Concerns that India faces a significant public health risk from counterfeiters making beverages featuring alcohol from hand sanitisers have been voiced by a trade association, which claims the problem is being aggravated by liquor shortages in the country.
AI solutions to track and trace raw materials and ingredients will likely gather pace in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where supply chains were disrupted and many firms had to source supplies from alternative providers.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, food and beverage adulteration has continued unhindered in Pakistan with authorities having had to seize and discard thousands of units of dairy, fruits, spices and other items despite continuing food supply fears...
Hong Kong plant-based manufacturer OmniFoods has seen retail grocery sales increase 120% between April 2019 to January 2020 as it pursues a twin strategy of increasing its presence in the supermarket aisles and foodservice outlets.
India’s food safety regulatory body Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has insisted that the public need not be concerned about food safety in the country despite a lack of laboratory staff to do food safety testing due to COVID-19 lockdowns...
In a 20-year analysis of reported food fraud in the beef supply chain, researchers have found counterfeiting to be the most common type of fraud. “By better understanding the fraud which is taking place, we can target fraud prevention, detection, and...
The food industry is awash with uncertainty right now – but two factors are abundantly clear; consumer expectations around food safety and quality will be heightened.
Almost 10% of grain-based foods labelled as ‘gluten-free’ and over 35% of those that do not contain gluten by nature in India have been found to be contaminated with it, some up to 90 times more than permitted levels.
Researchers in Australia have developed a series of rapid, reliable and highly sensitive DNA tests, which can identify the five most common Salmonella subtypes in the country in a matter of minutes - with potential for use in for the food industry as...
Fresh produce experts in Australia and New Zealand have denounced the merits of directly disinfecting fruits and vegetables as has been advocated via a viral video and mainstream news, calling this a ‘dangerous’ food safety hazard.
Researchers from Asia, the Middle East, and the West are now trialling omega-3, honey, and even potato resistant starch, on top of vitamins and zinc, as they race to find products that could contribute to the fight against COVID-19 and its symptoms.
Researchers at universities across the world have not found any link between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and dementia based on results from the world’s first ethnic-Chinese specific study.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has reported a 50% rise of food contamination cases in Australia by microbes leading to product recalls in 2019, despite a lower overall food recall rate.
India’s Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) is aiming to put a stop to false claims for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 by setting up a task force to evaluate products and practices.
Thailand’s food supply preparations to battle the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak have focused heavily on local food productivity, covering both agricultural products and processed foods.
Branded milk sold in the western Indian state of Maharashtra has seen a 5% increase in adulteration levels despite the implementation of stricter regulations, with 85% of all samples found to be tainted.
Salmonella is more frequently found in the Chinese pork production chain than in chicken, according to new research published by scientists in Chongqing.
Singapore’s national regulator for health products, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), has removed a significant number of product listings claiming to prevent or treat COVID-19 from local e-commerce platforms.
A new Singapore study claims to have disproved the ‘urban myth’ that an Asian diet is healthier than a Western one, especially in terms of saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol.
The Philippines is looking to study virgin coconut oil (VCO) as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) which has since infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,800 worldwide.
Researchers are pushing for India to focus on enhancing its production of crops other than rice, the country’s traditional staple, if it wishes to effectively address its triple threats of food security, climate change effects and malnutrition.
Nearly 75% of infant and children rice snack samples in Australia have been found to exceed the European Union (EU) maximum levels of inorganic arsenic levels.
Almost US$100,000 worth of well-known spreads were confiscated by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from two local Indian dairy firms for ‘zero cholesterol’ and ‘low cholesterol’ mislabelling violations.
India’s Ministry of AYUSH has attracted criticism from medical experts for suggesting alternative medicines, such as Ayurveda, homoeopathy, and unani practices, could act as immunity booster against the deadly novel coronavirus.
With the food adulteration situation in India showing no sign of slowing down, an authentication expert has argued that food packaging developments can help improve the situation and raise food safety levels in the country.
Japanese researchers have found a link between high household salt intakes and increased deaths due to various forms of cardiovascular disease, renewing calls for lower salt consumption and increased intake of healthier foods such as fruits, vegetables...
There is evidence to show that TCM products may alleviate age-related diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, but researchers are warning in certain cases adverse reactions might take place.
Over 25% of food samples in the Indian state of Haryana have been found to fail food quality tests conducted by the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) claiming they are getting better...
Distilled coconut liquor spiked with methanol in the Philippines was responsible for 11 deaths and caused illness in 300 more, reported national newspaper Phil Star.
New Zealand officials have called out several sales tactics that they claim have been employed by raw milk suppliers looking to get around legalisation costs as ‘not legal’, adding that they could pose a risk to human health.
The deadly bushfires raging across Australia are also posing serious food safety risks, officials have warned, while damaged transport links are also likley to lead to shortages of some fresh produce.
In this year-end round up of the top 10 stories relating to food safety and security this year, we recap food safety and security crises in Indian dairy and oil, a potential cancer-causing food additive, New Zealand food security and more.
In the wake of several controversial recent studies that have linked meat consumption with increased cancer risk, an equally contentious series of reviews have found there are very few health benefits to cutting out meat protein.
New research from Singapore has revealed significant rates of pork or lower-quality fish DNA in local seafood products, leading researchers to urge clearer food labelling guidelines and more stringent testing with better technology in the F&B industry.
Asian bakery product imports have been found to contain the highest number of undeclared allergens compared to other food and beverage products sold from the region, according to a new study.
Prospective fathers should cut down on drinking when couples try to conceive, according to a Chinese study that has linked paternal alcohol consumption to a higher chance of congenital heart disease.
While New Zealand has not yet approved the release of genetically modified crops, its agricultural research agency’s principle scientist has said it is important that the science keeps options open so policy makers have strong evidence to draw on.
Food products produced using genome editing technology could go on sale in Japan by the end of the year despite no specific labelling rules being in place.
China’s revised regulations of the Food Safety Law regulation has been enforced as of December 1, 2019, with a focus on priorities such as enhancing its law enforcement and emphasising the protection of consumers.
Japan has signed an agreement with Vietnam to provide financial assistance of some JPY1.204bn (US$11.1mn) to help the latter in upgrading and improving its food safety testing systems and facilities.
