The ongoing problem of where to house the new European Union food
safety authority could be resolved by establishing an agency in
both Finland and Italy.
The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) has
released its opinion on the safety of carrageenan, mainly in
response to work published by Tobacman in October 2001, reports
Reading Scientific Services this week.
As promised last year, the European Commission is now offering
online access to a new database that compiles research efforts on
several topics related to the issue of acrylamide in food.
The new European Food Safety Authority is still without a home and
under the menace of a reduced budget. A decision on the location is
urgently needed otherwise credibility is at risk, claims Lasse
Skovby Rasmusson, vice president...
Ahold's accounting fiasco - which means that its profits have been
overstated to the tune of $500m - has cost the heads of two senior
board members, sparked off two US lawsuits and led to new calls for
a harmonisation of accounting...
Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is just one of a host of
pressures for change on British farmers, the president of the UK
National Farmers Union (NFU) Ben Gill told the union's annual
conference earlier this week.
As the European Commission discusses moves towards harmonising
health levels between the EU15, a panel of Dutch scientific experts
has positively approved Bakkerij Veenhuis' request for a health
claim for the Vitaalbrood Flora...
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced today that it is to
consult on the preliminary steps taken by the European Commission
to consider the harmonisation of community rules on the voluntary
addition of vitamins and minerals...
The European Parliament yesterday voted with an overwhelming
majority for a permanent ban on the use of the food additive E425,
otherwise known as konjac, in jelly confectionery.
The European Commission confirmed its commitment to food safety and
the consumer this week when Commissioner David Byrne announced much
tougher measures - including criminal sanctions - to strengthen
food and feed safety controls.
The heated debate on the labelling of foodstuffs in Europe and the
thorny issue of health claims was fired up once again this week
when UK press reports suggested that new proposals from the
European Commission outline tough new measures.
A ruling from Brussels that a new Catalan law imposing taxes on
hypermarkets to help support other retailers has proved to be a
short-lived victory for Spanish retail association Anged. The law
has now ben changed, but the tax still...
A suspected link between the feed additive canthaxanthin and
eyesight problems has led the European Commission to reduce
authorised levels of the additive that gives farmed salmon its pink
colouring.
The International Chamber of Commerce in Thailand will call on the
European Union to review its safety measures on Thai chicken
exports after it was notified about the EU's unofficial statement
regarding the lifting of restrictions...
Proposed changes to the oft-maligned Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) have been broadly welcomed by the EU food industry, in
particular moves which will improve the competitiveness of the
European agriculture sector. But not everyone...
Greece, which has taken over the presidency of the EU, has been
urged to take action on a number of major issues affecting the
European food industry during its time at the helm. The future of
the CAP, GM labelling and EU enlargement...
The European Oilseed Alliance (EOA) will file a complaint with the
European Commission against US soybean subsidies, claims the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), writes the American
Soybean Association this week.
As Greece picks up the reins to the presidency of the European
Union, the European Confederation of the Food and Drink industries
has used the opportunity to highlight a number of key issues that
are set to have an impact on European...
Spain and Italy have acted disproportionately in obliging products
made with vegetable fats other than cocoa butter to be labelled as
'chocolate substitutes', the European Court of Justice has ruled. A
simple mention on...
The thorny issue of chocolate labelling in the EU continues with a
judgement this week that finds both Spain and Italy acted against
the backbone of the EC treaty - the spirit of the free movement of
goods - by prohibiting the marketing...
Moving in step with the European Union, the Food Safety Authority
of Ireland this week granted a temporary authorisation for the
marketing and use of the high-intensity sweetener sucralose.
It is currently illegal for supermarkets and other retailers to
operate loyalty card schemes in Belgium, a restriction which the
European Commission believes contradicts single market regulations.
As a result, the Belgian authorities...
The EU remains by far the biggest market for Spanish olive oil
exports, but there is also growing interest from the US, several
countries in South America, and Russia, according to the latest
official figures.
The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition by US
agribusiness Cargill of Belgian edible seed oil packer Associated
Oil Packers bvba (AOP) - just three months after clearing Cargill's
acquisition of French-based...
