The process to harmonise health supplement regulations in Asean nations is close to completion with the news that nearly 90% of the initial targets for agreement had now been achieved.
Dispatches from Asia Choco Cocoa Congress in Singapore
Vietnamese state-owned companies plan to convert some coffee and rubber plantations to cocoa, delivering a significant boost to the country’s annual output, says Vietnam’s principle cocoa buyer Puratos Grand-Place.
Asia-Pacific food companies have developed a greater focus on innovating over the last few years, said DSM’s regional human nutrition head Pieter Nuboer at the opening of the company’s new nutrition innovation centre in Singapore.
The Alliance for Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) harmonised health supplement framework will be up and running by the end of the year after over ten years in the making.
At the time of establishing the International Rice Research Institute (Irri) in 1960, Dr Sterling Wortman of the Rockefeller Foundation seriously considered India as a potential location for the institute. However, Los Baños in Laguna, Philippines, was...
Mondelēz, Mars, Nestlé and Barry Callebaut and Cargill are backing a three-year sustainable cocoa program in Indonesia, which aims to reduce poverty and greenhouse gas emissions.
Through partnerships with small farmers, non-governmental organizations and other industry stakeholders, General Mills reports it is making progress towards its goal of sustainably sourcing 100% of its top 10 ingredients by 2020.
A new form of non-GMO plant-based protein boasting an amino acid profile comparable to whey, plus high levels of calcium and other nutrients, is now available in commercial quantities from Parabel Ltd, which has developed a proprietary process for producing...
Manufacturers are cautiously reinvesting in tempeh, which is well-positioned to capitalize on multiple growing consumer trends, but they realize that before it can take-off it must clear a major hurdle: Most consumers have never heard of it.
Cargill is on track to make its goal of completely sustainable palm oil supply by 2020, the company has said in its second palm oil progress update, summing up the efforts made so far by the US-headquartered agriculture major.
Netherlands-headquartered Barentz has acquired PT Astabumi Ciptadaya, a leading food and nutrition ingredients distributor in Indonesia after receiving a capital injection to accelerate expansion.
A joint-venture between IOI Loders Croklaan, a Dutch oils major, and Ireland’s Kerry Group will manufacture nutrition lipids at a factory in Malaysia for the global market.
The Coca-Cola Company’s chief executive has branded Indonesia “one of the most dynamic countries in the world”, as he opened Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia’s Cikekodan plant in Bekasi, West Java.
De Heus, in its strategy to be a leading player in the Vietnamese feed sector, continues to enhance its production capacity in that Asian country, with construction of its seventh feed plant underway in the Mekong Delta region.
Milo’s supposedly biggest market, Malaysia, was dealt a scare over the weekend after thousands of packs of the exceptionally popular chocolate milk powder were seized by inspectors in Negeri Sembilan.
A newly-implemented free trade agreement between the GCC and Singapore will boost their US$291m food trade, according to Singapore’s international trade body.
Edible oil manufacturer Fuji will use its first research centre outside of Japan to focus on products formulated for the Asian market, the company said at its ceremony in Singapore.
Blackmores, Australia's leading natural health brand, announced record profits for the half-year while putting in place new provisions to ramp up the retailer's presence in Asia.
What would Asean look like if it were re-imagined as a single bloc, and what characteristics would it have if all 10 countries were aggregated into an economic unit?
A Malaysian company has released the world’s first food-grade sheep collagen on the market to tap into religiously observant markets for which beef or pork are not allowed.
An Indonesian canned fish producer is aiming to make its entry into the Middle East food market, as Indonesia’s government aims to bolster its national fishing industry.
Ministers in the Philippines have signed off the regulatory side of their country’s Food Safety Act 2013, bringing new levels of oversight to the industry and placing greater responsibility onto companies to ensure greater traceability.
Coffee pods are driving growth in the ground coffee sector, says FMCG market and shopper intelligence firm IRI, thanks to cheaper coffee machines and the popularity of the coffee shop experience.
Coca-Cola Amatil will devote more energy to its Indonesian business - a bright spot in its 2014 full year results - hoping strengthened market leadership in the country will help the group return to growth.
Allied Bakers, the maker of Kingsmill bread, said today that the palm oil and derivatives used in its products are now 100% sustainably sourced through physical supply chains.
The Malaysian government has launched its own sustainable palm oil certification standard – but will this add to or detract from sustainability and transparency efforts in the sector?
The last year’s dramatic oil plunge, and with it expectations that crude prices will stay low, will continue to have a wide-reaching affect on the global food supply chain, not least in the world’s two biggest palm oil-producing countries, Indonesia and...
Malaysian pharma-nutra firm InQpharm is taking positives from its white kidney bean extract, weight management health claim rejection at the hands of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Tetra Pak has opened a €5m technical training centre in Rayong, Thailand, with courses in automation, filling line equipment, quality assurance and food safety for dairy and beverage producers.
How to optimize fish health while controlling disease and managing waste are some of the fish farm challenges being explored at Biomin’s new aqua research hub opens in Vietnam.
Vietnamese pharmaceutical company VietPhap International has been given the rights to sell BioGaia’s ProTectis probiotic baby drops in its home market.
The last 12 months have been turbulent for much of Asia-Pacific's food industry, with regulations, legislation, markets and partnerships continuing to develop in the latest step in the region's economic development.To mark a fascinating year...
One year after opening an Indian operation, French additives major Novasep has announced it will open an office in Bangkok to expand its operations in southeast Asia.
Infant food manufacturers will be celebrating in China as the impact of this year's loosening of the one-child ban is felt; meanwhile, traffic-calming measures in Manila continue to prevent goods from going to export, according to Euromonitor analysts'...
The Malaysian government says it is assessing what action it should take to address ‘no palm oil’ labels in France and Belgium, the legal grounds for which have come under scrutiny.
It was meant to be Malaysia’s Beef Valley, but now it’s not even Beef Alley, according to an online new investigation into the National Feedlot Corporation’s 2,000ha farm in Negri Sembilan.
There is growing momentum behind an attempt to reshape a standard for responsible sourcing (RS) of fish meal and fish oil so that it covers worker safety, following recent news reports on labor and human rights abuses on fishing vessels supplying global...
Palm oil is subject to several consumer concerns – its sustainability and health impacts in particular – but these need to be addressed together rather than separately, according to the European Palm Oil Alliance (EPOA).
Food manufacturers and palm oil producers could have a legal case against companies labelling products ‘palm oil free’, according to Paris-based lawyer Anne Bourdu.
