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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
Getting the taste right in sodium-reduced food products remains the biggest barrier to overcome in reformulation efforts, according to industry experts.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Indonesia has decided to push ahead with plans to tighten regulations governing imported processed foods by introducing a risk-based assessment system.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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...
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.
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.
Food and beverage major CP Foods has identified the strengthening of its water management, food safety standards and healthy product innovation as key strategies to help the company with its business sustainability ambitions.