Category: Europe
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U.K. Releases Food Safety Audit
The U.K. National Audit Office has released a report that “examines the effectiveness of the current regulatory arrangements to ensure that food is safe to eat and is what it says it is.” The report found that spending on maintaining food safety systems in the country has declined, and some local authorities “are failing to…
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England Bans Plastic Straws, Drink Stirrers
U.K. Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced that England will ban plastic straws, drink stirrers and plastic cotton swabs beginning in April 2020. The ban includes an exemption for those who use straws for medical needs, and registered pharmacies will be allowed to administer plastic straws. The announcement also indicates that restaurants and bars “will…
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EU Finalizes Ban on Some Single-Use Plastics
The Council of the European Union has voted to adopt measures banning “the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on European beaches,” including cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers, cups and other food and beverage containers. The ban focuses on products for which alternatives not constructed of single-use plastic are readily available. The decision will…
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EFSA Issues Opinion on Titanium Dioxide as a Food Additive
Following the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety’s opinion suspending the sale of food products containing titanium dioxide—a food additive appearing in chewing gum, sauces and baked goods—the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a statement asserting that no further research has been published that would cause the agency to…
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Europe May Limit Use of “Meat” for Plant-Based Products
The EU agriculture committee has reportedly approved a prohibition on the use of the term “meat” to describe vegetable-based products, including bean burgers, vegan sausages and tofu steaks. The provision would limit the use of “steak,” “sausage,” “burger,” “hamburger” and “escalope” to only describe “edible parts of the animals.” One French politician reportedly described the…
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EFSA Accepting Comments on Sodium and Chloride Intake
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is accepting comments on draft dietary reference values for sodium and chloride. The draft values deem 2 grams of sodium and 3.1 grams of chloride per day to be “safe and adequate, considering evidence on the risk of cardiovascular disease on the one hand and nutrition adequacy on the…
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French Authorities Challenge Source of Kiwis in “Kiwigate”
French fraud investigators have reportedly accused seven kiwi suppliers of stamping kiwis imported from Italy as “French origin.” French authorities apparently noticed an influx of French kiwis on the market during the off-season for the fruit, leading them to investigate where the kiwis were sourced. According to The Guardian, investigators found that 12 percent of…
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Europol Arrests Wine Counterfeiters
Europol announced that it has “dismantled a sophisticated criminal network involved in counterfeiting trademarks and distinctive labels of a famous winery in Florence, Italy, as well as counterfeiting at least 11 000 bottles of red wine.” The agency arrested three people, including two members of the same family, who allegedly “sold sports products online as…