A meat preserver, a gel-forming additive and an anti-microbial
agent face tougher European rules as Brussels adopts a proposal to
change the current food additive directive.
Food makers need to be alert to nutritional claims as UK
advertising watchdog comes down on number one breakfast cereal
supplier Kellogg's, claiming a recent cinema advertisement for its
Frosties brand was 'misleading'...
In a bid to help food makers correctly label their food products,
Australia and New Zealand's independent statutory authority this
week underlines the legal requirements for flavours used in foods.
Europe's food watchdog comes up with benchmark consumer consumption
doses for antimicrobial agents used sparingly by food manufacturers
as a preservative in meat products and potato snacks, reports
Lindsey Partos.
Evidence that regular testing for pesticides in foodstuffs is
valuable to both the consumer and industry comes after a
government-backed initiative finds lettuce and farmed fish products
among the most contaminated products in the...
Codex Alimentarius fails consumer organisations, claims a leading
consumer group, but ongoing Codex action and work accomplished
suggests the UN-backed body is doing much good for food safety and
trade.
Australia's food watchdog reassures consumers on the safety of a
genetically modified corn refined for use in a range of food
products after new research sparks rumours.
As Europe's codex committee meets next week to discuss proposals
for worldwide risk principles, the UN's World Health Organisation
(WHO) has today urged countries to improve ways they can respond to
potential threats to...
Risk analysis is on the table at an upcoming European codex session
next week in Bratislava with EU 25 offering its support to a
proposal for new principles on the issue while calling for
flexibility.
Once again European consumer organisations warn this week that food
makers should tidy up their food labels to help confused consumers
understand the nutritional value of a food products.
For the first time in Europe's history, and in the face of strong
opposition, European countries will be able to grow GM maize in
their fields as Brussels waves through a biotech corn into the EU's
catalogue.
Now tight rules are in place for the labelling of GM ingredients on
food products, Brussels has moved down the food chain to tackle the
sensitive issue of genetically modified seeds, meeting today to
hammer out a draft decision setting...
On the eve of his departure as head of consumer protection in
Brussels, EU Commissioner David Byrne claims that public confidence
in Europe's food chain 'is returning', thanks to a raft of food
safety rules now in place.
A coalition of some of Europe's most vocal campaign groups has
called on the European Commission to rethink a proposal on the
labelling of genetically modified organisms, urging the law makers
to allow Europe's massively...
Scientists at Europe's food watchdog have upped their assessment of
the risk of finding mad cow disease in the United States, Canada
and Norway following an extensive study of data collected between
1980-2003.
Europe's food safety body has concluded that jelly mini-cups made
with a range of food additives derived from seaweed and certain
gums, from xanthan gum to calcium alginate, could constitute a
choking risk, reports Lindsey Partos.
While universally welcomed by food manufacturers, retailers and
consumer allergy groups alike, one aspect of the new European
directive on food allergen labelling has proved unpopular and is
now slated for amendment- the labelling...
A popular food oil used extensively in food formulations is the
latest product-type to be pulled from the UK supermarket shelves as
the country's food watchdog identifies the illegal carcinogen Sudan
IV in a batch of palm oil...
Ahead of a meeting of UN-backed Codex in Bonn, Germany this coming
November various US government bodies will host a public meeting
providing the food industry with an opportunity to voice its
opinion on a range of issues from gluten-free...
The complex issue of carbohydrate labelling fired up by the
low-carb trend will move up a gear next month when the FDA is
expected to release proposed rules on how information about
carbohydrates should appear on the nutrition facts...
Consumer trust in ingredient labels moved up a gear in the US
yesterday as President George W. Bush signed off new rules on food
allergens that will mean tighter labelling requirements for all
food makers operating in the US market,...
Food makers operating in Europe shortly face new labelling rules
for food allergens on food labels, and as the US cleared its own
new rules yesterday, manufacturers present in the US market will
see parallel changes.
A genetically modified corn from biotech giant Monsanto will not be
allowed on European dinner plates as ministers fail to give the
green light on the GM food.
Competition for European suppliers of honey has ramped up with
Brussels clearing the way to end a two year ban on food imports
from China which should pave the way for cheaper raw materials for
honey formulations.
