Category: Europe
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EC Issues Results of Contaminated Beef Investigation
The European Commission (EC) has released the results of its investigation into beef products contaminated with horsemeat, reporting that 5 percent of tested products were contaminated with horse DNA and 0.5 percent of tested horse carcasses were contaminated with the pain reliever phenylbutazone (bute). The investigation apparently involved 7,259 tests carried out by 27 member…
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GMO Panel Member Calls for Transparency of Biosafety Data
In a recent paper, a member of European Food Safety Authority and Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety genetically modified organism (GMO) panels has explored whether biosafety data provided to regulatory authorities by companies developing GMOs should be protected from disclosure. K.M. Nielsen, “Biosafety Data as Confidential Business Information,” PLOS Biology, 2013. Noting that standards…
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FSA to Consolidate Food Safety Rules
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched public consultations on two sets of proposed legislation, “The Contaminants in Food (England) Regulations 2013” and “The Food Additives, Flavourings, Enzymes, and Extraction Solvents (England) Regulations 2013.” The first set of regulations related to food contaminants will revoke the 2010 version and take into account new European…
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UK Agency Dismisses Nesquik Ad Complaints
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has declined to uphold five complaints claiming that Nestlé UK Ltd.’s TV advertisements for Nesquik chocolate milkshake “encouraged poor nutritional habits by suggesting the product was suitable to give to children for breakfast on a daily basis.” According to ASA, the complaints described the product as high in sugar…
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EFSA Issues Food Additive Priority List
The European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) has issued a priority list of food additives “for which scientific data are required to finalize their re-evaluation within deadlines established by European legislation.” Tasked with re-evaluating hundreds of food additives by 2020, EFSA’s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS Panel) has asked member…
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EFSA to Hold Public Consultation on BPA Draft Opinion
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced a forthcoming public consultation to discuss its draft opinion on the potential health risks of bisphenol A (BPA). Slated for final adoption in November 2013, the draft opinion will take into account “ongoing scientific work on BPA at European and national levels” as well as the work…
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EFSA Issues Criteria for Identifying Endocrine Disruptors
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Scientific Committee has issued an opinion “that clarifies the scientific criteria for identifying an endocrine disruptor.” Requested by the European Commission, the opinion addresses “the testing and assessment of endocrine active substances (EASs) and endocrine disruptors (EDs)” by adopting the World Health Organization’s definition for EDs, which must meet…
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EFSA Announces Follow-Up Meeting on Aspartame Consultation
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced an April 9, 2013, scientific meeting to discuss its draft opinion on the re-evaluation of aspartame (E951). Issued by the agency’s Scientific Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS Panel), the re-evaluation declined to revise the current Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for aspartame…