suit after officials began a study into the policy.
Thailand’s agriculture ministry has won the Edouard Saouma award for spearheading regional collaboration to combat a destructive crop pest with the help of a tiny wasp.
Monsanto has warned Congress that the Philippines could face a food crisis if it does not put biotechnology at the heart of its food security programme.
Food and drink businesses with a turnover of more than £36M a year should prepare now to comply with the new Modern Slavery Act or risk “disaster”, warns law firm Roythornes, after Nestlé revealed plans to stamp out labour abuses in its supply chain.
UK government:‘There is no one definition of sustainable palm oil’
Voluntary measures and government targets are great – but it is legislation that will push European palm oil users to true sustainability. The food sector could learn a lesson or two from biofuel here.
As Singapore’s National Environment Agency launches a campaign to curb food wastage, it was revealed that residents each dumped roughly 150kg of food last year.
Support for a Philippines tax on sugary soft drinks to boost government coffers and rein in an increase in lifestyle is growing as legislation passes through parliament.
Indonesia’s forests are being ravaged by forest and peatland fires that are sparking a public health and environmental crisis – but how responsible is the palm oil industry?
UK palm oil imports were 72% sustainable in 2014 – up from 55% in 2013, according to an annual progress report from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Thailand’s government is considering measures to regulate the advertising of soft drinks, including green tea, which it says is behind the country’s soaring sugar consumption.
Companies are increasingly demanding certified palm oil using criteria that are stricter than current RSPO standards – does the mean the RSPO certification is in danger of becoming irrelevant?
With growing middle-classes, ageing populations and a voracious appetite for Australian products, Asia is providing fertile territory for Australian complementary health brands. A raft of free-trade agreements can’t hurt either.
Malaysian researchers have found that Tualang honey supplementation reduced the oxidative stress status of smokers, suggesting its potential in reducing the risk of smoking-related cardio-vascular disease.
An indigenous Australian tree plant, used for tens of thousands of years by Aborigines before being forgotten after the arrival of Europeans Down Under, has the Sydney Olympics to thank for its remarkable comeback as a nutraceutical ingredient that can...
Traditional versions of products like Nescafé and Milo still account for the lion’s share of the business: but ready-to-drink (RTD) varieties are a fast-growing category, especially in Malaysia, says Nestlé as it dedicates a factory in the country to...
Nestlé has expansion opportunities in developing markets in Asia and Latin America for its leading confectionery brand KitKat, according to the company’s head of chocolate countlines.
A lack of tougher penalties and shortage of staff are hindering local authorities’ attempts to tighten control over businesses that violate food safety laws as more samples of meat, vegetables and seafood fail to meet hygiene and quality standards.
The International Rice Research Institute (Irri) has filed the genomic sequences of more than 3,000 rice varieties in a move that boosts plans to set up a global data exchange system for crop genetic resources.
The European Union (EU) will make a decision on whether to ban fish imports from Thailand by December, while the EU gave out ‘yellow cards’ for illegal fishing to Comoros and Taiwan.
AsiaInspection has released an authoritative white paper on modern-day slavery, a practice which the auditing and inspection company called “a highly disturbing reality that is woven into nearly every supply chain around the world”.
Pan-Asia food distributors must keep their finger on the pulse of industry trends. DPO's country head takes a look at the segments that will be big business over the coming year.
With three out of 10 food industry jobs becoming vacant each year in Thailand, companies face a significant challenge in finding staff, and then retaining them in an employees' market.
Ingredients major DSM has ramped up its regional development work with the opening of an innovation centre in Singapore this year. Central to its operation is an understanding that Asian physiology is different, says Haeri Roh-Schmidt, the company's...
