Scientific evidence indicates that the presence of the ink chemical
isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) in packaged foods does not pose a
health risk, an EU regulator said today.
The oft-said adage that there are two things people don't want to
see being made - sausage and legislation - falls apart at the doors
of the EU's parliament.
EU processors will have to wait longer to find out if they can
continue to use aspartame, after the EU's food safety regulator
said it had still not received evidence from an Italian research
centre indicating that the artificial...
A EU food safety committee is meeting in Brussels today to discuss
the contamination of milk and other products with a chemical used
by Tetra Pak in its packaging process.
With an EU scientific study recommending that the European
Commission set up a system to track deadly listeria infections in
the bloc, processors will be under the gun to prevent the bacteria
from entering the food chain.
While Nestlé's chief executive continues to query the motives
behind the Italian government's seizure of million of litres of its
baby milk, details are emerging that infant formula from Royal
Numico and SMA Nutrition may...
Lactalis, the largest French dairy processor, has struck a deal
with Dutch dairy Friesland Foods to combine the two groups'
marketing teams in Germany.
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.
The EU is confident that the sugar reforms announced last week give
producers a long-term competitive future, though firms such as Tate
& Lyle remain cautious.
The fallout from the discovery that isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) had
contaminated some of Nestlé baby milk products in four EU countries
continues, with the company maintaining that there are nohealth
consequences while Italy has called...
As Nestlé recalls two million litres of baby milk in four European
countries due to a packaging problem, the company is attempting to
calm consumer fears that their children were in danger ofingesting
a printing chemical from drinking...
An ambitious Italian gourmet food promotion programme could
transform the fortunes of a revitalised sector - as long as EU
bureaucracy doesn't ruin everything.
The European Court of Justice's feta ruling may give sole rights to
Greece, yet one of Europe's leading dairy producers has been
preparing for years to find a way round the new rules.
A European Court of Justice ruling yesterday prohibiting cheese
makers outside of designated areas in Greece from calling their
products "feta" emphasises the danger to food processors of making
branded products based on...
EU moves to cut agricultural subsidies survived a French-led revolt
in an emergency Council of Ministers meeting Tuesday, but calls for
closer scrutiny of Commission negotiations could still dash a deal
at the WTO.
The EU's CAP reforms continue to force changes on Europe's dairy
firms as Arla Foods announced it will close a Danish milk powder
plant that is no longer vital for production.
The EU fines for member states exceeding their milk production
quotas highlight a problem in the system, but there are more
pressing issues for now, says the director general of Dairy UK to
DairyReporter.com
A new centre-right government in Poland is unlikely to curb the
country's strong opposition to EU sugar reforms as Commission
representatives look for common ground to break the 'no' camp.
Europe's opposition to genetically modified ingredients will
significantly increase producers' costs over the next three years
as it becomes ever harder to secure GM-free supplies, says a new
report.
Coping with reforms to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy has
taken centre-stage for dairy firms across the bloc as Dutch group
Campina outlines a plan to swallow more than €80m of losses in aid
since 2003.
Ireland's prime minister Bertie Ahern has called for the food
industry to support the CAP, at a time when the system is coming
under intense criticism.
EU farm ministers met with African and Caribbean counterparts on
Monday to discuss the sweeping EU sugar reform that will bring
cheaper sugar ingredients into the bloc.
Price increases for raw materials, packaging and transport led to a
fall in operating profit of seven per cent in the first half of
2005 for Dutch dairy producer Royal Friesland Foods.
The UK's food processors will come under greater pressure to ship
their products in environmentally-friendly materials after
government announced a plan to increase minimum recycling targets
for glass and plastics packaging.
Although the EU's member states were due to impose tougher laws on
recycling packaging waste, only five countries have completed the
task, the European Commission said yesterday.
Dairy producer Arla Foods, which supplies butter to a number of
bakeries, has sent out one of the first signals that the dairy
sector is hurting from a reduction in EU agricultural export
subsidies.
The 512 Italian dairies licensed to make Parmigiano-Reggiano,
'Parmesan' cheese to many, are celebrating a muted victory over
copycat producers across the world after the EU successfully
blocked moves for a global production...
The UK's food and drink exporters are gaining footholds in emerging
markets, while sales of meat and dairy exports are beginning to
pick up, according to market consultancy, Food from Britain (FBB).
Food makers and ingredients firms will benefit from a new European
platform that will prioritise research and development initiatives
to keep the €800 billion food and drink industry
competitive,reports Lindsey Partos.
Milk prices paid to UK producers are notoriously low, yet tough
streamlining has positioned the dairy industry well to cope with
new EU CAP reforms and subsidy cuts that seem increasingly likely,
writes Chris Mercer.
Sweeping changes to Europe's subsidised sugar regime announced
yesterday will see sugar prices cut by 39 per cent paid to
companies that include sugar and sweetener suppliers Danisco and
Tate and Lyle, but will bring price relief...
Food and drink makers could soon expect cheaper sugar ingredients
with Brussels expected to publish its proposals on EU sugar reform
today, writes Lindsey Partos.
A European regulation on food enzymes, which would demand dossiers
of safety and technical information on each enzyme prior to their
approval on the market, could be published by the Commission by the
end of the year, reports Dominique...
Dairy company Campina will require its member farmers to use a
higher quality of feed for their cattle than is currently required
in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, reports Ahmed
ElAmin.
While the European Commission still seems far from producing a
proposal to amend rules on nutrition labelling, a new study
suggests costs of label changes for the food maker could hit €9000
a product, reports Lindsey Partos.
The European Parliament voted yesterday to radically modify the
proposed regulation on nutrition and health claims so that food
companies do not need to gain prior authorization for claims, nor
subject their healtlh products to nutrient...
Members of the European Parliament are today debating and voting on
proposals for two new controversial pieces of proposed legislation
that will affect food processors - one toput restrictions on the
health claims they make about...
Proposals to create a list of about 100 vitamins and mineral
substances that may be added to foods are being debated in the
European Parliament today, part of the long process of harmonising
food legislation in the bloc, reports Ahmed...
In our current uneasy climate of product recalls, sensitivities are
high and Brussels can ill afford to fuel confusion, but in the
latest document from Europe's central alert system, the reference
to annatto, bixin and norbixin...
A key advisor to the European Court of Justice said last week that
certain Greek manufacturers should be given the exclusive right to
manufacture feta cheese, Tom Armitage reports.
Alcan has acquired the assets of Parkside's flexible food packaging
plant in Zlotow, Poland in order to increase its presence in a
growing and competitive economy.
Finland's largest grocery chain Kesko has launched a range of
yogurts that include Forbes Medi-Tech's cholesterol-lowering
ingredient, Reducol, the Canadian firm said on Monday.
A total of €277.25 million of EU farm money misspent by Member
States is to be claimed back following a decision adopted today by
the European Commission.