Safety First: Singapore insect-based food regulations, AI for safe food grading, South Korea antimicrobial animal exports and more feature in our round-up

No ‘new’ bugs: Singapore Food Agency emphasises food safety and labelling transparency in new Insect Regulatory Framework​

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has emphasised that its recent announcement to allow insect imports for human consumption is underscored by food safety and transparent labelling regulatory requirements to ensure smooth integration of this nascent sector.

SFA recently announced that it would be allowing the import of insects and insect products as a food ingredient into the country, specifically limiting this to a list of 16 insects species comprising a variety of crickets, locusts, mealworm larvae, moth larvae and honey bees.

The announcement drew widespread attention and was widely discussed on local social media platforms, including concerns over food safety as well as the unsavoury potential of having ‘worms served for dinner’ in hawker stalls.

AI vs humans: ProfilePrint diversifies into grading wet ingredients – seeks to assist, not replace staff​

AI-powered food fingerprint platform ProfilePrint has emphasised its complementary role to humans in ensuring quality and safety as it expands its portfolio to include wet ingredients including oils and alcohol.

Singapore-based food tech firm ProfilePrint takes on grading wet samples, says it requires humans to train its analyser and make decisions on ensuring food safety and quality.

The firm has seen much success with analysing the purity of dry ingredients​, with its technology not only obtaining digital fingerprints for tea but also for cocoa and coffee.

Expediting exports: South Korea eyes larger share of EU antimicrobial animal-based products market​

South Korea believes that its inclusion in the European Union’s list of antimicrobial-compliant markets will give it a leg up in securing a larger share of the animal-based products market as well as future trade negotiations.

The EU recently submitted its provisional list of foreign markets compliant with its new antimicrobial requirements for animal and animal-based product imports into the country to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as part of an ongoing WTO consultation which is open until August 27, 2024.

The new requirements are expected to come into effect on September 3 ,2026. By this time, all markets not named in this list will no longer be allowed to export products with animal content meant for human consumption into the EU.

Xylitol and sorbitol can help prevent tooth decay among children – latest findings​

Sugar substitutes xylitol and sorbitol can help prevent dental caries among children and adolescents, according to a new review of clinical trials.

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and the Ohio State University conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials involving children and adolescents. They found that low-intensity sugar substitutes like xylitol and sorbitol can prevent dental caries by influencing the adhesiveness and growth of bacteria on teeth.

“Results of the current study highlight that xylitol and sorbitol have been extensively researched, with evidence supporting their efficacy as self-applied caries preventive agents. This is attributed to their caries-preventive effects compared to other sugar alcohols or control substances,”​ said the researchers.

Feeding with GUSTO: New data indicates need for much better diet quality amongst Singapore children – Growth Asia Summit 2024​

New data from one of Singapore’s largest child-focused studies has indicated that there is ‘much room for improvement’ in the diet quality of children to prevent them suffering from negative health and cognition issues in the long run.

The Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study is one of the country’s largest and most in-depth focusing on how pregnancy and early childhood factors influence children’s health and development in later life.

The study has been covering over 1,200 pregnant women across the three major ethnic groups in Singapore since its inception, and has been observing and collecting data on the children since they were in utero until their current adolescence (14 to 15 years of age).

According to Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences Senior Research Fellow and GUSTO researcher Dr Jun Shi Lai, one of the main dietary observations made by the study has been a tendency for children to stick to unhealthy diets especially if started early on in life.