China's increasingly savvy chocolate consumers will be better
equipped to choose higher quality chocolate if new regulations
entering into force next month are properly enforced.
Food miles, the trendy catchphrase alluding to pollution caused by
food exports, is 'a red herring' that detracts from serious
environmental issues to be faced by food producers, says Fonterra's
trade strategy manager,...
Australia's government will work with industry to reduce trans
fatty acids in Australian food, it announced this week, despite
figures that suggest intake of the fats among the population is
within safe limits.
Poultry processors in Australia are expected to implement
'significant price increases' for chicken meat, as drought leads to
surging grain prices, a major production cost for the country's
chicken farmers.
Coffee culture is thriving in Hong Kong with close to one third of
residents now purchasing ready-to-drink coffee outside of the home,
according to a new survey.
China will remove the import duty on Indonesian cocoa from 1
January next year, a move likely to increase demand for the beans
from the world's third biggest producer.
Asia's elite are drinking more wine, champagne and imported beer as
their growing spending power makes them increasingly important for
the luxury goods industry.
Belgian lactic acid producer Galactic will double capacity at its
joint venture plant in China to meet rising demand for the additive
in food production.
The rapid growth of China's fast food industry is boosting demand
for frozen French fries and other processed potato products,
helping to offset a downward trend in more mature markets due to
consumer health concerns, reveals...
Beverages with a healthy twist are booming within the Chinese
beverage market according to a report from global beverage research
specialists Canadean.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has unveiled its new
'Science Strategy' 2006 to maintain safety standards in the food
supply for food processors.
If the Chinese government gives in to mounting international
pressure to revalue its currency, it could spell the end of cheap
exports, a move that many anticipate would have a knock-on effect
on raw materials costs for the food industry....
Cocoa bean producer Pan Sino International has announced plans to
build Singapore's largest cocoa processing plant, increasing cocoa
bean supply for manufacturers.
Sterling Biotech has emerged as the world's second largest gelatine
producer after making its first international foray to acquire the
gelatine manufacturing facility of Chinese firm China Gelatin.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace is warning that the food
supply in the Philippines could be at risk from illegal GM rice
contamination originating in the US and China, with potentially
damaging costs to manufacturers in extraction.
Almost 300 people were hospitalized in Shanghai last week, after
suspected food poisoning by pork containing a banned animal feed
additive, the state media Xinhua reported on Friday.
China's biggest wine producer Changyu has set up an alliance with
Canadian ice wine maker Aolos to build what is expected to be the
largest ice wine estate in the world.
Australian dairies will drum up A$15 million in funding over the
next three years to support a new innovation centre that will be
tasked with finding ways to better compete with a challenging
marketplace.
South Korea has begun to recall tons of agricultural produce grown
on land near disused mines, after a survey found high levels of
lead and cadmium contamination.
Chinese dairy Yili, one of the country's top two, has increased
sales and profits in the first six months of the year despite
rising raw material costs, reinforcing its market share in the
fast-growing dairy sector.
Bakeries in Australia and New Zealand may be required to use only
iodised salt in the future, if a proposal from the countries' food
regulator is approved.
Hanmi Whole Soymilk Co has launched a new soy-based soup on the
South Korean market, using novel packaging to differentiate the
product in the increasingly competitive soyfoods market.
New Zealand's meat promotion board launched an appellation for beef
sold in the important Korean market this week, in a bid to
differentiate its meat from its sizeable competitors, Australia and
the US.
Thailand's poultry industry suffered a further blow yesterday as
agriculture officials confirmed a fresh outbreak of the H5N1 bird
flu virus in the northern province of Phichit.
A vast majority of Asian visitors to the UK believe that the food
is safe and is great to eat, according to a survey by the country's
food manufacturers.
Sugar growers in the Philippines are calling on the public to
boycott Kraft's Tang and Kool-Aid brands because the US firm
refuses to pay a sugar import tariff on the powdered beverages.
Chinese confectionery firms are spotting the opportunities involved
in targeting the country's only-children, who are commanding an
increasing share of their parent's rising incomes.
Australian baker George Weston Foods says government plans to
require all bread to be fortified with folic acid are based on
inadequate science and should not be brought into law.
Foreign foods and drink brands have the strongest brand name
recognition and loyalty in Vietnam with the exception of one local
company, according to new research.
Several small producers of carbonated drinks in China do not meet
the quality standards set by the country's food authorities,
according to a recent survey.
The Philippines is seeking to boost production of dried cocoa beans
under a 10-year plan designed to reduce its dependence on imports
and target new export markets.
Singapore's food safety authority issued a recall of a number of
Cadbury's chocolate products made in the UK, following a major
recall by the company itself in the UK.
The world's biggest shopaholics are most likely to be found in
Asia-Pacific markets, suggests a new study, which shatters the
common belief that Americans are the keenest shoppers.
China's fresh tomato and processed tomato production is set to
surge this year, driven by unusually high prices on the domestic
and world markets that have boosted planted areas.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace attacked the Hong Kong food
safety authority last week for failing to improve testing for
pesticides in fruit and vegetables imported from mainland China.
The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration is to make recalls of
spoiled or potentially harmful food obligatory for food
manufacturers under the first law of its kind in China.
Prima Agri-Products, one of Malaysia's largest manufacturers of
Halal meat products, has joined up with Australian heavyweight food
maker, Comgroup, to help it tap growing demand for its products in
new markets.
China's ministry of commerce has issued guidelines to the country's
farmers and farm produce exporters on how to meet tough new
standards in Japan, one of China's biggest export markets.
Several provinces in western and northern China are facing food
shortages due to a prolonged drought that has left hundreds of
reservoirs dry and tens of thousands of wells either dry or nearly
empty, reported the UN's Food and...
New confectionery products and strong demand for beverages lifted
sales at Taiwan's Want Want Holdings by 28 per cent during the
first quarter, while higher margins helped it reduce the impact of
rising sugar prices.
The Swedish supplier of food testing equipment, Biacore
International, is taking over from its sales agent in China and
launching a full business operation in the market.
