Cambodia has called on Malaysia to help develop its halal industry in a bid to boost exports, drive tourism and attract investment from the Middle East.
The Philippines soft drinks industry has ramped up its opposition to a possible sugar tax as the government sets out to increase the size of its proposed levy.
Singapore’s biggest beverage brand has begun reformulating its drinks to reduce their sugar content, and has called on the government to take wider action against lifestyle diseases.
Southeast Asians are increasingly leading healthy lifestyles, with as many as three in four urban Indonesians and a third of Thai city residents saying they have been striving to improve their diets this year.
Foreign soft drink manufacturers have taken control of more than half of Vietnam’s US$4bn non-alcoholic drink market for the first time, as local players work out how best to compete.
Cardiovascular disease and stroke are the two main causes of mortality in overweight and obese individuals aged 65 and above, according to a study led by the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Tipped to grow at an annual rate pushing 10%, the Philippines grocery retail market is expected to become the fifth-biggest in Asia by 2021, according to new data by IGD.
Honey from a stingless bee species native to the Philippines is being touted as superior to mānuka honey, with a Singapore firm marketing products made from the former.
PepsiCo’s efforts to provide further transparency in the palm oil supply chain have been slammed as “masterful window dressing”, in a strongly worded statement by the Rainforest Action Network.
Academics are striving to increase the volume of quality data about the dietary patterns of young Singaporeans, in order to boost the nutritional health of future generations.
Top-level speakers from a raft of major probiotics manufacturers and suppliers will join international academics to present at our first Probiota Asia summit in Singapore in October.
Thailand will phase in a sugar tax over six years in a bid to help drinks manufacturers to lower their sugar content and take advantage of a simultaneous lowering of tax on sugar-free beverages.
Singapore’s government enterprise body SPRING is joining forces with economic development agency Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) to collaborate on functional food innovation.
Ensuring food security for its population is central to realise the government’s goal of achieving a high-income economy in the Philippines by 2022, according to a leading academic.
Novacap has officially opened a sodium bicarbonate plant in Singapore, the first of its kind for the French firm in Asia, to boost sales to bakery and pharmaceutical sectors, among others.
Australia’s international trade mission hopes to make a bigger dent in Southeast Asian fruit markets, where demand for its produce is continuing to grow on the back of targeted promotional initiatives.
Edible insects from Sumatra can provide a strategic solution for hunger problems and subsequent undernourishment due to their high essential fatty contents, researchers have concluded.
The Philippines has called for the establishment of a world food bank to receive agricultural products as “deposits”, which in turn would be loaned out to other needy countries.
One of Thailand’s largest meat companies, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), has declared that the migrant staff comprising nearly a fifth of its workforce have been recruited in line with anti-slavery laws.
Philippines-based Del Monte Pacific has entered into a joint-venture with Arab-owned Fresh Del Monte Produce to expand its refrigerated fruit-based lines.
A bill to impose a tax on the salt content of processed foods has been criticised by Filipino politicians and consumer groups, who accuse it of being a stealthy means to raise revenues.
With a recent European resolution calling for tariffs and trade barriers against any palm oil linked to deforestation, Malaysia's minister for plantations and commodities warns: "We will react and respond accordingly to any discriminatory measures...
In a move designed to help keep food prices stable and inflation in line with official targets, Indonesian officials have launched a website to monitor the prices of the 10 main food commodities.
Morinaga has revealed plans to target the South East Asia market to boost sales of its functional ingredients such as its Bifidus BB536 probiotic strain.
Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF) has introduced a CPF food standard project in an effort to build consistent quality and food safety management systems across its integrated feed-farm-food operations.
Ingredion has developed a line of Homecraft Create multifunctional rice flours that produce smooth, silky textures in clean label and gluten-free products.
Muslim students have been enlisted by a Japanese condiments manufacturer to help develop a new halal soy sauce which it hopes to begin exporting to Southeast Asia later this year.
