One of the toughest legislations in the world on genetically
modified organisms came into force in Europe on Thursday with a new
EU Directive that strengthens 10-year-old rules on testing and
licensing GMOs used as crops or ingredients.
European Commissioner for Research Philippe Busquin has issued a
thinly veiled attack on opponents to 'new technologies' in Europe,
warning that European competitiveness in agriculture could be
harmed through 'through...
Britain has the highest prices for any EU country when it comes to
a variety of everyday food products, with prices more than double
those in Portugal, the cheapest country in the Union.
Feta cheese is the latest food product to be protected by EU law,
joining the ranks of Champagne, parma ham or Newcastle Brown Ale.
The ruling that only Greece makes real feta cheese is a major blow
for producers in Denmark, where...
The European Commission releases results of an investigative report
into the use and labelling of food irradiation in Europe today.
Findings reveal that out of more than 6500 food samples checked for
irradiation, 1.5 per cent were...
All Member States must fully and swiftly implement the 1998
European Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological
inventions or Europe will fall behind its competitors in this
crucial sector - so the European Commission warned...
A Spanish company offering to sell alcohol to consumers in Finland
could prove a rival to the state monopoly. But the fact that
delivery of the drinks could take up to two weeks - to say nothing
of moves to close the legal loophole...
The controversial topic of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in
Europe formed the centrepiece for a reception this week in Brussels
hosted by the Confederation of food and drink industries in the EU.
Overiding sentiment? Although...
The CIAA, which represents the interests of the European food and
drink industry, has welcomed most of the proposed changes to the
cumbersome Common Agricultural Policy, but remains concerned over
potential supply shortages in certain...
Producers in the US passing off their fortified wines as sherry or
other Spanish products are affecting sales of the authentic
products there, prompting two denominations in Andalusia to
petition the EU authorities.
Confirmation that the European scientific world is alive and
kicking arrived this week when the Commission announced that it had
received over 12,000 'expressions of interest' (EoIs) in response
to a call for ideas on promising...
The ban on British beef imports has been lifted by French Prime
Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, but British farmers face an uphill
struggle to get their products back on supermarket shelves there.
And they are also keen to ensure that...
The European Commission has updated the regulations designed to
prevent the import of aflatoxin-contaminated Chinese peanuts and
Turkish figs, pistachios and hazelnuts into the European Union.
The US has complained to the World Trade Organisation about the
recent decision in the EU to tighten the labelling restrictions for
GM products, increasing the likelihood of a new trade war between
the two blocs, warns Friends of...
The board of directors of Swiss flavour and fragrance manufacturer,
Givaudan at its 16 September meeting agreed the repurchase of up to
725,627 registered Givaudan shares.
EU committee backs Commission proposals to reverse enforced testing
of fish products from China. In March this year Member States
blocked certain Chinese products over fears of banned antibiotic
chloramphenicol.
The European Commission on Friday cleared the proposed acquisition
of French-based food company Cereol by US company Bunge. The move
shoots Bunge ahead of US agribusiness giant Cargill into the top
slot as the world's largest...
Progress towards the founding of Europe's Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) has been closely followed by Foodnavigator.com, including an
interview this week with the freshly appointed spokesman for the
EFSA, Andrew Stimpson. As such,...
The European Commission this week gave the go ahead to private
equity fund EQT for the acquisition of two dominant German-based
flavour and fragrances manufacturers, Haarmann & Reimer and
Dragoco. The combined company will have...
Europeans could pay more for everything from toys to heavy
machinery if Brussels follows through on a threat to impose
sanctions in a long-running trade spat with Washington, a US trade
official said on Friday.
Those European retailers with the biggest international spread -
Carrefour and Tesco - top the latest rankings, but the continued
downturn in the global economy means that this policy of expansion
is not without its risks, according...
Following the concretisation of a European Directive for chocolate
regulations, due to come into force in Europe in the summer of
2003, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) said this week that it is
to host a short seminar to discuss...
A proposal which would have meant an increase in beer and wine
duties in some EU countries and a sharp reduction in others has
been scrapped by the Commission in the face of fierce opposition.
