The European Commission has set maximum levels for dioxins and PCBs
in food as fears grow in three EU countries, where pig and poultry
feed was found to be contaminated with the family of cancer-causing
chemicals.
Europe's dioxin crisis has widened, with food regulators in
Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany placing quarantines on
hundreds more pig and poultry producers that received contaminated
feed.
Reducing paperwork and consolidating laws could save industry about
£200m (€293) in the first year, the UK's food regulator said in
publishing a plan to simplify legislation.
Belgium and the Netherlands face another dioxin crisis, after the
cancer-causing chemical was detected in pig and poultry feed used
by hundreds of farms.
Choline salt specialist Algry Quimica has indicated that demand for
its choline derivatives is continuing to rise thanks to growing
awareness of their uses in nutraceuticals.
Swiss chemicals group Lonza has reported a 38.8 percent increase in
operating income in 2005, but margins for its nutritional products
have been eroded by high costs.
Another cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been
found in Canada, a second blow against the US' recent success at
regaining its international markets.
It is ten years since the first large-scale planting of genetically
modified (GM) crops. Food Navigator looks at both sides of
the argument to assess the future of the technology and its
implications for the European food industry.
Low spending on developing new products and processing techniques
coupled with sluggish export growth, has made the EU's food
industry vulnerable to increased global competition, according to
figures released by the bloc's...
While processors wait for Italy's food safety regulator to
determine if contaminated wheat was distributed to Europe's pasta
plants, Canada's grain regulator says the shipment was tested and
found safe.
With the ushering in of new hygiene laws at the start of this year,
food companies are now under tougher regulatory scrutiny to ensure
they do not send out poisonous products from their plants.
World number two vitamin maker BASF said today it will shut down
its vitamin C plant in Denmark by the year-end, bringing to a halt
all of its production of the vitamin.
UK-based AMC Chemicals says a new rice protein concentrate can
offer food makers a non-allergenic alternative to soy and whey that
is better absorbed by the body than other vegetable-derived
proteins.
A dairy research body in Australia will get $300,000 of government
money to examine bioactive material in milk that could be used to
develop novel functional foods.
Processors who received meat and poultry from Euro Freeze in
Northern Ireland are currently checking the status of their
products after the company was closed down by the UK's food safety
regulator.
More food makers could make an extra euro or two by converting
their waste animal products into proteins under a new consulting
programme launched by Alfa Laval.
Now that the US authorities have issued final guidance under the
Bioterrorism Act, companies can now have assurance about the food
safety systems they have implemented or are about to put in place,
and the costs involved in complying...
A new report on animal by-products (ABPs) outlines additional
proposed regulations governing how processors may dispose of or
sell the left over materials produced by their plants.
Having largely escaped the wrath of Hurricane Katrina and
vigorously strengthened its position in the pectin, lecithin and
flavor sectors, Cargill has reported a two percent rise in first
quarter 2006 net earnings.
Beef on the bone could soon be back on the list of products
processors can use under a European Commission proposal on relaxing
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) control measures.
A North Carolina-based soybean processor has tapped into the
lucrative trans-fat free oil market through a patent process that
also retains the nutritional benefits of soy.
A final ruling that requires all manufacturers to register with the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is designed to ensure that the
country's food supply remains safe from possible attack.
Europe's opposition to genetically modified ingredients will
significantly increase producers' costs over the next three years
as it becomes ever harder to secure GM-free supplies, says a new
report.
The European Commission yesterday authorised the import of
genetically modified (GM) oilseed rape for use in animal feed, the
third such product to be approved after current regulations came
into force last year.
Plummeting prices for the animal feed ingredient lysine and the
costs of restructuring pressurized vitamin C production virtually
eliminated profits at BASF's fine chemicals division this year,
reports Dominique Patton.
European mistrust of GM ingredients is creating strong demand for
Chinese plant sterols and natural vitamin E, increasingly backed by
third-party certification, writes Dominique Patton.
Swiss fine chemicals group Lonza said yesterday that it saw strong
demand for its nutrition products during the first half but high
raw material and energy costs continued to erode margins, writes
Dominique Patton.
A New Zealand research group plans to create a genetically modified
dairy herd capable of producing 'medicinal milk' that it says may
be used to fight a range of diseases and maintain a healthy immune
system, reports Chris...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has given a negative
opinion about the safety of BioProtein, but has approved Reuteri
Pig Powder, Econase Wheat Plus and Roxazyme G2 as feed additivies
for various animals.
While food scientists are keen to promote the gluten-free benefits
of sorghum in food formulations, African scientists are set to
design a genetically engineered 'super sorghum' packed with
vitamins and minerals
US-based Tasker Capital, which is attempting to expand its reach
into the food market, will test its anti-pathogen pHarlo technology
at a commercial poultry processor after it received authorisation
this week to do so from the US's...
In a bid to meet a new EU regulation that comes into effect next
year, European feed manufacturers are meeting today in Brussels to
focus on identifying ways to improve the nutritional content of
products of animal origin and the...
Demands for both the US and Canada to take responsibility for
genetically modified (GM) food contamination and sign up to the
Cartagena Biosafety Protocol are likely to be frustrated, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Officials continue to remain tight-lipped over reports of a foot
and mouth (FMD) outbreak outside Beijing - as the country takes
precautions to avoid another bird flu pandemic, Tom Armitage
reports.
Published details of a Monsanto report are at the center of a new
storm over whether genetically modified (GM) food could be harmful
to human health, writes Anthony Fletcher.
Deep divisions over biotech food ingredients once again evident as
member states fail to approve a gene-altered corn designed by US
biotech giant Monsanto, reports Lindsey Partos.
With the upcoming EU ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters
in animal feed, companies such as Medipharm and Chr. Hansen are
rushing to provide farmers with natural alternatives.
Brussels clears new lab technology that can detect illegal GM
sweetcorn Bt 10 following the discovery of this unapproved maize in
Europe's food chain, writes Lindsey Partos.
Forcing the traceability card, the European Union has voted to
block imports of certain US grain unless they prove to be free of
the genetically modified maize Bt10.