Honey authenticity: Estonia invests in DNA tech in bid to drive exports to Asia
Estonian trade officials are hoping to take a bigger slice of Japan’s 45,000 tonne honey market on the back of promoting new authenticity tech.
One of the products showcased by government agency Enterprise Estonia at the recent FoodEx Japan show in Tokyo was DNA-certified honey from Artisan Honey.
The company is now hoping to boost exports, not only to Japan but also potentially South Korea and Singapore, by stressing its authenticity credentials.
According to a report released by the European Union (EU), 46% of honey imported into Europe was suspected of having syrup added, and 147 of 320 samples were found to not comply with EU honey standards.
Activities range from counterfeiting and substitution to false labeling, which not only causes consumers to lose trust in genuine products, but also poses serious health risks. It also weakens legitimate producers and suppliers who comply with the rules.
Celvia, a research institute providing food safety and related testing services in the country, has become something of a pioneer in DNA testing of honey. The company’s cutting-edge technology can verify the authenticity of honey from its DNA sequence, and in this way also detects pathogens and fraudulent additives, allowing for product quality assurance.
Next-gen nutrition: Precision fermentation eyed as next step in functional food innovation
Various Asia Pacific firms are eyeing precision fermentation technology as the next step in functional food innovation, particularly surrounding the protein lactoferrin which is already well-known to have benefits for human immunity and gut health.
A few years ago, precision fermentation was seen to be the intermediate alternative protein technology, between the existing plant-based products and ten-years-down-the-line cultivated meat products.
But given developments thus far, only a few firms such as Perfect Day have succeeded in moving from the tech stage to the commercialisation stage in terms of everyday processed food products (e.g. ice cream or processed meats) hence many in the sector have turned their focus to developing other more high-value products, such as actual nutrients.
A key nutrient that has come into play as a result of this has been the protein lactoferrin, which is commonly found in animal secretions including milk and is well-documented to have antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties.
“Thousands of studies have been done on lactoferrin which have concluded that it does have immunity and gut health benefits for humans,” former TurtleTree CFO and sustainable food systems leader Alexander Pestalozzi told FoodNavigator-Asia.
Tech advancement, consumer recognition driving rapid growth of biotic functional drinks in APAC - Suntory
Ingredient stability, more science and greater consumer understanding are fuelling the the rapid growth of probiotic, prebiotic and other biotic drinks in APAC, claims beverage giant Suntory.
Functional products have seen some of the most rapid growth within the food and beverage industry in recent years, and one of the most successful categories have been those enriched with biotics, whether probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics or synbiotics.
The beverage category has seen some of the most advanced innovation in this regard, with science advances and new tech playing a major role.
“Within the functional beverages sector, I think particular attention has definitely been given to areas such as probiotics and postbiotics, and this shift is being driven by a few key factors,” Suntory Oceania Senior Manager of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Dr Lesley Stevenson told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“The first is definitely the advancement in technology surrounding these ingredients, which has translated to these being able to be more efficiently added into non-alcoholic drinks whilst still able to remain stable within these drinks and deliver the benefits they are supposed to.”
Palm oil paradox: ‘Realistic’ approaches and not silver bullets needed in global vegetable oils market
Markets worldwide need to put their faith in ‘realistic’ approaches for the vegetable oils market as opposed to seeking out silver bullets, as the stability of the global food supply hangs in the balance, according to industry experts.
This was the argument put forth by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Oil Crops Task Force Chair Erik Meijaard during the recent International Conference of Palm Oil and Environment (ICOPE) 2025, based on the IUCN report Exploring the future of vegetable oils published in 2024.
“The first thing to remember is that vegetable oils are not optional additions to the human diet, but indeed an essential source of saturated and unsaturated fats that make up part of a healthy diet,” he told the floor.
“Many western markets view palm oil in black and white, and are polarised to the idea that palm oil is evil somehow – this is not true as the situation is far more complicated,” he said.
“Looking at this from a yields point of view, the data shows that if we attempt to swap out palm oil for alternatives, and to provide sufficient quantities to feed the world by 2050, this will mean needing to dedicate more than 200 million more hectares of extra land to oil crops, which is far from a sustainable move.”
Pre-diabetes on the rise in South Korea: Almost half of all adults affected
Pre-diabetes among adults in South Korea soared from 27.1 per cent in 2015 to 46.7 per cent in 2022, according to newly-released nutrition data.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) recently highlighted a worrying trend of rising pre-diabetics and hypertension rates in the country. It has developed a customised nutrition guide to help individuals control their diet and prevent the onset of diabetes.
Two in five of the adult population (46.7 per cent) were “pre-diabetic” as of 2021, which the MFDS described as a “high” rate, based on findings of the National Health and Nutrition Survey published in December 2023.
“Recently, the number of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension has been increasing due to various causes.
“In particular, the rate is high, with 4 out of 10 adults being in the pre-diabetic stage, and it is known that between five and eight per cent of people with impaired fasting blood sugar can progress to diabetes within a year,” said the MFDS.