Legislation

21-Mar-2012 - The European Parliament’s Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) has today voted to block the proposed veto to the Article 13 health claims register.

UK schools should scrap break-time fruit juice – Royal College of Surgeons dental dean

20-Mar-2012 - The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has confirmed the accuracy of comments made by the dean of its dental faculty, urging that fruit juices be replaced with milk and water in UK schools during break times on dental health grounds.

Goat’s milk protein gets EFSA all clear for infant formula use

19-Mar-2012 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a scientific opinion concluding that protein from goat’s milk is a suitable protein source for infant and follow-on formulae, provided the final product complies with compositional criteria.

Nestlé India faces charge for alleged infant formula labelling law violations

19-Mar-2012 - Nestlé India has been charged by a court in Delhi for allegedly violating laws relating to the correct labeling of infant formula products and for associated failings regarding advertisements in women’s magazines, claims that the company denies.

Scale of obesity epidemic means nutrition policy needs to revert to FSA, say UK campaigners

16-Mar-2012 - UK consumer advocates, demanding that responsibilities for nutrition and food labelling be given back to Food Standards Agency (FSA), say not enough is being done to tackle the obesity epidemic.

MEPs move to end to transatlantic beef trade war; lifting of ban on EU beef also in sight

15-Mar-2012 - MEPs yesterday backed proposals aimed at resolving the 24-year beef ‘trade war’ between the EU, the US and Canada, while prospects look brighter for an end to ban on EU beef based on BSE risk review.

News in brief

Internet and vending machine sales spark FSA raw milk review

14-Mar-2012 - The board of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will decide, during a March 20 meeting, whether to review current rules governing the sale and marketing of unpasteurised, or raw, drinking milk and cream after producers used novel sales routes such as the internet and vending machines.

FSA propose replacement of ‘out-of-date’ food safety qualification regs

14-Mar-2012 - UK food safety authorities have proposed a complete rework of the 1991 Northern Ireland Food Safety Regulation, after admitting that the current measures are “out of date.”

EU risk assessor hikes intake safety levels for food additive BHT

13-Mar-2012 - The European food safety assessor has revised upward the acceptable daily limit for food additive used in chewing gum and fats and oils - BHT.

EU approve new rules banning added sugars in fruit juices

13-Mar-2012 - The Council of the European Union have approved new rules that will among other things see it become illegal to add sugars to fruit juices.

EU ministers reject Danish deal on GMO cultivation

12-Mar-2012 - EU environment ministers have rejected a compromise proposal from Denmark that bid to break the deadlock over the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in Europe.

EU warned over Polish ‘industrial salt’ food safety prosecutions

12-Mar-2012 - Polish food safety authorities have put the European Union (EU) on alert after it initiated legal action against three companies that sold industrial salt as salt intended for human consumption.

DEFRA admits it’s under pressure to slice cheese compositional standards

09-Mar-2012 - The Provision Trade Federation (PTF) says it has little sympathy for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which admits that it is under pressure to remove cheese compositional standards from the pending Food Information Regulation (FIR).

Irish MEP: “We have opened a can of worms that EFSA and the Commission would have much preferred remained closed”

08-Mar-2012 - Irish MEP Marian Harkin has become one of the most vocal European parliamentary opponents of the interpretation and application of the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR), and she was not appeased by EC and EFSA statements at a specially convened parliamentary meeting in Brussels yesterday.

Europol targets organised crime in second phase of food fraud crackdown

08-Mar-2012 - Europol, Europe’s central law enforcement agency, plans to continue its fight against the growing presence of organised crime in areas of food through a repeat of last November’s Europe-wide crackdown on food crime - Operation Opson.

Poll results: Ban on GM crop proves popular among FoodNavigator readers

06-Mar-2012 - Nearly three quarters (73%) of FoodNavigator readers believe the European Commission should heed to calls to ban genetically crops, according to the results of our recent poll.

EFSA to implement updated rules on conflicts of interest

05-Mar-2012 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced new implementing rules on how to manage declarations of interest and independence in its scientific decision making process.

PARNUTS revision

Industry backs vote to amend PARNUTs framework

01-Mar-2012 - European industry and consumer groups have broadly backed draft amendments to the much-debated specialised foods Directive known as PARNUTs.

Continuous monitoring needed for aflatoxins in chocolate – study

29-Feb-2012 - Researchers in Brazil have found high levels of the potentially lethal contaminant aflatoxin in chocolate and say constant monitoring is required.

CAP reform threatens farmers who manufacture food

23-Feb-2012 - The requirement for “active farmers” under the latest proposals to reform to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could hit those who derive most of their income from activities other than farming, such as food manufacture, an expert has warned

Acrylamide limit ‘red tape’ premature, says FDF

21-Feb-2012 - The added bureaucracy of legal limits for acrylamide in foods is preventable as industry efforts to reduce levels have been sufficient, says the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

Paperwork and costs reduced with new EU and US organic trade deal

16-Feb-2012 - A new organic trade deal between the EU and the US will eliminate much of the costs for producers, particularly small and medium scale firms, looking to leverage both markets, claim trade groups.

2015 sugar quota deadline must be adhered to, say soft drink makers

15-Feb-2012 - Growth opportunities are being stymied in sectors such as the soft drinks industry due to uncertainty over sugar supply in the EU market, claims a leading UK trade body.

EU forum flags up complexity of measuring impact of fat taxes on health

14-Feb-2012 - The complexity of measuring the impact of food taxes on health and a call for a reduction in taxes on healthier food groups was raised at the recent plenary session of the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.

'Percentage less' claims veto shows lack of trust in the industry; FDF to press for regulatory action

13-Feb-2012 - The recent veto of 'percentage less' claims by MEPs is indicative of a lack of trust in the food industry, said the UK trade group, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which is intent on continuing to push for such amendments to the health claims regulation.