May 2022

Consuming curcumin-rich curry at least once every month is enough to show better cognitive performance among the elderly in Singapore, according to a 4.5-year longitudinal study.

Researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine have found that not all dietary fibers are equal in their health impact, especially when it comes to the gut microbiome.

Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), a Thailand-headquartered agro-industrial and food business, has entered a partnership with cell-based meat player Future Meat Technologies to develop hybrid cultured meat products – including varieties with the authentic properties of dark meat – for the Asian market.

Global food prices started to rise in mid-2020 when businesses shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, straining supply chains. Farmers dumped out milk and let fruits and vegetables rot due to a lack of available truckers to transport goods to supermarkets, where prices spiked as consumers stockpiled food. A shortage of migrant labor…

Fancy a lion burger? A tiger steak? What, at first glance, seemed like an April fool’s joke, has been confirmed by the calendar to be nothing of the sort. In New York, a start-up is indeed developing lab-grown meat derived from wild animals.

Steve Cahillane said the breakfast cereal giant ‘ which so far has essentially avoided hiking prices ‘ is finally expecting to crumple amid worsening inflation, lingering supply chain disruptions, a workers’ strike, a plant fire and the war in Ukraine.

From paying coffee growers healthy wages to upcycling ‘wonky’ fruit and veg, beverage start-ups are integrating ethics and sustainability into their supply chains from the get-go. FoodNavigator hears what challenges and opportunities they’ve faced along the way.

Swedish business Melt&Marble, specialist in precision fermentation to produce customized fats for plant-based foods, has unveiled its non-animal fat with the properties of beef fat. Next, the outfit will upscale the fermentation and food divisions to facilitate process improvement and application testing.

The sugar reduction trend is maintaining its hold on industry, with latest statistics from Flavorchem’s IFIC 2021 Food and Health Survey revealing that 72% of respondents are trying to limit or avoid sugar in their diets altogether. In particular, the beverage sector leads the way for sugar reduction efforts as the category evolves to serve a wider range of health-conscious consumers.

The Malay Mail Online

According to a Canadian study, vegetarian and vegan children do not show any more nutritional deficiencies or stunted growth than their meat-eating peers. However, parents may need to take extra care in certain aspects of their diet in order to prevent them from being underweight, warn the authors of the research.

The scale of Singapore’s challenge to achieve 30% food self-sufficiency by 2030 has been underlined by new data released by the city state’s national food agency.

Indonesia’s sudden export ban on palm oil has industry watchers anticipating a surge in the cost of edible oils, including sunflower oil, soybean oil and rapeseed oil. Even prior to this, the global stocks of key edible oils have already been tightly squeezed due to inflationary price swings, unfavorable weather conditions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Plans to help 200 Singapore food manufacturers develop 400 new products by 2026 have been unveiled on the back of the launch of a new shared foodtech facility.

The Thai government has pledged to pick up the pace of its nationwide digital transformation plans for the local food and agriculture industry this year, with a major focus on big data, smart agriculture, e-commerce and agribusiness improvement.

South Korea has completed of the first two phases of a new national food safety management system for Vietnam, using technology and information systems used in its home market.

Next to chickens, duck, or itik, is the second major source of egg and meat in the Philippines. Ducks are primarily raised for balut and salted egg, or itlog na pula. Almost 500,000 Filipino families rely on ducks for livelihood as well. Whether for personal or commercial purposes, a native breed that is suited for egg and meat production is Itik PINAS (IP).

At his upmarket Bangkok restaurant, Michelin-starred chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn spoons black caviar onto a plate, adding the newly affordable Thailand-made delicacy to his reinterpreted traditional family recipes.

Chinese consumers have determined the traffic light labelling system as well as distinct warning labels highlighting ‘negative’ nutrients such as sugar, salt and saturated fat to be the most effective forms of front-of-pack labelling (FOPL), according to a new study.

The Straits Times

Prices of raw materials for food sellers and bakeries have spiked and other costs, such as manpower or utility bills, have also risen significantly.