The flood of warnings over food products entering the EU zone
containing the potentially carcinogenic food colour Sudan 1
continues with the UK's watchdog recalling two different brands in
as many days.
With stringent rules on the labelling of genetically modified
ingredients entering into force earlier this week, the European
Commission has laid out the framework for the tough new
regulations.
The European Commission this week granted approval for several new
foods with added phytosterols, set to significantly expand the
number of cholesterol-lowering foods available in Europe.
The toughest rules on GM labelling in the world entered into force
yesterday in Europe, extending the mandatory labelling to countless
food products in the supermarkets and heralding in an extensive
paper trail for the food industry.
The 10 new Member States due to join the EU are on course to meet
the EU's food safety standards, said Commissioner David Byrne, on
the same day the EU's sugar confectionery body predicts soaring
sugar rises in the zone.
Green members of parliament in Europe have laid out a ten point
plan to tackle the causes of food scares such as BSE, salmonella
and toxic residues in farmed salmon to 'restore consumer confidence
in the way food is produced,'...
Japan may be about to review its policy of testing all slaughtered
cattle for mad cow disease, a practice Tokyo has asked Washington
to adopt as a condition for resuming US beef imports. This is
encouraging news for US meat processors,...
Impending rules on traceability across the EU led CIES - the Food
Business Forum in France - to publish a guide to implementing
traceability in the food supply chain. By 2005 all food companies
in the European Union must have a traceability...
One year after the European Parliament cleared a permanent ban on
the use of the food additive konjac in jelly confectionery amid
fears that children could choke on the sweets, the European
Commission has temporarily suspended the...
A political move that will burden the European food industry with
more paperwork than necessary and will send an army of food
manufacturers to rethink their ingredients formulations. So it is
that critics of the incoming rules on...
As food manufacturers and ingredients suppliers work towards tough
new rules on the labelling of food allergens, Europe's risk
assessment body concludes that current scientific evidence is
'insufficient to establish an intake...
A new food authority with safety at the helm is on the way for
Australia's New South Wales state after clearing the final obstacle
in parliament last week.
Allergen labelling, resistant maltodextrin, ciacylglycerol oil and
the celebrated French raw sheeps milk cheese Roquefort all fall
into the comment zone, said the Food Standards Australia New
Zealand (FSANZ) this week.
Japanese chemical giant Kyowa Hakko Kogyo can look forward to a
boost in sales for its soy-based food ingredient CSPHP as the US
Food and Drug Administration gives the product GRAS status.
A natural Japanese food ingredient used to extend the shelf life of
food products has acquired GRAS status from the US Food and Drug
Administration signalling a growth in sales for its Japanese
manufacturer, the Chisso Corporation.
Last month Brussels laid down amendments to three European
directives linked to colours, sweeteners and food additives. The
latest in a series of changes to existing technical legislation
covering the purity criteria for food additives,...
Pressing reform to European food and feed controls cleared a
further obstacle this week with Parliament waving through proposed
Commission rules, leaving room for ministers to take the final
decision in coming weeks, writes Lindsey...
European food manufacturers starting to get to grips with incoming
rules on food allergen labelling in the EU block face similar
adjustments in the US as the Senate clears new allergen laws this
week, writes Lindsey Partos.
UK government agrees 'in principle' to the commercial cultivation
of GM maize on UK soil, provoking an angry reaction from consumer
campaigners who claim the recent debate and science review on GM
foods has fallen on deaf...
Food manufacturers continue to face the costly process of food
recalls as the UK's Food Standards Agency brings more food products
contaminated by the illegal carcinogenic food dye Sudan to light.
Last month Europe came a step closer to introducing harmonised
rules on controlling mycotoxins in food. Closely following
discussions of Europe's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health, the Scottish Food Standards...
Countdown to new rules for the labelling of allergen ingredients
begins with national governments and stakeholders in Europe getting
to grips with the small print before enforcement next year. The
Scottish food watchdog updates the...
