Seafood

China direct

Alibaba snares two US manufacturers in bid to attract more imports

26-Jun-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Chinese online retail giant Alibaba has announced a deal with Driscoll’s and Chicken of the Sea to bring American foods to the world’s largest consumer market.

Al Islami tops list of influential halal food companies

14-Jun-2017 By RJ Whitehead

A UAE company has been named the world’s leading halal food vendor in a new report on the global market for food acceptable to Muslims.

Australia

Abalone found to thrive on wine-waste diet

12-Jun-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Waste from the wine industry is being developed into aquaculture feed with highly promising results.

UAE fish safety scare was nothing more than rumours

31-May-2017 By RJ Whitehead

A senior government official has brushed off suggestions that fish and shellfish captured in UAE waters have been affected by pollution and unsafe for consumption.

Dispatches from Food Integrity in Parma

Food Integrity: China consumer view and impact in fish industry

23-May-2017 By Joseph James Whitworth

Results from DNA barcoding of fish from across Europe and Chinese attitudes to food fraud were revealed during the Food Integrity conference last month.

Asia-Pacific expected to bank 70% of global seafood sales

16-May-2017 By RJ Whitehead

China now accounts for some 35% of global seafood production, while the wider Asia-Pacific region will account for more than two-thirds of the world’s demand by 2030, according to a new report on the segment.

Omega-3 and perinatal depression: Nutritional strategies can help combat “under effective” treatment

10-May-2017 By Gary Scattergood

The crucial role of omega-3 in helping to tackle pre and post-natal depression has been underlined by a new meta-analysis, which also found such cases of depression were associated with a higher omega-6/omega-3 ratio.

Australia

Lab-made seaweed and lobster shell jelly may soon be a lunchbox staple

09-May-2017 By RJ Whitehead

A jelly snack made in a lab from seaweed and lobster shell and designed as an alternative to dairy products is gearing up for a launch early next year.

Global campaign marks the return of the Australian kingfish

04-May-2017 By RJ Whitehead

The world’s biggest full-cycle commercial kingfish producer is preparing to launch a global campaign to introduce the fish typically used in sashimi to a broader market.

VIDEO: From earthquakes to sourcing strife - the challenges to open the world’s newest omega-3 fish oil refinery

10-Apr-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Omega-3 fish oil supplier SeaDragon overcame a raft of challenges to open the world's newest refinery, with the firm now hopeful it can start recouping some of its NZ$11m investment.

Australia gets unified peak seafood body

27-Mar-2017 By RJ Whitehead

The formation of a single national peak body for Australia’s A$2.8bn (US$3.5bn) seafood industry has been completed with the appointment of the inaugural board.

FOODEX JAPAN 2017

Japan halal: Manufacturers urged to boost shelf life to cash-in on Middle East exports

13-Mar-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Increasing the shelf life of halal products is the single factor that could help Japanese firms boost sales to the Middle East, and in turn help meet the government’s 1 trillion yen target for food exports by 2019.

FOODEX JAPAN 2017

Taiwan tempted to look at new trade deals to boost Japan exports

09-Mar-2017 By Gary Scattergood

The leader of Taiwan’s delegation to FoodEx Japan says there is still scope for more exports to the country’s second largest trading partner, while the agriculture minister has left the door open for new trade agreements between the two nations.

Special Edition: Asia Pacific Feed Developments

Indian shrimp production to benefit from rebalancing of global seafood supply and demand: Rabobank

01-Mar-2017 By Jane Byrne

India’s shrimp exports could benefit as China’s dominance as a seafood exporter is set to gradually diminish, says Rabobank.

De Heus moves into Egyptian fish feed business

17-Feb-2017 By Jane Byrne

Growing demand for fish feed in Egypt sees a joint venture involving Dutch feed group, De Heus, open its first fish feed factory in that country.

Singapore chain to roll out 100 cooked-crab vending machines by March

08-Feb-2017 By RJ Whitehead

A chain of seafood restaurants in Singapore has opened what appears to be the world’s first cooked-crab vending machine, which come piping hot in three flavours and vacuum sealed in under six minutes.

Oysters behind norovirus outbreak in New Zealand

07-Feb-2017 By Joseph James Whitworth

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in New Zealand has warned people not to eat certain brands of chilled oysters as they may be contaminated with norovirus.

Sustainability group seeks to mobilise Asian shrimp industry

17-Jan-2017 By Aerin Einstein-Curtis

New protocols aim to reform shrimp aquaculture, address feed ingredient use, says consultant.

Asian mothers on a ‘seafood-noodle’ diet at reduced risk of gestational diabetes: Study

03-Jan-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Researchers have demonstrated a significant association between a seafood and noodle-based dietary pattern and the reduced likelihood of gestational diabetes.

China

SIAF aquaculture offshoot given green light to expand with $36m loan

06-Dec-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Chinese protein investment major Sino Agro Food Industries’ fisheries subsidiary has been approved for a CNY250m (US$36.3m) loan to expand its operations.

Australian team discover methane busting seaweed

11-Nov-2016 By Jane Byrne

Seaweed can reduce methane emissions in cattle dramatically, found the team behind an Australian research project.

