Dateline Southeast Asia

Quarter of a million tonnes of food wasted during Ramadan in Malaysia

By RJ Whitehead

- Last updated on GMT

Buka puasa feasts for those breaking their fast have become increasingly lavish in Malaysia
Buka puasa feasts for those breaking their fast have become increasingly lavish in Malaysia

Related tags Food safety Food Agriculture Malaysia

Malaysia: Quarter of a million tonnes of food wasted during Ramadan

Malaysia is counting the cost of wastage now that Ramadan is over, after 270,000 tonnes of food was thrown out during the holy month.

According to the government’s Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation, this amount would be enough to feed around 180m people.

Ramadan, a period for Muslims to reflect on the lives of the poor and hungry by fasting during daylight hours, produces around 30,000 tonnes more food waste than non-fasting months.

"What is so sad about the whole thing is that we're missing the whole point. We're missing the purpose of Ramadan​,” Nadzim Johan of the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia told Channel NewsAsia. 

The most important part is to teach yourself discipline, and that's the very thing that we’re failing at​."

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Malaysia has been chosen to be the first of five countries to adopt the United Nations’ Integrated Sustainable Agriculture Programme (iSAP).

The country was selected because of its regional leadership in food technology and agricultural systems, Puvan Selvanathan, who leads the initiative.

Through it, Malaysian farmers will join an international community of agriculturalists around the world to interact and share knowledge and practices. 

"Malaysia is an excellent model for countries which are transitioning from developing state to developed state,” said Dr Selvanathan.

"Its success through iSAP could help demonstrate to other countries as people will look to it as an example.”

Denmark, the Netherlands, Turkey and Vietnam are the four other countries in the selected for the programme.

Some 30,000 farmers are expected join the international programme this year.

Philippines: Government says no to lifestyle disease inquiry

A government minister has rejected calls by Filipino scientists to create a national commission to look into ways to control so-called lifestyle diseases.

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Responding to demands by the National Academy of Science and Technology, Secretary Mario Montejo of the Department of Science and Technology said charges that the Philippines was going through a non-communicable diseases epidemic were wrong.

While the statistics are overwhelming, we caution the Academy in declaring it as an epidemic​,” said Montejo. 

While we recognise the important role that this proposed commission will play, we need to look at alternative ways for effective prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. There are interventions that can be started immediately using existing mechanisms or institutions​.”

Figures by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies showed that over 70% of deaths in the Philippines were caused by heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, cancer and other lifestyle conditions in 2013.

This number increased by around 20% since 2008 as Filipinos began to grow wealthier and adopt more western diets.

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Meanwhile, Philiippines lawmaker Ralph Recto called for a a quick reaction team to be formed “that can respond to food safety emergencies”—similar to how police scene-of-crime teams operate. 

“The team will be composed of scientists and doctors who can be rapidly deployed to places hit by food poisoning outbreaks,” he said. 

His comments came in the wake of a recent incident that allegedly saw almost 2,000 Filipinos sickened by fruit-flavoured sweets. 

Singapore: Upgrade in the works for China-Singapore FTA

Work has begun on upgrading the China-Singapore free-trade agreement that has been operating since 2008, with discussions set to begin later this year, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

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Lee Hsien Loong

The FTA has been in place for quite a few years, and the world has changed​,” Lee said. 

If there’s a new FTA, it should be more complete, more inclusive than the existing one. We hope we can upgrade the FTA with China. We have agreed to start a joint scoping study, — in Mandarin, it’s what we call a negotiation research work group​.” 

Meanwhile, the Asean trade bloc and China have also set out to conclude their own negotiations on upgrading the China-Asean FTA by the end of the year. 

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More of Singapore’s food service outlets are converting to use digital services like e-menus and self-ordering to mitigate the rising cost of labour on the island. 

SPRING Singapore, the government’s small business development agency, said it has helped more than 120 companies adopt service technologies in the first five months of  this year—corresponding to 330 food and beverage outlets in total. 

The agency said technology was important to keep local food services companies competitive in the face of manpower challenges and surging costs. 

SPRING will soon offer food service operators a new tool to gain insights on how to better serve their customers. 

In collaboration with local phone operator Singtel, the agency is piloting its Customer Review Dashboard, a customer sentiment analysis tool. 

"Companies must get to know their customers​,” said Senior Lee Yi Shyan the trade ministry secretary. 

“Successful service firms know if their customers are happy with their service, they will return for more. Hence repeat business is a key yardstick to measure a firm's service offering's attractiveness vis-a-vis competition.” 

Lee said many firms invested little into understand their customers. 

“In fact, there is evidence to suggest that the proliferation of new customer data capturing tools are widening the gap of those who embrace it and those who don’t,” the minister added. 

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A team of National University of Singapore scientists found that blue light emitting diodes have a strong antibacterial effect on major food-borne pathogens. 

They found that the lights were most effective in temperatures between 4°C and 15°C and mildly acidic conditions of around pH 4.5. 

The findings can potentially be applied to food chillers or the cold chain to preserve fresh-cut fruits, ready-to-eat seafood such as sushi and smoked salmon, as well as chilled meat products. 

The technology could also be useful for retail settings, spanning hawker centres, food courts to supermarkets, as well as for food suppliers, the researchers said.

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Chemicals major Solvay has opened its largest alkoxylation plant in Asia-Pacific at an investment of S$50m (US$36.5m) which it hopes will propel the company’s chemicals business growth in Asia.

The plant will produce specialty alkoxylate formulations for the agrochemicals, coatings, home and personal care, industrial, and oil and gas markets in Asia. 

Located in Singapore’s Jurong Island, it complements two other existing alkoxylation plants in China and India.

“We are delighted to have companies like Solvay who continue to invest in Singapore’s chemical industry,” said Cindy Koh of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. 

Their new facility attests to Singapore’s attractiveness as a location for companies looking to capture growth opportunities in the region.

Vietnam: Companies need better understanding of FTA clauses

Vietnamese exporters should make better use of opportunities on the back of free-trade agreements, with many of them not knowing how to claim priority tariffs. 

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The country is currently part of 15 FTAs, with 10 signed already and a further five that are undergoing negotiation, including the high-profile RCEP and TPP deals.

Vietnamese businesses need a better understanding of how to get ideal tariff rates from a free-trade agreement, Bui Kim Thuy of the country’s foreign trade ministry urged.

By researching rule of origin clauses in particular, traders can identify whether imported goods can be eligible for tariff concessions to keep a rational balance between "trade facilitation" and "fraudulence prevention", she said.

Cambodia: Food safety law draws nearer

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and Cambodia’s commerce ministry held a workshop last week to garner feedback from NGOs and businesses on the country’s draft food law. 

5Cambodia

The law deals with the safety, labelling and advertising of food and agricultural products for local consumption as well as detailing standards for exports and imports of produce and provides food supply chains with operational guide lines and lists the duties of the ministries, businesses and agencies involved. 

Nina Brandstrup, the FAO’s representative in Cambodia, said: “A food law is necessary to promote the productivity and quality of the agricultural sector, to support consumer protection and to enhance the competitiveness of Cambodian export​. 

[The goal is] to provide all players with the same understanding – to have common management that will have a farm to table approach​.” 

Thailand: Government to focus on lowering child obesity rate

Thailand’s health department has committed to lowering the country’s childhood obesity rate by 0.5% over the next 10 years so it is no more than 9.9% per year.

The department has also set other youth-orientated goals, such as increasing the average height of female and male students to 165 cm and 175 cm, and their average IQ to above 100. 

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