By Katia Merten-Lentz, partner at international law firm Keller and Heckman
So-called dual quality food products were placed in the spotlight in 2017. Katia Merten-Lentz, partner at Keller and Heckman, asks if it is legal for food companies to offer different recipes under the same brand name in Europe.
By Eugene Vorotnikov, in Voronezh, Russia; and Keith Nuthall
The Russian government will fight an application by the European Union (EU) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for permission to impose retaliatory trade sanctions worth €1.39 billion over Moscow’s ban on EU pork and pigs.
Claims that the US is “sick and tired” of the UK moaning about chlorine-rinsed chicken evoked a strong response from the food and farming alliance Sustain, who insisted the UK is “not going to shut up about it”.
Food Safety Recall round-up 22 December 2017 - 4 January 2018
Japan’s German pork imports grew by 36% in the January-October period of last year (2017) compared to the same period of 2016, representing by far the highest growth rate for national exports of pork to Japan.
German hard discounter Aldi was not taking unfair advantage of the denomination Champagne when it sold a sorbet containing origin-protected Champagne, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.
German regulators have concluded the country could legally introduce a national ban of the controversial weed killer glyphosate, despite the European Union’s decision to authorise its use for a further five years.
Policy experts have sounded a warning if the UK agrees a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, claiming chemical disinfectants used on American poultry pose a risk to consumers and workers.
Danish companies, farmers and consumers will benefit from simpler and clearer laws on food and the environment without having less protection, says the Ministry for Food and the Environment on its reform.
As Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels rumble on, the future trading relationship continues to concern the business world. How is the prospect of Brexit shaping up for the food sector?
FoodDrinkEurope, the trade body representing European food makers, has registered an official complaint with the European Commission over Italy’s new country of origin labelling regulations.
The UK food sector has welcomed news that Brexit negotiations will move to stage two – the future trading relationship – after the European Commission confirmed “sufficient progress” has been made on discussions over the divorce settlement.
The European Union’s (EU) revised novel food regulation (EU) 2015/2283, which will enter into force from January 1, 2018, will increase innovation in the meat sector, according to industry experts.
Recalls and alerts were made by UK, US, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria.
Swiss food giant Nestlé is calling for a more collaborative approach between the public and private sectors to develop a circular economy as it works to meet its 2030 environmental impact targets.
Doner kebabs are not under threat, despite a move by the European Parliament to block the use of phosphate in kebabs, according to a food science academic.
Farm groups have issued a mixed response to the European Commission’s plan to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by giving member states more powers.
Recalls and alerts were made by UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Lithuania, Germany and Austria
Croatian meat processor Gavrilović d.o.o. has obtained an investment grant of about HRK19.66 million (€2.6m) from the country’s government to finance a number of investments at its plant in Petrinja, Croatia.
The appeal committee of EU governments has backed a European Commission proposal to renew the license of controversial weed killer glyphosate for five years.
Brazil was the top country of origin for recalls and notifications for the second quarter in a row closely followed by Italy, according to Stericycle Expert Solutions.
Swedish homeware giant IKEA has stopped sourcing higher-welfare broiler chickens in nine European countries, according to Compassion in World Farming (CiWF).
A ban on all beef and pork imports from Brazil, the largest meat importer to Russia, has been imposed by the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor), over concerns about the detection of a forbidden hormone.
EU representatives have voted in favour of the Commission’s regulation to reduce acrylamide in food meaning it is one step further to entering into force in spring 2018.
The UK's post-Brexit food policy must prioritise domestic fruit and vegetable production if the public's health is to survive the higher cost of eating healthily, according to a Food Foundation report.
By Charles Newbery, Diana Yordanova and Keith Nuthall
The Chilean meat and livestock industry has welcomed the launch of talks between the European Union (EU) and the South American country on upgrading the current 14-year-old free trade deal between the two jurisdictions.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientists have cleared a genetically modified sugar beet developed by Monsanto and KWS for reauthorisation in the EU.
Recalls and alerts were made by UK, US, Ireland, Canada, Belgium, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Croatia.
The UK government has indicated that it supports further restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids due to their harmful effect on bees and other pollinators.
The deadlock over glyphosate continues as EU policy-makers today failed to gather support for the Commission’s proposal to renew the herbicide for another five years.
Romanian poultry meat producer Safir is aiming to report higher revenues and export sales this year, owing to its acquisition of two poultry farms in Botosani, in the country’s eastern region.
Meat sector organisations have warned a UK parliament committee that the industry will suffer dire consequences should Britain crash out from the European Union (EU) in March 2019 without having negotiated a Brexit deal with its current EU partners.
The European Commission says it will begin the process of establishing a legal definition of vegetarian and vegan food in 2019, an announcement that has been welcomed by food manufacturers.
Slovenia became the latest European country to move against trans fats in processed foods when it introduced a decree that aims to provide maximum levels for trans fatty acids (TFAs).
EU labs were mostly able to determine correct fipronil content in eggs but one lab which analysed hundreds of samples since July performed so badly it could have resulted in false positive results.
