Seafood

Shining amid adversity: CP Foods to tread carefully in 2023 but pledges food safety and sustainability progress

21-Mar-2023 By Pearly Neo

Thailand-based food giant CP Foods has committed to further improve its food safety and sustainability initiatives in 2023 on the back of a successful 2022 financial year, but also plans to proceed with more caution due to ongoing challenges spanning...

‘Collective effort needed’: Cultural and behavioural challenges major hurdles for UAE national project

15-Mar-2023 By Pearly Neo

The National Food Loss and Waste Initiative (Ne’ma) backed by the United Arab Emirates government still faces immense challenges in the form of cultural practices and consumer behaviour as it seeks to halve food loss and waste.

High-tech inspections: South Korea deploys AI in national food imports plan to boost safety

14-Mar-2023 By Pearly Neo

The South Korean government has announced a new food imports plan to be enforced in 2023 which will involve the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve its monitoring and inspections processes.

‘Always a place for animal protein’: Conversion and demand for alternative sources unlikely to be the same in every region – expert panel

13-Mar-2023 By Pearly Neo

Consumer demand for alternate proteins is unlikely to end up growing at a uniform rate due to local dietary differences, much of which will still prioritise animal protein in the long run, according to an expert panel.

‘Almost like the real deal’: Singapore’s Ha Li Fa accelerates plant-based seafood expansion

28-Feb-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Singapore and Malaysia manufacturer Ha Li Fa’s says the success of its plant-based seafood range has accelerated its expansion into Cambodia, Brunei and Saudi Arabia.

Beyond the ‘obsession’: Are alternative proteins truly the best path to a sustainable food supply?

20-Feb-2023 By Pearly Neo

Creating a sustainable food supply to meet population demands will require more than just a focus on growing the alternative proteins sector despite its current hype, according to industry experts.

Thai Union Exclusive Part II: ‘No one will pay huge premiums for plant-based protein…yet’

14-Feb-2023 By Pearly Neo

The plant-based space is nowhere near hitting the premium space yet, with affordability fundamental in driving demand amid deepening consumer economic concerns, says Thai Union.

‘No place in food’: Egypt food safety authority vows to hit WHO trans fats guidelines within 12 months

14-Feb-2023 By Pearly Neo

The Egyptian food safety authority has committed that the local food supply will hit World Health Organisation (WHO) trans fats guidelines within 12 months, claiming its recent policy changes will finally take it off the global high-consumption list.

Safe for second use: South Korea approves recycled PET as material for new food and beverage containers

08-Feb-2023 By Pearly Neo

South Korea has given the nod for recycled PET plastic to be used as a material to make new food and beverage containers as part of its national sustainability strategy, citing work by international brands such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo as an inspiration.

Thai Union Exclusive Part I: Sensory experience key for plant-based seafood to match other alt-proteins

08-Feb-2023 By Pearly Neo

Manufacturers of plant-based seafood need to ensure they get the sensory experience right if the sector hopes to reach the scope and consumer acceptance that other plant-based meat alternatives have achieved, according to Thai Union.

Food in the Metaverse: Why APAC F&B brands need to keep up with Web 3.0 to accelerate growth

07-Feb-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food and beverage brands in the Asia Pacific region would do well to stay up-to-date with worldwide Web 3.0 transformations to accelerate business growth, especially when it comes to capturing younger consumers in the Metaverse.

Keep it simple: Why minimal processing is key to winning over Asian plant-based consumers

31-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

Minimal processing and healthier formulation is key to achieving plant-based success in Asia, where health drivers trump sustainability concerns, according to a Thai brand that is blazing a trail in the category.

Nutritional navigation: UAE eyes ‘virtual elimination’ of trans fats and sets ambitious salt reduction targets

26-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has announced implementation guidelines for its National Nutrition Strategy 2022 – 2030, eyeing the ‘virtual elimination’ of trans fats in the local food supply as well as a 30% reduction in consumers’ average...

Fit for purpose? Australia launches grocery code review amid effectiveness concerns

24-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

Australia recently launched a public consultation as a first step towards reviewing its Food and Grocery Code of Conduct following increasing concerns over its effectiveness and ability to resolve disputes between suppliers and retailers.

Traceability priority: CP Foods targets blockchain integration for all products after pork and chicken success

23-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

Thailand-based protein multinational CP Foods is targeting the full integration of blockchain technology for all products, after a successful introduction for pork and chicken.

Food development focus: UAE government highlights strengthening of local food security as key 2023 goal

11-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has highlighted efforts to boost local food security as a key goal for the country to transform its food supply system in 2023, alongside the introduction of new taxation strategies to fund further innovation...

ASEAN food sector outlook 2023: Post-COVID-19 growth in Indonesia, Vietnam dampened by food security and inflation woes

11-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

Many South East Asian countries remain cautious and concerned over food insecurity and rising inflationary costs despite having seen stellar post-COVID-19 growth in multiple food categories.