The creation of a new European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is a
major component of the legal and organisational reforms to tackle
food safety in Europe. When the Council of Ministers recently
announced the composition of the new...
Regulatory bodies in the US have given US oil processor Bunge the
go ahead to continue with its proposed acquisition of a 55 per cent
controlling stake in French oil seed company Cereol. Ingredients
company Central Soya, a subsidiary...
In June 2002, as compared to June 2001, the volume of retail trade
in the euro-zone decreased by 0.9 per cent but increased by 0.4 per
cent in the EU fifteen member state zone (EU15), estimated
Eurostat, the statistical office of...
The European Commission said on Friday it would press ahead with
its proposals for radical reform of farm policy regardless of an
outburst of opposition by France's President Jacques Chirac.
Following the EU SCF opinion on upper intake limits of vitamins and
minerals issued earlier this week today we report that the Expert
Group on Vitamins and Minerals (EVM), an independent UK group set
up in 1997 to advise on safe upper...
Signs that European industries are gaining confidence on the
Internet were evident this week when a new report released by
Forrester Research projects that online trade will account for 22
per cent of all European business trade in...
Signs that the functional food market is gaining ground were
revealed this week when the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA)
announced it is considering a 'novel food' application by a food
manufacturer to market 'milk and...
The UK Food Standards Agency is this week consulting on draft
regulations to implement a new European Directive that defines
chocolate. The new directive means that the UK's traditional milk
chocolate recipe can stay the same,...
The Ingredient Technology Group (ITG) division of Ocean Spray this
week announced record European sales of cranberry ingredients for
the last fiscal year. With a 134 per cent increase on the previous
year's sales, Europe now...
France has agreed to a European Union demand to end the practice of
labelling French food products in French only, Les Echos
reports. The French government is now drafting an order requiring
food companies to attach labels in at least...
The European Commission is in the news again this week with the
latest proposal to strengthen food safety in the Member States.
According to a statement released on Tuesday, the Commission is to
revamp official controls relating to...
A move by US oil processor Bunge to purchase French oil seed
company Cereol looks set to push it into the number one slot, ahead
of Cargill, as the world's largest soybean processor. Ingredients
company Central Soya, a subsidiary...
The European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health
voted in favour of a European Commission proposal changing the
rules for the dispatch from the United Kingdom of bovine products
under the Date-Based Export Scheme...
The European Commission has approved legislation allowing the use
of two intense sweeteners, sucralose and aspartame-acesulfame,
within the European Union. Both are already sold outside the
region.
The Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU
(CIAA), together with the Danish Food and Drink Federation, this
week submitted to the Danish authorities a memorandum summarising
the industry position on the Presidency...
Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday said "serious
errors" at an Irish plant had allowed a banned growth hormone to
taint pig feed in Europe's latest food scare.
The Confederation of the food and drink industries of the EU (CIAA)
has given the thumbs up to a radical mid-term review of the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) as outlined by European Agriculture
Commissioner Franz Fischler this...
The European Union said on Tuesday it was investigating a growing
food scare in several member nations surrounding the discovery of
synthetic hormones in soft drinks and pork products.
The European Commission on Wednesday approved a radical reform of
Europe's 40-year-old Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that aims to
shift the focus of aid from production to the farmers themselves.
How easy is it to ensurethat foods and ingredients imported from
outside the EU are safe, ofsufficient quality and legal? How can UK
food companies ensure completetraceability of imported food
products? These questions will be tackled...
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has asked the European
Commission to carry out a 'root-and-branch examination' of the
sources and use of collagen fibre in prepared foods, especially in
chicken, reports the Irish...
A collective sigh of relief among consumer associations and
environmentalists was almost audible across Europe on Wednesday
when plans to enforce stricter labelling of genetically modified
foods were agreed by members of the European...
A European Commission Directive amending Commission Directive
96/77/EC for a fourth time was adopted unanimously by the Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on 14June 2002,
reports the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The European Parliament is preparing itself for a food fight today
over Commission proposals that would mean that any food containing
containing more than 0.5 per cent of GM organisms (GMOs) would have
to be labelled.
