The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) board has reportedly changed its position to agree with the European Commission (EC) that food from the offspring of cloned cattle and pigs does not require authorization as “novel foods.” Meeting December 7, 2010, to discuss animal cloning for food production, the FSA board also agreed that “for food safety purposes, mandatory labeling of meat and milk obtained from the descendants of cloned cattle and pigs would be unnecessary and disproportionate, providing no significant food safety benefit to consumers.” According to an FSA press release, the food safety watchdog agreed to advise European Union ministers that “the marketing of products obtained from cloned animals should be subject to authorization as novel foods,” but that it was prepared to adopt EC’s position that offspring of cloned cattle and pigs does not require such authorization. FSA announced that it will seek views from interested parties…
Category Archives Europe
The European Commission (EC) has announced a ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic baby bottles. According to a November 26, 2010, press release, the decision was reached at a meeting of European Union member states that followed “months of discussion and exchange of views between the Commission’s services, the European Food Safety Agency, member states and the industry.” The measure prohibits member states from manufacturing the bottles with BPA starting on March 1, 2011, and selling and importing them as of June 1. John Dalli, commissioner in charge of health and consumer policy, reportedly raised concerns after recent studies claimed to show BPA could be harmful to infants. “The decision is good news for European parents who can be sure that as of mid-2011 plastic infant feeding bottles will not include BPA,” he was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, a UK expert has criticized the move, telling a news source…
The European Commission’s (EC’s) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks has approved a definition for “nanomaterial” as a basis for future regulatory safety evaluations and risk assessments. The committee concluded that size is the most relevant consideration in defining the term, and that no scientific justification exists to prefer any specific size limit other than the range from 1 to 100 nanometers. According to the committee, “size influences bio-distribution (and distribution kinetics) in an organism or in an ecosystem which should be taken into consideration in the risk assessment of nanomaterials.” The committee decided not to distinguish between natural and manufactured nanomaterials in its definition.
Saying the European Union’s (EU’s) citizen initiative procedure, created under the Lisbon Treaty, is “not yet valid,” EU Health Commissioner John Dalli has reportedly dismissed on procedural grounds the submission of 1.03 million citizens taking part in a campaign to compel the European Commission (EC) to prohibit genetically modified (GM) crops until an “independent ethical, scientific body” assesses their impact. This first effort to activate the Lisbon pact’s rules allowing one million citizens to propose legislation was apparently initiated in May 2010 after the EC decided to grant the first EU GM cultivation approval. According to one of the organizations responsible for the anti-GM campaign, “European citizens have given the Commission more than a million reasons to listen to the public and act with precaution rather than cave to the private interests of a handful of GM companies who are influencing Europe’s agricultural future.” Dalli indicated that he would take…
The EU High Level Forum for a Better Functioning Food Supply Chain recently held its first meeting in Brussels, Belgium, where it reportedly discussed a work plan “to boost competitiveness and to promote best contractual practices in the European food sector.” Led by Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier, Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli, and Agricultural and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Cioloş, the initiative involves 45 representatives from member states, companies “dealing with food production, processing or distribution,” and nongovernmental public interest groups. These participants are charged with following the recommendations of the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Agro-Food Industry and implementing the European Commission’s communication titled “A better functioning food supply chain in Europe” (COM (2009) 591). The forum will also feature several expert platforms focused on (i) “business to business contractual practices in the food supply chain,” (ii) “food price monitoring,” (iii)…
According to media sources, the EU Council of Ministers’ Legal Service has expressed “strong doubts” about the feasibility of a proposal that would allow individual member states to set their own policies for regulating genetically modified (GM) crops. The opinion has reportedly raised questions about whether the legislation would violate World Trade Organization rules, especially since a GM crop ban based on ethical rather than environmental or health concerns would be difficult to uphold in European courts. An EU official has quoted the opinion, which was due to be officially presented on November 11, as saying that, “Economic arguments cannot be relied upon . . . so the obvious remaining candidate would therefore be ethical reasons.” Also referring to this “leaked” legal opinion, the Institute for Environmental Studies at the VU University Amsterdam has hailed the report as validating the views of its own biotechnology law specialist, Thijs Etty. “This…
The European Commission (EC) has solicited feedback on its proposed definition of the term “nanomaterial.” In response to a European Parliament request, the EC’s draft recommendation recognizes the need for a definition “at the global level, to serve as a basis also for EU regulation and implementing measures and instruments.” The proposal defines a nanomaterial as that material which meets at least one of the following criteria: (i) it consists of particles with one or more external dimensions in the size range of 1 nanometer to 100 nanometers for more than 1 percent of their size distribution; (ii) it has internal or surface structures in one or more dimensions in the size range of 1 nanometer to 100 nanometers; or (iii) it has a specific surface area by volume greater than 60 square meters by per cubic centimeter, excluding materials consisting of particles with a size smaller than 1 nanometer.…
In its ongoing review of food product health claims, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has adopted 75 new opinions addressing 808 claims. EFSA’s independent scientists opined that claimed functional-food effects, such as improves the “immune system” or “immune function,” “supports immune defences,” “reduces inflammation,” or “decreases potentially pathogenic gastro-intestinal microorganisms,” were either insufficiently defined or unsupported by scientific data. The authority also turned aside claims that the probiotic bacteria in a specific brand of yogurt maintain immune defenses against the common cold. According to a news source, the scientific studies that yogurt-maker Yakult submitted to justify such claims were inadequate. Some suggest that this week’s rulings by EFSA have seriously compromised industry efforts to promote functional foods, in which companies have made significant investment. Industry is reportedly challenging the determinations, complaining that the authority is applying excessively rigorous standards, and has asked for meetings to discuss the criteria used.…
The European Commission has reportedly proposed a five-year ban on animal cloning for food production in the European Union (EU), but stopped short of prohibiting meat and milk from clone offspring. According to an October 19, 2010, Europa press release, the plan would also suspend “the use of cloned farm animals and the marketing of food from clones,” while envisaging “the establishment of a traceability system for imports of reproductive materials for clones, such as semen and embryos of clones.” In issuing its decision, the Commission stressed animal welfare concerns but also noted that “there is no scientific evidence confirming food safety concerns regarding foods obtained from cloned animals or their offspring.” It emphasized that the proposal would not suspend cloning “for uses other than food, such as research, conservation of endangered species or use of animals for the production of pharmaceuticals.” As Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli…
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Chair Diana Banati has reportedly dismissed conflict-of-interest allegations arising from her involvement with the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), a public health nonprofit whose membership includes academic, government and industry scientists. According to Greens MEP José Bové, Banati failed to disclose her industry ties as an ILSI board member when installed at EFSA. “The commission should never have approved her appointment given her clear links to the food industry, which is completely at odds with the need for independence at the EFSA,” Bové was quoted saying. “There can be no alternative but to replace Banati as chair of the EFSA.” Bové has purportedly raised the issue to cast doubt on EFSA’s credibility as the European Commission looks to reform both the food safety body and the approval process for genetically modified organisms. A Banati spokesperson, however, has publicly denied the claims, noting that the chair’s…
