The European Parliament has called on member states to take urgent policies and strategic measures to halve food waste in the European Union (EU) by 2025.The call coincides with the release of figures from the European Commission, indicating  that up to 50 per cent of food is wasted in the European Union each year. According to the European Commission, 79 million EU citizens currently live below the poverty line, with 16 million depending on food benefits and aids from charitable institutions. MEPs... ...Read more »

The European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) has responded to criticism over its ruling that bottled water manufacturers are banned from claiming that water can prevent dehydration. The EFSA is responsible for scientific assessment of food and composition and food marketing claims in Europe. On 16 November 2011 the European Commission published a list of health claims made on foods that refer to the reduction of disease risk (EU No 1170/​2011) that had been rejected in previous months by the... ...Read more »

The European Food Safety Authority has criticised a request by the European Commission for a re-evaluation of the safety of the sweetener aspartame.The Commission’s request comes despite the fact that EFSA reviewed the latest studies on aspartame last month and scheduling a full evaluation in 2020. “When we evaluated scientific studies on aspartame recently, we didn’t see anything glaring that would lead us to believe people should change their daily intake,” said an EFSA... ...Read more »

The European Commission today proposed that the European Union should press for a ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, to enter into force within the next year. European Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said, “We have a responsibility to future generations to take decisive action when faced with the likelihood that a species will disappear forever. We have the duty to preserve our natural capital. Since there is a high risk that Atlantic bluefin tuna will soon be gone... ...Read more »

The European Commission has extended its deadline for reviewing Kraft Foods’ proposal to acquire Cadbury after the US group offered concessions to ease antitrust concerns. The Commission, which had previously been scheduled to make a ruling on the takeover plan by 14 December, today (9 December) extended its deadline until 6 January – by when it must either approve the potential merger or launch an investigation to examine competition issues more closely. European regulators said that... ...Read more »

The European Commission is considering expanding the use of food labels in the EU to show where the product was farmed. The step follows a Europe-wide consultation on the issue of food quality, and also an attempt to reconnect farmers with consumers. Farmers, producers and consumers voiced strong support for greater use of ‘place-of-farming’ labels. Such labels indicate the country of harvest, not where the product was processed. They are already mandatory for some foods sold in the European... ...Read more »

The European Commission has agreed a Communication that aims to improve the functioning of the food supply chain in order to lower prices for consumers. The prices of food have come down significantly from record levels earlier this year but the underlying causes for the surge in agricultural commodity prices in the medium-term -including regulatory restrictions, insufficient competition and speculation – have not disappeared and must be dealt with.”Food inflation contributed around a... ...Read more »

The European Commission has cleared, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of sole control of Wrigley by Mars. The EU concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. In April this year Wrigley, the world leading gum maker, agreed to the takeover by Mars Inc., with Wrigley to become a subsidiary of Mars. Mars, a US-based family-owned company is a global leader in confectionery,... ...Read more »

The European Commission has created a high level group to address issues of competitiveness, innovation and safety in the food and beverage industries. The plan is to counter the current issues undermining the agro-food industry and generate a list of recommendations to improve competitiveness. The Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA) has welcomed the launch of the ‘High Level Group (HLG) on the Competitiveness of the Agro-Food Industry’ and believes it will... ...Read more »