Food safety
Food industry calls for harmonised precautionary allergen labelling
Europe’s food and drink producers have called on the Commission to come up with EU-wide standards on precautionary allergen labelling, arguing it is a much-needed step towards completing the single market.
Commission open to ‘biodiversity clause’ to end glyphosate deadlock
The European Commission stands ready to insert a clause referring to biodiversity in the glyphosate renewal proposal if requested by member states, a Commission Spokesperson told EURACTIV.
Parliament rejects bid to lower EU guard on Fukushima food imports
The European Parliament on Wednesday (13 September) warned against easing health controls imposed on food products imported from the Fukushima region in Japan in the wake of the nuclear disaster of 2011.
EU mulls incentives for space technologies in farm controls
The European Commission is considering new proposals to encourage the use of technologies to monitor farm parcels receiving subsidies from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), an EU official told EURACTIV.com.
Amsterdam wants to revive talks on new plant breeding techniques
The Netherlands believes the new plant breeding techniques should not come under the GMO legislation as they are as safe as traditional breeding. It also insists that a discussion on the issue should be launched soon, even before the EU Court rules on the issue.
France testing waters on glyphosate with other EU states
France has sent emails to several diplomatic services in Brussels trying to find out what stance they will take in an upcoming vote on the re-authorisation of the controversial glyphosate weed killer, an EU diplomat told EURACTIV.com
Honeygate: How Europe is being flooded with fake honey
Cheap imports of counterfeit honey are endangering beekeeping around the world, and the consequences for world food production are severe.
Rainfall and thefts put Greek mastiha production at risk
Unexpected summer rainfall, combined with a growing number of thefts, is jeopardising the production of the main ingredient of Greece's famous Mastiha liqueur both in quality and quantity.
EPP says no ‘hasty’ CAP reform before 2024
EXCLUSIVE / The European People’s Party (EPP) believes Brussels must first settle the UK's departure from the European Union and set a stable post-Brexit financial framework “before triggering discussions on the future reform" of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Fipronil crisis: Why should we keep on using these toxic substances?
The withdrawal of millions of eggs from the market produced in the Netherlands and Belgium should motivate the EU to shift towards a different model of agriculture, argues Martin Dermine.
Legislators push smallholders to the heart of smart farming talks
Several EU lawmakers from the European Parliament's agriculture committee expressed their concerns on Wednesday (30 August) about the introduction of new technologies in farming, claiming that it might put smallholders at risk.
Fipronil scandal: South Korea opens its market to Spanish eggs
Seoul has accelerated the importation of Spanish eggs after halting them from countries where the Fipronil crisis broke out several weeks ago. EURACTIV’s partner EfeAgro reports.
Yara boss: Africa has major potential in future food security
Europe will remain an important supplier of agricultural goods in the future but the greatest untapped potential lies in Africa, which could become the “bread basket” for the rest of the world, the president of Yara, a multinational fertiliser and crop nutrition company, told EURACTIV.
Spanish MEP wants ‘migration-style’ controls on food imports at the EU border
Spanish Partido Popular MEP Esther Herranz wants to harmonise the EU's border controls to protect food and plant products and prevent pests. EURACTIV’s partner EFEAgro reports.
British hepatitis outbreak linked to imported sausages
Thousands of shoppers may have caught the hepatitis E virus from pork products sold by a British supermarket, an investigation by Public Health England (PHE) has revealed.
Tainted eggs scandal reaches Italy
Italy said Monday (21 August) it has found traces of fipronil in two eggs samples, making it the latest country hit by the Europe-wide insecticide scandal, while a batch of tainted frozen omelettes was also withdrawn.
Egg crisis: Fipronil traces found in eggs from 2016
Belgian authorities have discovered a Fipronil-contaminated egg sample dating from September 2016, the head of the Belgian food security agency announced in parliament on Thursday (17 August). EURACTIV's partner La Tribune reports.
Two in Dutch court over tainted eggs scandal
Two Dutch men appeared in court Tuesday (15 August) in connection with the tainted-eggs scandal that swept Europe this month, which saw millions of eggs destroyed and caused tens of millions of euros in damages.
Commission calls meeting on egg crisis to end member states ‘blaming and shaming’
The European Commission will call an emergency meeting of ministers over insecticide-tainted eggs in a bid to end "blaming and shaming" over the scandal, health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said on Friday (11 August).
Contaminated eggs: Arrests made as scandal spreads East
Luxembourg became the latest European country hit by a scare over tainted eggs, with a major supermarket chain pulling them from the shelves and other firms affected, authorities said on Thursday (10 August).
Belgium lashes out at the Netherlands, says it knew about eggs scandal
Belgium accused the Netherlands on Wednesday (9 August) of failing to inform it that eggs were tainted with insecticide despite knowing about the problem since last November, as Europe's latest food safety scandal deepened.
German agriculture minister: Eggs scandal is a ‘criminal’ case
Germany's agriculture minister said on Tuesday (8 August) that the contamination of millions of eggs with a potentially harmful insecticide was "criminal", as authorities in several European countries continued to investigate the food safety scare.
Belgium aware of eggs scandal since June but did not speak out
Belgium has been aware of a potential problem with fipronil in the poultry sector since June, its food safety agency admitted, adding that it did not say anything because of a fraud investigation.
Dutch and Germans ‘massively’ get rid of contaminated eggs
Supermarkets in the Netherlands and Germany massively withdrew batches of eggs from their shelves on Thursday (3 August) amid fears that they contained high quantities of fipronil, a toxic insecticide which is dangerous for humans.