Spanish manufacturer Vitatene moves one step closer towards market
approval for its lycopene food ingredient derived from the fungus
Blakeslea trispora with the UK's Advisory Committee on Novel
Foods and Processes (ACNFP) concluding...
Canada is set to publish its first voluntary standards for
labelling food free of genetically modified ingredients. But a
number of food processors say that the rules are so badly flawed
that they will be of no use to the majority...
Croatia is about to get its own food agency, which will work
alongside the EFSA to bring the former Yugoslavian state in line
with EU food safety regulations ahead of its likely application to
join the Union.
The roll call of food products contaminated by the harmful illegal
red dye Sudan I continues with the UK's food watchdog finding the
potential carcinogen in two product lines on sale in the country.
Early last week the German government passed a bill codifying
European Union legislation for the cultivation and export of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into national law. Following
suit, the UK government seems set to give...
The thorny issue of imposing taxes on fatty foods in a bid to
reduce levels of obesity raised its ugly head in the UK once again
this week - but was almost immediately dismissed as unworkable.
Monsanto will have to wait a little longer to find out if it will
be granted permission by the European Union authorities to import
its genetically modified (GM) maize NK603 into the trading bloc.
European scientists will meet today to decide the fate of a
genetically modified corn developed by US biotech giant Monsanto. A
positive outcome from the committee would end Europe's five year
ban on GM crops, attacked by a host...
In a bid to reassure the European Parliament after a recent study
alerted the world to levels of cancer-causing toxins present in
farmed salmon, Europe's head of consumer safety stressed to
politicians that Europe's food...
A wide range of organic or health food products on sale in the UK
contain traces of genetically modified (GM) ingredients, according
to a study due to be published in April, reports CORDIS.
A publicity drive launched last week by the UK government will be a
vital part of the fight to stamp out illegal imports of meat and
plant material, said the UK's farm industry body.
Millions of euros will be poured into three major
'farm-to-fork?research projects, the Commission said yesterday, to
reinforce R&D co-operation at a European level and bring a
monetary boost to the increasingly complex food...
European hydrocolloid suppliers have welcomed new labelling rules
that provide E-number shy manufacturers with an alternative name
for the complex sounding food additive carboxymethylcellulose
(CMC). From now on, cellulose gum can...
An end to Europe's unofficial five-year ban on new biotech crops
could be imminent as the Commission backs proposals to import a new
GM sweetcorn. Ministers in the EU 15 have three months to decide on
the fate of the biotech...
In a bid to clarify labels and in response to consumer concerns,
the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation on
the use of alternative phrases to 'may contain' on food labels.
The US food watchdog this week issued a 'tentative final rule' that
amends the current GRAS status for a fish oil used in food
ingredients, to control consumer intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
Europe's food industry faces increased recalls and further costs as
a Commission clampdown yesterday extended rules on illegal
carcinogenic red chemical dyes to include curry powder.
A cancer-causing red dye found in chilli powder or chilli products
has contaminated over 120 food products on the supermarket shelves
in the UK, a figure set to climb as the UK's food watchdog
continues to track the movements...
Putting paid to media lip-service and the 'wildly false picture' it
has painted, EU Commissioner David Byrne defends European proposals
to clarify health and nutrition claims on food products.
Laws on GMO traceability for food companies operating in the
European Union moved up a gear on Friday with the Commission
clearing a new system of coding for all GMO varieties.
A technology that allows the health ingredient lutein to be
delivered to clear beverages has been given GRAS (Generally
Recognized As Safe) status from the US Food and Drug
Administration.
The European Commission has delayed the adoption of a proposal to
authorise imports of a GM sweetcorn onto European lands, opting to
bundle the issue with other GM points on the agenda of an upcoming
Commission meeting later this...
Calcium sulphate as a source of calcium, and the amino acid salts,
N-acetyl-L-cysteine and N-acetyl-L-methionine, may be included in
draft regulations amending the PARNUTS directive, which will allow
them to continue to be marketed...
Sparking criticisms, the Australian government's gene technology
regulator has given the green light for the commercial use of a
genetically modified canola from Monsanto - the second approval for
GM canola made by the country...
