Pakistan’s Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has detected and discarded thousands of kilogrammes of adulterated food and beverage items over the past month, with over 100 brands deemed to be ‘unsafe’, amidst its efforts to intensify inspections in the province.
India’s Stellapps Technologies has emerged as the top champion of the Rabobank SustainableAg Asia Challenge following an intense pitching session, as experts and judges urged a mindset shift from ‘competitive’ to ‘complementary’ to achieve true sustainable...
Indian social enterprise Mrida Group has launched two millet products, Upma and Khichdi, to cope with the growing trends of clean label, nutritious, and ethnically sourced ready to cook (RTC) meals for Indian consumers.
Thai specialist fruit and vegetable firm Chiangmai Bioveggie is looking to reinvent the way consumers view the sector via the development of new formats through the use of their self-innovated processing technologies.
Singapore-based AI Palette claims to have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform that can help FMCG food firms create ‘successful products’ and shorten the NPD process, thus also increasing products’ speed to market.
Habitual mushroom intake may help to prevent prostate cancer, especially in middle-aged and elderly Japanese men, according to the findings of a new cohort study.
The food tech scene is booming in Israel, where its start-up ecosystem is striving to be ‘number one’ in the game. So what makes this country a hotbed for food tech innovation? FoodNavigator hears from a food manufacturer, a start-up incubator and a venture...
Singapore could be an urban farming oasis and achieve government-set guidelines for produce self-sufficiency as researchers there pioneer the development of once-problematic organisms that can speed up the growth of plants, fruit and vegetables.
Thailand has retained its position as the largest exporter of durians globally, with China its top export destination – but it looks set to face some serious competition.
Foodborne contamination and illnesses have always been a top-of-mind issue for the Asia Pacific food and beverage industry, especially with the number of such incidents on the rise within the region. That’s why this edition of Asia’s Food Future: Industry...
German supermarket giant Kaufland has taken its first steps into the APAC market with the confirmation of five stores and plans for at least nine more in Australia, and experts anticipate it will impact bigger supermarkets in the country, though not surpass...
Food items with lower Health Star Ratings have been found to be discounted more frequently and heavily than their healthier counterparts, a recent Australian study has revealed.
Nestle and Alibaba have co-designed a virtual digital platform which looks to digitalise the operations of traditional retail outlets, in addition to creating customised product portfolios based on consumer demand.
A severe drop in Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports to China in addition to recent confusing regulatory changes could be signs of a major threat to the fresh foods trade between the two countries.
The food and beverage industry in Indonesia is expected to play a ‘huge’ role in the South East Asian nation’s ambition to become the world’s fourth-largest global economy by the year 2050, with technology and innovation initiatives expected to drive...
Australia’s position as one of the world’s most important grain producers has dwindled away following years of drought and flagging exports that have put wheat in a slump.
Pakistan is looking to raise the value of its international fruit and vegetable exports to hit the PKR1bn (US$6.2mn) mark within the next three years, banking on a new marketing strategy and plan with a focus on dates, mangoes, potatoes, onions and kinno...
Walmart India has announced a US$4.8mn grant towards programmes to develop and boost local agricultural technologies and capabilities to help it source 25% of fresh produce from local farmers.
Prepared and packaged foods are one the five key categories identified by an India-World Bank collaborative programme to boost the nation’s food manufacturing sector, which has now moved to the cabinet approval stage.
The New Zealand Food Safety unit has recently opened its draft strategy for public consultation, and has identified four key emerging risks and opportunities to focus on within the New Zealand food safety system, which apply to both local and foreign...
Poor organic branding and a lack of policing are amongst the major challenges facing the organic industry in the APAC region today, according to specialist organic retailer Nature’s Glory.
Palm oil intake does not appear to induce increases in cardiovascular disease risk-related biomarkers relative to other unsaturated fatty acids such as olive, canola and soybean oils, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis from China.
Vegetarian and pescetarian diets are linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but vegetarians and vegans may have higher risk of stroke than meat eaters, suggests a study published in the BMJ, which claims this may reflect low blood levels...
One-in-five food products in Japan are still not compliant with the country’s new food labelling standards, with time rapidly running out for manufacturers to make the changes.
Keeping products tasty and providing clear nutrition labelling have been found to be key factors influencing consumer appeal when it comes to food and beverage reformulation in India, a new report has found.
Australian zero-waste retail store The Source Bulk Foods is looking to take on the Asian market, promising a large variety of natural, high-quality whole food selections and a focus on localisation.
A new New Zealand report has revived calls for the government to make the Health Star Rating (HSR) system mandatory in the country after highlighting that almost all leading food brands carried high numbers of ultra-processed foods.
PepsiCo India is looking to double its local snacks business by 2022, based on an all-round local focus spanning people, ingredients, manufacturing, along with investment of some INR5.14bn (US$71mn).
Algatechnologies has tripled its production capacity for its proprietary fucoxanthin ingredient, cited strong demand. The ingredient, branded as FucoVital, was launched in the US market in 2018.
An industry expert has voiced criticism over the newly-established Vietnam-Malaysia halal certification centre, saying that this could potentially open up the local food industry to more food safety and food fraud issues.
Packaged food and beverage products in China have been found to contain the highest levels of saturated fat and total sugar content, and is second only to India in terms of calorie content, according to a new study.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has urged that food samples be sent to private laboratories instead of government ones due to understaffing and inadequate facility issues.
Indonesia’s recent banning of products carrying ‘Palm Oil Free’ labels has received a positive response from the local industry, while MNCs Nestle and PepsiCo have reiterated their commitment to use of RSPO-certified palm oil.
Unique packaging and a thermal treatment process to maximise food safety will ensure the first UAE astronaut will be able to enjoy halal food in space.
Supermarket and food store sales in Hong Kong appear to have been unaffected by the high-profile protests that have repeatedly brought the territory to a standstill.
Walmart China has committed RMB8bn (US$1.2bn) in investments for the development of at least 10 logistics distribution centres over the next one or two decades, banking on the success and technologies utilised in its first customised fresh food distribution...
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a formal order mandating compulsory third party food safety auditing for all food companies that deal in ‘high-risk’ product categories in hopes of reducing the need for frequent government...
The European Union (EU)’s recent demands that Australia remove food product names it claims are protected under the Geographical Indication (GI) scheme, such as feta or gruyere cheese, has angered the country’s F&B industry, but the government insists...
The importance of traceability within the food and beverage industry has rapidly risen over the past few years so in our latest edition of Asia’s Food Future: Industry 4.0, we take a look at several of the most significant solutions and the vital role...
Advances in clean meat, Australia's new food allergen-exposing strategy, nanotech-based food packaging and more feature in this edition of Science Shorts.