Oxfam has called on the three biggest chocolate manufacturers to conduct independent audits on conditions for women on cocoa farms supplying their factories after finding evidence of unequal pay, discrimination and hunger.
In just the first weekend of new regulations designed to prohibit the trafficking of infant formula out of Hong Kong, border patrols had already arrested around 45 traders.
As concerns grow for the security of food supplies for its billion-plus population, China—the sixth biggest producer of genetically modified crops—has resolved to continue importing GM soybeans to satisfy domestic demand.
Costs relating to the establishment of the a2 Milk UK joint venture contributed to a H1 profits decrease for Australasian dairy processor A2 Corporation (A2C), the company has revealed.
Almost exactly a year ago, Cadbury India was showing off its position as the country’s fourth most admired company, according to Fortune magazine; but today the chocolate major is preparing to fight accusations from tax authorities that it had deliberately...
If you are a regular reader of this news service, you would be hard-pressed to find just one month in the last two years when we have NOT reported on a food safety issue in China.
Nufarm’s rocky start to 2013 continues with the Australian manufacturer and distributor of crop protection products announcing the end of its second long-term deal with a global agricultural company in three months.
Carlsberg says it is taking an ‘important step forward’ in China with a $466m offer for a controlling stake in Chongqing Brewery Company (CBC), in a move to double the number of native breweries it directly controls.
Australia’s trade department has announced that the country will begin to export lamb to India free of quotas, based on Australia’s compliance with India's food safety requirements.
The transition to a polled cattle herd–or one without horns–could soon be even faster with a new, highly accurate poll gene marker test from Australia that is due to become available this year.
Niutang Chemical, China’s leading producer of sucralose and aspartame, has announced that its core product lines of folic acid, TGIC, sucralose and aspartame saw an 18% increase in sales. As a result of this sustained growth, the company will begin construction...
Sick of lurching from one food crisis to the next, it seems the Chinese authorities are planning to form one cohesive food safety unit based on America’s FDA model.
Oxfam will step up its campaign to improve the treatment of people and resources that form part of the supply chain of the world’s biggest food conglomerates, after it cast industry responses to its damning Behind the Brands report as ‘bland’ and ‘complacent’.
The Indian Competition Commission (CCI) has approved Diageo’s purchase of a 53.4% stake in United Spirits (USL), saying that the £1.28bn ($2.04bn) purchase may boost the nation’s premium spirits market and improve consumer choice without jeopardizing...
INDUSTRY VOICES: GUEST ARTICLE, HEAD OF AKTIEFOKUS CHINA, JACOB DE LICHTENBERG
After a quiet beginning to 2013, M&A activity is heating up in China’s beer market, as Carlsberg said on Monday it was considering upping its stake in Chongqing Brewery, intensifying the fight among global brewers for production assets there.
With reports flooding the wires that Heinz has agreed to sell its Chinese frozen food business, Long Feng Food, to Zhengzhou Sanquan Foods marks the second time in a decade the American major has lost money on a deal in the country.
There’s always a weakness somewhere, and for the Indian government this is often the price of onions. And what must really be worrying the ruling politicians in New Delhi, as the finance minister delivers his Union Budget, is how the price of onions has...
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and Fonterra are backing bone health research with a $44,000 Asia-focused grant open to residents of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Unilever and Nestlé say Oxfam missed an opportunity for a wider and more comprehensive debate about food ethics after the NGO published a damning report on the supply chains of the world’s biggest food firms this week.
Fonterra will invest more than NZ$100m ($82.4m, €62.8m) in a new ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk and cream processing plant in New Zealand in an attempt to meet growing Asian demand for heat-treated dairy products.
It is hard for a food industry trade show to pack the same level of glamour as, say, the Tokyo Motor Show, so it’s probably best for organisers not to try. But every now and again, in a moment of wild abandon, a celebrity or sports star graces a show’s...
Supplements containing the probiotic BLIS K12 ingredient may reduce the reoccurrence of throat infections and tonsillitis by up to 90%, according to data from new clinical trials from Italy.
Its that time of the year again. Yes, I know that is a cliche home run to begin with, but then one would find it difficult to describe the excitement that builds up every year towards the Indian Union Budget without indulging in one or two cliches.
Associated British Foods – worst-in-class in an Oxfam report critical of 10 food giants for essentially operating under a corporate social responsibility (CSR) “veil of secrecy” – has hit back, slamming the report ‘s findings as “ridiculous”.
Teams from both the European and Asian editions of FoodNavigator are on the ground at Gulfood 2013 in Dubai, a food, processing, packaging and ingredients show which, according to its blurb, claims to be the biggest in the world.
With the film awards season now in full flow, an Australian market research company has identified that cinemagoers are more likely to have a tipple than those who stay in and watch the television.
Already a mainstay in the Middle East ingredients market, Dohler has now announced further expansion in the region following its acquisition of the fruit processing and flavour unit of Delta Aromatic in Egypt.
The rapid change in India’s food consumption habits has spurred domestic and foreign quick service restaurant (QSR) chains to implement aggressive expansion plans. And according to a new Rabobank report, this growth is set to accelerate.
Just got off the phone to Ola Snove, the new(ish) CEO of Aker part-owned Norwegian omega-3 specialist Epax. Wanted to know his view on high-end omega-3 prospects that have attracted BASF and DSM to the sector. His word: “Stellar”.
Accusing Australia’s alcohol industry of being incapable of self-regulation, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on the government to launch an inquiry into alcohol marketing amid what it calls an unprecedented push by the industry to...
Demands by Chinese quarantine authorities for a new layer of verification to make sure that pork imported from the US is free of a feed additive have baffled analysts and officials.
New Zealand’s commercial fruit and vegetable growers’ association has branded as ridiculous the latest claims by the Australian vegetable industry group, Ausveg, that Kiwi food manufacturers are bombarding their country with sub-standard frozen vegetables.
Following an ongoing furious stand-off between drinks manufacturers, environmental groups and the local government, the Northern Territory’s opinion-splitting container deposit scheme has now reached the point of litigation.
In the second article in a new a series examining Indian diets and health, our resident food columnist tells a personal tale of how he has seen his own diet change with the times.
The fraught issue of government regulation on the Indian sugar industry might be on its way to a solution if a report in the Wall Street Journal is to be believed.
Southern Israel-based algae-sourced astanxanthin specialists Algatechnologies has won investment from a UK venture capitalist in a move that will broaden its capacity, R&D and distribution scope for the eye and skin health carotenoid.
One of Australia’s leading nutrition bodies has given its resounding approval to the release of the Federal Government’s new Australian Dietary Guidelines, although not all food experts have followed suit with the plaudits.