The European Commission continues to crack down on unfair
competition and punish the illegal activities with the news this
week that is has fined three companies involved in a food flavour
enhancers (nucleotides) cartel.
The European Parliament yesterday rejected a proposal to expand the
list of foods that can be irradiated within the European Union,
increasing pressure for greater caution in the US.
Poland, along with nine other countries in Central and Eastern
Europe, will join the European Union in 2004, but in the meantime
it will become easier for current EU food and drink producers to
trade with the country following a recent...
With the aim of improving scientific understanding in the European
Union, in November this year Brussels witnessed the launch of one
of the biggest research programmes in the world - the Sixth
Framework Programme (FP6). A slice of...
Food manufacturers and retailers must prepare the ground for the
arrival of some of the toughest GMO legislation in the world when
environment ministers in the European Union agreed on Monday to
comprehensive new rules.
The gastronomic delights of Christmas appear to be the focus of
current research at the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA). Earlier
this week we reported on a recent study of dried fruit - destined
for mince-pies and Christmas pudding....
A further step marking the importance of the traceability of GMOs
in Europe was made yesterday when the European Research
Commissioner Philippe Busquin inaugurated a European network of
genetically modified organism (GMO) laboratories....
Recruitment is over for the executive director of the new European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA) with the announcement yesterday that
Geoffrey Podger has had the all clear from the European
Parliament's Environment Committee -...
Expanding the European Union to 25 members will undoubtedly improve
the lot of the consumers in the 10 new countries, providing the
legislative framework is in place to encourage investment, claimed
Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy yesterday....
In the same week that the agriculture Council cleared the way for
tougher GM legislation in Europe, the European Commission has
announced a new proposal that seeks to harmonise the use of food
additives in flavourings in order to...
Expanding its Plus discount supermarket fascia in Spain and
Portugal, and good performances from non-food subsidiaries KiK and
OBI, helped Germany's Tengelmann group to a solid increase in sales
for 2002, despite difficult economic...
The decision by the Navarra regional authorities to allow the term
'bio' to be used to describe non-organic dairy products has been
upheld by the local courts, the latest twist in the ongoing battle
between Spain and the...
The European food and drink industry this week gave a vote of
confidence to the radical revamp of the 41 year old Common
Agricultural Policy proposed by European Agriculture Commissioner
Franz Fischler - but gave a clear warning about...
The European Commission's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health (SCFCAH) this week voted in favour of a European
Commission proposal to allow the resumption of imports of certain
fishery products (crayfish and...
European companies continue to make inroads into South America as
German-based GeneScan Europe announced this week that it has opened
a new laboratory in Brazil to test for the presence of genetically
modified organisms in food products...
The UK Food Standards Agency last week held its first open board
meeting in the heart European bureaucracy, Brussels. On the agenda?
An action plan on food labelling, GM labelling, and consumer
involvement in policy making. Commission...
European food manufacturers will soon have to label the complete
content of all foodstuffs as the European Commission's proposal for
an end to the '25 per cent' rule was endorsed yesterday by the
European Council.
The thorny issue of 'health' claims on consumer food products
continued this week with the publication of a new report from the
UK Food Standards Agency. The findings, that consumers are confused
or unclear about the properties...
The UK's Joint Health Claims Initiative has been making news with a
new health claim for soya protein in foods. This week Novis's
Lindsey Partos takes a closer look at health claims and
discuss the EU's draft proposal...
When David Byrne, European Commissioner responsible for Health and
Consumer Protection, issued a message of support this week to the
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) ahead of its 5th annual
meeting, it is unlikely that he anticipated...
Too much legislation can be a bad thing, at least when it comes to
restricting the free growth of the Spanish retail sector, according
to speakers at a conference held in Madrid last week.
European Union leaders claimed a breakthrough on Thursday on the
path to expanding the bloc into eastern Europe after France and
Germany reached a landmark deal to control farm spending after
2007.
Spain's food and drink exports continue to grow steadily each year,
but the economic difficulties expected in many of its core overseas
markets will force the industry to concentrate on more product
promotions.
Spinal cord has been found in German beef imported into the UK,
according to the UK's Food Standards Agency. Bovine spinal cord,
one of the parts most likely to be contain BSE, is specified risk
material (SRM) and under European...
