Single market for food Archives

The Visegrad Four, as well as Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Slovenia, have warned about “disproportions” in the food supply chain if large suppliers are not covered by the European Commission’s proposal on unfair trade practices (UTPs).

The final scope of the European Commission’s proposals on unfair trade practices (UTPs) in the EU food supply chain has divided stakeholders, as it has not been decided yet if large companies should also be included in the legislation, in addition to small and medium firms.

A group of MEPs has called on the European Commission to turn down an industry proposal on alcohol labelling, claiming that alcoholic beverages should no longer enjoy a preferential regime compared to other foodstuffs.

London and Brussels should be “pragmatic” and prepare to either extend Article 50 or the transition period so that Brexit talks can progress "in the right way", Mars Wrigley Confectionery's regional president for Europe, Russia, CIS and Turkey told EURACTIV.com.

“Mother Nature” is changing quickly and this requires the adoption of technology-driven solutions that will help both growers and consumers, Jim Collins, the chief operating officer of Corteva Agriscience, the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, told EURACTIV.

What is in the food that we buy? It’s a question whose answer is less certain than it should be. Shockingly, many food manufacturers find it acceptable to sell their food with standard packaging throughout the EU, but with very different content, and often lower quality, in different countries, writes Lilyana Pavlova.

Chocolate companies still have “a huge amount of work to do” in implementing truly sustainable policies, with some doing much better than others, the Washington-based NGO Mighty Earth concluded in a consumer guide ranking chocolate producers, published a few days ahead of Easter.

The EU financial support to farmers, including to Spanish olive producers, does not distort trade, European Commission sources told EURACTIV.com in light of the rising tensions between Brussels and the US government over trade.  

Country of origin food labelling will be obligatory only if the main ingredient of a particular food product comes from a different country and the producer wants to have the country of origin label, a European Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV.com.

The European Commission warned Copenhagen to enforce protection of the protected designation of origin “Feta”, following information that Danish companies export the product outside the EU with misleading labelling.

Britain’s agriculture industry must work to “incentivise the implementation of research and development” if it is to compete globally after Brexit, farming leaders told a EURACTIV roundtable in Westminster on Tuesday (16 January).

Europe’s food and drink industry relies heavily on the EU single market to underpin its steady growth rate, but it has warned that Brexit poses a real threat to the future of many businesses.

The EU and Mexico resumed talks Monday (8 January) aimed at sealing a new version of their 18-year-old trade deal, a project that has hit several snags – including the touchy issue of cheese.

Italy and seven other EU countries asked the European Commission on 24 November to allow them to limit rice imports from Cambodia, on the grounds of “protecting the Italian and European Rice industry.” 

An Italian tribunal approved on 22 November the decrees signed by the ministries of agriculture and of economic development to include the country of origin of cereals on rice and pasta labels. The move was welcomed by Coldiretti, Italy’s largest farmers union, but worried the European Commission and pasta makers.

Agriculture and the environment must go hand in hand, taking into account the role that each plays, Italian Minister for Environment Gian Luca Galletti told EURACTIV.com.

The EU’s food and drink industry has joined forces with farmers and agri-food traders to call for a smooth Brexit transition and highlight the damage a cliff-edge EU exit would do to the bloc’s food chain.

The denomination “Greek yogurt” cannot be used for yogurts produced outside Greece, a European Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV.com amid mounting tensions between Athens and Prague on the issue.

The 44 million workers in the EU’s food chain are vital to ensuring European citizens have access to sufficient quantities of high quality food. From farmers to retailers, the sector is constantly evolving to keep up with the major challenges of the future.

France's ministers for health, agriculture and the economy signed on Tuesday (31 October) a decree introducing a voluntary labelling scheme for food products to reduce obesity, causing upheaval in the food industry.

France is facing a shortage of butter in supermarkets, as producers are scrambling to meet increased demand. The price hike should last for months. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports.

What has been mixed in the current dual quality food conversation is ‘quality versus recipe’, as consumers have different preferences on sweetness and saltiness and we just have to accept it, FoodDrinkEurope leader told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

As European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his State of the European Union address last month, there were several issues which sparked his passion. But one came as a surprise to the audience: fish fingers.