Food safety
Chorus of approval over new EU food safety transparency rules
On Wednesday (17 April) a large majority of MEPs gave a thumbs up to an overhaul of the General Food Law (GFL). The increased transparency of the EU risk assessment, already acknowledged as one of the most stringent in the world, has now been hailed.
Katainen: Same level of priority for food and medicine in no-deal Brexit
Medicine supplies and food safety standards are both vital and the EU cannot prioritise one over the other in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Vice President of the Commission Jyrki Katainen said on Thursday (4 April).
Genetic innovation: ‘Nothing that we eat is natural’
The world is in constant need of more food and new genetic engineering methods such as the CRISPR gene editing method offer a solution. However, these remain contested, EURACTIV Germany reports.
Food safety: Midnight deal for revised General Food Law
All it took was three inter-institutional meetings and less than one month of negotiations to reach a deal on new European Food Safety Agency transparency rules, as EU co-legislators kicked into high gear in order to wrap up the file before the end of the mandate.
EU food alert system exposed to antimicrobial resistant contamination
On 25 October 2018, the European Parliament adopted a new legislative framework for veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed, which are a step forward in preventing the rise in antibiotic resistance.
Poland reports atypical case of ‘mad cow disease’
An atypical case of BSE -- commonly dubbed "mad cow disease" -- has been discovered in Poland, though the isolated case posed no risk to human health, Poland's chief veterinarian said on Monday (4 February).
Poland admits exporting suspect beef to ten EU countries
The European Commission will send a team of inspectors to Poland on Monday after a TV report showed sick cows being butchered for food in a Polish slaughterhouse.
EU agriculture Commissioner ‘surprised’ by gene editing court ruling
The European governments have to decide whether science or politics are applied when it comes to issues such as new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), EU's Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said.
France takes Roundup weed-killer off market after court ruling
French authorities on Tuesday (15 January) banned the sale of a form of controversial weed-killer Roundup following a court ruling that regulators failed to take safety concerns into account when clearing the widely used herbicide.
Europe’s food safety system ‘overstretched’, auditors say
The European Union’s food safety system is respected across the globe but it’s now “overstretched”, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said in a report published on Tuesday (15 January), urging policymakers to bolster implementation capacity.
German MEP: Politicians should trust EFSA, set aside their personal views
EU politicians should show trust in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and put their personal opinions on food safety assessments on hold, centre-right MEP Peter Jahr told EURACTIV Germany in an interview.
Greek farmers fume against mayor who banned short food supply chains
The mayor of Kozani, a city in northern Greece, decided to ban the “movement without intermediaries”, which had created a direct link between local farmers and consumers.
Spanish producers go digital to shorten food supply chains
Spanish producers are increasingly taking advantage of the booming Internet and digital commerce in order to shorten the supply chain and therefore improve their profitability.
Campaigner: Short food supply chain is more than selling local products
Short food supply chains have a multidimensional role to play. They can help revitalise European farms by encouraging young people to work the land, but they also provide cheap and healthy food to consumers and attract tourists, campaigner Geneviève Savigny told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Short food supply chains in Europe’s south
The concept of short food supply chains (SFSC), where intermediaries between farmers and consumers are removed, was introduced in the 2014-2020 CAP and has risen in recent years. According to a study carried out by the European Parliamentary Research Service...
Green MEPs: New CAP is not ambitious on short food supply chains
The development of short food supply chains, where intermediaries between farmers and consumers are removed, provides consumers with healthier food and especially in the case of Europe’s south, major opportunities to enhance agrotourism, Green MEPs told EURACTIV.com.
MEPs ready to negotiate EFSA’s transparency rule, but need to find a new negotiator
The long and troubled parliamentary procedure to overhaul the current food transparency rules for European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) ended in an unexpected twist as the EPP’s rapporteur Renate Sommer asked to withdraw her name from the report just passed by the Parliament's plenary.
Stakeholders say digitisation key to optimise fertilisers’ use
The digitisation of Europe’s agricultural sector will play a crucial role in optimising the use of fertilisers in order to help feed a rising population and simultaneously to decrease their negative environmental footprint.
EU’s new draft food law weak on traceability, activists warn
Insecticides in eggs, salmonella in baby milk – how can major food scandals continue to occur, despite strict EU rules? The EU is currently revising its food law but for consumer protection campaigners, the proposals do not go far enough to ensure full traceability. EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU fertiliser industry at the crossroads between nutrition and energy
We live in fascinating times where technology is evolving at an ever-increasing pace, spurring major shifts in many industries. This is also the case for the fertilizer sector, writes Jacob Hansen, director general of Fertilizers Europe.
Fertiliser industry vows to feed one ‘extra Germany’ per year
The EU fertilisers industry published its 2030 vision on Wednesday (21 November), stressing the need to optimise fertiliser use across Europe and improve production in order to adjust to the principles of the circular economy and feed a growing world population.
Biodiversity can benefit from new technologies, EU official says
It is the duty of scientists to point out what could be accomplished by using new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), according to European Commission official Barend Verachtert, who praised the virtue of new technologies in agriculture at an event organised by EURACTIV on 5 November.
Civil society questions Europe’s ‘perfect’ pesticide authorisation system
No pesticide should be authorised if it is found to have harmful effects on humans, animals, the environment, and the ecosystem, the new coalition “Citizens for Science in Pesticide Regulation” said in a manifesto launched on Wednesday (31 October).