A UK pressure group against the use of processing aids in bread production is backing a proposed amendment to EU regulation that will require foods frozen, and then defrosted before sale, to be labelled ‘defrosted’.
The collapse of talks on the novel foods amendment will have a detrimental effect on innovation and competitiveness in Europe, says the CIAA and an economist, while Commissioner Dalli is still figuring out what to do next.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says its new strategic plan to 2015 reflects recent changes in nutrition responsibilities in the UK, with principal spending areas covering its core remit of effective regulation and food safety.
Last ditch efforts to salvage the novel foods regulation were derailed yesterday after the European Parliament and Council failed to reach agreement over the issue of cloned animals – with each side blaming the other for the impasse.
The European Union is to step up controls on food imports from Japan in the wake of the nuclear accident at Fukushima – but stressed there was no evidence that consumers in the region were at risk from radiation-contaminated food.
The co-author of an influential new report on UK food policy has hit out at the coalition government for its inertia on sustainable food policy since it came to power in May 2010.
EU food industry representatives have termed ‘premature’ the proposal by the European Commission (EC) to allow 650,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar exports from October.
An inability by the European Parliament and Council to reach an agreement on the novel foods update due to disagreement over cloned animals and their offspring would send the message that no-one really cares about innovation, says consultant.
A producer of honey with added bee venom has described the Food Standards Agency (FSA’s) rejection of UK - and by extension EU - licensing for his product under the novel foods regulation as “hard to rationalise”.
There is an urgent need for international guidelines that allow food manufacturers to provide food allergy sufferers with better information, according to research organisation TNO.
The CIAA has published a new guide for manufacturers, to help them understand issues surrounding the use and labelling of flavourings in light of the 2008 regulation.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that caramel colours are not carcinogenic or genotoxic, and there is no evidence that they have adverse effects on human reproduction and child development.
In the interests of spurring sector innovation, EU biscuit, chocolate and cake manufacturer representative body Caobisco said it is aiming to get authorisations ‘in the future’ for the use of natural sweetener stevia in 'fine bakery' products,...
With EU institutions facing a ‘guillotine’ at the end of March regarding the conciliation process on the Novel Foods Regulation, food from cloned animals and their descendants now constitutes the main obstacle to progress.
A new healthy food logo is launching in The Netherlands, replacing the Dutch version of the Choices logo and retailer Albert Heijn’s clover logo that were previously used on products – with a new set of scientific criteria developed by an independent...
A European Commission initiative to release 500,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar onto the EU market has been backed by member states in the EU sugar management committee today.
As the Italian Health Ministry steps up pressure on the country’s food sector to help reduce health risks by improving nutrition, industry federation Federalimentare says that reformulation is already making a significant difference.
Europe’s Council of Ministers has adopted its first reading position on food information; the CIAA calls it a ‘good starting point’, but points out several areas on which it is lobbying for more industry-favourable positions in the next round.
Industry concerns are growing about a possible amendment to the EU Food Information Regulation (FIR) that will require all foods frozen, then defrosted before sale, to be labelled ‘defrosted’.
In a move to ease EU market pressures, the Commission has announced that it is to suspend import duties on low and medium quality wheat and barley from next week until the end of June.
Ajinomoto’s Advantame has moved a step closer to approval in Australia and New Zealand, as FSANZ has published its preferred option that the Food Standards Code be amended to approve the intense sweetener for sale and use.
The Indian Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) has been blocked from including representatives from the food and beverage industry in a scientific panel set up to advise on safety and standards.
Allowing ready meals and other composite products to carry the ‘5-a-Day’ logo would encourage manufacturers to use more fruit and vegetables in their formulations, says Innocent.
The food and drink sugar users lobby has warned the European Commission that any further delays in intervention to remedy the sugar deficit in the market could result in even greater supply repercussions this autumn.
The European Commission, in a policy about face, said it may open the import quota or allow the sale of out-of-quota sugar into the bloc - a move that would bring relief for bakers and other food makers set to negotiate new sugar contracts.
A new European logo for local foods could help consumers identify products sold a short distance from their place of origin, says the Dutch regional councillor behind an opinion on professionalising local food systems to bolster regional economies and...
Governments should play a more active role in curbing the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages high in saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, free sugars, or salt to children, warns the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Lack of clarity on the implications for the cocoa industry of the financial penalities imposed by the EU on the Ivory Coast has prompted trade representatives in the bloc to seek additional information from the Commission.
A new study on the public health impact of fat tax and subsidies for healthy options concludes they should be included as a suite of policy measures to encourage healthy eating – even though they may have a negligible effect on disease risk.
The European Commission is still unable to say when the controversial nutrient profiling model in the EU health claims Regulation will be finalised, two years after food manufacturers were told it would be published.
The complacency being exhibited by Brussels over the ongoing dioxin contamination incident is every bit as concerning as the carcinogenic chemical that has found its way into the food and feed chains since the end of last year.
Proposals to overhaul the fee inspection regime at food and feed facilities in the UK would result in a more consistent and clearer system - but one that would cost businesses more, said the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Sources within the Danish food industry have criticised the country’s new blanket tax on saturated fats in foods, claiming it will harm productivity and could even worsen the population’s health.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published draft guidance giving more specific risk assessment information regarding the use of nanotechnology in food.
The European Commission is exploring ways to boost dioxin monitoring procedures after it was confirmed that products containing the toxic substance had reached the food chain and been sold to UK consumers.
Eggs from farms affected by dioxin-contaminated feed have been and mixed with products to be used in processed foods and exported into the UK, food safety officials said yesterday.
The CIAA is confident that the incoming Hungarian presidency of the EU will finalise the long-awaited amended novel foods regulation in the next six months, but points out a number of outstanding issues.
The French food safety agency Anses has launched a new system for reporting adverse events linked to new foods and ingredients, supplements, enriched foods and drinks, and products for specific diets after 10 cases of concern were identified in a 2009...
The Commission is failing to recognise the urgency of the sugar supply deficit in the EU in its deferral of a decision regarding the hike in the sugar export quota until January, claims the CIUS, which represents sugar using food and drink industries...
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is celebrating a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for a health claim related to its ‘toothkind’ drinks that moves into comparative territory.
EFSA will open up its doors to external review and evaluation in 2011, as its mandate has evolved considerably over the last five years and structural changes may be required.
Differentiating between disease risk factors and disease reduction in the way that the 2006 nutrition and health claim regulation does is too arbitrary and needs revision, according to a German nutrition professor. But if such a change is needed, who...
The European Commission has adopted a new policy package on food quality standards that aims to reinforce the PDO-PGI scheme, streamline marketing standards, and provides guidelines on use of voluntary labelling schemes.
The probability of the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament reaching agreement over food information legislation looks slimmer than ever, indicates rapporteur Renate Sommer, as the ministers did not take on board many of the points MEPs were...
Competition law should be geared towards protecting suppliers up the food chain, not just end consumers, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
