The New Zealand baking industry has said it will move towards a voluntary fortification of some breads with folic acid as the government is expected to delay plans for mandatory fortification.
The mandatory fortification of bread with folic acid in New Zealand is likely to be delayed for another three years, following heated debate over the risks and benefits of adding the synthetic B vitamin to bread.
A New Zealand company has applied to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) for novel foods approval to market its honeybee venom to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis.
Australian bakers have until October 9 to replace all regular salt with iodised salt when making bread products, as the Australian government attempts address an iodine deficiency that has been noticed among sections of the country’s 22 million inhabitants.
The Singapore Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) has approved five nutrient and product-specific health claims that can now bear a ‘Healthier Choice’ symbol.
While analyst suggests Asian food and drink companies are behind their Western counterparts in driving product innovation, manufacturers in the region may still be able to lead in way in meeting western demand for certain functional goods.
Coca-Cola South Pacific has applied to the joint regulator in Australia and New Zealand to allow phytosterols to be added to fruit juice drinks in the two countries.
Finnish group Raisio has won a hard-to-come-by approval for its Benecol cholesterol lowering plant stanol ester ingredients in China, as it continues its push to develop new markets.
Canadian probiotics supplier, Lallemand, has responded to the growing wealth and interest in healthy foods in China by formalising an existing probiotics-based partnership with a Chinese nutrition company.
New Zealand dairy and dairy ingredients giant, Fonterra, has launched its high-calcium dairy drink, Anlene Concentrate in Malaysia, after an encouraging year on the market in Thailand.
French supplier Fytexia has launched three specialty ingredients on
the Chinese market in a bid to tap into the growing numbers
consuming food supplements in the world's fastest growing economy.
Bakers in New Zealand will now by law have to fortify
bread products with iodine, as regulators in the country attempt to
boost consumption of the essential nutrient.
Dairy and ingredients firm Friesland Foods Kievit has constructed a
new drying plant in Indonesia for producing encapsulated
products to expand the group's portfolio in the wider Asian region.
Cholesterol-lowering margarines are set to be joined by
cholesterol-lowering milks, yoghurts and cereals as Australia and
New Zealand's food authority finally approves the new categories.
Bakeries in Australia and New Zealand may be required to use only
iodised salt in the future, if a proposal from the countries' food
regulator is approved.
Australian baker George Weston Foods says government plans to
require all bread to be fortified with folic acid are based on
inadequate science and should not be brought into law.
Enzymotec, the Israeli company which develops lipid-based
ingredients for the nutraceuticals and functional foods markets, is
hoping to take advantage of a perceived demand for healthy cooking
oils in the Asia Pacific region.