Ministers in the EU recently blocked a move by biotech giant
Monsanto to launch a GM corn onto the market but finding a
favourable response in less cynical countries the firm said
yesterday that Argentina had given the green light.
In the wake of a mad cow disease-infected cow discovered at the end
of 2003 in the US, the government has come up with three new
actions to protect the food chain.
The list grows of food products containing the illegal carcinogenic
red dye sudan I. The UK food watchdog has given two separate food
hazard warnings this week about food contaminations.
The world's watchdog for food rules has given the green light to
over 20 new and amended food standards covering animal feeding,
milk products and a newly adopted definition for traceability.
The unofficial ban on GM foodstuffs has ended but sceptical
European ministers yesterday failed to give the green light on a
biotech sweetcorn from Monsanto, reports Lindsey Partos.
Food makers likely to continue to reject GMO ingredients...
In 2003 Denmark banned trans fatty acids from food products over
fears that these hydrogenated fats could contribute to heart
disease. The rest of the EU as yet has no equivalent plans to
follow suit, but in the US the labelling of...
Eager to protect a burgeoning market in value-added ingredients
wheat protein supplier MGP Ingredients has filed a case against
rival ingredients supplier Manildra Milling corporation.
In a bid to gauge the popularity and concerns of new European rules
on food allergens the UK's food watchdog has launched a public
consultation on the regulations that will mean food labels will
have to list certain potentially...
Europe rejects the entry of a GM food crop supplied by biotech
giant Monsanto into the food chain with officials from the 25
member states failing to reach a qualified majority at the vote
yesterday.
New laws on genetically modified foodstuffs ushered into Europe
earlier this year may be tough, but Australia and New Zealand's
joint food watchdog claims that their own rules are among the
toughest, following an extensive review...
The UK food safety watchdog has 'provisionally reached a view' that
the sweet, purple saskatoon berry recently available to consumers
will have to apply for pre-market approval before being allowed
back on the shelves, writes...
The European food industry awaits as the European Commission
huddles together to assess possible changes to the current
nutrition labelling rules governing food products, reports
Lindsey Partos. Industry is concerned that amendments...
In response to the Codex Alimentarius committee on deep frozen
foods that has come up with a revised code of practice for the
processing and handling of quick frozen foods the European
community this week issued a raft of comments.
Sweden's voluntary health claims code has approved a claim for a
cholesterol-lowering cheese made by dairy firm
Skanemejerier,reports Dominique Patton.
The French food authority AFSSA has approved a health claim for
cranberry juice and powder and its effect on urinary tract health,
in the world's first health claim for the fruit, writes Philippa
Nuttall.
Transboundary animal diseases are on the increase, say the World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). As a result, both bodies
have decided to strengthen their...
US Agro-food giant Cargill has confirmed that a $24 million
class-action lawsuit accusing the US food giant of price-fixing
will be settled following federal court approval. The end is now in
sight for a law suit that dates back nine...
The European Commission has given the nod to Sygenta's Bt11
genetically modified sweetcorn, granting authorisation for it to be
sold within the European Union over the next ten years. Although
the Commission says that the sweetcorn...
The UK's environmental regulator has cautioned food and drink
manufacturers that if they fail to comply with essential
environmental legislation they risk hefty fines. The warning comes
as a website is launched to help small...
Fall out from the BSE crisis that hit the UK meat industry in the
1990s could be nearly over as the EU's food safety body paves the
way for British beef to move down from its 'high risk'
classification.
After months of political wranglings GM sweetcorn could be on the
supermarket shelves by the end of the year with the European
Commission poised to end the five year unofficial ban on
genetically modified foods, writes Lindsey Partos.
Danish ingredients firm Arla Food Ingredients has moved into
another new market with its low-calorie bulk sweetener, tagatose,
as the food watchdog for Australia and New Zealand gives the green
light for its use in foods that span...
New sources of GM ingredients are set to enter the European food
supply chain as EU agriculture ministers failed to reach a
qualified majority yesterday on the biotech maize Bt11 and its
entry into the bloc.
A biotech battle will take place in Luxembourg today at a meeting
of EU15 agriculture ministers that could finally mark the end to
the GM ban in Europe, heralding the debut of a raft of GM foods.
