Category: Europe
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EFSA Issues Updated Acrylamide Report; New Study Links Acrylamide to Reduced Birth Weight
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Dietary and Chemical Monitoring Unit has issued an updated report finding little change in the amount of acrylamide produced during food processing since the last data set was released in 2008. Covering 2007-2010, the report used approximately 13,000 data points to monitor the substance, which “typically forms in starchy…
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French MEP Feeds Foie Gras Furor
French MEP Francoise Castex has reportedly condemned California’s statewide ban on the production and sale of any product that is “the result of force-feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging its liver beyond normal size,” calling the prohibition on foie gras “a battle for Europe.” After a recent attempt by producers to enjoin the…
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Denmark Tracks Decline in Animal Antibiotic Use
The Statens Serum Institut and National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark recently released a report charting a decline in overall antibiotic use in the country’s food animals. Funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Ministry of the Health, the Danish…
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European Court of Auditors Reviews EFSA’s Conflict Policies
The European Court of Auditors has issued a special report finding that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and three other consumer health and safety agencies did not have “adequate” conflict-of-interest procedures in place as of October 2011. After auditing agency activities and comparing them with Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines, the court…
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EC Confirms That REACH Provides Best Framework for Nanomaterial Risk Management
The European Commission (EC) has concluded, in its second regulatory review on nanomaterials, that, while certain challenges continue to face those trying to assess their potential risks, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) “sets the best possible framework for the risk management of nanomaterials when they occur as substances or mixtures.”…
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EU Publishes List of Authorized Flavorings for Food Use
The European Commission has published its list of flavoring substances authorized for use in foods. Effective October 22, 2012, Regulation EU 872/2012 provides a roster of more than 2,500 substances evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and deemed safe for human food uses, while Regulation EU 873/2012 establishes transitional measures for other flavorings,…
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UK Agency Rules Almond Milk Claims Not Misleading
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that print and Web advertisements for Alpro (UK) Ltd.’s almond milk are not misleading. ASA received two complaints alleging that the advertisements misled consumers because the product contains only 2 percent almonds and because the ads featured images implying that almonds could be “milked.” Alpro countered, however,…
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Draft EFSA Guidance Targets Effects of Plant Protection Products on Bees
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on new “draft Guidance on the Risk Assessment of Plant Protection Products [PPPs] on Bees (including Apis mellifera, Bombus spp. and solitary bees).” Intended to help applicants and authorities evaluate PPPs “and their active substances under Regulation (EC) 1107/2009,” the draft guidance outlines a…