In a move against greenwashing, the European Commission is proposing common criteria to stamp out vague, misleading, or unsubstantiated environmental claims.
The European Commission is proposing limits on which new environmental labelling schemes will be allowed to enter the market, in response to concerns around consumer confusion and mistrust.
On Monday 20 March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report. The report was clear about the catastrophic effect that climate change could have on the food supply worldwide, devastating agriculture...
Love it or hate it, Nutri-Score is one of the most popular front-of-pack nutrition labelling systems for food and drink. Now, the European Public Health Association, a non-governmental organisation of public health institutes across Europe, has expressed...
A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) presents the efforts of countries and organisations globally to eliminate trans fats in food. However, there is still a long way to go.
Precision fermentation leaders have banded together to launch Food Fermentation Europe (FFE), an alliance seeking to revamp current regulatory processes it describes as ‘far too lengthy and opaque’.
As another country, Japan, announces plans to develop a market for cellular foods, we ask stakeholders how Europe can remain competitive in the global race to develop cultivated meat.
Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) has been slammed by environmental campaigners for renouncing its HCSA membership. According to the palm oil major, the move represents a commitment to ‘doubling down on what’s working’.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) is calling for an ‘outright ban’ of carbon neutral claims for food and drink in Europe, claiming they confuse and mislead shoppers. FoodNavigator asks the Carbon Trust to weigh in.
The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has launched a scathing attack on the Irish government over the delay in the introduction of its new nitrate banding rules.
The French consumer affairs and fraud control watchdog is clamping down on online influencers with fines of up to €300,000 and prison-sentences of up to two years, after discovering the majority do not comply with regulations.
A bill introduced to the Italian Parliament is seeking to prevent plant-based meat alternatives from using ‘meaty’ names. Would such a ban finally put an end to ‘marketing bias’, or instead ‘derail plans for a sustainable food system’?
The word ‘gruyere’ is 'generic', a US Court of Appeals told two consortiums who had argued the term should only be used to describe cheese made in a specific region of Switzerland and France.
Using dairy descriptors for plant-based alternatives, such as ‘oat milk’, is currently illegal in the UK, as in the EU. But following the US FDA’s new draft guidance encouraging such terminology, some see opportunity for the UK to change tack.
Although ‘many thought approving a new solvent would be impossible’, the European Parliament and Council have added plant-based solvent methyloxolane to the list of permitted processing aids for the manufacture of food ingredients.
Both the US and Singapore have seen cultivated meat products pass through their regulatory processes, yet the two governments approach novel foods in different ways. Which challenges and opportunities exist within these regulatory frameworks, and what...
Which areas of food and beverage will attract regulators’ attention this year? From HFSS laws to food safety inspections, lawyers from Squire Patton Boggs take us through the predicted trends for 2023.
Guidance from CAP and BCAP, the Advertising Standards Authority codes for non- and broadcast industries, has been updated to include advice on the use of carbon neutral and net zero claims in advertising.
Despite a slight easing in annual food and drink inflation – the first in 18 months – Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland said prices remain high, placing onus on government to help the sector to keep costs down for Scottish consumers.
Twenty Spanish organisations, including health and environmental campaigners as well as consumer representatives, are urging the Spanish government to take action to combat the ‘current food price crisis’ and ensure access to sustainable and affordable...
The Egyptian food safety authority has committed that the local food supply will hit World Health Organisation (WHO) trans fats guidelines within 12 months, claiming its recent policy changes will finally take it off the global high-consumption list.
A coalition of 286 civil society organisations have come together to urge the European Commission to follow through on its plans to legislate for a more sustainable food system. The move, they say, is necessary in the face of ‘political resistance’ that...
Deforestation in Brazil’s section of the Amazon rainforest dropped by 61 percent in January, the first month in office for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has promised to relaunch environmental protection efforts.
Achieving pre-market authorisation to put cultivated meat on people’s plates is no easy feat. With different geographies handling the regulatory process in their own unique ways, we dissect how it works in the EU and Israel, and ask how these systems...
