The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set up a panel of doctors and research scientists to prepare the final version of its food fortification laws – a move that would facilitate the inclusion of micronutrients to several food staples.
Maternal age and place of residence played key roles in whether children under five years old were given Vitamin A supplements in Pakistan, a new study reveals.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has pledged to ‘close the gap’ in micronutrient malnutrition after releasing a consultation paper on food fortification.
New Zealand supplement firm Better Health Co, which owns the GO Healthy brand, has sold an 80% stake to an Asian private equity fund to help it tap into international markets.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB) has confirmed it is in ‘advanced negotiations’ to acquire all Mead Johnson Nutrition shares for $90 each in cash, valuing Mead Johnson’s entire share capital at approximately $16.7bn.
Myanmar has vowed to tackle child stunting and widespread micronutrient deficiencies, and include nutritional wellbeing in its national development planning.
One-in-five infants in Singapore are given a dietary supplement in the first year of life, while 5.7% take probiotics and 15.7% homeopathic preparations.
Infant nutrition company Mead Johnson saw sales in Asia – its largest region – slip 9% year-on-year, 5% on a constant dollar basis, to $1.856bn – although the company recorded ‘strong sales growth’ in its key China market.
Pregnant women should take more micronutrients aside from iron and folic acid to boost the long-term cognitive development of their children, according to a major follow-up study from Indonesia.
The decision by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to approve DHA and ARA-enriched infant food was a crucial factor leading to Danone’s ambitious growth plans for the country.
Aptamil, one of Danone’s infant formula brands sold in 45 countries, has been launched in India, with the company saying it plans to produce local supply at the company’s Lalru, Punjab facility.
Replacing CEO Laura McBain hasn’t seen the end of financial turmoil at Australian infant formula manufacturer Bellamy’s with shares continuing to slide amid gloomy forecasts from analysts.
With more than 100 infant milk powder manufacturers established and thousands of product lines launched in the last 30 years, overcrowding in the segment appears to have hit Chinese businesses hard.
Further evidence has been published showing how fortified fish sauce is being used in Cambodia to help tackle thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency and the associated disease beriberi in babies.
Australian infant formula firm Bellamy’s is facing further turmoil after a major shareholder demanded the removal of four of the company’s board directors.
An analysis of more than 100 locally-manufactured premixed infant cereals from low and middle income countries, including Indonesia, China and Nepal, has revealed widespread variation in nutritional content, sparking concerns they could contribute to...
Researchers have demonstrated a significant association between a seafood and noodle-based dietary pattern and the reduced likelihood of gestational diabetes.
The demand for ‘clean label’ products, especially in North America and Europe, is continuing to affect consumers’ acceptance of fortified foods, meaning manufacturers should focus their efforts on Asia, Latin America and Africa.
There is an urgent need for more research on infant nutrition that is centred on South East Asia, with the vast majority of published studies focusing on the western world, a new paper states.
Only two countries out of the 19 being monitored in Asia-Pacific will meet the UN’s second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of achieving zero hunger by 2030 if prevalence of undernourishment rates (PoU) continue to reduce at 2010-15 rates.
A novel combination of prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides could significantly improve absorption of certain minerals, according to new research in rats.
Nutrition has the power to make or break the vast majority of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – but not enough nutrition or food firms are pledging to help solve the problems of hunger, malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.
Danone’s Milupa Nutricia has signed a deal with online retailer windeln.de to better distribute its Aptamil infant formula brand in China as it seeks to thwart the booming grey market.
The benefits of alpha-lacalbumin in providing effective protein in infant formula, and its role in increasing brain serotonin concentrations, were two of the academic highlights presented at the Alpha Summit in Singapore.
A new low-cost test to measure early-stage infant malnutrition that is suitable for use in areas with limited electricity and little health expertise has been developed by University of Sydney researchers.
Better protection of intellectual property and a period of market exclusivity for innovative products would help improve research and development in Australia, claims trade body Complementary Medicines Australia.
China has provided one of the few positive notes in Mead Johnson’s quarterly results, with bosses hailing “substantial progress” in the country, despite conceding that global growth would be slower than planned.
A dose of dextrose gel rubbed inside a newborn baby’s mouth an hour after birth can lower their risk of developing neonatal hypoglycaemia, according to a new randomised study.
A joint venture between Blackmores and Bega Cheese to supply infant formula across APAC - and in particular China - has missed its sales targets, hitting Bega’s financial performance.
By Natasha Flynn, business development manager, HealthDirection
With more than 30,000 businesses generating sales of over A$4bn (US$3.1bn), the Australian complementary medicines industry has created a highly competitive landscape.
There is concern about the considerable variance in the recommended consumption levels of infant formula and follow-on formula in Asia and questions over the amount of protein they are required to contain, an international conference has heard.
Asia’s functional foods and supplements industry needs to stop making unfounded health claims, while also better educating policy makers about the sound science behind its reputable products.
The use of a modified alginate and hi-maize starch encapsulation technique could help to increase the survival rate of probiotics, say Thai researchers.
The United Nations health agency has called for a whole-of-society approach to address the double burden of malnutrition which affects populations across southeast Asia, particularly women and girls.
New Zealand’s a2 Milk Company has signalled its intention to branch out from infant formula into a broader range of dairy-based nutritional products – with the burgeoning China market very much in its sights.
Sales at Chinese infant nutrition firm Biostime dropped by 14% in the first half of 2016 to RMB1.46bn (US$220m), with the Biostime brand – which accounts for 86% of the company’s sales – down 5.4% and the value brand Adimil down 65.7%.
Australian women are well aware that folic acid (PFS) and iodine (IS) are recommended supplements to take during pregnancy, but only a quarter of them adhere to the recommendations, scientists report.
Trying to tackle obesity in women when they become pregnant is usually “too little too late”, according to two authors from the University of Sydney and Charles Perkins Centre.