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.
Thai trade authorities are working closely with local food manufacturers to set up a halal food industrial estate in the south of the country, a region with a large Muslim population.
US ice cream brand Baskin-Robbins has timed entrance into Vietnam carefully via a franchise with a local food company amid a snowballing economy and emerging middle class with a taste for luxuries, the company said.
Swiss flavour and fragrance giant, Firmenich, will be able to better serve Southeast Asia’s market as it will be closer to clients and consumers with its new flavour production facility in Indonesia, according to the company.
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.
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.
Taiwanese marine specialist, Sea Party Technology, is adding to a MYR2bn investment ($600m), in Malaysia to breed fish and prawns for the halal community – with government backing.
US farm management company, Stevia Corp, has signed an agreement with a Vietnamese research institute to strengthen knowledge of stevia cultivation and crop management to drive production in the country.
Thai food companies report government aid helped them to cope with the recent flood crisis and that they are now in a better position to deal with similar incidents in the future.
Singapore-based ingredients technology company, Compass Foods, has announced the legal approval of its emulsifier for use in flavour applications in the Indonesian market.
The recent deluge of rain in Thailand will not hamper overall rice production in 2011 as farmers will be aided by the National Science and Technlology Development Agency (NSTDA) to increase rice production with better quality seeds.
Thailand food company S. Khonkaen Foods Plc has signed a deal with Sri Lanka-based Keells Food Products Plc to distribute food products on the island, with further expansion plans mooted.
Leading cocoa manufacturer Barry Callebaut and exporter, P.T. Comextra Majora have teamed up on a new processing facility to satisfy the growing demand for cocoa products in the Asia Pacific region.
Thailand's organic industry is now a 400m Thai Baht business since the National Innovation Agency (NIA) started a government initiative in 2006 to help organic farmers and food production companies raise the level of their products and to hike up...
A Rabobank report released last week claims Indonesia will lead Southeast Asian growth over the next decade, based on global demand for key commodities and stable domestic needs.
Singapore’s government has pledged funds over the next five years towards the country’s food manufacturing sector in a bid to improve productivity by 20%.
Bunge Agribusiness Singapore Pte has announced that it will join hands with an Indonesia palm plantation company, the first time Bunge has invested in the palm oil industry.
Changing consumer eating patterns and greater western influence has seen an upward trend in the bakery industry in Malaysia, but trade group urges education drive to enhance the sector’s growth potential.
Thailand’s chocolate confectionery segment showed it jumped 20% last year to reach THB3.360bn ($0.1bn), notes UK market analysts Mintel in a new review.
A new Malaysian initiative will set up a new food product network that will take locally made food products to overseas markets, according to Malaysia’s Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA).
There is a huge range in taste preferences within Southeast Asia, so being immersed in the market is essential for meeting regional customer requirements, according to Asia-focussed flavour company KH Roberts.
Chinese ingredients supplier Fenchem reports that sales of eye health carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin have doubled in a year to break the million-dollar mark for the first time – even as a marigold shortage sets in.
PepsiCo has agreed to sell its majority 41.5 per cent stake in Thai soft drinks and bottling firm Serm Suk (SSC), after ThaiBev (THBEV) announced plans to acquire the latter for $548m last week.
The National Association of Smallholders, Malaysia (NASH), which represents 240,000 Malaysian small farmers, has in an open letter strongly protested the Australian palm oil bill.
A new study has suggested that there are undeclared allergens in many commercial processed food products in Thailand, which could cause allergic reactions.
The Indonesian cocoa processing sector is ripe for further investment from multinational food manufacturers, a spokesperson from the country’s investment authority said.
Singapore-based Veredus Laboratories has launched a portable test kit that can detect bacteria and viruses that cause the most common foodborne illnesses in collaboration with Geneva-based chipmaker ST Microelectronics.
DKSH Holdings Ltd, the Swiss market expansion services group, has invested in a new innovation centre in Thailand as part of an initiative to introduce new concepts and ingredients to the local confectionery and bakery industry.
Leading cocoa processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has announced it is kick-starting its Ivory Coast sustainable cocoa initiative – Serap – in Indonesia in a bid to boost cocoa quality from growers in that region.
Forest fragmentation driven by demand for palm oil is having a catastrophic effect the level of biodiversity, and may be endangering certain species, according to scientists from the Queen Mary University of London.
Nestlé and General Mills’ joint venture Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) is investing €27m in a new Malaysian factory to enable the local production of Nestlé breakfast cereals in the country for the first time.
Barry Callebaut, in a bid to meet its strategic need to diversify its cocoa origin and boost the viability of cocoa production in Malaysia, has announced a new research programme.
A new research project aims to optimise the production and quality of oil palm, helping to produce more sustainable crops, by using molecular genetics to boost crop breeding.
The delivery of Cargill’s first UTZ Certified beans from Vietnam marks an important milestone for the company in its bid to establish the region as a new origin country for cocoa, said the ingredients giant.
Greenpeace has welcomed a pledge towards forest conservation from palm oil supplier Golden Agri-Resources Limited (GAR) which is aimed at “creating long-term sustainable growth for GAR and the palm oil industry”.
Increasing demand for western style pastries in Thailand is behind ingredients supplier Unifine’s goal to expand its presence in that market this year.
Cargill is to acquire Indonesian starch and sweetener company PT Sorini Agro Asia Corporindo, deal designed to help it better serve its customers in the Asia Pacific region.
A scheme based on a computer-aided process simulation tool can optimise the cocoa manufacturing process in Malaysia and double output, claims new research.
Although the food and drink flavouring market in Southeast Asia is “growing enormously”, consumer tastes are still cost-driven and traditional, according to top flavour producer IFF.
Cocoa bean exports were hit for the first time in four months as heavy rains damaged crops and disrupted transport, according to the Indonesian Cocoa Association.
Next week’s Nutracon Asia conference in Hong Kong will include a special one-day workshop on the regulatory state of play for dietary supplements and functional foods in Asia Pacific, giving case studies and showing areas of opportunity.
Political decisions encouraging biofuel production from palm oil is causing deforestation in Indonesia and not the low tonnage sourced by Kit Kat maker Nestlé, according to the chairman of the Swiss based food company.
The globe’s two biggest food firms, Nestlé and Kraft, have launched internal investigations after a Greenpeace report claimed both purchase palm oil from Indonesian company PT Smart whose parent group Sinar Mas allegedly engages in widespread illegal...
