British Heart Foundation Chief Executive Peter Hollins has penned an article in the April 2010 issue of Parliament Magazine that urges members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to undertake more stringent reform of food labeling laws. “To improve diets across Europe, the European Heart Network (EHN) advocates for clear and consistent labels on all foods that will help European consumers understand the nutritional content of the food they are buying,” writes Hollins in support of mandatory nutrition facts as well as front-of-pack traffic light systems. Hollins claims that the guideline daily amounts (GDAs) favored by the food and beverage industry do not provide “an interpretation of relative healthiness in the quick and simple way that consumer surveys repeatedly show traffic light colors do.” He specifically claims that “the strongest front of pack label is one combining traffic light colors, use of the words ‘high ‘medium’, and ‘low’, and GDAs.” This…
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The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources has assessed “the safety of steviol glycosides, sweeteners extracted from plant leaves, and established an Acceptable Daily Intake [ADI] for their safe use.” According to EFSA, toxicological testing showed that the substances, such as stevioside and rebaudioside, “are not genotoxic, nor carcinogenic, or linked to any adverse effects on the reproductive human system or for the developing child.” The panel has set an ADI for steviol glycosides of 4mg per kg body weight per day, a level “consistent” with the joint recommendation of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization. As the panel noted, however, “this ADI could be exceeded by both adults and children if these sweeteners are used at the maximum level proposed by the applicants” seeking authorization to market the sweetener. In light of this assessment, the European Commission must now…
The European Union (EU) and Argentina have apparently reached an agreement in a dispute before the World Trade Organization (WTO) involving genetically engineered products and the application of biotechnology to agriculture. The agreement, which provides for the establishment of a regular dialogue on these issues, follows a similar agreement the EU struck with Canada, which, along with Argentina and the United States, challenged the EU’s legislation on biotech products. The WTO dispute settlement body previously found that the EU violated international agreements by applying a general de facto moratorium on the approval of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from 1999 to 2003 and imposing undue delays on the approval of 23 product specific applications. The WTO also found that six member states failed to base their national safeguard measures on appropriate risk assessment. According to EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, “This is the second settlement regarding the WTO case on…
The European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) has apparently issued a legislative report that recommends several changes to EU food labeling laws, but stops short of proposing a uniform “traffic light” system. After considering more than 800 amendments to draft legislation, ENVI approved “minor changes to existing rules on information that is compulsory on all labels, such as name, list of ingredients, ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date, [and] specific conditions of use.” The committee agreed that all EU foodstuffs should list “key nutritional information” pertaining to energy and fat content, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar, salt, protein, fiber, and natural and artificial trans fats. It also favored country-of-origin labeling for “meat, poultry, dairy products, fresh fruit, vegetables, and other single-ingredient products as well as for meat, poultry and fish when used as an ingredient in processed food.” Other provisions backed by ENVI would require (i)…
The European Commission (EC) has reportedly approved for the first time in 12 years a genetically modified (GM) crop to be grown solely for industrial or animal feed purposes in the European Union. EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli told reporters that the GM Amflora potato produced by the German company BASF could be planted in Europe as soon as April 2010. The potato is purportedly engineered to be unusually rich in a starch suitable for making glossy paper and other products as well as for feeding animals. Some EU member states, however, reportedly oppose the certification, claiming that the biotech potato could pose health risks to humans if its antibiotic-resistant gene enters the food chain when livestock is fed its industrial pulp or harm the environment if its seeds accidentally spread. “Not only are we against this decision, but we want to underscore that we will not…
The European Commission (EC) has proposed that the European Union prohibit international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, favored by sushi eaters in Japan and elsewhere. According to the announcement, member states will discuss the proposal to reach a common EU position before the March 2010 meeting in Doha of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. While the EC is apparently concerned about the species’ “poor conservation status,” the trade ban would not take effect until 2011. According to a news source, environmental groups criticized the announcement, warning that a delay could encourage more fishing in the interim. See Financial Times, February 22, 2010.
The European Commission has released a report, “Understanding Public Debate on Nanotechnologies: Options for Framing Public Policy,” that discusses several commission projects designed to assess “the nature of public debate on nanosciences and nanotechnologies, and the ways in which deliberative approaches could lead to better governance of these technologies.” The overview includes summaries of the FramingNano, Nanocap, Deepen, and Nanoplat projects. The authors, who were involved as coordinators or participants in these projects, acknowledge that nanotechnology policy is still in its initial phases of development and could be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of products expected to enter the market in the near future. They note that international authorities have not yet agreed to definitions relating to the technology and that the European Union is regulating nanoparticles as “chemical substances” under REACH. Among other matters, they observe that nanotechnology in food is expected to be defined as a “novel food,”…
EU ambassadors this week signed an agreement with Latin American and U.S. officials to end “a 15-year dispute over EU banana imports,” according to a December 15, 2009, press release, which described the impasse as “the longest trade dispute in history.” The European Union has apparently agreed to “gradually cut its import tariff on bananas from Latin America from €176 per tonne to €114,” in addition to providing €200 million to African and Caribbean banana-exporting countries “to help them adjust to stiffer competition from Latin America.” In return, Latin American countries will “not demand further cuts” and the United States has consented to drop its World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint against Europe’s banana importation practices. “This dispute on bananas has soured global trade relations for too long,” stated EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, who noted that the accord was “well-balanced” and likely to further European objectives…
The last phase of the European Union’s (EU) food origin legislation takes effect January 1, 2010, requiring slaughterhouse operators and livestock keepers to provide Food Chain Information (FCI) for all cattle, sheep and goats sent to slaughter for human consumption. According to UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), FCI includes data about the “health of the animals being sent for slaughter, and other information relevant to the safety of meat derived from them, including medicines the animals have been given.” The rules already apply to other species such as pigs and calves. FSA urged slaughterhouse operators, markets and livestock keepers to prepare for the changes now because once the new rules are enforced, meat from cattle, sheep or goats without FCI information will not be passed for human consumption. “The new rules are an important part of ‘farm-to-fork’ food safety controls and highlight the food safety responsibilities of livestock keepers in…
The European Union has reportedly granted Neapolitan pizza a status of “traditional speciality [sic] guaranteed” (TSG), a premium labeling designation that “does not refer to an origin, but highlights the traditional composition or means of production.” According to media sources, the Italian government has successfully persuaded EU member states to approve their application stipulating that pizza napoletana—also known as pizza margherita—must be hand-kneaded and cooked in a wood-fired oven, use mozzarella from the southern Apennine Mountains, and contain specific kinds of flour, yeast, salt, and tomatoes. In addition, the pie must apparently feature an elevated crust rim of 1-2 centimeters (cm), a base that does not exceed 1/3 cm in thickness and a diameter less than 35 cm. While EU restaurants will still be able to proffer their versions of pizza napoletana, only products meeting these exact requirements can boast the coveted TSG logo. The Italian agriculture ministry has since noted…
