The UK food industry has welcomed a newly published position paper by the UK government that proposes keeping the  310-mile border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland “frictionless and seamless” when the UK leaves the Customs Union. The UK also envisages an exemption for Northern Ireland’s food producers from EU sanitary and phytosanitary checks on the borderlands to the Republic.

The Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) Industry Group is urging MEPs to reject a proposed delegated act on total diet replacements (TDR) for weight control in an August 31 vote, arguing that the proposal is unnecessary, “unsubstantiated” and risks wiping these products off the market.

A health food company is seeking approval under the EU novel foods regulation to market South American chia seeds in the EU on the basis that they are already “equivalent” to chia seeds grown in Australia which are already being marketed in Europe.

The self-policing food industry group in Norway that protects against marketing to children, the MFU, is in agreement with lodged complaints against Mondelez, Orkla Confectionary & Snacks, and Ringnes regarding their use of YouTube stars in order to promote their products. The group states that the content’s humour is especially appealing to younger audiences, and is thus in violation of Norwegian regulations.  

Manufacturers of breakfast cereals in the UK have come under fire this week by campaign group Action on Sugar for "deliberately" confusing shoppers over the sugar content of their products. Action on Sugar says that the colour coding or “traffic light” labelling scheme is being used in differing ways across products, making consumers unsure whether some products contain unhealthy sugar levels.

An email sent out by UK baby and children’s retailer, Mothercare, promoting Nestlé’s SMA PRO Follow-On Milk product, sparked a complaint from the campaign group Baby Milk Action. The group claimed that the advert confused infant formula with follow-on formula but the regulator disagreed in a ruling published today.

Two Dutch men have appeared at a closed hearing before Overijssel District Court in the Dutch city of Zwolle in relation to the contaminated egg scandal that has swept across Europe and beyond, leading to the temporary closure of several hundred farms and the recall of millions of raw eggs and products containing eggs from supermarket shelves.

The European Commission is to propose revising a 2008 egg marketing regulation (589/2008) to allow eggs from hens kept indoors for up to 16 weeks because of a bird flu or other disease outbreak to continue to be labelled as ‘free range’.

EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis reassures MEPs that Japanese rice and other food exports to Europe are not a radioactive risk in his latest response to a written question.  Answering the question from two Green MEPs, Luxembourg’s Claude Turmes and France’s Michèle Rivasi, Andriukaitis underlined that Japan’s maximum limits for radiation are stricter than those in place in the EU so there is “no need” to revise authorised levels on imports.

FoodDrinkEurope is questioning a proposed two-month delay in Member States handing over existing application files (requests) after the new novel foods regulation (NF - 2015/2283) takes effect on January 1.

A proposed requirement that traditional foods from third countries that are new to the EU undergo a risk assessment runs counter to the 2015 novel foods regulation (NF - 2015/2283) and ignores European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidance, according to FoodDrinkEurope Director for Food Policy, Science and R&D, Beate Kettlitz.

A draft implementing law to back up the 2015 novel foods regulation (NF - 2015/2083) that takes effect January 1 has garnered a storm of criticism because producer groups say it fails to protect business confidentiality.

The European Commission has refused an application to approve the renewal of use of a wheat pesticide, partly because it is deemed a risk to earthworms and aquatic organisms.

Sweden’s environment minister, Karolina Skog, is calling for more food and drink products to have deposit schemes on them to increase recycling rates in the country.

The Romanian parliament has drafted a law imposing additional labelling requirements on local producers, processors and importers of honey.

UK exports of food and drink were worth £10.2bn in the first half of 2017, up by 8.5% on the previous year and setting a new record for the sector, the country’s food industry association reported today. Food minister George Eustice welcomed the growth and said new deals agreed with China and the Philippines will see UK pork and beef exports rise further. However, the ongoing uncertainty over the Brexit process will keep celebrations muted.

The UK food industry has welcomed a newly published position paper by the UK government that proposes keeping the  310-mile border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland “frictionless and seamless” when the UK leaves the Customs Union. The UK also envisages an exemption for Northern Ireland’s food producers from EU sanitary and phytosanitary checks on the borderlands to the Republic.

Brexit – the UK’s exit from the EU - could halve Danish food exports to Britain, according to analysis carried out by the University of Copenhagen on behalf of the Danish ministry of environment and food. But whilst Brexit will have major consequences for the Danish food industry's exports to the UK, it’s believed that a great deal of the loss can be made up for by gains in other markets. 

UK exports of food and drink were worth £10.2bn in the first half of 2017, up by 8.5% on the previous year and setting a new record for the sector, the country’s food industry association reported today. Food minister George Eustice welcomed the growth and said new deals agreed with China and the Philippines will see UK pork and beef exports rise further. However, the ongoing uncertainty over the Brexit process will keep celebrations muted.

The UK food industry has welcomed a newly published position paper by the UK government that proposes keeping the  310-mile border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland “frictionless and seamless” when the UK leaves the Customs Union. The UK also envisages an exemption for Northern Ireland’s food producers from EU sanitary and phytosanitary checks on the borderlands to the Republic.

Livsmedelsverket in the Swedish city of Uppsala has been named as the EU reference laboratory for foodborne viruses.