In our latest review of the latest regulatory developments affecting the supplements and functional food industries, we reveal the latest issues from Thailand, Philippines, India and New Zealand.
Thai regulators and industry have been "engaged in very serious discussion" over which types of products for children should be allowed to be registered and sold as dietary supplements, as current regulation may be hindering innovation.
The local government in the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte in Laoag City is seeking to promote greater consumption of iron-fortified rice, amid fears that higher costs are hampering efforts to increase uptake.
Beijing-based food manufacturing firm Yu Shi Yuan has been fined for violating food labelling and food safety rules, it admitted in an official announcement.
The Infant Nutrition Council in New Zealand has applied to the NZ Commerce Commission for an extension of the restriction on infant formula advertising, to prevent marketing to parents of children under a year old.
The FSSAI is once again urging manufacturers to fortify their staple foods, this time shifting its attention to India's dairy firms to encourage them to adopt voluntary milk fortification.
The state government in Telangana, India, has announced its Intinta Poshana Samburalu (Nutrition in Every Home) initiative targeted at children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
Roughly 68% of all milk and milk products in India has been found to be in violation of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) standards – despite the regulators' recent proposal of a penalty of around US$14,000 (INR1m),...
Japan's hopes that the Taiwan government will lift the current ban on foods from Fukushima and surrounding areas has hit another hurdle after Kuomintang, the largest opposition party in Taiwan, submitted a referendum request on what has been dubbed...
Indian civil society organisation Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) has written a letter to PM Narendra Modi in its latest move against the FSSAI's food fortification efforts.
In the first of our monthly reviews of the latest supplement and functional food regulatory and policy news, we reveal the most recent developments in China, India and Japan, while also shining the spotlight on decisions from the UK and US.
The Chinese authorities have approved new e-commerce rules, with lawmakers now calling for a 'complete regulatory system' to also cover cross-border transactions.
China looks set to implement new cross border e-commerce (CBEC) rules on January 1 next year, according to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE). This is likely to lead to additional regulation and taxes for supplement and functional food firms.
Heinz's US$1.64 million (A$2.25 million) fine in Australia for claiming that its toddler-targeted snack, Little Kids Shreds, was healthy and nutritious for young children, has sparked calls for action in New Zealand too.
Malaysian PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has acknowledged the government is contemplating introducing a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, after highlighting concerns about the nation's diabetes rates.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given official sanction to Nuseed’s proprietary omega-3 canola for cultivation in the United States, bringing plant-derived long-chain omega-3s a step closer to the market.
A new report by Australia's national science agency has shown that self-monitoring and personal accountability, coupled with a financial incentive, could be key to helping people losing weight.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has revised an ordinance to permit the production and sale of liquid infant formula, leading some of the country’s biggest players to express an interest in entering the market.
India's Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore is working with Hassan deputy commissioner Rohini Sindhuri Dasari to develop a nutritional powder for economically disadvantaged pregnant and lactating women.
An expert panel has been set-up review India’s proposed new packaged foods labelling rules, which include controversial plans to for red labels to be added to products high in fat, sugar and salt.
Australia is in the midst of an obesity crisis, with two-thirds of adults and a quarter of children overweight or obese. But what do some of the nation's largest food firms believe can be done to tackle the problem, and what role should they themselves...
India regulator FSSAI has published updated rules for food fortification standards, as part of its efforts to make the practice part of the national agenda.
The Natural Products Association has released a transcript of the testimony president Daniel Fabricant, PhD will deliver today about President Trump's latest list of tariffs. If implemented as the list stands, the tariffs will eliminate jobs and...
Having production in China has insulated fast growing energy drink brand Celsius from any potential fallout from President Trump’s trade war. Celsius has more than doubled its store count to China to 25,000. The brand is now sold in 47 cities in the country....
More personalised dietary supplements will hit the market in APAC in the coming years as innovation, health awareness and regulator objectives align, Jude C. Uzonwanne, the principal, strategy and transaction advisory at IQVIA APAC told NutraIngredients-Asia...
New Zealand's Chief Science Advisor and the Royal Society Te Apārangi have backed the health benefits of fortifying bread with folic acid, adding to calls for mandatory fortification in the country.
The supply of botanical materials for Ayurvedic preparations seems secure despite the growing popularity of the products and a recent report that some rules governing wild harvest are being flaunted.
Moves to ban sugar-sweetened beverages and 'unhealthy' snacks from Queensland's public hospitals and healthcare facilities have received drastically different responses from Australia's beverage industry, trade groups and health campaigners.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has launched a new look Food Allergen Portal, following collaboration between the food industry and consumer and government stakeholders.
The Chinese government has retaliated in the latest escalation of President Trump’s trade war by releasing lists of new tariffs on US products, the highest of which will reach 25%. Experts worry that the fallout could affect the supplement industry.
Establishing tolerable upper limits (TUL) and allowing health claims based on regulations from overseas can help India's supplement sector 'self-regulate', and grow the market to US$10bn by 2025.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) is to withdraw frozen vegetables and fruit products made in Europe that have been linked with a listeria outbreak.
The Australian sugar industry's push for greater sustainability and traceability has received a shot in the arm, with its Coalition Government providing an A$2.25m grant to fund the Sustainable Sugar Project.
The government of the Indian state of Haryana has announced an extension of the supply of fortified food to all PDS (Public Distribution System) shops in the Ambala and Karnal districts, starting September 1.
Two electrolyte beverages have been accepted as Foods for Special Medical Purpose (FSMP) by China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) — the first time electrolyte beverages were approved.
A broad coalition of regulators, health bodies and food firms is pinning its hopes on a new 'Eat Right Movement' to help curb India's alarming rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
The European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected health claims that assert the food supplement and salt alternative Symbiosal can lower blood pressure and risk for hypertension.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made available a set of guidelines that call for actions for improving adolescent nutrition via targeted supplementation and antenatal nutritional care.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed the mandatory labelling of blended edible vegetable oils to indicate the exact percentage of the blend on the front of the pack.
Japan has contributed ¥400m (just under US$4m) to support nutrition and food security for Palestinians in Gaza, under the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP).
The Indian government has announced that 118 districts in the country will receive fortified rations, in its latest attempt to fight widespread malnutrition, especially among women and children.
Dietary ingredients have still mostly escaped the most recent iteration of tariff lists for Chinese goods released by the Trump Administration. The real risk is not to the bottom line but to trade relationships in general, experts in the industry agree.
China's supplement market will continue to experience double-digit annual growth for the next couple of years, but longer-term success hinges on regulatory reform, says the executive director of Health Products Association – China.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a notification detailing its updated directions for a list of ingredients it deems unsuitable for further use in health foods and supplements.
TSI's Australia MD Ross Norris urged firms operating in China to diversify their sales channels, such as venturing into domestic manufacturing and trade, instead of betting all stakes on e-commerce.