Food & Drink in the EU

Latest news on food policies in the European Union.

MEPs urge fight against spread of fake honey — 24 January 2018, 23:16 CET

The EU must step up support for beekeepers, ban harmful pesticides, invest more in developing safe bee drugs and clamp down on imports of fake honey, MEPs on the EU Parliament's agriculture said Tuesday.

EU Novel Food regulation applies from 1 January — 04 January 2018, 00:06 CET

Significant improvements and changes to the novel food authorisation procedure are promised from the European Union's new Regulation on Novel Food which is applicable from 1 January 2018.

Novel food — 04 January 2018, 00:01 CET

Novel Food is defined as food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 15 May 1997, when the first Regulation on novel food came into force.

EU adopts track and trace system for tobacco — 18 December 2017, 23:22 CET

The European Union took an important step forward in combating the illicit trade in tobacco products Friday with an EU-wide track and trace system to ensure tobacco products in the EU are easily traceable.

Tobacco track and trace system — 18 December 2017, 22:59 CET

A new EU-wide track and trace system adopted on 15 December 2017 is designed to ensure that tobacco products in the EU are easily traceable with a unique identifier for each product.

Commission renews approval of glyphosate herbicide for 5 years — 12 December 2017, 23:18 CET

The European Commission renewed for 5 years EU approval of glyphosate Tuesday, following scientific assessment which it says concludes there is no link between glyphosate and cancer in humans.

Approval of pesticides in the EU — 12 December 2017, 23:15 CET

What are pesticides? Who decides on their authorisation? Who is responsible for their use? How can pesticides be used safely? An active substance is only approved by the European Commission after a rigorous and lengthy science-based assessment to ensure its use is safe. The assessment of these dossiers is then conducted jointly by: the national authorities in EU Member States; the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The Future of Food and Farming - Commission Communication — 29 November 2017, 17:53 CET

The European Commission released on 29 November 2017 a Communication on 'The Future of Food and Farming', outlining the ways to ensure that the oldest EU common policy remains future-proof.

EU farm reform offers stronger role for Member States — 29 November 2017, 17:56 CET

EU Member States will have a stronger role in deciding how to allocate EU public subsidies to farmers under proposals for more sustainable farming put forward by the EU Commission Wednesday.

MEPs move to ban use of phosphates in kebabs — 29 November 2017, 14:16 CET

The European Parliament could veto a Commission proposal to allow phosphates in kebab meat, following serious concerns over a potential link between phosphates used as food additives and heart disease.

MEPs propose ban on glyphosate herbicide by 2020 — 19 October 2017, 14:06 CET

MEPs on the European Parliament's Environment Committee backed Wednesday a full ban on glyphosate-based herbicides by December 2020 and immediate restrictions on the use of the substance.

New guidelines to cut EU food waste — 16 October 2017, 18:08 CET

Guidelines to lifting barriers to food donation in the EU, just published by the Commission, clarify relevant EU legislation and are seen as a key deliverable of the EU's 'circular economy'.

MEPs tackle unfair food practices — 12 October 2017, 21:10 CET

Food companies are alleged to be selling lower quality food products in some EU countries. The European Parliament's internal market committee looked into the issue Wednesday.

Pesticides must be checked for harmful chemicals: MEPs — 12 October 2017, 20:45 CET

MEPs at a public hearing Wednesday discussed the EU risk assessment of the herbicide glyphosate, demanding that pesticides be checked for endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Sustainable use of pesticides — 10 October 2017, 17:44 CET

This European Commission website contains links to EU Member States' websites on sustainable use of pesticides, including Integrated Pest Management (IPM) , with a view to facilitate the exchange of information between them and increase the flow of relevant information to farmers and the general public.

EU countries should use pesticides more sustainably: report — 13 October 2017, 12:12 CET

A report on the sustainable use of pesticides Directive adopted on 10 October 2017 by the European Commission takes stock of progress made by the EU Member States in applying measures to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticides. It covers a wide range of topics such as aerial spraying, information to the public or training of professionals. The report indicates insufficient implementation of the Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides.

Court of Auditors to probe EU animal welfare measures — 05 October 2017, 23:51 CET

The European Court of Auditors has announced it is to examine whether the European Commission and the EU Member States have made effective contributions to the EU’s animal welfare objectives.

Commission supports EU states against substandard food — 27 September 2017, 18:27 CET

The EU Commission issued a set of guidelines Tuesday to help Member States determine whether a company is breaking EU laws when selling food products of dual quality in different countries.

Rapid Alert System for Food & Feed (RASFF) — 10 August 2017, 23:12 CET

Launched nearly four decades ago, in 1979, the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is primarily an IT tool designed to swiftly exchange information between national authorities on health risks related to food and feed.

EU healthy eating scheme for schools under way — 02 August 2017, 00:27 CET

A new EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme for healthy eating was in place from 1 August, ready to be implemented across the European Union as of the first day of the 2017/2018 school year.

EU Member States vote to reduce presence of acrylamide carcinogen in food — 23 July 2017, 15:06 CET

EU Member States representatives voted Wednesday to reduce the presence in food of acrylamide - designated by the EU food safety agency as a carcinogenic substance in 2015.

EU Platform on Animal Welfare — 07 June 2017, 01:22 CET

The first meeting of the EU Platform on Animal Welfare (the Platform) took place on 6 June 2017. The Platform gathered 75 representatives from stakeholders, NGOs, scientists, Member States, EEA (European Economic Area) countries, international organisations and EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). This is the 1st time that all key EU players gathered to exchange experiences and contribute to improving the welfare of animals.

Welsh cider, perry gain EU protected food status — 01 June 2017, 00:01 CET

Traditional Welsh Perry and Welsh Cider celebrated with French Charolais beef Wednesday as the three quality products won protected food status from the European Commission.

MEPs call for blitz on EU food waste mountain — 17 May 2017, 00:38 CET

MEPs called Tuesday for a halving of food waste in the EU by 2030, by lifting existing restrictions on food donations and eliminating confusion about 'best before' and 'use by' labels.

44 pct food has some pesticide residues, not harmful: EU report — 20 April 2017, 18:05 CET

Food consumed in the European Union continues to be largely free of pesticide residues or to contain residues that fall within legal limits, new figures show.