While Singapore public health officials are taking strides to persuade adults and school-age children to steer away from sugar, their awareness campaigns appear to be missing a crucial segment of society—babies and infants.
Read about China’s proposal to tighten its infant formula registration process, how sports supplements sold in India are to adhere to the country’s Food, Safety, and Standards Regulations, and the debate surrounding sugar taxes.
Trade body Complementary Medicines Australia (CMA) has reassured the safety of Australian made supplements but cautioned against the online purchase of overseas products, amid ongoing doping saga involving national swimmer Shayna Jack.
The Chinese authorities have proposed five changes to the country’s infant formula milk powder registration process, in a bid to boost the level of quality, scientific evidence, and safe consumption of the products.
Indian regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority India (FSSAI) has announced that all dietary supplements for sports use will be categorised as Foods for Special Dietary Uses (FSDU), which means that manufacturers will need to operate according to...
Sugar sweetened beverages are one of very few “clearly unhealthy products” that are readily promoted to children and “significantly contribute” to poorer health outcomes as people age, according to a leading health consultant.
Simply “slapping on” a sugar tax to sugar sweetened beverage tax to tackle obesity, diabetes and improving long-term health outcomes when Asia’s ageing population reaches its senior years is misguided, according to the CEO of the Australian Beverages...
A consultation process over Australia’s Country of Origin labelling rules is underway – the guidelines which came under scrutiny after a leading brand was refused permission to use ‘Made in Australia’ claims for products using imported fish oil.
Read about regulatory developments across APAC’s health foods market, including the pending expansion of new nutrient function claims in Thailand and Chinese market regulator call for evidence of efficacy.
There is a need for more research and funding for elderly nutrition as the world’s population rapidly ages, executive leading academic from Nestlé’s Institute of Health Science told our Healthy Ageing APAC Summit in Singapore.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is encouraging health food firms to contribute to the expansion of the Health Food Raw Materials Directory by presenting evidence to support the functional efficacy of ingredients to the unit.
Read about the TGA's ongoing crackdown on unlicensed supplements, dangerous consumer trends around 'natural' product use, China's action plans for food safety, and infant formula proposals in India, Australia and New Zealand.
The growing popularity of nootropics and sports nutrition supplements is leading to a boom in unlicensed products being sold online, with Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recently seizing a raft of items.
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration's (TGA) recent seizure of unlicensed bloodroot and black salve supplements has highlighted a dangerous emerging trend for unlicensed ‘natural’ products that claim to help fight cancers.
Read about China's ambitious food safety plans, India's proposal on infant food for special medical purposes, Nestlé Australia and NZ's bid to lower protein content in follow-on formula, and functional health claims in Japan and Korea.
China has outlined a set of food safety proposals to achieve two main goals: to ensure that 98% of all products fulfil spot-check requirements by 2020, and that the nation's food safety standards will be regarded as the world's best by 2035.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a notification on a draft regulation for infant nutrition safety standards, calling for industry stakeholders to submit their comments.
Nestlé has applied to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to reduce the minimum protein requirement for milk-based follow-on formula in the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code.
FANCL, Nippon Suisan, and Ezaki Glico are three of the biggest beneficiaries of Japan's Food with Function Claims (FFC), which was introduced four years ago and gave firms more opportunities to make health claims without going through the more stringent...
South Korean consumers have raised concerns, including fears of price hikes and a spike in fake health claims, when the country permits some functional health claims to be applied to general foods.
Carrying the official logo of the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificates for health food is crucial for smooth exports, the government unit said.
South Korean authorities will revise current regulations and introduce safety measures in the booming personalised nutrition industry, including strengthening the quality control of personalised functional health foods, regulating advertising, and assessing...
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has published a list of fake or illegal product advertising cases covering health foods for the first time this year, with many carrying a raft of exaggerated claims.
The time is now for industry to voluntarily improve the transparency of probiotic product quality, even in the absence of regulatory requirements, says a recent review.
