As Indonesia continues to miss out on the lucrative global halal market, Jakarta has begun drumming up support among SMEs to certify their halal from overseas bodies before exporting their products.
Duckweed has long been consumed as an inexpensive protein and source of omega-3 in three South East Asia countries, but now researchers are questioning if it has the potential to be adopted by south Asian and even Western consumers too.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released shipments of refined stevia from PureCircle coming in from China that had been held at the border based on allegations that they contained stevia produced using forced labor.
Further evidence has been published showing how fortified fish sauce is being used in Cambodia to help tackle thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency and the associated disease beriberi in babies.
BASF’s Nutrition & Health Division has opened a new technical application lab in Singapore to provide analytical services and product development support to customers across the region.
Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) has signed a preliminary deal to acquire a 33% stake in Polish poultry processor SuperDrob SA less than a fortnight after its big money Bellisio takeover.
Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) has flexed its financial muscles with a $1.075bn takeover of frozen specialist Bellisio Foods and a 33% stake in Poland’s SuperDrob.
In the last few years, dozens of edible insect start-ups have popped up in western countries to supply a new wave of interest in bugs as food. This market is now in need of regulation, promotion and support.
Researchers have demonstrated a significant association between a seafood and noodle-based dietary pattern and the reduced likelihood of gestational diabetes.
The body’s natural eating rhythms compensate for the calories reduced by using natural or artificial non-nutritive sweeteners, researchers have found after comparing the habits of people taking four different types of sweetener, including sugar.
Thailand could be one of the world’s five biggest food exporters in the next 20 years—a significant jump for a country that is currently in 13th place in terms of export value.
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has welcomed the first large-scale Vietnamese agricultural investment in the country – the purchase of an AU$18 million ($13.6m) cattle station by An Vien Pastoral Holding and Agriculture Company in the Northern Territory.
After a 12-year hiatus in Thai poultry exports to South Korea, triggered by a bird flu outbreak in 2004, exporters are targeting growth in one of Asia’s largest consumer markets.
Agri-food giant Olam has defended its palm oil operations against accusations they are a 'black box' of secrecy that funnels palm oil linked to deforestation from rogue traders to global brands like Unilever and Nestlé.
A Philippines law designed to tax each excess milligram of sodium relative to guidelines has met with strong opposition at committee stage after one representative remarked that such a levy would add PHP534 (US$10.74) to the price of a pack of instant...
As Vietnam’s 93m population grows in size and purchasing power, healthy soft drinks are becoming more attractive for food and beverage sector investors.
Amnesty International has uncovered “systemic” cases of child labour and labour rights abuses in Indonesian palm oil plantations operated by Wilmar, tracing the palm oil back to firms including Nestlé, Unilever and Kellogg – companies that all claim to...
Amnesty International’s report is another dent in the reputation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as three of the suppliers on Wilmar's operations were RSPO-certified.
Brazil's meat industry has welcomed a commercial agreement struck by their country’s government with Malaysia, that will encourage and enable Brazilian beef and chicken exports to the south-east Asian country.
Regional distribution major Jebsen & Jessen has launched a new ingredient innovation centre to adapt international products for the Southeast Asian market.
Singapore’s policymakers have once again turned their attention to the food industry, and in light of recent previous sorties in this direction, it can only be a good thing.
Film maker Michael Dorgan went to the forests of Latin America and Africa to investigate palm oil production while observing a palm oil-rich diet and returned convinced only multi-stakeholder action can provoke real progress.
Singapore health officials will launch the county’s first Diabetes Action Plan next year in response to the City State being identified as having the second-highest proportion of diabetics among developed nations.
Thai poultry producer Charoen Pokphand Foods’ (CP Foods) operational profit in the third quarter of 2016 reached Baht122.5 billion, an increase of 10% while net profit jumped up 45% to Bt5.2bn compared with the same period last year.
One of the leading fruit companies in the Far East has set out to expand in Southeast Asia by opening new offices in Thailand and India and signing an exclusive supply deal.
Haze from slash-and-burn agricultural has returned to Southeast Asia this year. Is it enough to wait for regulators to bring the (mainly palm oil) culprits to justice? Asian resource legal experts Rick Beckmann and Kresna Panggabean enter the storm.
Researchers in Vietnam have argued that routine screening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients could avoid the development of malnutrition and its associated risks, costs and complications.
Malaysian-Australian collagen-based ingredients specialist Holista CollTech will conduct joint research with Wing’s Food Products, a major Canadian noodle manufacturer, to develop the world’s first low-GI noodles.
Rumblings in Jakarta suggest that Indonesia is prepared to abolish its import licensing system for some food commodities, and replace it with a tariff system to ease pressure on the economy.
In conversation with an Uber driver in Kuala Lumpur, it will never be long before he mentions hot dogs. They are a subject on everyone’s lips now, after Malaysian religious authorities denied halal certification to an American fast-food chain partly because,...
Aged garlic has greater antioxidant potential that the raw version, but was found not to lower cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic individuals, a Singapore study has reported.
Specialists in Myanmar are warning that unhealthy lifestyles and the low intake of essential vitamins and minerals is leading cardiovascular problems to spiral out of control.
After a deadly outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) strain H5N1 rocked Vietnam’s southern meat-producing hub, experts have warned the country will continue to suffer from the virus.
At a time when the conversation around palm oil centres on deforestation, fires and habitat loss – and global demand shows no signs of abating – several companies have come together to create Palm Done Right, a new standard for ethical palm oil production....
In the second part of our interview with DuPont’s Asia regional president Dr Li Yongjing, we assess the potential for the dietary supplements industry in South East Asia and examine why probiotics may be about to go mainstream in emerging markets.
Thailand’s seafood producer Thai Union has bought out the remaining 18% stake in its US subsidiary Tri-Union Frozen Products (TUFP) for a fee of over $46m.
