Policy Picks: Thailand alt-protein policies, South Korea new cultivated meat rules, EUDR analysis blasted by experts and more in our round-up

‘Clear direction’ needed: Thailand drafts new alt-protein policies that ban certain animal-related terms for plant-based products​

The Thai government has published draft regulations on governance over the alternative proteins industry starting with the plant-based sector, and has suggested banning certain animal-related terms but allowing others.

This announcement was made by the Thailand Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Division, which has also established a special project research team to analyse types of standards and criteria that the regulations need to cover for the greatest efficiency.

“At present, alternative protein products are seeing popularity amongst consumers and there are many such items on the market, but the control and supervision of the safety aspect of these in Thailand still has no clear direction,”​ the Thai FDA stated via a formal statement.

“We are embarking on a study of the current production and imports of alternative protein products in the country, and studying the related regulations [to apply this knowledge] in the development of regulations and standards in Thailand."​

South Korean cultivated meat: Food safety and public health to be top priority in upcoming new regulations​

The South Korean food authorities have highlighted that public health and potential food safety concerns will be its top priorities when developing the upcoming regulations to govern cultivated meat in the country.

The local Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has already published temporary standards dubbed the ‘Standards for Recognition of Temporary Standards and Specifications for Food, etc.’ which covers food ingredients coming from cell and microbial origins, including cultivated meat and seafood.

These standards include clarification of the scope and preparation instructions for the submission of food ingredients made using cell culture technologies and is currently still being finalised after receipt of public comments.

“MFDS is working to ensure the safety and competitiveness of cell-cultivated foods by developing detailed regulatory support that can benefit the industry,” ​MFDS Deputy Director Kim Yu-mi said via a formal statement.

Sustainability snag: Experts blast new EU-funded analysis touting ‘shortcomings’ in Malaysian palm oil certification scheme​

Palm oil industry experts have criticised a new EU-backed analysis that identified ‘shortcomings’ in Malaysia’s national sustainability certification scheme that prevent it from being fully accepted under the new EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR).

The gap analysis was funded by the EU and conducted by the European Forest Institute (EFI). Its findings were recently presented via an online forum conducted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), which FoodNavigator-Asia​ attended.

According to EFI Technical Expert Dr Josil Murray, the analysis had identified four major ‘information gaps’ in the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme, which covered areas across geolocation, deforestation-free, legal and traceability issues.

“For geolocation, at present polygon information in line with EUDR requirements is not available [and] are not in a format that can be transferred along the supply chain,”​ she told the floor.

Final order: Philippines formalises new regulations requiring food firms to declare ‘sample’ foods entering the market​

The Philippines Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formalised new regulations requiring food firms to obtain a new specific ‘Samples Only’ import permit for all products meant for research use after a year of deliberations.

The Philippines FDA first published its draft regulations​ and application requirements for the new specialised import permit in 2023 - After a year of deliberations, the agency has announced that the regulations have finally been finalised and gazetted.

“This issuance covers all [food companies including] manufacturers, importers, traders, and distributors that engage in the importation of food samples to be used for research and development purposes,”​ it emphasised via a formal statement.

“Examples of this will include plant trials, production trials, sensory evaluation, quality assurance and so on, as well as the testing of all unregistered processed food products and so on."​

Stopping single-use: Abu Dhabi to ban specific Styrofoam products from June 1​

Abu Dhabi is implementing a ban on various “avoidable” single-use Styrofoam consumer products, which will take effect from June 1, 2024.

This move is part of the Single-Use Plastic Policy initiated by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) in 2020.

Styrofoam is a type of lightweight, rigid foam plastic known as expanded polystyrene (EPS), which is widely used in packaging and for products such as disposable coffee cups.

Specifically, the banned products are cups, lids, plates, and beverage containers (including their caps and lids) that are made from EPS.