Tag: EU
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Last Phase of EU Food Chain Rules Strives to Ensure “Farm-to-Fork” Safety
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…
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EU Grants Pizza Napoletana Status of “Traditional Speciality Guaranteed”
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…
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EU Adds Acrylamide as a Candidate to Hazardous Chemicals List
The European Chemicals Agency (EHCA) has announced that in January 2010 its Member State Committee will add acrylamide to the European Union’s Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC). The chemical by-product of high-temperature cooking processes has been linked to cancer in laboratory rats. According to ECHA, the Candidate List represents the first…
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Paul McCartney and Edward McMillan-Scott, “Less Meat = Less Heat,” The Parliament Magazine, November 30, 2009
Writing for the European Parliament’s news, policy and information service, Sir Paul McCartney in this article urges members of Parliament (MEPs) and other government stakeholders to promote “meat free Mondays,” a campaign calling on consumers to eat less meat in an effort to slow climate change. According to McCartney, who also brought his message to…
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EU to Drop Duties on Bananas and Other Tropical Fruit Products
An end to the world’s longest-running trade dispute is reportedly drawing near. The European Union (EU), which purportedly started the “banana wars” by imposing higher duties on tropical fruits from Latin America in the early 1990s to favor former British and French colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions, is apparently poised to enter…
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Danish EPA Publishes Report on Endocrine Disruptors in Consumer Products
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has published a survey and health assessment examining the exposure of 2-year-olds to chemical substances in consumer products. The report apparently focused on endocrine disruptors, including phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), found not only in general consumer products but specifically in food products and food contact materials. The study apparently…
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EU Rebuffs United States in WTO Poultry Dispute
The European Union has reportedly blocked a U.S. request that the World Trade Organization (WTO) settle a dispute over a ban on American poultry imports. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative apparently asked for the ruling after industry groups criticized the scientific evidence behind an EU regulation prohibiting the pathogen-reduction treatments used in U.S.…
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Paul Voosen, “Ghost of ‘Frankenfood’ Haunts Europe,” Greenwire, October 21, 2009
The second of a five-part series, this article examines in some depth how a number of European countries came to turn their backs on genetically modified (GM) crops. Belgian scientists apparently experimented with GM plants in the 1980s and instituted 50 different field trials, positioning Europe to be a world leader in plant biotechnology. A…