India gives beverage giants 90 days to re-label energy drinks
India’s food authority gives beverage giants PepsiCo, Red Bull, and Monster until 29 September to remove “energy drink” label and alleged misleading claims.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is cracking down on what it deems misleading label claims.
FoodNavigator spoke to former FSSAI official Pradip Chakraborty, who continues to advise organisations in the food industry, for insight into the situation as the September 29 deadline looms ahead.
Japan earthquake 2026: Food labels relaxed but safety still paramount
The government of Japan has officially granted a labelling reprieve for food products in areas affected by the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake, but also issued strict warnings against unsafe and malicious practices
Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture was struck by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in late July, resulting in at least 39 deaths and over 350 injured, many of which were in an Aeon shopping mall at the time.
After the disaster, Japan immediately placed 21 out of Kumamoto’s 45 municipalities under the country’s Disaster Relief Act. In line with the need to urgently and rapidly deliver food to these disaster areas, the local Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced that food labelling standards would be ‘applied flexibly’ in these areas as well.
‘Damning results’: Australia investigates alleged food fraud in supermarkets
Australia’s consumer watchdog is looking into alleged food fraud after forensic tests flagged misleading origin claims and possible adulteration in supermarket products
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced on August 7 that it is investigating the claims raised in the recent Four Corners programme, which contained allegations about businesses misleading consumers with label claims.
ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said: “It is important that consumers can be confident that any claims made on food labelling, packaging and in advertisements are truthful, accurate and not misleading. We know that consumers may be guided by non-price factors, including claims about the country of origin or supply chain, when choosing which food products to buy.”
Science vs politics: Kiwi’s long road to EU health-claim approval
It took four years after Europe’s food-safety scientists backed green kiwifruit’s digestive-health claim for regulators in Brussels to approve it, raising the bigger question: What happens when the science is settled, but the politics are not?
In August 2025, Zespri, the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit, announced that the European Commission had approved what it described as the first health claim for a fresh fruit, following more than 15 years of research funded by the company.
But while the approval represented a milestone for Zespri, which cited 18 human studies in its application, the timeline highlighted just how difficult it is for science-backed health claims to make the journey from evidence to the market.
Canada’s tariff retaliation puts US food and agriculture industries in a bind
Dairy and steel groups back aggressive US trade action, while broader agriculture groups warn that escalating tariffs and retaliation could threaten critical export markets
Canada’s hefty retaliatory tariffs on $27.6 billion of US goods that took effect just past midnight today could hit the food and farming industry hard – but stakeholders across the value chain are far from united on what should happen next.
“Effective Sept. 8, Canada will impose counter tariffs of up to 15, 25 and 50% on $27.6 billion in imports from the United States of America,” in response to tariffs of 50% on approximately $28 billion in Canadian goods imposed by the US on Aug. 22, Canadian Finance Minster Francois-Philippe Champagne declared in late August.
