The irresponsible inclusion of prominent labels on food and beverage products to capitalise on current dietary trends and fads can pose immense health risks to consumers, especially if not backed up by proper research and data.
China has published new draft regulations for wine labelling standards in the country, with an emphasis on protecting domestic firms’ trade and formulation secrets while maintaining strict food safety standards.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has made it mandatory for infant and follow-up formula sold in the market to be printed with a new logo from January 2025.
The New Zealand food and grocery sector says that clearer on-pack labelling denoting packaging recyclability is crucial if the government’s latest eco initiatives are to succeed.
Food and beverage manufacturers in the Middle East have been urged to stop toeing the line in terms of making any off-pack claims for their products, given increasing awareness and warnings raised by governments in the region.
The Japanese government has drafted a new set of labelling guidelines specifically targeted at regulating foods and beverages sold online, with emphasis on the displaying of expiration dates and food allergens.
Japanese firms will gradually introduce a new voluntary net alcohol labelling scheme to avoid cost and environmental impacts, according to beer giant Kirin.
Australia’s plant-based sector is seeing red over recommendations from senators to restrict the use of traditional animal product terms on packs, and there could be further policy woes for firms in the cultured meat space.
Consumers tend to be more accepting of biocide labelling on dairy beverages if the term ‘environmentally friendly’ is also used on the packaging, according to researchers in China and New Zealand.
Japan has announced stricter labelling regulations for soybean milk and other soy-related beverages with the aim of preventing fraudulent or exaggerated claims and ensure fair competition between brands in the very competitive local market.
Malaysian big brands' recycling alliance, Vietnam eco-straw brand, sustainability-driven innovation and more feature in this edition of Packaging Happenings.
Manufacturers of ‘solid beverages’ will need to follow a set of new rules, such as changing their product labels, to prevent consumers from confusing them as health foods or infant formula, said the Chinese authorities.
Japan has urged all local food and beverage brands to ensure that processes are in place to transition to new origin of raw material rules, in order to keep operations running smoothly and avoid ‘disturbances’.
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.
A new Australian government report on imported food inspections has revealed that nutritional label errors are the most common issue found amongst foods entering the country, showing a worrying leap year-on-year.
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.
The Australian government’s public inquiry into plant-based product labelling has drawn heated debate over the use of terms and livestock images linked to traditional animal meat.
Singapore’s beverage sector is seeking increased industry engagement and a more holistic approach to sugar reduction, after the government opened public consultations for its proposed ‘Nutri-Grade’ sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) labelling scheme.
Japanese brewery giants Asahi and Kirin are reacting cautiously to the government’s push to include alcoholic content by gramme on product labels, though both will be implementing changes which experts believe will be emulated by the rest of the industry...
South Korea is making upgrades to its mandatory on-pack recycling symbols for food and beverage packaging as it seeks to enhance waste ‘self maintenance’ – not least because several countries have blocked imports of rubbish.
Japan has updated its nutrition labelling rules to both reflect the quality as well as the quantity of carbohydrates present in processed foods, and also better reflect the calculation of calories being consumed per serving.
Australia’s food industry has cautioned regulators not to impose new rules for Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) for food products, with the nation’s trade body citing cost and compliance concerns from its members.
Researchers in Australia have called for more stringent food allergen labelling regulations after recent data revealed that the lack of warning labels poses a bigger risk for consumers than cross-contamination during food processing.
Japan has temporarily relaxed its traditionally strict food labelling regulations to help accommodate food manufacturing firms that need to make adjustments to production processes or raw materials in their production chains as a result of the COVID-19...
South Korea has released a new 10-step nutrition labelling guidelines document to address challenges faced by food businesses in correctly labelling food and beverage items, in the hopes of increasing industry compliance to standards and regulations.
Many big F&B brands in India have been making the shift towards the responsible labelling of products, but this is still lacking in smaller local companies – a situation that might be helped by implementing better and stricter labels and regulations,...
Singapore is set to introduce mandatory colour-coded front-of-pack nutrition label and ban advertising for pre-packaged sugar sweetened beverages (SSB), a move that has caused the industry to voice doubts, while health policy experts have welcomed the...
One-in-five food products in Japan are still not compliant with the country’s new food labelling standards, with time rapidly running out for manufacturers to make the changes.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has ordered for the postponement of yet another food-related regulation implementation, this time surrounding the labelling of wheat flour.
A food fraud and labelling expert has criticised Australia’s ‘kangaroo in a triangle’ country-of-origin labels of making it easier for food fraud to take place, especially in international settings.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) says it has begun framing regulations for genetically-modified (GM) food, shortly after being accused of failing to restrict the import of such items.
Australia’s new Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) rules are now fully in force, with regulators set to embark on 10,000 spot checks to ensure adherence.
The Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced that health warnings may soon be placed on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), within the next one to two months.
