Regulation & Safety

29-Nov-2011 - Kraft Canada says it is 'disappointed' that the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has rejected its appeal calling for judicial review (JR) of controversial federal rules on cheese composition.

EC issues guide on active and intelligent packaging reg

28-Nov-2011 - New guidance on active and intelligent (A&I) food packaging will help industry players, professional bodies and national authorities understand and implement legislation passed two years ago, said the European Commission (EC).

‘Doing nothing is not an option’ on cheese composition concerns, Dairy UK

25-Nov-2011 - Trade body Dairy UK has revealed to DairyReporter.com that it is concerned about the impact of the new EU Food Information Regulation (FIR) on UK cheese compositional standards.

Special Edition: Stevia

Coca-Cola to expand stevia offering in EU; no plans to drop aspartame

21-Nov-2011 - Coca-Cola said it has no reason to drop the artificial sweetener aspartame from its low or zero calorie beverage brands in the European market as it welcomes last week’s approval by the European Commission for the use of the natural sweetener stevia in drinks and foodstuffs.

Special Edition: Stevia

Is a re-assessment of EU stevia usage on the cards?

17-Nov-2011 - Post-market monitoring of stevia use levels in food and drink products could see the European Commission broaden the current authorised food categories, claims a stevia trade body.

Poll: Can EFSA health claim opinions be modified before they become EU law?

09-Nov-2011 - After several years the serious end of the nutrition and health claim regulation is approaching, with the imminent publication of thousands of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claim opinions in European Union law books. But can any of those opinions be altered at this stage of the game? Have your say.

Decision on food and drink Ecolabel some months away

07-Nov-2011 - A decision is not expected until spring 2012 on whether the EU Ecolabel would be extended to food and drink products, reports the EU, following the publication of a feasibility study last week.

News in brief

Arla trumpets UK site's zero waste achievement

03-Nov-2011 - Arla Foods has announced that its UK dairy in Ashby has achieved a zero waste to landfill target.

News in brief

Danish fat tax raises 'considerable concerns': EDA

21-Oct-2011 - The European Dairy Association (EDA) has hit out at Denmark's recently introduced tax on foods containing saturated fats, which it said raised 'considerable concerns' regarding its social and economic impact on the nation's population.

IDF taskforce doubles microbial species on safe list

18-Oct-2011 - An International Dairy Federation taskforce has updated a 2002 inventory of safe microbial species including some probiotic species – from 112 to 221 – a list the group hopes will allow exemption from EU Novel Foods and US New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) regulations.

'Ignorant' EU Council blocks vital dairy reforms, EMB

12-Oct-2011 - An ‘irresponsible and ignorant’ EU Council is ignoring the plight of milk producers by watering-down proposed measures aimed at ensuring their contracts with dairies reflect production costs, according to the European Milk Board (EMB).

Wire bristles went undetected, Kraft admits after product recall

07-Oct-2011 - Kraft Foods has moved to reassure customers, despite admitting that its food safety systems did not detect the potential contamination of cheese-containing products with wire bristles in 2 US factories.

No excuse for ‘narrow minded’ Irish raw milk ban, shout opponents

06-Oct-2011 - The prospective ban on raw milk sales to consumers in Ireland has upset some dairy farmers and processors, who have criticised the measure as “narrow minded”

'Total' war in yogurt fixture as Fage tackles General Mills in trademark dispute

06-Oct-2011 - One of the nation’s biggest yogurt brands has launched a blistering attack on the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) after it sided with General Mills in a ruling that has prompted two lawsuits in less than a fortnight over the use of the word ‘Total’ on food packaging.

EC prefers corporate profits to baby health: pressure group

03-Oct-2011 - The European Commission (EC) has surrendered consumer production to business gain in discussions ahead of a key meeting today on revising the EC directive on baby milks and foods.

EFSA health claim opinion

EFSA on Valio peptide claim: “No convincing evidence for a mechanism”

03-Oct-2011 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected a peptide-blood pressure health claim submitted by Finnish dairy group, Valio, saying the dossier containing 21 intervention studies failed to demonstrate an effect.

Pressure group claims university ‘worryingly close’ to dairy industry

30-Sep-2011 - A row has erupted after Wageningen University rejected pressure group claims that its academics are “worryingly close” to the dairy industry, after the institution issued a press release that allegedly exaggerated research findings.

FSA warns consumers over ‘killer’ ice cream

23-Sep-2011 - The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has warned allergic consumers to check ‘dairy-free ice cream’ ingredients to ensure products don’t contain milk protein.

News in brief

Blaze wrecks Adams Foods’ cheese warehouse

21-Sep-2011 - More than 100 fire crew spent last night fighting a blaze at a cheese warehouse in Somerset operated by Adams Foods.

Carrefour recalls cheese after Listeria contamination.

20-Sep-2011 - Supermarket chain Carrefour has recalled a range of cheeses from stores in France and Monaco, after they were found to contain potentially deadly Listeria Monocytogenes bacteria.

NZ carbon tax will damage dairy competitiveness, Fonterra warns

19-Sep-2011 - Dairy giant Fonterra is concerned that applying ‘carbon costs’ to New Zealand's agriculture sector will make it harder for dairy firms to compete and push production to less emission-efficient countries.

EC expects "smooth adoption" of article 13 health claims list in Q1 2012

16-Sep-2011 - The European Commission’s directorate for health and consumer affairs, DG Sanco, has said it is close to finalising the 2758 claim-strong list of generic claims for publication in the European Union register of claims.

Dairy UK supports DEFRA date-marking changes

15-Sep-2011 - Trade body Dairy UK says its supports the UK government’s new initiative on date marking as a “major step forward in reducing food wastage in the home”.

Brussels looks set to end sugar quotas by 2016

08-Sep-2011 - The EU is set to abolish the system of sugar production quotas for the bloc as well as guaranteed minimum prices from 2016, according to a Brussels source.

UK children could exceed ADI levels for Sunset Yellow, finds EFSA

06-Sep-2011 - A decision is awaited from the Commission on the use of Sunset Yellow FCF (E 110) in non-alcoholic flavoured drinks following a revised exposure assessment from EFSA showing some children in the UK could still be over the ADI levels for the additive.