Australia-based Asian-style dumpling specialist firm Dumpling 100 has incorporated premiumisation and localisation trends into its decades-old traditional recipe to increase its appeal to consumers in the frozen food sector.
Employing the use of Codex standards is crucial to achieving consensus for food safety standards harmonisation within the South East Asian region, according to a food safety expert from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO).
South Korea has unveiled new rules for using recycled material to make food packaging in an attempt to ‘prevent harm to the public’, while simultaneously pushing towards its 2030 plastic waste reduction goals.
Japan has laid out regulations for the labelling of plant-based products, with observers suggesting they are industry-friendly and should not pose problems for brands.
The New Zealand government is under increased pressure to fix the country’s ‘broken’ supermarket system from both the food industry and consumer associations, both of which are demanding that the current duopoly be abolished and the market opened up in...
China has issued new, stricter packaging regulations covering food and cosmetics products to prevent what has been dubbed the ‘excessive packaging’ phenomenon, citing a need to prevent unnecessary extra costs to consumers and impacts on the environment.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has highlighted that nutrition has emerged as one of the most pressing post-COVID-19 challenges to overcome for member nations to hit the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
South Korea has announced new, tighter standards for food firms looking to label their products as being reduced or lower in sodium or sugar, starting with the nation’s most-consumed food product, ramen.
The Japanese government is searching for food firms and other institutions with the technology and insights to develop a regenerative food supply system for astronauts participating in the upcoming international space exploration program, the Artemis...
Japanese F&B giants Ajinomoto and Meiji have called for more harmonised food regulations planned in collaboration with the food industry address local malnutrition problems as well as ‘big gaps’ with international standards.
Taiwan has updated local food labelling laws to mandate the inclusion of specific information on the ‘minimum sales units’ of prepackaged foods, as well as added provisions to allow for the use of electronic labelling.
Indonesia’s representative palm oil body GAPKI is concerned that it may not be able to produce enough of the commodity this year, given that added demand is expected as economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
China has topped the charts for the levels of salt (sodium) in processed meat and fish products in a five-country study, followed by the USA, South Africa, Australia and the UK.
The New Zealand food and grocery industry has called for more restrictions to be placed on supermarkets’ private label products given the highly concentrated grocery retail market in the country, citing a potential ‘conflict of interest’ which could result...
Food and beverage brands with plans to expand or export into South East Asia should not be deterred by the region's current COVID-19 woes, as the rewards to be reaped for persistence will be worth the wait, according to experts.
The Chinese government has published formal food safety and consumption guidelines for products nearing their expiry dates, after a recently-implemented anti-food waste law increased sales.
The Thai food industry has seen growth in both the manufacturing and export sectors so far in 2021 after overcoming last year’s pandemic slump – but the authorities are urging domestic food firms not to drop their guard yet.
Asia’s aquaculture industry will need to focus on accelerating urbanisation and efficiency to continue to thrive as increasing environmental and disease challenges are threatening to decimate those left behind, according to an APEC expert.
The Australian food system is touted to be one of the safest in the world, but continued reports on major safety issues such as allergens and microbial contaminations are raising questions over whether more needs to be done to protect consumers.
The South Korean government has named domestic food and beverage manufacturing giants CJ Cheiljedang, Hite Jinro and Nongshim as the 2020 national top performers in terms of food production, whilst celebrating an overall increase in output amid COVID-19...
The Japanese government has revamped its national aquaculture strategy to focus on expanding seafood exports and boosting the productivity of select sectors such as shellfish and algae, after acknowledging that domestic demand will continue to drop.
The use of palm oil in the Asian food industry has become so vast and commonplace due to its versatile applications in just about every finished food sector that it will be near-impossible to find another edible oil offering all of palm oil’s functionalities,...
Australian online supermarket Geezy Go has big ambitions to reinvent local e-commerce in the country by committing to deliveries within 20 minutes or less, whilst also offering consumers the same product range as conventional supermarkets at more competitive...
Freight costs and marketing challenges have emerged as two of the most major trade hurdles for food firms exporting to the ASEAN market as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with businesses advised to be extra cautious when selecting on-the-ground distribution...
