In anticipation of stevia approval in Europe, leading producer, PureCircle, has announced that it is setting up its European headquarters in the UK to support customers in their launches throughout the region.
An amendment to EU dairy rule proposals requiring that prices be fixed for no less than a year will weaken the EU dairy industry, claims the European Dairy Association (EDA).
Europe will set the standard for the world dairy industry, specifically for milk quality and cow welfare, an international dairy expert has told a recent conference in Brussels staged by Pfizer Animal Health.
At a Council meeting this week EU agriculture ministers agreed that the report of the Higher Level Group (HLG) provides “a solid basis for a review of the milk sector” but disagreements were aired on the details of reform.
The EU Commission has agreed to start releasing intervention stocks of butter and skimmed milk powder (SMP) sparking some concern that the price recovery could be jeopardised.
Dairy processors in the EU are turning to cheese in an effort to put the market turbulence of a year ago behind them, according to a US government report.
A European Dairy Association (EDA) seminar has illustrated how different actors in the dairy supply chain are being affected by price volatility and deregulation.
The European cholesterol-lowering market presents many opportunities for food supplements and functional foods despite threats such as statin drugs and a tough new health claims regime, says Dr Robert Harwood, principal consultant at UK-based CPL Business...
A new French law threatens supply chain efficiencies in the packaged goods sector and could create new trade barriers in the EU internal market, warns the European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment (Europen).
New measures being taken by the EU to prop up its dairy farmers through the re-introduction of subsidies like export refunds have been derided as being ‘doomed to fail’ by one farmers’ lobby group.
A proposal to send unspent EU subsidies to developing countries worst hit by food price rises would have knock-on benefits for the EU, according to the rapporteur leading a Development Committee debate yesterday.
Imperfect as they may be, the European Union’s regulatory efforts in the food area have attracted the attention of regulators around the world, some of whom view what is being done in the bloc as a legislative template.
This week, the EU agrees to implement a two per cent quota hike,
Canada-based Agropur expands its operations in the country, and
Unimilk reportedly sets a possible date for its initial public
offering.
Fines imposed on EU member states for exceeding milk production
quotas in the latest marketing year are down 38 per cent from last
season as the bloc continues to cut its reliance on subsidies.
Food safety and animal health top the agenda at
today's meeting of EU's agricultural ministers, with
the future of milk, wine and sugar production also up for
discussion.
Milk and cheese products are more than twice as expensive in the
rest of the 27 European countries than in Eastern Europe,
according to a Eurostat report.
EU legislators yesterday voted in favour of proposals to introduce
a controversial five-stage hierarchy of priority for the bloc's
waste management policy.
Milk prices, new EU members and the dairy industry review in 2008
were on the agenda in the second part of DairyReporter's
interview with the European Dairy Association.
Plans to revise the EU's waste management policy must clarify the
legal status of by-products from food processing if they are to
improve efficiency and save resources, says a food industry body.
A proposed revision to the EU's waste management policy would give
preferential treatment to reusable packaging, such as bottles, over
recyclable materials.
The current supply glut on the EU butter market will be solved by
more producers leaving the sector, says a Commission report, again
predicting a move away from commodities across the bloc.
Failure to reach an agreement on global trade has upset dairy
industry officials from the EU and beyond, creating more
uncertainty about the future of the sector.
Most of Europe's dairy industry will have eyes fixed on World Trade
Organisation negotiations over the coming weeks, but there will be
time too for lobbying on short-term market support and more debate
over export subsidies.
After achieving record exports in 2005, the Ireland's dairy and
beef industry is expected to remain as an important source of
supplies to the EU market, according to a government report.
International food giants Arla Foods and Danisco got more subsidies
from the EU than anyone else in their native Denmark last year,
says a new report, adding yet more controversy to Europe's farm
support scheme.
Agrana, which claims to be the leading sugar and starch producer in
Central and Eastern Europe, plans to expand its activities towards
the Western Balkans.
The European Commission has raised export subsidies available for
butter for the second month running, bowing to pressure from member
states concerned at volatile markets.
The European Commission's cuts to export subsidies for dairy
ingredients have survived a series of rows between Member States,
as tension grows on how the bloc can meet its commitments to the
World Trade Organisation talks.
Various quality assurance schemes used in the food industry should
remain voluntary, the bloc's food industry association says in
attempting to forestall planned EU legislation on the subject.
European members of parliament are due to vote today on proposed
changes to the bloc's geographical indications (GI) system in a bid
to comply with a World Trade Organisation decision.
The first agriculture and fisheries council meeting under the
Austrian presidency of the EU, held today in Brussels, will set the
agenda for food industry reform in 2006.
Designated food "clusters" in the EU will receive a boost in
funding to help the bloc's researchers develop innovative foods and
processing techniques.
With the ushering in of new hygiene laws at the start of this year,
food companies are now under tougher regulatory scrutiny to ensure
they do not send out poisonous products from their plants.
If the EU keeps hiding its agriculture sector behind huge pay
cheques instead of devoting more time to food research funding, the
bloc's whimpering and wailing will only get worse.
An ambitious Italian gourmet food promotion programme could
transform the fortunes of a revitalised sector - as long as EU
bureaucracy doesn't ruin everything.
Both the US and the EU have made moves to slash agricultural
subsidies amid tough negotiations, but the two trading blocs have
stayed pretty quiet on the main details the food industry is
looking for in the run-up to December's...
