A recent decision to cut the European Food Safety Authority's
budget by half is worrying many food industry experts. A food and
life sciences lawyer airs his concerns on the matter and throws
some light on the effects for the...
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.
As Europe debates the anticipated changes to the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP), the European Commission suggested its
commitment to organic farming with the announcement that it has
launched an Internet consultation about its future.
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.
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...
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.
Finnish packaging provider Huhtamaki says that as a result of
extensive research which has included customer collaboration, it
has improved and strengthened its Multi-K egg tray range.
Tetra Laval's €1.7 billion bid for French beverage equipment
manufacturer Sidel is expected to be cleared by European
competition regulators after 18 months of wrangling.
Rexam's can operations in both the US and Europe are looking strong
for the year ahead, with the US market recovering from the recent
lull and the European market continuing to show strong growth.
The European Commission has approved the acquisition by Bain
Capital Fund and Dor Chemicals of Trespaphan, Moplefan and Dor Film
Australia, which will constitute a joint-venture active in the
manufacture and supply of flexible packaging...
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...
After long and difficult negotiations EU food and agriculture
ministers have reached a political agreement on the proposal for a
regulation on GMO food and feed, measures that are expected to have
considerable impact on food manufacturers...
Swedish-based packaging group Tetra Laval has urged the European
Commission to speed up its decision making process regarding the
€1.7bn proposal to buy up French plastic bottle maker, Sidel.
Nampak has announced that it plans to expand its packaging
operations beyond the low growth South African domestic market and
will initially drive its future growth by concentrating on its
European operations.
Immediately after the European Court's decision to overule the EU
competition authority's veto on the merger between Swedish
packaging manufacturer Tetra Laval and French PET bottle
manufacturing group Sidel, the Swedish...
Ireland, which once trailed far behind fellow EU states in its
packaging recycling efforts, has now exceeded the levels of
recycling set by the European Commission in 2001.
The EU has agreed on legislation to bring an end to the four year
ban on new genetically modified food products being sold in Europe.
MEP's claim the laws will be the strictest in the world, backed up
by comprehensive labelling,...
Shrimp producers in Thailand have urged the government to impose
the same exacting standards on food shipments from the European
Union that are imposed on Thai shrimp exports bound for Europe,
according to a report in the Bangkok...
A dispute between the Peruvian fishing industry and the European
Union over the labelling of sardines has been resolved,
surprisingly, in favour of the South American country, according to
a report on FT.com.
Nearly a year after the Swedish company Tetra Laval announced its
plans to acquire French packaging firm Sidel, the European Court of
Justice will rule on 25 October on whether the deal can be allowed
to proceed.
The European Union has said that it will be maintaining its
investigation into Brazilian exports of tin plate, which is widely
used in metallic food packaging.
The Health Ingredients Europe meeting in Paris last week had a
pavillion for emerging markets. Organised by SIPPO - the Swiss
Import Promotion Programme - the stand included companies from
Bolivia, Ghana, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,...
In Germany, the Dusseldorf administrative tribunal has ruled that
the planned introduction of compulsory deposits on drink cans does
not comply with the law on waste and recycling, according to a
report in Die Welt.
Shrimp and chicken processors whose products contain chemical
traces banned by the EU could face the closure of their businesses,
as well as a ban on exporting, according to a report in the
Bangkok Post.
The European Parliament yesterday approved by an overwhelming
majority a motion to raise the proposed amount of packaging waste
that should be recycled from 55 per cent to 65 per cent.
The Food and Drink Federation has come out in support of the
British Retail Consortium's warning of the dangers of setting
unrealistic targets forrecycling of packaging, ahead of today's
vote in the European Parliament.
The European Commission has cleared a flexible packaging joint
venture between Danapac, a Danish manufacturer of packaging
products for the food industry, and Teich of Austria which also
makes flexible packaging products.
Keller and Heckman, legal representatives to the food industry, has
announced plans to offer two seminars on the regulation of
food-contact materials in Brussels, Belgium, and in Washington,
D.C.
Sales at Hero, the Swiss consumer foods and baking aids group,
increased by more than 10 per cent in the first half of the year,
helped by the acquisition of a majority stake in the German
business of Schwartau in April.
European Union plans to break illegal blackfish landings by
licensing fish traders and processors have received a cool
reception from Scottish fishing interests, according to a report by
Fis.com.
The EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection has said
that new regulations for food safety will simplify the current
regulations. However, warnings have been made that the new
regulations could have a damaging effect on...
Tetra Laval, the packaging company, has accused the European
competition watchdog of using a "flawed" theory and ignoring
crucial evidence in last year's decision to block its €1.7 billion
takeover of French rival Sidel.
An economist has criticised Europe's antitrust watchdog saying it
botched the analysis of the drinks packaging market, as a landmark
appeal by the Swiss-based Tetra Laval Group got under way.
The European Commission has approved the acquisition by the
Australian company Amcor of the world-wide plastic packaging (PET)
and closure businesses of the German company Schmalbach-Lubeca.
Morliny, a meat processing company based in the northeastern town
of Ostróda in Poland expects a stronger euro to boost revenue from
exports and lower demand for imported goods.
Vetropack, a leading Swiss-based manufacturer within the European
glass packaging industry, has agreed to acquire the Slovakian
glassworks Skloobal, Nemsová.
French packaging and aluminium group Pechiney says it is still
interested in the acquisition of the aluminium activities of
Anglo-Dutch counterpart Corus, and that it will be particularly
careful with regard to competition law when...
Rexam, the US-based global packaging provider, is to buy the Czech
can making plant of German-based packaging company
Schmalbach-Lubeca for £15.4 million (€24m), according to a report
from dot.packaging.
Food processing manufacturers in Eastern Europe will have to invest
substantially in food safety equipment if they are to obtain the
food hygiene standards implemented by the European Uniion,
according to a report in the Financial...
A new brand of organic bread has been launched in Belgium which
will also help protect the environment via a link up with the
Belgium arm of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The European food packaging industry has turned its eyes on the UK
to determine what moves its Government will take with regards the
classification of packaging release liners - a ruling that will
eventually clarify future EU waste...
UK supermarket chain Asda has won a victory in its legal battle
with Italian ham producers after an adviser to the European Union's
highest court said it could sell prosciutto under the Parma ham
name - even if the product was...
Amcor, the Australian group which is the world's fourth-largest
packaging company, has continued its foray into the European market
with the acquisition of Tobepal SA, the flexible packaging and
extrusion unit of Spain's...