Returning to normality? China ramps up relaxation of COVID-19 food testing and tariffs

10-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

China is ramping up its efforts to move past the immense impacts COVID-19 has had on the country over the past three years, including removing all requirements for nucleic acid testing on frozen food imports and reducing tariffs.

Offering options: NZ’s Opo Bio looks to help cultivated meat firms outsource cell line stresses

09-Jan-2023 By Pearly Neo

New Zealand’s Opo Bio is seeking to help cultivated meat firms cut out a large portion of the initial legwork needed to procure and develop suitable cell lines, believing that this will take help encourage commercialisation and target the mainstream market.

Thailand’s Halal 4.0 journey: Tech and blockchain to play crucial role in ensuring product integrity

20-Dec-2022 By Pearly Neo

The halal food and beverage sector in Thailand is ramping up its use of technology as a crucial tool to achieve ‘Halal Integrity’, and hopes to establish a halal blockchain platform within the next few years.

‘No more wasteful gimmicks’: China issues strict constraints for fruit, meat, egg and seafood packaging

14-Dec-2022 By Pearly Neo

The Chinese government has launched strict draft standards to govern excessive food packaging in the country covering fruit, meat, egg and seafood products, allowing public comments on these until January 2023.

Beneficial ‘side effect’: Long regulatory road for cultivated products will boost consumer confidence – Upside Foods

07-Dec-2022 By Pearly Neo

The cultivated products sector still has a long road ahead in many markets in terms of regulatory processes, but this thorough vetting will lay a strong foundation of food safety and quality that will eventually yield benefits in terms of consumer trust...

‘Making it happen’: NZ industry says new grocery competition bill is ‘concrete step’ towards fairness

01-Dec-2022 By Pearly Neo

The New Zealand food and grocery sector has voiced wholehearted support for the government’s announcement of a new legislative bill addressing unfair competition in the local grocery sector, which was previously dominated by a duopoly of major retailers.

FNA InnovATE VIDEO SERIES

‘Reduce and replace’: Plant-based brands can slash salt by following beverage sector’s sugar strategy - leading academic

29-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

Plant-based brands need to slash salt levels by adopting a similar ‘reduce and replace’ strategy used by the sugar-sweetened beverage sector in order to ensure that consumers can reap health benefits of the trend, according to a nutrition expert.

Shelf-life and salt: Taste remains greatest barrier for sodium-reduced food products to move out of premium category

21-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

Getting the taste right in sodium-reduced food products remains the biggest barrier to overcome in reformulation efforts, according to industry experts.

Vow founder: First wave of cultivated meat should delight and intrigue consumers, so why launch with chicken nuggets?

18-Nov-2022 By Elaine Watson

If you’re making cultivated meat in a bioreactor instead of a living, breathing animal, and you want to introduce it to consumers for the first time, what’s the best launch vehicle? A chicken nugget or fillet, a thin beef steak, a high-value item such...

FOOD AND BEVERAGE TRAILBLAZERS EP 37

Cleaning up snack foods: Big brand interest in cleaner and healthier options paving path for leaf protein sector

16-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

The interest in cleaner and better-for-you snacks shown by big food and beverage brands, including Mondelez, Nestle and Vitasoy, is paving the way for a new specialised area of plant-based proteins to enter the market, namely the RuBisCo leaf protein.

Organic observance: Japan tightens regulations for food imports and certification label sizing

15-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

The Japanese government has implemented tighter regulations for organic food imports, with firms required to appoint specific personnel and use standard organic certification labels to avoid being rejected.

Alt protein long haul: Thai Union says food security more important than making a ‘quick buck’

14-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

Seafood heavyweight Thai Union has called for more big brands dealing in protein to hop into the alternative protein sector – but stressed that the motivation for this needs to be more centered on food security than profit margins.

Growth Asia Summit 2022

‘Only produce what we eat’: Singapore-based firm Avant on the sustainability case for cultivated seafood

10-Nov-2022 By Tingmin Koe

Eating cultivated seafood will become a “more efficient” way to consume protein by slashing waste, while also removing fears over the intake of microplastics, according to Singapore-based firm Avant.

Converting consumer demands into technical concepts key challenge for APAC’s plant-based sector

09-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

The ability to accurately convert consumer demands and preferences into real, technical product concepts remains a key challenge for the plant-based sector in the APAC region, according to industry experts at Roquette.

FNA DEEP DIVE: CULTIVATED MEAT & FERMENTATION TECH

Novel protein production: APAC consumer acceptance soars but scalability still hinders affordability

09-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

Novel protein production technologies such as cultivated meat and precision fermentation are seeing consumer acceptance soar in APAC, but are still some way off achieving price parity for the everyday consumer due to challenges with regulations and scale.

