Chemical concerns: Indonesia revising food packaging regulations in response to public apprehension
The Indonesian government has revised food packaging regulations in response to consumer and academic concerns over the presence of dangerous chemicals entering the food supply chain.
Indonesia has conducted multiple revisions to local policies governing food packaging over the past decade, but as of 2023 no specific regulations were in place regarding certain harmful chemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), more commonly known as the ‘Forever Chemicals’ due to their slow degradation rate.
A great deal of scientific evidence has already linked PFAS exposure to an array of health issues from cancer, cardiovascular disease, infertility, elevated blood pressure and more.
The local Agency for Food and Drug Control (BPOM) released draft regulations for food packaging to handle this situation.
“This regulation will cover all food packaging materials including plastic, rubber and elastomer, paper and cartons, ceramic, glass, metal and composites, and multilayered packaging,” BPOM Head Rizka Andalucia stated via a formal statement.
“Food and beverage firms will [need to pay strict attention] to the materials used and the migration rates of chemicals from packaging to the food products in order to ensure there are no chemicals with a dangerous or hazardous impact to health.”
Turning threat into opportunity: How Cargill is navigating the global cocoa crisis
Cargill has leveraged its cocoa-sourcing networks in Asia and other business units to support customers in overcoming the cocoa supply shortage, and ensure consumers continue to have access to chocolate products.
According to the International Cocoa Organization, global cocoa supply were projected to decline by nearly 11% to 4.449m tonnes in the 2023-2024 season, compared with 2022-23.
Consequently, cocoa prices hit record highs earlier this year, warranting action from confectionery manufacturers and chocolate makers.
In the face of this crisis, Cargill drew on its extensive cocoa sourcing networks and innovation expertise to help customers address current challenges, and ensure consumers still get to enjoy chocolate products.
“Cocoa supply is indeed a pressing issue for the industry. Cargill is a bean-to-bar solutions provider, which means that we have the capabilities to innovate along every step of the value chain, from sourcing of raw materials to product customisation and solutions provision. For example, we are able to provide Asian-sourced cocoa products as we source globally.
“Right now, we are actively reaching out to our customers to see if they need support in managing this situation, such as sourcing, alternative recipes and product trials. We are able to tailor-make cocoa powder for a certain flavour and colour, and combine different ingredients to create new solutions or replacements,” Xiaoling Liu, Indulgence Leader, Food Solutions Asia Pacific at Cargill, told FoodNavigator-Asia.
Antibiotic misuse in Asian food animal production poses grave public health threat: Indian study
The misuse of antibiotics in food animal production in Asia has been found to pose a serious danger to public health in the region, according to researchers in India.
In a comprehensive study spanning the period of 2011 to 2020, researchers at the Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Punjab noted the alarming rise of antibiotic resistance and its potential transmission to humans through the food chain.
They also shed light on the pervasive use of critically important antibiotics in food animal production across Asia, as well as how limited surveillance and regulatory controls had amplified concerns over antibiotic resistance.
The study encompassed 11 WHO member countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
Results from the review of 108 selected publications revealed a staggering 1,126 scientific publications on antibiotic use in food animals, wherein the study identified a concerning trend of antibiotic misuse in livestock, poultry and aquaculture.
Such practices have raised critical food safety concerns, as the development of resistant microflora in animal-derived products poses a direct risk to human health.
Labelling transformations: Thailand stresses science and safety for new nutritional labels and health claims rules
Thailand has implemented nutritional labelling policies for the food industry, with the authorities also issuing more stringent ‘science-based’ guidelines for on-pack health claims.
Various South East Asian markets from Vietnam to the Philippines were in the headlines over the past year for making upgrades to policies and guidelines to improve on-pack nutritional labels for foods and beverages.
Thailand also joined this list having gazetted a slew of regulatory decrees in January 2024 governing how food and beverages must display nutritional labels on product packaging.
“[The regulations as outlined in] this notification shall come into force after 180 days from its publication in the Government Gazette – so enforcement will start on [July 2 2024],” local Minister of Public Health Cholnan Srikaew said via a formal statement.
“All food and beverage products will then need to carry nutrition labelling in compliance with the format and provisions of displaying of nutrition information [as per the] Ministry of Public Health guidelines.
“Food products [manufactured] with labels compliant to previous regulations can still be sold, but the time limit given is not more than three years from the date of these regulations come into force - After this period, the nutrition labelling of all products must be displayed according to these new guidelines.”
Animal alerts: South Korea tightens food safety requirements for animal-based food product imports
The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has implemented stricter food safety requirements when importing animal-based products into the country.
South Korea already has a strict food safety process in place for livestock product imports that requires specific export certification, which MFDS announced would be expanded to cover animal-based foods in order to ensure hygiene and safety requirements were met.
“MFDS has expanded the import hygiene evaluation system that is currently applied to livestock products to also include animal-based foods,” MFDS Minister Oh Yoo-kyung said via a formal statement.
“This will ensure that food safety is pre-verified starting at the country of origin before import, via a total of six stages of evaluation procedures where the Korean government will evaluate the food safety management status of the exporting country before deciding whether to allow imports.
“This means that food manufacturers producing and exporting processed animal-based products such as pork cutlets, chicken tenders, chicken skewers and so on will need to comply, including those with lower meat content below 50%.”
The amendment to import requirements put the onus on the exporter markets to ensure that food safety standards would be met for these products.
Stricter and safer: China proposes new pre-packaged labelling standards mandating clearer ingredient and origin information
The Chinese government’s draft regulations governing the labelling of pre-packaged foods and beverages contained stricter guidelines, including mandating manufacturers to include clearer information on compound ingredients as well as more country of origin detail.
