Brands and suppliers need to innovate with speed and agility to meet the meet changing demands from APAC’s consumers amid the Covid-19 pandemic, an expert panel featuring a raft of top firms has concluded.
The Singapore firm behind a brand of low fat and low sugar ice cream is now turning its attention to reducing sugar levels in Asian condiment and sauces.
The Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association (SFMA) has launched a new Sugar Smart Challenge 2020, a year-long project which aims to develop and commercialised reduced sugar or sugar substitute ingredients as well as finished products.
Foods and beverages sweetened with miraculin, brazzein and curculin - proteins found in exotic fruits that can be produced far more efficiently via microbial fermentation - could hit the US market in less than two years, offering formulators intriguing...
Australia’s implementation of the revised Health Star Ratings (HSR) system is on track with a focus on sugar and sodium reduction via a new nutrient calculator, as well as plans for 70% of industry uptake, the Australian Department of Health has confirmed.
The China Food Tech Hub, which aims to forge close ties between MNCs and start-ups, is adding three new members to its consortium this year, including big names such as Nestle, Ajinomoto and Barilla’s Blu1877.
Snacking has evolved from being a convenient and comforting experience before Covid-19 to a more food conscious and healthy activity during the pandemic, two market experts claim.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority India (FSSAI) has announced that it will be retaining just one of three major quality parameters used to test honey pureness authenticity that were previously removed, whilst also putting the onus on syrup importers...
Many big food and beverage companies in Malaysia have made commitments to improve product and population nutrition, but researchers have found these to be ‘weak’, ‘non-specific’ and lacking in comprehensiveness.
China has revealed microbial contamination, excessive food additives and excessive drug residues to be the major food safety challenges that the country is facing, based on data from the government-administered 2019 National Food Safety Inspections.
Japanese seasoning giant Ajinomoto has developed a new nutrient scoring system to evaluate the nutritional value of its products and help support future product development.
The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has categorically denied all findings levelled against them by a government-led inquiry into the state of the nation’s sugar industry, which claimed they cheated both consumers and producers out of billions.
AI solutions to track and trace raw materials and ingredients will likely gather pace in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where supply chains were disrupted and many firms had to source supplies from alternative providers.
Volume sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have declined over the past 22 years in Australia by almost one-third despite the country's ongoing obesity problem, with industry leaders claiming this calls into question repeated calls for a sugar...
Investments in China’s eGrocery start-up sector continues to soar with funding reaching USD2.1 billion in 2019, a 25% increase from 2018, new data reveals.
The F&B industry in Malaysia has called for food businesses in all states nationwide to ‘concurrently resume’ as per the government’s recent loosening of COVID-19 related lockdown restrictions, but has hit a snag with seven of the nation’s 14 states...
Consumers in Saudi Arabia have drastically ramped-up their online purchases of food products in the the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, new data reveals.
Ingredion EMEA has launched its first polyol sweetener -- ERYSTA Erythritol – to enable manufacturers to reduce or replace sugar to achieve nutrition-related claims, such as ‘no added sugar’ or ‘calorie-reduced’, in multiple applications.
Ingredion will double the capacity at its Shandong modified starch facility by 2022, to tap into China’s growing hunger for innovative textures in foods.
The Ministry of Economy in UAE has stated that it has enough food to meet the needs of its citizens for at least six months, amidst concerns of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak which is showing no signs of slowing in the region.
The annual Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2019 published by The Economist Intelligence Unit, has revealed Qatar to be the number one nation for food security among 15 Middle Eastern and North African countries.
Pakistan has enforced an import tax on sugar entering the country, adding another layer of complexity to the country’s ongoing war between sugar cane farmers and sugar mills.
Sugar reduction has caught up to become just as important as price promotion in the eyes of Singaporean consumers when it comes to making beverage purchases, according to a new report from Nielsen.
Indonesia has relaxed the quality requirements for sugar entering the country to allow Indian supply in, as part of a barter exchange to secure palm oil export access to the latter and to deal with dwindling local supply.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Economy has revealed a new initiative to reduce the prices of 5,000 food and supermarket goods with discounts ranging between 25% to 60% as the Ramadan month draws near.
The Pakistani government aims to reduce the skyrocketing prices of basic food items in the country by reducing taxes, amidst an unsuccessful bid to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce its tax collection target.
Singapore has announced a colour-coded labelling scheme for pre-packaged sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) based on sugar content by volume – a move that has already drawn dissent from the local food and beverage industry.
Beverage giant Coca-Cola has experienced some delays in its artificial sweetener supply chain from China as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).
China-based sucralose manufacturer JK Sucralose is investing in a research institute and factory for its half-sugar project, which will be completed in the second half of 2020.
Food and beverage companies in Indonesia have cited government regulations as the major factor for reformulation, in a country where 28% of the adult population is overweight, 22% is obese, and 35% of deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease.
There is currently a “mismatch” between the amount of halal food imported into Malaysia and the quantity it exports that needs to be addressed, according to Jamil Bidin, the recently retired chief executive of the agency charged with promoting the country’s...
The government of Pakistan’s most-populated province, Punjab, is trying to halt the ongoing ‘sugar wars’ in the country between sugarcane millers and growers by raising the maximum penalty for illegal dealings by 10,000%.
Coca-Cola New Zealand have announced a goal to reduce the amount of sugar in its beverages by 20% by 2025, including Sprite, Fanta, Powerade, Kiwi Blue water, Pump, Keri Juice as well as its Coca-Cola range.
Many APAC governments have explored sugar taxes to some extent over the past few years, but experts now say that although on the surface these appear to have been effective in driving reformulation, consumer behaviour and not taxation is likely to be...
South Korea plans to focus on five major sectors within the local food industry and give these a ‘vitality boost’ as part of its 2030 target to double the value of the sector.
Three years after Singapore officially launched its War on Diabetes campaign, with the aim of ‘mobilising the whole nation’ to tackle the condition, we assess how the food and beverage industry has been a key ally in the battle.
We take a look at the five top trends that look set to shape the Asia Pacific food and beverage industry in 2020, from fortification to cell-based development to sustainability and more.
The bioactives from honey could help tackle obesity by curbing appetite and Malaysian researchers are now making a weight controlling dietary supplement on the back of their studies.
China has published a new list of products that can be accepted for organic certification, which has been enforced with immediate effect. A set of revised organic certification regulations is set to follow by January 1, 2020.
The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has announced tightened food labelling and advertisement standards in a move to strengthen the country’s Food Labelling and Advertising Act, with sugar and other ‘negative content’ claims receiving...
Demand for sustainably produced food products is increasing in the MEASA region (the Middle East, Africa and South Asia), especially in UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to emulsifier firm, Palsgaard.
The New Zealand government has finally responded to the country’s Food and Beverage Industry Taskforce on Addressing Factors Contributing to Obesity’s report and its list of 51 recommendations.
Australia and New Zealand ministers have opted to keep implementation of the Health Star Rating (HSR) system by F&B companies voluntary, although stricter guidelines for the governance of sugar, sodium and dairy will be enforced to ‘increase efficiency’.
The Philippines senate is advocating for the development of the country’s sugarcane industry instead of overall deregulation, in the wake of various setbacks that have battered the sector in recent months.
Asian consumers are moving towards chocolate snack foods that have a typically less sweet flavour profile and are more open to savoury flavours, with darker chocolate flavours proving most popular.
Consumer interest in sugar and calorie reduction is growing in the Middle East, but manufacturers are faced with the double challenge of maintaining sweetness and compensating for the loss of mouthfeel.