Tag: EU
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EU Approves $417 Million Aid Package for Dairy Sector
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has reportedly announced €280 million ($417 million) in additional subsidies to dairy farmers affected by plummeting agricultural prices. Intended to appease vocal protesters and agricultural lobbies, the aid responded to requests from 21 member states, including France and Germany, despite objections from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In…
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EPA, EU Launch Research Strategies for Nanotechnology
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Union (EU) have announced separate plans to study nanotechnology, a field believed to have huge potential in food processing and packaging. EPA’s strategy involves studying over the next several years how manufactured nanomaterials may harm human health and the environment. “EPA’s role among federal agencies is to…
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Acrylamide Concerns Raised by European Union, New Consumer Research
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is reportedly seeking comments on a proposal to include acrylamide on its hazardous chemicals list along with 14 additional “Substances of Very High Concern” (SVHC). Tendered by the European Environment Agency and several member states, the proposal would classify acrylamide, which forms in some foods during high-temperature cooking, as a…
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French Market Study Supports Reduction of Alcohol in European Wines
The French National Institute for Agronomic Research has released the results of a market survey reportedly suggesting that European consumers cannot distinguish between wines with 9 to 11 percent alcohol content by volume and those with 12 to 14 percent. Twelve scientific teams have apparently “demonstrated that producers could reduce the alcohol content by up…
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EU Farmers Stage Protest Against Low Milk Prices
European farmers recently staged a demonstration outside a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Luxembourg City, where protesters blocked traffic with tractors, burned a bale of hay and spilled milk in opposition to softening commodity prices. Led by Copa-Cogeca and the European Milk Board, the protesters called on “the heads of state and government to…
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EU Bans Import of Some California Wines Due to Protected Names
A European Union (EU) ban on U.S. wines violating rules about the use of terms such as “clos” and “chateau” apparently took effect in March 2009. With strict regulations about the use of words like “Champagne,” “Chablis” and “Burgundy,” the EU has been feuding with the United States at least since 2002, and has ended…
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European Union Upholds the Right of Member States to Refuse GM Crops
EU environment ministers have reportedly upheld the sovereign right of nations to outlaw genetically modified (GM) crops even when approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The European Commission (EC) had asked the ministers to overturn Austria’s and Hungary’s ban on a GM maize produced by Monsanto, but 22 states backed the countries’ measures…
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EU Continues to Grapple with GM Crop Dispute; U.S. Food Co-ops and Organic Companies Pledge to Avoid GM Beet Sugar
The European Commission’s (EC’s) Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health reportedly deadlocked on February 16, 2009, over whether France and Greece should be forced to lift their bans on a genetically modified (GM) corn seed that is the only one approved for planting in the European Union. According to a biotechnology industry…