Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - Europe US edition

Talking point

Are EU health claims dooming innovation – Your views

06-Nov-2009 - NutraIngredients asked its readers for their views on whether the EU health claims regulation is stifling innovation in Europe. And we received a lot of responses...

Three speedy GM maize approvals ease soy imports

03-Nov-2009 - The European Commission last week approved three varieties of genetically modified maize for import and processing for food and feed uses, as soy imports into the EU were held up by the bloc’s zero tolerance policy.

EFSA publishes draft guidance for flavours assessment

02-Nov-2009 - EFSA has given the first indication of the data it sees as necessary for approval of new flavourings, under the new regulation and common authorisation procedure that came into force this year.

Talking point

Will health claims doom innovation in Europe?

30-Oct-2009 - Hope that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) might moderate its clinical-trial weighted approach for general health claims in the EU dried up on October 1, when it rejected 70 per cent of 500+ dossiers, including 181 of 181 probiotic dossiers.

Animal welfare labelling schemes up for discussion in Europe

30-Oct-2009 - The European Commission is mulling labelling to help consumers’ identify animal welfare-friendly products and incentivise producers to improve welfare. But campaigners say voluntary measures are not enough.

Commission tackles food price transparency and fair practices

29-Oct-2009 - The European Commission has laid out a series of steps to improve supply chain relations in the food chain, and has launched a new tool to help ensure price transparency between actors.

Weekly comment

Tackling E.coli – legislation or self-regulation?

26-Oct-2009 - Everybody wants food to be safe - but the recent slugging match over how best to protect US consumers from E.coli-tainted meat highlights whether legislation or self-regulation is the answer to mending the country's flawed safety system.

Australia, NZ to review burden of food labelling laws

26-Oct-2009 - Australia and New Zealand are to undertake a review of food labelling laws and policy to reduce the regulatory burden on food companies without compromising health and safety.

GM maize approvals stumble at EU hurdles

20-Oct-2009 - The ping-pong of approvals for GM crops in Europe played another round yesterday, when the Commission failed to reach agreement on MIR604 and a Council vote on three others was inconclusive.

Korea deal a massive opportunity for EU food

16-Oct-2009 - The signing of a free trade deal between the EU and Korea has been hailed by the food and beverage industry, as it will unlock new market access for the sector.

EFSA not reconsidering new preservative ADI

15-Oct-2009 - EFSA has found no grounds to justify a re-evaluation of preservative ethyl lauroyl arginate following the presentation of new information on toxicology – even though its ADI is lower than those set by other authorities.

Novel foods rules harm development, report

13-Oct-2009 - Novel food regulation functions as an unintentional trade barrier to heritage foods and affects supply chain development and poverty alleviation in developing countries, according to a new report.

Weekly comment

Soda tax: A lot of froth over freedom

12-Oct-2009 - Is taxing soda really an evil plan to curb your individual freedom? Conspiracy theories aside, perhaps it’s simply a sensible scheme to tackle obesity when personal choice has failed.

Heat foreign berries to kill norovirus, urges Finland

09-Oct-2009 - As an outbreak of norovirus in southern Finland has been linked to frozen raspberries from Poland, the Finnish food safety authority, Evira, says raspberries must be heated before use.

Protests overshadow plans for dairy taskforce

07-Oct-2009 - Agriculture ministers heard plans for an expert group to study the future of the dairy sector at a meeting in Brussels on Monday - marked more by protests outside than events inside.

Weekly comment

Bad day at the EU health claims office

05-Oct-2009 - October 1 was not a good day for many in the functional foods and food supplements business in the European Union as the meaning of life under a highly restrictive health claims regime came more into focus.

FSA opposes omega-3 claims that would ‘mislead consumers’

01-Oct-2009 - With the doors closed on an EC meeting due to decide the future of omega-3 nutrient content claims, the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has suggested it opposes the proposed labelling.

Dairy industry seeks policy rethink on saturated fats

30-Sep-2009 - The European Dairy Association (EDA) has hosted a conference to push the case for a rethink of attitudes to saturated fat in advance of proposed tax and public policy changes.

France reminds what ‘natural’ means

29-Sep-2009 - The French department responsible for tackling fraud has issued a new note setting out how the term ‘natural’ should be used on food products.

News in brief

EU roadshow to combat kids' obesity

29-Sep-2009 - The EU has launched a new campaign to encourage healthy eating among school children, bringing the Tasty Bunch roadshow to 18000 kids in 180 schools, in seven counties.

Mutual recognition a must for ‘traditional’ novel foods

23-Sep-2009 - The amended novel foods approval must reinforce the principle of mutual recognition between member states if the fast-track process for traditional foods eaten outside the EU is to work, says an expert.

Jail for organic food scam

23-Sep-2009 - The director of a British food supplier which falsely described its products as organic has been jailed for more than two years, in what is believed to be the first custodial sentence for organic food fraud in the UK.

GMO risk assessment must be transparent

23-Sep-2009 - More work is needed on opening up GM assessment to integrate public concerns, attendees at a conference on the possible risks of genetically modified organisms heard this week.

News in brief

EU votes against bluefin tuna ban

23-Sep-2009 - A proposal to temporarily ban international trade in bluefin tuna to allow stocks to recuperate suffered a blow this week, when member states voted against them.