Foreign food companies looking to benefit from South Korea’s e-commerce boom are being advised to prioritise localisation to maximise reach, with the nation’s per capita online transactions having been revealed as the highest worldwide.
Consumers across the food and beverage landscape will simply walk away from brands that merely pay lip service to sustainability concerns, argues Fonterra’s APAC CEO, who believes that many are already ‘voting with their wallets’.
The battle over plant-based labelling in Australia is heating up with representatives from both the plant-based sector and the traditional meat sector coming up with their own research to prove their points.
From genomics to big data, and handheld devices to artificial intelligence, the food industry is awash with new innovations to improve food safety, as the sector seeks to assuage heightened consumer concerns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seafood multinational giant Thai Union is using the principles of forensic science to prevent food fraud, leveraging on DNA technologies to provide traceability and authentication for its seafood products.
Singapore-based Future Ready Food Safety Hub, known as FRESH, will focus on novel foods, aquaculture and agriculture to support the nation’s food security goals and meet the needs of consumers.
If the cultivated meat industry were to set the ambitious target of supplying 10% of the global meat market, how much product would be required? How many factories, containing how many bioreactors, would need to be built? And where?
Novel food product development is rapidly outpacing regulation and consumer understanding, with experts calling for better communication and policy advances to ensure innovation leads to commercialisation.
South Korea has expanded its key food export target destinations to include ‘New Northern’ countries such as Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan after seeing record-setting sales of both fresh and processed food exports take off in the region.
Australian consumers are not shifting to more healthy diets, even when it is cheaper to do so, with a lack of time and ‘unhealthy food promotions’ the two main obstacles.
Plant-based and meat hybrid products, healthy snacking in Asia, China's first plant-based yoghurt brand and more feature in this edition of Healthier Choices.
The New Zealand food and grocery industry has voiced its support for the potential entry of foreign supermarkets to break up the current local retail duopoly held by Foodstuffs and Countdown as suggested by a new Commerce Commission grocery sector report.
Listeria monocytogenes was most commonly detected in minced meat, fish fillet, sausage and raw milk, according to a test of 250 food samples collected from the Menoufiya governorate in Egypt.
Food and beverage manufacturing firms in the Middle East have been urged by a panel of experts to upgrade their digital capabilities post-haste in the wake of increased industry challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic or risk falling out of the...
The ASEAN-EU palm oil sustainability debate, Nestle Waters' new commitment, Australia's meat carbon neutrality and more feature in this edition of Sustainability Snippets.
Nestle Indonesia has responded to the recent controversy that 60% of its global portfolio is made up of ‘unhealthy’ foods, stressing that reformulation and fortification are key priorities as it seeks to balance ‘nutrition and enjoyment’.
Indian farm-to-fork startup Superplum is looking to expand its digitised cold chain logistics system to wine and other temperature-sensitive products after successfully making cross-country transportations of fruits previously not deliverable by land.
Better Meat Co is eyeing Asia as a major market to bring in a whole new category of hybrid, blended meat and plant-based products, citing superior health benefits and price parity as driving factors.
Australia needs to make policy and investment adjustments to prioritise new product development, sustainable packaging and digitalisation in the food and grocery manufacturing to secure growth – otherwise it faces stagnation or decline by 2030.
Singapore‘s The Aquaculture Group expects to harvest its first sea cucumbers (Holothuria scabra) later this year, a much-prized delicacy in Chinese cuisine which is endangered in the wild due to overfishing.
Product localisation, health, taste and affordability have been identified to be amongst the top drivers behind rapid innovation and sector growth for the plant-based industry in Asia, but sustainability must also not be forgotten as its importance continues...
The rapidly growing number of food firms emerging in the cultivated products space in China, along with imminent product launches, is expected to speed-up the regulatory process in the country, according to the national working group.
The average Chinese household spend on fruits, dairy and fish is growing at a faster rate than meat and poultry, according to a new report documenting China’s shifting dietary spending habits over two decades.
Japanese consumers and food firms have gained an increased appreciation for local food products and raw materials as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with many more looking to ‘support local’ although there are still multiple challenges to be overcome,...
Multiple South Korean ministries dealing with food, nutrition and education are seeking to reduce business and consumer confusion be establishing a one-stop information service platform to bring together relevant data currently ‘scattered’ across each...