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New gluten-free labelling could mean extra costs for bakers

23-Jan-2009 - New rules from Brussels implemented this week on the labelling and formulation of gluten-free foods could signal a rise in costs for the bakery industry.

Flavour regulation requires calm and communication

22-Jan-2009 - The new EU flavouring regulation should cause no immediate panic amongst food manufacturers, says Synergy, but there are some aspects of the law that are left open to interpretation.

Novel Foods approval sought for nutritive sweetener

22-Jan-2009 - Alberta, Canada-based Bioneutra has applied to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) for European Union Novel Foods approval for a prebiotic, isomalto-oligosaccharide sweetener.

Weekly comment

In praise of pesticides

19-Jan-2009 - Who likes pesticides? Misunderstood by consumers and misrepresented by pressure groups, pesticides are a soft target for legislators. The latest blow to that soft target could have hard consequences for the European food industry and for developing countries.

News in brief

FSA discusses calorie info on menus

15-Jan-2009 - The UK’s Food Standards Agency is initiating a programme to increase the nutritional information available to consumers at catering outlets, and sees calorie labelling as the first step.

Turkey looks to GDA-like labelling

09-Jan-2009 - Draft changes to Turkish food labelling regulations would put a GDA-like scheme on products, according to a GAIN report from the USDA.

Food and the Czech presidency

08-Jan-2009 - The Czech presidency of the EU Council has published its work programme for the next six months, pledging progress on the food labelling regulation proposal, debate on food quality issues, simplification of the CAP and discussions on the policy’s future.

Ready meal ingredient origin labelling unworkable, FDF

07-Jan-2009 - Creating different labels to reflect the changing origin of the ingredients used to cook ready meal products would be a logistical nightmare and would not be cost effective, claims the UK trade industry body, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

News in brief

Dame Deirdre to step down as FSA chair

19-Dec-2008 - The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) will have a new chair from next summer, as Dame Deirdre Hutton has announced she will step down at the end of her term in July 2009.

Prepare for higher calorie count for fibre, say scientists

19-Dec-2008 - Scientists have warned that food manufacturers should move quickly if they wish to reformulate their products befor the official calorific value for fibre goes up next October.

Stevia sweetener gets US FDA go-ahead

18-Dec-2008 - The FDA has given the long-awaited green light for Reb A, the sweetener made from the stevia leaf, to be used in food and beverages - opening the flood gates for new product launches.

Food manufacturers mislead parents, claims BHF report

17-Dec-2008 - Manufacturers of children’s breakfast cereals and lunchbox snacks have been accused of misleading parents about high levels of salt, sugar and fat in a British Heart Foundation report.

News in brief

China compiles list of chemicals banned from food

16-Dec-2008 - China has issued a list of 17 substances not to be used in foodstuffs as part of its post-melamine scandal effort to clean up the food supply chain.

Prepare now for new additive and enzyme regulations

15-Dec-2008 - Companies should check now whether their additives, enzymes and flavourings comply with the EU’s new Food Improvement Agent Package, says Xavier Lavigne, food law manager with nutrition policy consultancy EAS.

News in brief

Defra announces food policy council members

11-Dec-2008 - The UK environment secretary has announced the government’s panel of food policy advisors, made up of experts from academia, farming, retail, community food initiatives, and consumer groups.

New bid for competitive EU food prices

11-Dec-2008 - The European Commission is proposing a package of ways to safeguard affordable food for consumers, including investigation of retailer payment practices, EU-wide price monitoring, and examination of commodity market regulators.

How FIAP will affect the food industry

10-Dec-2008 - Danisco's director of regulatory affairs explains what the newly adopted legislation on food additives and enzymes means for industry, and the question marks that remain.

Definitive duties on Chinese MSG will not affect users much

05-Dec-2008 - The European Commission has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on the additive from China, stating that the impact on firms using the additive will not be great.

News in brief

DSM gains Australian, NZ, approval for Preventase

05-Dec-2008 - DSM has been granted the go-ahead for its acrylamide-reducing enzyme in Australia and New Zealand.

EU policy change could double crop prices, study

02-Dec-2008 - New pest management legislation in Europe could result in crop production shifting to other countries and prices for commodities shooting up, a study has warned.

Industry salutes ‘deletion’ of national labelling schemes

01-Dec-2008 - The rapporteur’s report on the food information proposal has elicited a positive initial reaction from industry, but some sticking points still remain.

Weekly comment

Why farm support puts food on plates

01-Dec-2008 - “Four legs good, two legs bad.” When the pigs take over the land in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, they have no hesitation; any creature with four legs is beyond reproach and any human is bad, mad and dangerous to know.

A new dawn for funky fruit and veg

28-Nov-2008 - Michael Mann discusses the implications of the ending of EU legislation regulating the size and shape of fruit and veg.

SMEs set to benefit from amendments to EU food labelling proposal

27-Nov-2008 - The draft report on the European Commission’s proposal for the provision of food information to consumers in the EU suggests substantial amendments which would offer small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) more flexibility.

Industry response to additive, enzyme regulation adoption

26-Nov-2008 - Additive and enzyme associations have welcomed the adoption of the new FIAP package on additives, flavourings and enzymes – but concern remains about the Southampton colours warning.

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