Almost half a year after China banned the import of edible bird’s nests from Malaysia due to nitrite contamination, Malaysian exporters will finally get back to work under new regulations.
Malaysia has sounded an alarm for orange juice imports into the country in the wake of the discovery of traces of a toxic contaminant in certain brands of juice imported from Brazil into the US.
The Indian government has taken a decision on the issue of junk foods being sold in and around schools and it is not all that pretty for food manufacturers in the country.
In a bid to create unified standards and transparency across packaged products in China, the Ministry of Health has issued nutritional labelling standards, set to commence in January, 2013.
Unregulated insecticide marketing in Asia is driving overuse and misuse by farmers leading to widespread pest infestations and damaging millions of tonnes of rice each year, according to industry experts.
Indonesia will more tightly supervise the sale of food products sold in and around schools in 2012, if a government agency-backed effort to reduce the impact of unhealthy snacks on the country's 50 million 6-18 year-olds is OK'd at senior level.
Following the aflatoxin M1 milk contamination of China’s largest dairy producer, Mengniu, the toxin has now been found in samples of cooking oils produced by three separate companies operating in China.
The Indian edible oil industry is banking on a slew of corrective measures in 2012 to revive its fortunes after the last year ended on a downhill thanks to changes in the Indonesian palm oil tax structure.
China will have to wait another six months before it can export its milk products across the Himalayas after India extended the ban on these food items.
The Indian Ministry of Food is in discussions with state governments and associated ministries to remove controls over the country’s sugar industry in the new year.
In a move that could make the going tougher for food processors in their fight against a possible ban on the sale of junk foods in and near schools, a prominent Indian school has asked to be made party to a legal case on the issue.
Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council announced last week new draft guidelines that it hopes will encourage better nutrition for Australians.
The western state of Gujarat has passed one of the most stringent laws in India against illicit liquor, as the death toll from consumption of the toxic ‘hooch’ in the eastern state of West Bengal reaches 170.
India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) law for its retail sector was put on hold earlier this month following political opposition, but this will not impede internationals entering, according to an analyst.
Australia will have front-of-the-pack labelling with easy to understand nutritional information on its food products within the next year, but it may not be the controversial traffic lights system.
Australia and New Zealand stand on the verge of legalising hemp as a food source after the head of the countries’ bilateral food agency backed its entry into the food chain.
Under pressure from coalition allies as well as the opposition parties, India's government has put on hold its landmark decision to open up the country’s retail sector to multinationals.
A new survey in New Zealand has revealed that over 80% of consumers believe the current requirement to label genetically modified (GM) foods should be retained.
India is looking to revise microbiological standards for milk and milk products in an attempt to better ensure food safety across the supply chain in the country’s growing dairy sector.
The trans-Tasman food standards watchdog has called for submissions on an application to change the Food Standards Code to allow food derived from a genetically modified (GM) corn line to be sold in the region.
The debate over junk food ads in Australia has shifted base with the country’s pro-environment party calling for a ban on such ads on Internet and mobile text messages as well.
Distribution of rice cultivated in the Fukushima prefecture has been restricted following the detection of unsafe levels of radioactive contamination found in samples harvested this season.
In the wake of several food scandals over the past few years, Chinese authorities are stepping up their efforts to enhance food safety laws and food inspection regulations.
The Australian state of South Australia has called for a ban advertising of unhealthy foods to children citing surveys that found growing concerns about such advertising’s influence on them.
The Indian dairy sector was rocked by the news last week that the country’s top watchdog might investigate the country’s major dairy producers over the possibility of a cartel.
Food processors in India have asked the authorities for rationalization of Value-Added Tax (VAT) rates in the country’s next budget, which is expected to be announced in February or March next year.
India’s top food safety regulator is looking to set up a national product recall system, much on the lines of the Australian food recall system, to increase food safety in the country.
An animal activist organization in New Zealand has called for a ban on illegal egg farms after it carried out a televised expose that showed hens living in appalling conditions in illegal cages at some farms.
A public-private partnership has been struck, assuring $1m to create a fund for food safety training programmes and incident prevention schemes throughout Asia Pacific.
China's quality watchdog has said that it has found excessive amounts of potentially harmful rare-earth elements in oolong tea brands manufactured in and around Shanghai.
China and Malaysia have set up a working committee to determine the permissible level of nitrite in bird's nests, with an eventual aim to overturn the ban on their export from Malaysia to China.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) are currently in the process of reviewing an application regarding the use of a GM-derived enzyme as a processing aid.
China has announced new regulations and a renewed focus on the quality and safety of functional foods being sold in the country, as part of a series of crackdowns meant to reinforce food safety in the country.
In a last minute move, the industry body for food processors in India has appealed to the Indian judicial system against banning the sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and near schools.
Failure to introduce reforms in Australia’s food and grocery sector now could see the country’s domestic industry become significantly less competitive by 2020 as falling growth will translate to job losses, a new report suggests.
A day after Australian supermarket chain Woolworths said that private labels are at the centre of its expansion plans, it came under a stinging attack along with its rival Coles from the Australian industry minister.
The Green Party in New Zealand has said that mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) for foods sold in the country would be one of its top priorities in any post-election policy agreement.
India is strengthening its focus on efficient water use during production amid increased pressure to ensure food security for the country, a government minister said.
Calls for imposing a Denmark-like ‘fat tax’ in New Zealand defies common sense and would add a heavy financial burden on the common Kiwi, said the head of the country’s food council.
Walmart China’s doors will reopen to the public today, following the two week closures of its stores during an investigation into allegedly mislabelling regular pork as organic.
Chinese exporters face increasing pressure working with America following the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new re-inspection fees that add the an increasingly complex regulation system, according to a consultant.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has said that operating profits of Australia’s food manufacturers are expected to fall by an average of 4.4% in 2012-13 because of the Federal Government’s carbon tax.
Australia’s top competition regulator has said that it would keep an eye on the country’s two top supermarket chains over long-standing concerns that they were wielding too much power in the country’s food sector.
New Zealand’s dairy firms, including Fonterra, are looking to buy up farms in India’s burgeoning dairy sector, but may not find going down that road free of bumps, a new government report indicates.