Stricter infant formula marketing rules in New Zealand have been working well for both industry and consumers so far, according to trade association the Infant Nutrition Council (INC).
The intake of omega-3 fatty acids may have cardio-protective effects against air pollution, according to an RCT conducted by researchers in China and the US.
The US Food and Drug Administration has no objections around the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status of BLIS M18, a probiotic strain for oral health.
Read about food fortification, illegal diet pills and an 11-year-old dairy ban in India, health claims under scrutiny in Singapore, and yet more infant formula controversy plaguing Nestlé in our news regulatory round-up.
Indian regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has urged the government to again extend its 11-year-old ban on Chinese milk products until labs at Indian ports have been upgraded for melamine testing.
India's SupplyCo has received a government contract to produce and provide fortified rice in Kerala, after figures revealed that 19.7% of children below the age of five are stunted and 15.7% are underweight.
Local authorities may soon address possible 'gaps' in Singapore’s legislation regarding and healthy food products, with regulator Singapore Food Agency (SFA) commissioning a study to assess its rules regime.
Allegedly 'illegal' keto diet pills being sold online in India has seen regulator FSSAI's authority and competence called into question, with concerns that it is not doing enough to protect consumers.
A report claims that Nestlé failed to act on criticisms of its baby milk formula products and their composition in an investigation that also accuses the food giants of inaction over previous vows.
A leading vitamin K2 developer is working to establish a global K2-specific recommended daily intake as part of its heavyweight awareness campaign targeting health professionals, legislators and consumers.
Read about latest the regulatory developments in China, Blackmores' acerbic response to the MBA's "attack" on complementary medicine, and the mystery of India's missing fortified flour in our regulatory review.
The Medical Board of Australia's (MBA) proposal to reassess the regulation of complementary medicines and practitioners who prescribe them has elicited a strongly worded response from Marcus Blackmore.
The recent slew of crackdowns, regulatory reviews and stricter rules for China's health food and supplement industry are 'growing pains' the industry must overcome, as regulators double down on efforts to promote safety and collect taxes.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is calling for public feedback regarding regulations for health food products containing probiotics.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has announced the start of a public consultation to review health food claims, leading to widespread industry uncertainty that regulatory experts claim will hit new product development and...
India's Food and Civil Supplies Department (DFCS) is investigating 90 depot holders for failing to distribute fortified flour to designated beneficiaries.
Nu Skin China has formed a focus group, led by the firm's country CEO, to look into the death of a 34-year-old Chinese woman who died from organ failure after allegedly refusing medical treatment for flu and fever, and instead insisting on drinking...
The Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) has announced its collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush on possible standards for ayurvedic ahaar, or traditional ayurvedic foods, as a separate category.
The Indian government is stepping up efforts to improve the nutritional status of residents in rural areas of the country, with a new three-year project to drive R&D in functional foods.
Chinese authorities are trying to reduce the prevalence of fake food by imposing heavier penalties on manufacturers and sellers until "they are made bankrupt".
A first-of-its-kind study has found that despite the increased use and expansion of a flagship government child nutrition programme in India, it has not resulted in significant progress for those who need it most.
Medical marijuana may soon make some progress in India, but any hope of more relaxed regulations on CBD or hemp for nutraceuticals has gone up in smoke, according to one industry expert.
Get our most recent news on nutraceuticals and vitamin C in India, CBD legislation in Australia, India and the Philippines, and Promisia's continued fight against government prosecution regarding its controversial arthritis supplement.
Using the correct methods and engaging laboratories with the right expertise are needed when measuring omega-3 product quality, in order to help safeguard the sector's reputation.
By Will Chu, Niamh Michail, Hank Schultz, and Cheryl Tay
The interest in cannabidiol (CBD) use in food supplements, foods, and even as an ingredient in cosmetics has gained much momentum in the past five years, but what is the regulatory situation around the world?