Formula milk marketing tactics are exploitative, and regulations need to be urgently strengthened and properly implemented, according to a new three paper series published in The Lancet.
A ‘comprehensive’ new EU project, called CLEVERFOOD, has been launched with the aim of facilitating the society-wide mobilisation of European citizens to transform the food system in a way that benefits climate, biodiversity and people.
Trade groups like Craft Bakers Association, Scottish Bakers and Federation of Bakers have welcomed the UK Baking Industry Code of Practice (CoP) for the Labelling of Sourdough Bread and Rolls. The Real Bread Campaign, on the other hand, remains highly...
UK feed industry representatives, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), acknowledged the progress made in the new UK environmental improvement plan but says more detail is needed.
A row has broken about a UK government healthy eating tool for families and children that campaigners say is promoting ultra-processed foods despite their links to cancer, heart disease and early death.
A political agreement has been reached on the European Union’s due diligence legislation, and sustainable palm oil organisation Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is supportive. Yet challenges and risks exist, explains Ruben Brunsveld, deputy director...
Major South East Asian palm oil producer countries are gearing up to retaliate against the European Union’s controversial deforestation regulation, with the situation rapidly devolving to the point that a trade war could be on the horizon.
Additional strategies beyond a soft drinks levy will be needed to reduce obesity, particularly in older boys and younger children, according to new Cambridge University research that some have called ‘speculative’.
A row has exploded over the use of the Eco-Score label in Europe, with organic trade bodies suggesting it confuses consumers who associate the phrase 'eco' with organic production. However, backers argue that this is an attempt to ‘kill Eco-Score’...
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced fresh details of actions and payments for its environmental land management schemes.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has announced implementation guidelines for its National Nutrition Strategy 2022 – 2030, eyeing the ‘virtual elimination’ of trans fats in the local food supply as well as a 30% reduction in consumers’ average...
Removing around 216 calories from the daily intake of people who are overweight or obese would set England on a path to halve obesity by 2030, according to research published by the innovation charity Nesta. The analysis found that it is possible to achieve...
Defra, the UK government agency responsible for food and the environment, has embarked on a project it says will make ‘significant’ amounts of environmental data accessible to businesses. We caught up with Agrimetrics, a start-up working on the initiative...
From deposit return schemes to ‘dumpster diving’ legislation and single-use plastic bans, sustainability-driven policies are making a mark in Europe. How will this progress in 2023?
Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has granted a world-first regulatory approval to GOOD Meat for the use of serum-free media in the production of cultivated meat.
ClientEarth is taking action against the Italian authorities. According to the legal campaign group, intensive hazelnut farming in the Lazio region is being ‘wrecked by catastrophic pollution’ from intensive hazelnut farming.
ProVeg UK claims the British Government is preparing to ban plant-based products from using dairy descriptor names such as ‘m*lk’ and ‘b*tter’, plans that it has branded ‘outrageous and unnecessary’.
The EU is committed to the Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030. But, with food labelling often cited as a waste driver, are restrictive regulatory requirements impeding this effort? FoodNavigator speaks to Kristen Hovland, CEO of...
Be it a feasible game plan or just a pipedream, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is determined to make good on its pledge to eradicate hunger in Africa by 2030 by mobilising political support ahead of the African Food Summit.
With new European Union (EU) packaging rules on the horizon, the bakery and snacks sectors are gearing up to address packaging requirements and waste management policies that better reflect market and environmental needs.
The German federal government has adopted a new nutrition strategy that places increasing plant-based consumption and reducing the intake of products that are high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) at its heart. The reaction has been mixed, with critics suggesting...
By Katia Merten-Lentz, Partner and Founder Food Law Science & Partners
As the environmental impact of food becomes an important indicator for consumers all around the world, private and public initiatives have multiplied. These initiatives use several methodologies to calculate the environmental impact of a product, which...
Prioritising study quality over quantity will be key to achieving a health claim through the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the face of additional complexities following the new Transparency Regulation of 2019.
The UK’s CLEAR consortium complains that a lack of global data that distinguishes between farming methods and countries risks making eco-labels a blunt tool for consumers seeking greater transparency about food products.