Animal-free dairy: New Culture attracts new funding; Change Foods eyes up Abu Dhabi for new plant: 'There is a massive commercial manufacturing capacity bottleneck in the industry'

04-Nov-2022 By Elaine Watson

Two US-based precision fermentation startups making real dairy ingredients using microbes instead of cows have announced significant developments as they gear up to launch next year in the emerging ‘animal-free dairy’ category.

Paradoxical pressures: APAC consumers demanding both food indulgence and cost-savings

03-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

Both indulgence and affordability are emerging as major APAC consumer demands for food and beverages today, leaving a manufacturers with a paradoxical challenge that can only be solved using innovation.

Limited access: Indonesia drafts new risk-based rules for imported processed foods

02-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

Indonesia has decided to push ahead with plans to tighten regulations governing imported processed foods by introducing a risk-based assessment system.

Growth Asia Summit 2022

Proof and pride: Science-backed ingredients and sensitive marketing key for healthy ageing success in Asia

02-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

The scientific validation of ingredients and sensitive marketing strategies are key for brands to drive repeat purchases in Asia’s thriving healthy ageing category, according to an expert panel at our Growth Asia Summit 2022.

Sodium overload: One-third of Australian toddlers consuming too much salt – national study

01-Nov-2022 By Pearly Neo

One-third of toddlers in Australia are consuming excess sodium in their daily diets, with experts stating the situation is so bad that simply reducing snack or discretionary foods intakes is insufficient.

Brand New: Thai Union, Suntory, Nestle India and more big names feature in our round-up

28-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

Thai Union, Suntory, Nestle India and more big names feature in this edition of Brand New.

Beyond just a trend: Policy measures further pushing Asian food colouring sector towards natural

27-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

Regulatory pressure from Asian governments will drive food and beverage firms to use natural colours, with it rapidly becoming less of a trend and more of a necessity.

Blue is the new green: New Thailand policies a boost to ‘Blue Finance’ sustainability sector – Thai Union

24-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

Recent changes in Thailand’s sustainability-linked financing rules are set to deliver a boost to the ‘Blue Finance’ sector, which is good news for firms dabbling in this area such as seafood heavyweight Thai Union.

‘E-commerce not a luxury’: Alibaba and Dubai government project looks to boost Middle East F&B exports

19-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is establishing Dubai’s first e-commerce pavilion on its platform with the backing of local trade authority Dubai Industries and Exports, urging Middle Eastern food firms to hop on board and boost exports to China and...

Trend tracking: Indonesian food firms need to accelerate product innovation and digital adaptation

19-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

Indonesian food and beverage firms have been urged to accelerate their new product innovation and digital adaptation to keep up with consumer demands, especially with multiple post-COVID-19 challenges still dampening the local economy.

Expelling excessive packaging: China includes more food categories to slash waste

19-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

China has expanded efforts to eliminate excessive packaging with rules now covering more food categories, in addition to implementing a multi-ministerial governance system to regulate the supply chain.

2023 healthy food trends: Clean label and positive nutrition claims crucial for consumers

11-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

Consumers in the Asia Pacific region will continue to be strongly driven by products with clean label and positive nutrition claims moving into the new year, with food and beverage brands also set to boost innovation to meet these demands.

Towards a green food system: Japan urges food industry cooperation after sluggish sustainability support

05-Oct-2022 By Pearly Neo

The Japanese government has called on local food businesses and producers to co-operate more closely with local authorities and basic regional sustainability plans so the national Green Food System Strategy will hit its 2030 and 2050 targets.

NutraChampion podcast episode 34

Innovation opportunity: Newly crowned NutraChampion sees huge scope to cater to Thailand’s ageing population

03-Oct-2022 By Tingmin Koe

Like several Asian countries, Thailand is experiencing a greying population. While interest in healthy ageing is high, the level of innovation for this category of products remains relatively low.

Weather the storm? Why Asia food MNCs could face major challenges in sustainable packaging conversion

26-Sep-2022 By Pearly Neo

Major food and beverage firms in Asia looking to make the transition to sustainable packaging have their work cut out, not only due to the widely-acknowledged climate challenges, but also hurdles in their current shelf life commitments and supply chain...

Going green: Flavour enhancement products need to be both ‘clean label and clean energy’ for China and Middle East

21-Sep-2022 By Pearly Neo

Flavour enhancement products today need to not only cater to consumers’ clean label demands, but also be made using clean energy if firms wish to capitalise on the current wellness and sustainability trends that are on the rise in the China and Middle...

Expanding exports: Japan eyes Vietnam as latest major hotspot for food products

21-Sep-2022 By Pearly Neo

Japan has set its sights on Vietnam as a potential major destination for its food exports and has set up a specialised export platform in the country to back existing and would-be traders.

Conscious costing: How Aussie supermarkets can tweak pricing, products and e-commerce strategies to tackle inflation

14-Sep-2022 By Pearly Neo

Major Australian supermarkets have been urged to refocus their pricing, product and e-commerce strategies to fulfil consumer demands for affordable products and convenient shopping, as inflation rockets.