The Chinese government and two leading food manufacturers are implementing mass spectrometry-based technologies for food analysis as part of efforts to identify and contain the spread of melamine in the food supply following the milk contamination scandal...
The FDA has stepped up its import controls for dairy products from China following the melamine scare and extended its investigation into non-dairy protein products.
New Zealand-based dairy group Fonterra says that a branded milk powder marketed in Bangladesh has been cleared for sale in the country after impendent testing found the product free from the industrial chemical melamine.
Hong Kong officials say they have found dangerous levels of melamine in a brand of eggs imported from China prompting fears that the chemical has found its way into animal feed.
Companies are spying opportunities to market soy based products as a replacement to dairy following the melamine milk crisis that hit China and echoed across the globe.
China is taking steps to reassure countries that are banning its imports following the melamine crisis with the introduction of new safety levels for food and drink.
New Zealand dairy group Fonterra is facing criticism over lethal contaminated milk powder supplied through its Chinese joint venture, but says action was delayed as it had to go through the correct procedures in China.
Japan's leading chocolate maker Meiji Seika has recalled a range of
confectionery products, after it was discovered that they contained
a novel sweetener made with an unapproved genetically modified
enzyme.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) has called for
further testing on two different proteins used in milk production,
just one month after claiming there was no danger in consuming
either of the products.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) has ruled that milk
containing either the A1 and A2 protein does not pose a danger to
the public and should remain part of a nutritious diet.
Pesticide residues largely comply with legal limits, according to
the results of food tests conducted by New Zealand Food Safety
Authority (NZFSA) published yesterday.
The country today banned manufacturers from importing pork products
from the UK, according to local news reports, as apprehension over
foot and mouth (FMD) spreads across Asia.
China must continue to reform its food safety practices if it
is to maintain consumer confidence in its products, says a food
safety expert from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Safety bodies in Shanghai hope to hit back at growing international
concern over Chinese food safety practices with its new food
testing system, say media reports in the country.
The Indonesian government is currently reviewing its laws on
artificial sweeteners and will consider banning them from food if
expert evidence suggests they present health risks, according to a
report.
More duck eggs containing the carcinogenic dye Sudan Red have been
found in China, food officials said yesterday, expanding the recall
outside of Beijing to the country's east coast.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has unveiled its new
'Science Strategy' 2006 to maintain safety standards in the food
supply for food processors.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
An RFID tracking system designed to slow the spread of avian flu
will be tested this month by China's poultry industry, currently
facing flagging demand and low prices following several outbreaks
of the disease in different provinces.
A survey of the effects of bird flu on the Spanish poultry market
demonstrates the complex interplay between government intervention,
consumer concerns and industry reaction to a disease that has the
potential to cripple the sector.
Australia has imposed an indefinite ban on the Selecta ice cream
brand over fears that its ingredients could be affected by the
incidence of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in the Philippines.
India's dairy industry is priming the country's research centres
with funds in a bid to mechanise the region's indigenous foods
sector ahead of moves to apply international food safety standards,
Hridyesh Pandey reports.
There has been a rapid increase in the incidence of foodborne
parasitic diseases, stemming from the country's burgeoning demand
for raw food, according to new figures from the Chinese government.
South Korea's Food and Drug Administration has begun inspecting
outlets of fast food restaurant operators after the Chinese
operation of KFC admitted that it had discovered traces of the
banned food dye, Sudan 1. The threat of...
The future of the milk formula market in China lies with better
product quality and greater brand loyalty following the revelation
last year that much of the formula on sale there was fake. The move
towards higher margin products...
As Chinese consumers become more aware of genetically modified (GM)
food, rejection of the technology is also growing in China,
according to Greenpeace.
Scientists at the University of Derby and the University of Malaya,
in Kuala Lumpur, are working on a freezing technology that aims to
help save the Malaysian banana - which is in danger from being
wiped out due to fungal disease.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development says
that a lack of up-to-date processing equipment is holding back
progress for much of the country's food and beverage industry.
China is cracking down on government officials over alleged
misconduct that led to the deaths of at least 13 babies in China's
North-Eastern provinces following the illegal sale of fake milk
powder.
The World Health Organisation met in Beijing this week to discuss
key threats to the safety of the world's food supply chain,
including a number of issues specific to the Asian Pacific region.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development has
said that it is working with Australian authorities in an effort to
reduce waste caused during the production and harvesting of
temperate fruits.
