Our latest news and views from Brussels takes in the UK’s general election result, a ban on chlorpyrifos and the EU’s food waste and sustainability plans.
The EU reacted with relief after the Conservative party won a clear victory in the UK general election. Brussels hopes Boris Johnson’s clear majority gained in the UK Parliament will pave the way for much sought-after Brexit clarity. Both sides can now focus their attention on discussions about trade negotiations and other future relationship talks after the UK is expected to leave the bloc on January 31.
“France’s position for months has been a request for clarity . . . that it was necessary to reduce the period of uncertainty for French citizens, for Europeans, for the British,” Amélie de Montchalin, France’s Europe minister, said on Thursday night. “This clarification appears to have arrived.”
The UK Food Drink Federation's Chief Operating Officer, Tim Rycroft, said: “For too long, business has been mired in a sea of political uncertainty, hitting investment, productivity and long-term growth.
“As the UK's largest manufacturing sector, food and drink is part of the UK's critical national infrastructure and essential to national security. The nation's £31.1 billion industry employs over 450,000 people with a footprint in every community.
“We want to work in partnership with the Government to reach our full potential as the most dynamic, sustainable, resilient and competitive industry, by boosting exports, developing talent and encouraging innovation.”
Pic: GettyImages/Dan Kitwood
Health and environment groups have applauded the decision to ban chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl from the EU market.
Member states voted to ban the pesticide, which has been the subject of a long-running Le Monde and EUobserver investigation, in both forms on the grounds that it harms the brains and foetuses of young children.
Authorisation for the pesticide - which was due to expire on 31 January 2020 – and will now not be renewed. The EU may grant a 'grace period' of three months after which the products can no longer be placed on the market or used in the EU.
At the beginning of August, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, have 'potential' genotoxic effects (harmful to the DNA in cells), and are toxic to the developing brain.
Despite the heavy lobbying of the manufacturers, Corteva and Ascenza, as well as their allies, to prevent the ban, it failed to convince the member states.
Genon K. Jensen, Executive Director of the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), said: “The ban of both forms of chlorpyrifos is a major win for the healthy development of today’s children and future generations. While we can’t take away the decades of exposure to these substances and the associated neurodevelopmental impacts, the new Commission can make sure this doesn’t continue to happen with other substances by committing to decreasing Europe’s dependency on pesticides and addressing remaining loopholes in evaluation processes.”
Nabil Berbour, Campaign Manager at SumOfUs, said: “This is a major win for the health of European citizens who are more and more concerned by dangerous pesticides they find on their plates. We hope EU decision-makers take note of this huge concern and will go above and beyond to reduce the EU’s dependency on toxic pesticides. The EU is the largest single market in the world and the most powerful trading power, so we hope this ban will pave the way to other bans elsewhere in the world. SumOfUs members will continue to fight for this.”
Pic: GettyImages/D-Keine
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has launched a new innovation hub in Tel Aviv. The centre aims to create new opportunities for European and Israeli innovators and entrepreneurs in food and other sectors. EIT Food describes itself as being is ‘on a mission to create a sustainable and future-proof food system’.
“This hub will strengthen the EIT Community’s activities in Israel and act as a bridge between the European and Israeli innovation ecosystems,” it said. “It will support the EIT Community in delivering a greener, healthier and more sustainable planet.”
EU Ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, said at the event that “the launch of an EIT hub in Tel Aviv is yet another indication that European-Israeli cooperation in innovation is on the rise.”
Martin Kern, EIT Director, added: "The meeting of the EIT as Europe’s largest innovation community with Israel’s vibrant ecosystem is a perfect match. The EIT hub will be a bridge to bring the two together and power entrepreneurs to find solutions to pressing global challenges. Joint activities will include the scaling-up of innovative ventures and entrepreneurial training across Europe and Israel. The EIT helps entrepreneurs to succeed faster."
Pic: Getty/RudyBalasko
The EU’s new health and food safety Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, has announced a 'Farm to Fork' strategy will take shape over the coming months and will be presented in the spring of next year.
Kyriakides said she aims to make 'strong and concrete' progress on reducing food waste to help Europe meet its domestic and global sustainability goals.
“I am confident that over the next 5 years, we can accelerate the EU's progress towards the global goal of reducing food losses and halving food waste by 2030,” she said.
However, she added that efforts needed to 'accelerate and intensify'.
“Fighting food loss and waste requires us to rethink how we produce, process, market, distribute and consume food. It requires concrete and collective action - from policy makers, individuals and households, farmers, fishers, food manufacturers and retailers, restaurants and caterers, food banks and other non-governmental organisations.
With the 'Farm to Fork' strategy “we can work together to design stronger, more sustainable and less wasteful food systems,” she added.
The Farm to Fork plan is part of the EU’s Green Deal plan which has set into legislation the political ambition of being the world's first climate neutral continent by 2050.
Pic: iStock
EU dairy trade association Eucolait has called for an urgent resolution of the US Airbus-Boeing dispute and related tariffs on EU dairy exports.
“Disputes relating to aircraft subsidies should be resolved within that industry,” said the Brussels-based association.
“We have already received reports from exporting companies of the damage these tariffs have caused for themselves and for their US counterparts, with contract conclusions being delayed, noticeably lower volumes being shipped and retailers both delisting product lines and postponing the listing of new product lines,” said Eucolait.
Pic: iStock
Nearly one in three foodborne outbreaks in the EU in 2018 were caused by Salmonella. This is one of the main findings of the annual report on trends and sources of zoonoses published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
In 2018, EU Member States reported 5,146 foodborne outbreaks affecting 48,365 people. A foodborne disease outbreak is an incident during which at least two people contract the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink.
Slovakia, Spain and Poland accounted for 67% of the 1,581 Salmonella outbreaks. These outbreaks were mainly linked to eggs.
“Findings from our latest Eurobarometer show that less than one third of European citizens rank food poisoning from bacteria among their top five concerns when it comes to food safety. The number of reported outbreaks suggests that there’s room for raising awareness among consumers as many foodborne illnesses are preventable by improving hygiene measures when handling and preparing food,” said EFSA’s chief scientist Marta Hugas.
Salmonellosis was the second most commonly reported gastrointestinal infection in humans in the EU (91,857 cases reported), after campylobacteriosis (246,571).
Pic: iStock