“The National Food Safety Standards Review Committee Secretariat has drafted [a set of new food safety standards] concerning regulations for the labelling of pre-packaged foods in China,” the local National Health Commission (NHC) stated via a formal statement.
“This is in line with the local Food Safety Law, and we are currently soliciting public comment for this draft – all members of the food industry and the public can login to the National Food Safety Standards Management Information System online to submit feedback before February 29 2024.”
Among the crucial updates in the new draft regulations included a much stricter outlook on the naming of ingredients as well as the country of origin.
“All food and beverage firms that use compound ingredients must now [break these down] on the label and display each individual original ingredient separately in the ingredients list,” the draft regulations stated.
“Combinations of ingredients will no longer be allowed as [the final item] in the ingredients list in order to better ensure consumers are properly informed and also to facilitate supervision.”
Plain and safe: New Zealand launches new industry food allergen labelling guidebook and checklists
The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) launched a new food allergen labelling guidebook targeted at food and beverage manufacturers, importers and retailers to ease companies into regulatory requirements enforced starting this year.
New requirements for the labelling of food allergens on related products came into force on February 25 2024 by order of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) after nearly two-decade long reviews and assessments into the subject since 2006.
The regulations were developed under the FSANZ Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) proposal, and mandated all related food firms to declare any potential allergen information in a specific format and location on food labels, and using simple, plain English terms in bold font.
“These are crucial changes to help people find allergen information on food labels more quickly and easily, so they can make informed and safe food choices,” FSANZ told us.
“Our assessment had regard to best available scientific evidence, stakeholder views, and costs and benefits [and] as part of this work, FSANZ undertook a literature review, safety assessment and two rounds of public consultation.”
Food and beverage firms in Australia and New Zealand were given two years to make the transition until February 25 2026.
South Korean cultivated meat: Food safety and public health to be top priority in upcoming new regulations
The South Korean food authorities 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 covered food ingredients coming from cell and microbial origins, including cultivated meat and seafood.
These standards included clarification of the scope and preparation instructions for the submission of food ingredients made using cell culture technologies.
“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.
“That said, it is always difficult for novel foods to gain a standing in the local South Korean market – in this sort of situation, gaining consumer trust is the most important factor.
“As such, we will work together with the industry, and ensure that the development of these novel foods are of excellent quality and guaranteed safety before being provided to the public.
“For all such novel technologies in the food sector, public health and safety is the main priority and MFDS will ensure these are incorporated well into local food safety policies.”
Healthier horizons: Sugar reduction and allergen aversion amongst major APAC demands in functional beverage sector
The Asia Pacific functional beverage industry has been increasingly seeing consumer demands for sugar reduction, label transparency and allergen aversion becoming commonplace.
Just a few years back, beverages with the likes of less-sugar and clean labels were considered more ‘in-trend’ demands by the food and beverage sector – but today, these have become much more as consumers have grown to expect these to be fulfilled in their purchases
This is particularly so when it comes to healthier product options such as functional beverages.
“So while functional beverages are definitely very much in demand now due to the health benefits e.g. 70% of the market needing immune support and gut health support, there are some aspects that have grown to be key in this market,” Tummy Buddies Co-Founder Rita Sellars told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“One of these is sugar reduction, which we definitely see a growth in demand for in markets such as Australia where this is a big concern due to childhood obesity.
“We are seeing multiple incentives in multiple countries to have sugar-free products or put a label on products with normal amounts of sugar, which shows just how important this issue is to many governments and consumers.
“The other area is in terms of labelling transparency with more consumers becoming aware about the importance of reading and understanding nutrition labels – there has been a huge movement towards this, and especially so amongst parents buying beverages for their children, so they can easily read and understand what’s in these products.”
Sellars also highlighted the importance of allergen aversion when it comes to functional beverages in APAC, especially in terms of lactose allergies and intolerances due to the high rates of these issues in the region.
Tracing rice fortification: India orders firms to adopt traceability application to prevent adulteration
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered all manufacturing firms of fortified rice to integrate a new national traceability application into their operations earlier this year, in order to prevent adulteration of the final product.
India has mandated the fortification of various food staples progressively since 2019 in an effort to reduce malnutrition in the country, with rice being a key target for iron, vitamin B9 and vitamin B12 fortification.
But adulteration has been rife, not least because it costs more to manufacture such products - Adulteration here pertains more to cases of false or fraudulent claims being made regarding the fortification content of the rice e.g. the iron content not being added in sufficient amounts to meet mandatory standards, and not to the presence of unsafe substances in the rice.
In order to nip these issues in the bud, FSSAI ordered all relevant rice producers to integrate the Fortified Rice Traceability (FoRTrace) Application into their operations, having made this a core part of the national Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS).
“All manufacturers of the [fortified] Premix of Food Rice Kernels (FRK) and FRK itself must upload lab test reports of every batch of their production on FoSCoS along with the declaration of the source of iron and the blending ratio,” FSSAI Regulatory Compliance Division Director Rakesh Kumar said via a formal statement.
“We recognise that there are inherent complexities in rice fortification involving multiple stakeholders and issues related to transparency, quality control and traceability [so have] seamlessly integrated the FoRTrace application with the FoSCoS.
“This application aims to unite the diverse stakeholders engaged in rice fortification onto a single platform and foster transparency in record-keeping regarding production, raw materials and sales to enable end-to-end traceability within the value chain.”
Fortified rice producers have also been required to maintain daily records of their production, raw material utilisation and sales as well as ensure Clean-In-Place systems for regular cleaning of their machines and equipment where necessary, as part of their conditions of licensing.
