An alliance of Australian trade associations has welcomed the findings of a Council of Australian Governments (Coag) report that recommends the introduction of an industry-led national recycling and anti-litter programme, while rejecting an “unaffordable”...
The World Food Programme (WFP) has restarted its support for 1.7m Syrian refugees following a US$52m donation from Saudi Arabia, along with funds from other governments and donors.
All parties in the poultry supply chain, including feed producers, need to assess how they can help limit avian flu outbreaks, with no certainties about whether the spread of the disease will be checked in the coming weeks, says an industry specialist.
The methods of Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council have been panned after expert opinion branded its review of evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy as “shoddy” and “fatally flawed” prior to its publication.
Having assured consumers that food derived from a genetically modified corn strain poses no health concerns, the antipodean food regulator is now calling on the public and industry to voice their opinions on whether it should be permitted for consumption...
New Zealand baby food contains nearly 800 times more pesticides than baby food in Europe, according to an analysis of government data, food safety groups have highlighted.
About one-third of children are now overweight or obese in New Zealand and public pressure is needed to change food and health policies to counter this, according to researchers at in Auckland.
After an 11-month manhunt, Chinese police have arrested 27 people suspected of being part of a smuggling ring that would bring beef into China at a time when BSE fears surrounded its source.
Food manufacturers and palm oil producers could have a legal case against companies labelling products ‘palm oil free’, according to Paris-based lawyer Anne Bourdu.
The US Natural Products Association has joined industry body the US-China Health Products Association in calling Chinese food regulators to change their definition of dietary health supplements to give importers clearer access to the market.
A critical new understanding of the disease cycle of a wheat virus will help farmers around the world protect their wheat crops from a devastating disease and major yield losses.
Changes to European labelling laws meaning the specific source of vegetable oil must be declared on pack could drive more food manufacturers to certified sustainable palm oil, according to one grower.
Overweight and obese people experience many more episodes of being stigmatised in their everyday lives than has until now been realised, with most suffering almost daily negative treatment, a study led by the University of New South Wales shows.
The Infant Nutrition Council (INC) has asked the New Zealand Commerce Commission to grant it the authority to restrict the infant formula marketing practices of its members.
Showing a renewed focus on the fisheries sector, India’s government is preparing to launch its “blue revolution” programme as a means to revitalise the industry.
European honey bee colonies wiped out and an invasion of a devastating wheat disease are just two of the potential biosecurity threats facing Australia, according to a report released by Australia’s research agency.
A gigantic blue spoon has been unveiled at the International Conference on Nutrition in Rome this week that will be the symbol of the United Nations at the Expo 2015 in Milan next year.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have partnered to raise awareness on sustainable palm oil and strengthen frameworks like that for complaints on compliance.
Researchers in Queensland have been toasting the prehistoric viruses that they’ve found are partly responsible for the genetic make-up of modern-day grapes.
The antipodean food regulator is assessing the measures being taken by food companies to make sure that chemicals from packaging do not contaminate foods.
China’s food and drug regulators have embarked on modernising the country’s health food industry by releasing two draft documents covering nutritional supplements to form a new category within the country’s fast-evolving regulatory framework.
Analysis released today shows that nearly three-quarters of global companies see risks associated with sourcing commodities that are linked to deforestation.
A project conceived over 60 years by Mao Zedong is coming to life as China embarks on a water diversion project to help ease the drought that has been plaguing its northern regions and increase grain input.
Australia complementary health under the spotlight
A year ago, the then newly installed chief executive of what was known as the Complementary Healthcare Council of Australia (CHC) urged health authorities to move from an illness model to a wellness model.
Australian complementary health under the spotlight
After years of calling for changes in Australia’s supremely tight regulatory framework, Australian complementary medicine manufacturers might just get some of the things they’ve been asking for, even if the process will only be a “quiet revolution”, according...
China has lifted its ban on the import of Fonterra two infant formula ingredients, more than a year after it was implemented in the midst of the 2013 botulism scare.
Speaking at the complementary medicines industry’s national conference Sydney, the chief executive of Complementary Medicines Australia welcomed a report by Frost & Sullivan to show a robust link between some complementary medicines with the reduced...
An entomological discovery should lead to the easing of some international trade restrictions, according to the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations.
Hit by a succession of high-profile recent scandals involving industrial oil used in food processing, Taiwan’s government has launched a food safety office as a means to quell public outrage and tighten control of the industry.
Australasia’s food regulator has released a consultation paper on the back of calls by an Australian food industry body for the start date for new dietary fibre content claims to be delayed.
Fruit and vegetables have been identified as a vital key to mental well-being by researchers in Queensland, challenging nutritional recommendations around the world.
Tony Abbott’s crusade to cut Australian bureaucratic red tape will now target the complementary medicines industry by considering a greater acceptance of international standards.
Nine out of 10 of the world's 570m farms are managed by families, making the family farm the predominant of agriculture, and consequently a potentially crucial agent of change in achieving sustainable food security and in eradicating hunger in the...
China has announced a US$50m donation to the Food and Agriculture Organisation to support the UN body’s programme of "South-South cooperation" to improve food security and promote sustainable agricultural development over the next five years.
By RJ Whitehead & Shane Starling at Health Ingredients-Japan in Tokyo
Japan will implement a new health claims system that is set to supersede its strict FOSHU regime in April 2015 – just six months away – but what form will it take and will it meet its deadline?
Orders for food inspections in mainland China—almost half of which have failed—have increased at a fast rate in the wake of recent food scandals, a report by quality-control services provider AsiaInspection (AFI) has said.
By Shane Starling at Health Ingredients-Japan in Tokyo
Japan’s innovative but restricted €25bn functional foods and food supplements sector is about to be handed a set of game-changing marketing keys by the government, industry players told us at Health Ingredients-Japan in Tokyo today.
“Our reactors can generate more protein that an acre of soy. Moreover, our process does not use herbicides, or fertilizer, and also diverts food waste from landfills,” said Robert Olivier, CEO of Texas based bioconversion firm, Prota Culture, which is...
New Zealanders have never been healthier in terms of heart disease, with death rates plummeting since the 1960s, according to Kiwi cardiac epidemiologist, Professor Rod Jackson.
Breakfasts rich in protein from dairy, but not soy, could stimulate mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), which is known to cause muscle cells to increase protein synthesis, says a new study.