Look out Japan, scientists are cultivating Norwegian nori in the lab

04-Nov-2016 By Gary Scattergood

Japan’s billion dollar nori industry, which produces 350,000 tonnes of edible and nutraceutical seaweed lauded for a multitude of beneficial health effects, could have a new competitor…Norway.

TPP will undermine seafood safety - Food & Water Watch

02-Nov-2016 By Joseph James Whitworth

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will undermine seafood safety in the US, according to Food & Water Watch.

Omega-3 PUFAs could aid Alzheimer’s fight by boosting glymphatic system: Macau mouse study

28-Oct-2016 By Gary Scattergood

New research from Macau suggests that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids could improve the function of the glymphatic system, which facilitates the clearance of waste from the brain.

Australia

Businesses invited to gain from lobster production breakthrough

27-Oct-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Australian companies are being offered the opportunity to collaborate with the University of Tasmania to scale-up and commercialise its rock lobster aquaculture systems and related technologies.

This week Down Under

Shucking breakthrough opens door to Asia for Australian oysters

12-Oct-2016 By RJ Whitehead

A new method to make oysters easier to open, and last longer, is being developed in South Australia.

Oman looks to agriculture and fisheries as a means to import less

05-Oct-2016 By Richard Whitehead

Oman’s government might soon turn to agriculture and fisheries as part of its bid to reduce the country’s reliance on food imports.

Thai Union pays $46m for final stake in Tri-Union Frozen Products

04-Oct-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Thailand’s seafood producer Thai Union has bought out the remaining 18% stake in its US subsidiary Tri-Union Frozen Products (TUFP) for a fee of over $46m.

China

Market update: Fishmeal prices fall as season end nears

04-Oct-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Chinese fishmeal prices have fallen by 9% in the last month due to a decline in domestic demand as the summer season for aquaculture approaches an end.

Multiple lysine forms support growth, production of catfish, Nile tilapia

16-Sep-2016 By Aerin Einstein-Curtis

Channel catfish and Nile tilapia diets provide platform for comparing forms of lysine used in feed, say researchers.

‘$2 trillion prize' for meeting global nutrition and sustainability needs

15-Sep-2016 By Gary Scattergood

The food industry needs to stop looking at challenges such as obesity, malnutrition and waste as costly challenges and see them as the opportunities for creating “$2 trillion of added value” as it strives to increase global production by 70% before 2050.

India’s omega-3 deficiency a potential ‘public health crisis’

23-Aug-2016 By Gary Scattergood

India’s “shockingly low” level of EPA and DHA intake is storing up a potential health crisis, especially because life expectancy and therefore the rate of chronic illness is forecast to rise considerably over the coming decades.

Wheat, feed wheat exports from the US to continue after GMO scare for Korea, Japan

12-Aug-2016 By Aerin Einstein-Curtis

Wheat exports to Korea have resumed after testing confirmed an absence of biotech wheat in supplies from the US.

Vizag lab is opportunity to improve South Asian footprint - TÜV SÜD

02-Aug-2016 By Joseph James Whitworth

A TÜV SÜD food testing lab in India has been accredited for three years.

Malaysian certifier to help with upgrade at 100 Egyptian fish farms

20-Jul-2016 By RJ Whitehead

WorldFish has appointed Intertek as its quality partner as the international aquaculture researcher assists with upgrading production at some 100 fish farms in Egypt.

Australia

Prawn sperm secrets could free aquaculture from brood stock reliance

30-Jun-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Discovering the secrets of how one of the world’s most popular prawn species produces sperm and transfers it to create the next generation could help free aquaculture from reliance on brood stock from the wild.

Farmed shrimp can thrive on soy and canola meal blend: Malaysian team

14-Jun-2016 By Aerin Einstein-Curtis

A vegetable-based diet protects shrimp growth and feed utilization, say researchers.

PFP mulls Malaysia for new seafood processing plant

26-May-2016 By RJ Whitehead

PFP Group, a major Thai frozen-seafood processor, expects to open a halal food factory in Malaysia after it concludes negotiations with an unnamed local partner.

Chinese scallop prices soar after EU lifts import ban

10-May-2016 By RJ Whitehead

News that the European Union has ended a 19-year ban on imported Chinese scallops buoyed prices by 23% in April.

Report: Almost all Vietnamese cattle and seafood farms use antibiotics

21-Apr-2016 By RJ Whitehead

A staggering number of cattle seafood farms across large areas of Vietnam have been found to feed their stock antibiotics, the country’s animal welfare authority has found.

Chinese corporation invests in microalgae research in South Australia

30-Mar-2016 By RJ Whitehead

A global Chinese agribusiness group will work with Australian academics to expand a microalgae and marine bioproduct development centre in Adelaide.

Feature

Seafood capital rides high on tuna's back

23-Mar-2016 By By Catherine Norwood

The small South Australian fishing town of Port Lincoln has boat loads of evidence to support its claim as the seafood capital of Australia.

Apac must provide the thrust in eradicating global poverty

21-Mar-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Asia-Pacific has the potential to lead the world in the complete eradication of poverty and hunger, according to the head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.