The European Breakfast Cereal Association (CEEREAL) has hailed two
important pieces of European food legislation as "broadly positive'
for the future of the industry.
The food industry's debate on nutritional labelling has taken its
latest twist, with Sainsbury's suspending its membership of the
British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The adoption of detailed documentation requirements for genetically
modified (GM) food in the international trade of agricultural
commodities has been met with caution by grain and cereal
importers.
Greencore, the ingredients and food service group, said EU sugar
reform would force it to pull out of the sugar sector this year,
effectively spelling the end of sugar processing in Ireland.
The EU's packaging industry association has called on the European
Commission to crackdown on members states who break the rules under
the bloc's harmonised system of law.
Processors who import their beef from Argentina are scrambling for
another source of supply as the country's president announced the
suspension of trade in the commodity for the next six months.
While exports of aluminium foil from Europe rose nine per cent in
2005, internal demand decreased by one per cent as manufacturers
continue to downgauge and source material elsewhere.
A new draft UK regulation that would halve the allowable limit of
epoxidised soybean oil (ESBO) in the polyvinyl chloride gaskets
used to seal baby food jars.
Danisco says that the finalisation of the new EU sugar regime and
the recently announced transitional measures will not affect the
firm's planned efficiency drive.
Europe's water treatment chemicals market is set for steady
expansion as regulatory authorities crack down industry's on waste
and water management, says a new report.
A new business taskforce, assembled by the UK government, will aim
to identify ways that companies can move to more sustainable
consumption and production practices.
Tension escalated this week over bird flu, after France criticised
other countries for banning its poultry and a new report warned of
a "steady erosion" in global consumption and prices this
year.
The deadly bird fu strain H5N1 has spread to 17 new countries in
February alone, says the World Health Organisation, re-iterating to
consumers that poultry is still safe to eat.
Europe's food safety authority is holding a high level meeting with
scientists this Wednesday to discuss the future development of
Genetically Modified (GM) food within the bloc.
Cereal stocks will continue to be high in some parts of the EU,
dairy will shift towards high-value products, while meat production
will decline, the European Commission says in a forecast report on
agricultural production in the...
Commodity products like butter and skimmed milk powder are likely
to lose out to higher value products in Europe, as the Common
Agricultural Policy reform takes hold, predicts the European
Commission.
The European Parliament yesterday approved legislation deregulating
package sizes for most pre-packed products, but excluding staple
beverages and foods.
The UK's food regulator has clarified that suppliers of non-meat
products from the EU's ten new member states should be treated as
coming from within the bloc.
The British pint of milk is unlikely to be at risk when the
European Parliament votes on proposals to change EU packaging laws
for consumer goods this week, says a spokesperson to
www.DairyReporter.com.
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on its
plans to create a European Union-wide patent system, intended to
spur research and development growth in the bloc.
Designated food "clusters" in the EU will receive a boost in
funding to help the bloc's researchers develop innovative foods and
processing techniques.
The EU has ordered Greece to lift its ban on genetically modified
(GMO) maize seeds, setting the scene for yet another battle over
the controversial technology.
SAI Global has acquired EFSIS Ltd., one of the food safety
inspection and certification firms companies will be turning to
when checking whether they are in compliance with the EU's new
hygiene regulations.
Kraft Foods, the US snack and dairy firm, has agreed to remove all
genetically modified ingredients from its products in China, in a
sign anti-GM attitudes are on the increase.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has received the primary
data for Ramazzini Foudation's recent study on the sweetener
aspartame and is commencing its risk assessment as a matter of
priority.
In the expanding European premium foods market many suppliers are
striving for EU-approved hallmarks to boost the prestige of their
products and attract retailers.
Scientific evidence indicates that the presence of the ink chemical
isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) in packaged foods does not pose a
health risk, an EU regulator said today.
Guidance documents on requirements for meat and seafood imports
into the EU lay out the safety standards that companies from
approved countries have to meet if they want to bring products into
the bloc.
The oft-said adage that there are two things people don't want to
see being made - sausage and legislation - falls apart at the doors
of the EU's parliament.
Higher minimum targets on packaging announced by the UK's
environmentalregulator will put greater pressure on food processors
to ship their products in environmentally-friendly materials.
EU processors will have to wait longer to find out if they can
continue to use aspartame, after the EU's food safety regulator
said it had still not received evidence from an Italian research
centre indicating that the artificial...
A EU food safety committee is meeting in Brussels today to discuss
the contamination of milk and other products with a chemical used
by Tetra Pak in its packaging process.
The European Commission's criticism of members states for being
slow to follow a key industrial pollution law could spur a
crackdown on companies that have so far not felt thepressure to
make their plants and production processes...
If the EU keeps hiding its agriculture sector behind huge pay
cheques instead of devoting more time to food research funding, the
bloc's whimpering and wailing will only get worse.