Category: Europe
-
EU Study Finds GMO Legislation Not Fit for Purpose
An EU study has examined New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), which can create genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and their potential effects on creating a sustainable food system in Europe. In a press release, Commissioner for Heath and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said, “The study we publish today concludes that New Genomic Techniques can promote the sustainability…
-
EFSA Issues Guidance on Date-Marking Additions
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued guidance with information advising food business operators on what information should be included on frozen food packaging. The guidance suggests when additional food-safety information should be included, such as a note to only thaw the necessary amount of food and to break up large pieces that have…
-
EFSA Releases Guidance on Allergen Labeling, GMOs, Infant Formula, More
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released several guidance documents to aid stakeholders in complying with EU regulations on food issues implemented on March 27, 2021. The publications provide guidance on: Applying for an exemption from mandatory food allergen labeling; Renewing applications for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed; Preparing applications for…
-
EFSA Issues Guidance on Smoke Flavoring
The European Food Safety Authority has issued scientific guidance on the inclusion of smoke flavoring in food products. The guidance includes notes on the characterization of the flavoring, proposed uses, exposure assessments and safety data. Smoke flavoring has increasingly been a target of putative class actions in the United States, including lawsuits targeting smoked gouda…
-
UK Opens Consultation on GE Foods
The U.K. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has opened a consultation on the regulation of genetic technologies in food. “It mainly focuses on the regulation of gene edited (GE) organisms possessing genetic changes which could have been introduced by traditional breeding,” the consultation states. “[W]e are using this opportunity to engage separately…
-
ASA Upholds Complaint Against BrewDog Ad
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against BrewDog Beer for a print ad and an outdoor poster ad that displayed “F–k You CO2. Brewdog Beer Is Now Carbon Negative” with the dashes obscured by a can of beer. ASA found that the poster ad “had been placed in accordance with guidelines…
-
“Veggie Burgers” Approved But “Vegan Cheese” Banned in EU
The European Parliament has reportedly voted against a ban on the use of meat terms for plant-based alternatives to meat, allowing words such as “burger,” “steak” and “sausage” to be used on the packaging for plant-based foods, while passing a measure to ban the use of dairy terms on alternatives to dairy foods, such as…
-
EFSA Sets Tolerable Intake of PFAS
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released its assessment of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—a group of chemicals that can be found in food and food packaging—and their potential risks to human health. The agency has set the threshold for a group tolerable weekly intake of 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight. EFSA noted that…