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…
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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.…
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…
The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) has issued five regulatory proposals to respond to consumer and safety needs regarding nanomaterials found in mass-produced consumer products including food, electronics and cosmetics. During a recent workshop in which representatives from 12 member states met to prepare for a regulatory review of nanomaterials by the end of 2011, Belgian officials proposed that the EU (i) “define the obligation to inform the consumer of the presence of nanomaterials in consumer products”; (ii) “ensure the traceability of the chain so as to be able to return to the source, if necessary” by maintaining a nanomaterials register; (iii) “identify the most appropriate regulatory path at the EU level for risk evaluation and management,” (iv) “encourage member states, during this transitory period, to take up the responsibility and draw up integrated national strategies and concrete measures in favor of risk management, information and…
An Italian agronomist, frustrated by the government’s refusal to approve the planting of genetically modified (GM) crops, has apparently engaged in an act of civil disobedience by planting two fields of GM corn and publicizing his action with a news conference and YouTube® video. Environmentalists reportedly responded by descending on the fields near Vivaro, which had been seized by government officials; Greenpeace activists cut off the tassels in an effort to prevent the dissemination of pollen, and environmentalists with Ya Basta trampled the crop leaving signs stating “Danger—Contaminated—G.M.O.” According to a news source, while the European Union has approved the use of this particular seed, Italy requires farmers to submit any request to plant GM crops for government approval. To date, the Ministry of Agriculture has not apparently approved any GM crop for planting. The GM debate is particularly heated in Italy, where farmers are known for their specialized organic…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that meat from a cloned cow’s offspring has evidently entered the food supply, sparking concerns about the country’s livestock registration and tracking requirements. The agency apparently traced four female and four male calves to a cloned Holstein cow from the United States. According to FSA, farmers have not sold any milk from the three surviving females but have slaughtered the bulls and sold three for human consumption. “While there is no evidence that consuming products from healthy clones, or their offspring, poses a food safety risk, meat and products from clones and their offspring are considered novel foods and would therefore need to be authorized before being placed on the market,” stated FSA in an August 11, 2010, news release, adding that food producers who purchased such animals or their offspring “will need to seek authorization under the Novel Food Regulations.” See…
