A newly-discovered class of colouring pigments called auronidins could open doors for the development of more stable and intense natural, plant-based food and beverage colourants.
New Zealand kiwifruit giant Zespri and dairy firm The A2 Milk Company have been highlighted as the two homegrown companies generating some of the highest growth for the nation’s F&B industry over the past two years, with both benefitting from strong...
A lack of collaboration between ASEAN governments and the food industry could risk causing supply shortages across the region as several nations enforce COVID-19 lockdowns.
The presence of the bacterium Prevotella copri in mothers’ microbiome during pregnancy is associated with a decreased risk of their children developing food allergies during the first year of life.
Hard-hit e-commerce players, including Amazon, saw a slight reprieve in orders last week, but marketing consultants with the collective Right Side Up predict that there will be a resurgence in sales in the coming weeks that will require brands to re-think...
Here's a recap of our 10 most read food and beverage stories in March 2020, featuring the latest updates on COVID-19, Coca-Cola, Singapore's new sugary beverage labelling and much more.
Singapore-based palm oil company Musim Mas is hoping to achieve 100% traceability from its palm oil plantations and smallholders to its palm oil mills by the third quarter of 2020.
Singapore’s introduction of its new sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) labelling system Nutri-Grade has received a lukewarm response from consumers, with 68% of public sentiment remaining ‘neutral’ or ‘unsure’ about the policy.
Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang has opted to employ humour to reassure the local public that his government has sufficient food stocks to tide the country through the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, asking the people to ‘buy as much as you like’.
Coca-Cola Philippines has opted to halt all of its commercial advertising activities and turn the original funds for these towards supporting COVID-19 frontliners and vulnerable communities.
Sugar reduction has caught up to become just as important as price promotion in the eyes of Singaporean consumers when it comes to making beverage purchases, according to a new report from Nielsen.
The Indonesian National Police and Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have both issued orders to limit the purchases of noodles, rice and other staple food items nationwide in hopes of curbing the hoarding and panic-buying induced by the...
In the wake of India’s nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, Coca-Cola India, Nestle India and various other big MNCs in the country have called for F&B manufacturing to be made an ‘essential service’ in order to keep shelves stocked and avoid further...
Branded milk sold in the western Indian state of Maharashtra has seen a 5% increase in adulteration levels despite the implementation of stricter regulations, with 85% of all samples found to be tainted.
PepsiCo-owned Chinese snacks firm Baicaowei is targeting a ‘new era of meat’ with its plant-based sausage snack, claiming that this is unlike any other seen in the country before.
Asian vs Western foods, coconut oil for COVID-19, plant-based production and more food science and technology stories feature in this edition of Science Shorts.
Salmonella is more frequently found in the Chinese pork production chain than in chicken, according to new research published by scientists in Chongqing.
An Indian start-up specialising in making protein bread and cookies saw online sales go up by 15% in mid March, with the firm believing consumers are increasingly making more healthy food choices as COVID-19 continues to spread.
Coveris has announced it is investing €850k to switch to a carbon free source of energy at its facility in Egypt, as part of its corporate sustainability ambition.
Pakistan’s Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has recently issued a set of COVID-19 guidelines aimed at the food industry in hopes of controlling the outbreak, amid rampant rumours and speculations about the virus in the country.
UAE’s food and beverage manufacturer National Food Products Company (NFPC) has launched its Oasis brand of drinking water in sustainable Tetra Pak carton packaging, the first water brand in the region to do so.
The snack sector in the Middle East is soaring as consumers become increasingly time poor, with more healthy options also becoming increasingly popular, albeit from a low base.
Vietnam-based craft beverage company Winking Seal Beer Co is planning a regional launch for its more ‘environmentally-friendly’ canned water product, beWater.
Singapore’s national regulator for health products, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), has removed a significant number of product listings claiming to prevent or treat COVID-19 from local e-commerce platforms.
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 health situation, FoodNavigator-Asia and NutraIngredients-Asia has rescheduled the Healthy Ageing APAC Summit from July 7-9 to November 10-12, 2020, at the Hilton hotel in Singapore.
Singaporean agri-food firm Life3 Biotech is setting up the country’s first local plant-based protein production facility backed by the Singaporean Food Agency (SFA), with plans to scale up production later this year.
The export slowdown of packaging materials from China in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak could exacerbate the shortage of products such as rice, flour, pasta, biscuits, and UHT in Australia caused by the current panic buying, according to the boss of...
Coca-Cola has announced a US$200mn injection of funds into its Bangladeshi business to spur growth, after its local language labelling strategy and women-championing projects in the country have yielded positive results.
Milk companies in Vietnam are increasingly turning to functional milk product development as the market competition intensifies, with vitamin k2 fortification becoming more common than before, data from Mintel has shown.
The outlook for wine e-commerce in China remains optimistic despite the recent novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the country, according to a leading expert.
Focusing innovation away from ‘Western-centric’ plant-based products and enabling faster market entry have been touted as two key priorities for Buhler and Givaudan’s new Singapore-based innovation centre, which will combine technological and flavour...
New Zealand’s trade with China has suffered some heavy hits since the novel coronavirus outbreak began, with the meat and seafood sectors affected worst of all, although dairy has managed to remain stable.
Cocoa and chocolate in the Asia Pacific is in a state of ‘regional imbalance’, according to chocolate giant Mars, which has also revealed how it plans to use sustainability as a means to tackle challenges in Asia.
Here’s our Editor-in-Chief’s latest completely subjective and occasionally irrational take on three food, nutra and cosmetics stories that have caught his attention – not always for the right reasons…
Singapore headquartered Aice Group Holdings has opened its second ice cream production facility in Indonesia - the largest such factory in South East Asia, according to the company.
A new Singapore study claims to have disproved the ‘urban myth’ that an Asian diet is healthier than a Western one, especially in terms of saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol.
The Australian Department of Agriculture’s (DoA) recent suggestion to implement new regulations that will lead to an over 40% increase in export costs for fresh produce has been met with fervent disapproval by the local industry.
Malaysia’s announcement that borders of the entire country will be closed for two weeks in an attempt to control the local spread of COVID-19 has led to renewed panic in neighbouring Singapore, which imports large amounts of fresh produce from the country,...
The COVID-19 epidemic has led to a rebound in demand for plant extracts with immune-boosting effects, but a China industry expert has warned there are difficulties in exporting the goods due to logistic supply chain problems.
A Bali-based coffee company has replaced its traditional foil-lined coffee bags with reusable tins in an effort to make its wholesale business more sustainable.
Thailand’s position as the largest exporter of rice from the South East Asian region is at risk as the country struggles to handle weather, economical and quality changes, whereas Vietnam looks to be going from strength to strength.
The dominance of red wine in China can be attributed to the cultural symbolism of auspiciousness and prosperity associated with the colour, according to a local industry expert.