Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - Europe US edition

EU funding vital to cushion extra animal welfare costs, say meat processors

06-Jul-2009 - Europe’s meat processors will suffer unless the European Commission meets extra costs resulting from a new regulation on improving animal welfare at slaughter, said an industry body.

EFSA opinions give Monsanto new Euro confidence

30-Jun-2009 - The European Food Safety Authority has issued positive opinions on the safety of Monsanto’s MON 810 corn trait and Roundup Ready 2 corn product, giving the firm confidence that Europe could become more accepting of genetic modification.

Sweden seeks feedback on enviro-health food guidelines

26-Jun-2009 - Swedish authorities have drawn up a new set of guidelines on diet choices for health and the environment and is circulating them around the EU for feedback – and to encourage take up of the strategy elsewhere.

New EU regulation on authorising food from cloned animals sparks heated debate

23-Jun-2009 - EU chiefs have been criticised for approving a draft regulation on food from cloned animals that could “keep options open” for its eventual authorisation in the region, claimed opponents.

EU proposal for national opt-outs on GM crops

22-Jun-2009 - A proposal to allow individual countries in the European Union to opt out of growing genetically modified (GM) crops is to be tabled this week at a top-level meeting at the European Commission.

News in brief

Commission extends deadline for organic logo entries

19-Jun-2009 - The European Commission has extended the deadline for its art student contest to create a new organic logo to be used on products throughout Europe to 6 July.

EFSA: Health claims summit ‘very successful’

17-Jun-2009 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says the detailed guidance it gave to industry at Monday’s technical health claims meeting will ensure “shared, mutual understanding” in the health claims evaluation process.

EFSA safety doubts over two more smoke flavours

16-Jun-2009 - EFSA has published negative safety opinions on two smoke flavours, SmokEz C-10 and SmokEz Enviro 23, for which it considers the safety margins at proposed levels to be insufficient.

Big hopes for EFSA’s big health claim day

15-Jun-2009 - Shane Starling reports from the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) much anticipated industry stakeholders’ meeting about health claims in Brussels today.

Authorities play down drink extract cocaine concerns

05-Jun-2009 - Decocainised coca leaf extract, which has been linked to the recent alleged discovery of traces of cocaine in some samples of Red Bull Simply Cola, will not face regulatory scrutiny regarding its wider use in formulations.

Commission favours food quality scheme improvements

04-Jun-2009 - A European Commission bid improve food quality labelling schemes and make them better understood by end consumers look likely to result in new guidelines and legislative proposals.

EU health claim rules blamed for R&D brain drain

03-Jun-2009 - At a health claims meeting attended by regulators, politicians and regulators, held in Brussels yesterday, one of the major concerns voiced was the stifling effect on innovation the process was having.

Sustainability chair lambasts UK food and farming policy

03-Jun-2009 - The UK government’s policy on sustainable food and farming has been overtaken by developments in climate change and obesity and is no longer fit for its purpose, says the chair of the Sustainable Development Commission.

France and rest of Europe prepare for stevia approval

01-Jun-2009 - Manufacturers in France are gearing up to start using high purity stevia extract Reb A as soon as approval is signed off, according to a supplier, making use of an anticipated two-year window before full European approval.

Irish food safety system condemned after pork dioxin scandal

29-May-2009 - The current system for monitoring and tracing Irish pork is inadequate and should be overhauled urgently, a highly critical report from the country’s Parliament has said.

EFSA issues health claims help

26-May-2009 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a Q&A (question and answer) in advance of its stakeholders meeting in Brussels on June 15, to help industry better understand the nutrition and health claims process.

News in brief

Plant gene session to assess funding options

26-May-2009 - Plant genetics experts are poised to take part in a meeting on strengthening the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture next month.

Arsenic rice study prompts new advice for parents

25-May-2009 - The UK’s Food Standards Agency is advising that infants are not given rice drinks as a replacement for cows’ milk, breast milk, or infant formula, following a new study that indicates potential to exceed maximum intake of arsenic.

Weekly comment

Cheerios: Drugs for breakfast?

25-May-2009 - When is a breakfast cereal not a breakfast cereal? Well, when it’s a drug.

Organic conversion label could enable price premiums

25-May-2009 - Developing an official ‘label’ for organic conversion-grade produce would let farmers secure price premiums while they are going through the organic conversion process, claims a new European study.

UK unveils new salt reduction targets

19-May-2009 - The Food Standards Agency has unveiled updated salt reduction targets for the food industry up to 2012, trimming back levels once more in some 80 categories of foods.

News in brief

CIAA agrees with EFSA carb view

18-May-2009 - Europe’s food and beverage industry group has welcomed EFSA’s suggestion that the daily reference value for carbohydrates be raised from 230g to 260g.

Normal US access for EU foods is in sight, CIAA

15-May-2009 - Open trade in food products between the EU and US is on its way following the agreement over the beef hormone dispute this week, industry believes – even though the stand off is not fully resolved.

Guest article

Appellation controllée for food comes of age

13-May-2009 - This month saw the final stage in the introduction of a Europe-wide system for registering and protecting geographical names for foodstuffs and drinks. Owen Warnock. food law partner at Eversheds, explains why we will see PDO/PDI labels on more foods in the future.