asian food: US Offers Huge Potential For Asian Food Exporters July 20, 2006 14:53 PM By Christine Lim KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- The fast- expanding Asian population in major US cities, especially California, New York state and Hawaii, offers Asian food exporters a huge potential market. Vice president of FDA Registrar Corp, David Lennarz, said US imported a substantial portion of food from Asia, with China contributing a large quantity. "Malaysian food is still not widely known in US. However, potential exists for it to grow its popularity there," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the seminar on "Updates on US Food and Drug Administration Regulations" organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp. FDA Registrar provides registration, US agent and compliance assistance for US and non-US companies in the food and beverage, medical device and cosmetics industries Lennarz said Asian food was also popular among non-Asians in US as it was perceived to be healthier and compatible with vegetarian diet. "From 2001-2002, retail sales of Asian-type food products rose 4.1 percent to over US$300 million (US$1=RM3.66). "By 2008, sales are projected to reach US$1 billion," he said. He said in addition to the growing popularity of Asian food, there was also growing demand for organic food as health-conscious Americans were willing to pay a premium for them. Lennarz also highlighted key points for Malaysian food exporters to take note to gain market access in US. "With the US Bioterrorism Act 2002, the Food and Drug Administration has more details about those in the industry than ever before, emergency telephone numbers, contact names, list of products, etc," he said. Lennarz said the aim was to require companies to register and then through prior notice, track the flow of food. He said incorrect labelling was the main reason for the detention of the products in US. "Products from Malaysia that were detained recently due to improper labelling were mango drink, vitamin supplement, ovaltine power, coconut milk, frozen steamed vegetables and noodles," he said. According to Lennarz, requirements for labelling varied according to the types of products. "For instance, the primary display panel (PDP) for retail labelling requires statement of identity (name of food) and net contents declaration. "The information panel is the label panel immediately to the right of the PDP and will require information on nutrition facts chart, ingredients list and manufacturer identity," he said. -- BERNAMA