The unstable political situation surrounding the cultivation of
genetically modified (GM) crops is restricting university research
and pushing small companies out of the arena, thereby restricting
competition, said a GM expert.
New legislation passed in Germany on Friday has paved the way for
increased biotech innovation and easier cultivation of genetically
modified (GM) crops.
The UK regulator this week released industry guidance on a
regulation due to come into force 14 December, which impose
higher fees on companies that fail to follow food safety
rules.
Nearly all the milk, dairy products and pork in the UK are produced
from animals fed on genetically modified (GM) crops, and none are
labelled, according to a study by an organic lobby group.
The decision on whether to force Austria to lift its national ban
on genetically modified maize now lies in the hands of the European
Commission, after EU environment ministers failed to agree at last
week's Council meeting.
The UK has revised its regulatory guidance on food safety,
traceability, and recalls in a bid to help processors lower the
cost of complying with EU regulations.
The European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) GMO panel has no safety concerns after reviewing data from French scientists suggesting toxicity concerns in rats fed the MON863 variety of GM maize from Monsanto.
Tougher measures against illegal dyes and a more harmonised
criteria for detecting pathogens have led to a 5 per cent drop in
EU food safety alerts, the European Commission said yesterday.
Retail meat from pigs, chickens and other livestock could be
infected with a "superbug" strain of methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a UK study released
today.
A new food contaminant testing method for melamine and cyanuric
acid decreases the time it takes to get accurate results for meats,
its developer claims.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has revealed that it will review the new data presented by French scientists that revealed toxicity concerns in rats fed the MON863 variety of GM maize from Monsanto.
Monsanto's genetically modified maize MON863, authorised for human consumption since 2006, showed signs of liver and kidney toxicity in a rat study, raising concerns about its safety.
The European Commission has lifted extra controls on imports of US
corn products for unauthorised genetically modified material,
claiming that these are no longer necessary.
About 10 per cent of British meat cutting plants, or 47 out of 465,
are not following theregulations on bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE), according to a survey by the country's food
regulator.
Tomorrow the UK's food regulator board of directors hold their
final open public meeting for the year, with topics such as fraud
and the future approach of the authority under discussion.
From Friday plant managers, processors and other companies in the
food chain will face fines andeven imprisonment if they use
unlicenced temporary labour providers.
More than one in 20 pesticides sold in the EU could be fake,
potentially endangering food safety and human health, according to
the Society of Chemical Industry.
A UK food fraud task force has outlined areas of regulation that
need to be tightened to preventcases such as the Euro Freeze
scandal from occurring again.
A former FDA deputy commissioner for policy has denounced the
agency's capacity to properly regulate nanotechnology products
including supplements, a criticism that could inflame debate
leading up to the agency's first major...
In a bid to help UK companies meet food waste disposal targets, the
Yorkshire regional government has launched a project to band
smaller manufacturers together to make collection less costly and
more efficient.
Almost 300 people were hospitalized in Shanghai last week, after
suspected food poisoning by pork containing a banned animal feed
additive, the state media Xinhua reported on Friday.
Yesterday a court ruled to condemn meat from a Northern Ireland
coldstore as part of continuing investigation by the UK food
standards agency into illegal health labeling.
Metals, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a majority
of foods and offals remain at levels considered safe in the EU,
according to three scientific surveys published yesterday by the
UK's regulator.
Europe's leading food manufacturers and retailers are expected to
announce they plan to shun soy grown illegally in the Amazon that
is resulting in depletion of the rainforest.
Notifications from EU member states of food safety risks rose by 22
per cent in 2005 compared to the previous year, according to an
annual report on the bloc's rapid alert system
Due to scientific uncertainty over a BSE-type disease affecting
sheep and goats, the UK's food regulator is expected to issue today
further precautionary advice about eating mutton and to propose
EU-wide labelling rules for products...
The EU's food safety agency has set a weekly intake limit for
ochratoxin A, calling on processors to make further efforts to
reduce the fungal toxin in foods.
Poland's controversial ban on the use of 16 varieties of
genetically modified maize has been backed by the European
Commission, despite warnings the law broke EU rules.
The European Commission has raised export subsidies available for
butter for the second month running, bowing to pressure from member
states concerned at volatile markets.
A total of 60 incidents of food safety breaches were reported
EU-wide last week, with incidents of unauthorised Sudan 1 colours,
arsenic, benzene and isopropyl thioxanthone continuing to crop up
in the latest alert advisory.
The European Commission's cuts to export subsidies for dairy
ingredients have survived a series of rows between Member States,
as tension grows on how the bloc can meet its commitments to the
World Trade Organisation talks.
Australia 's policy of restricting antibiotic use in food-producing
animals may be linked with dramatically lower levels of
drug-resistant bacteria found in patients, according to scientists.
Cargill has welcomed the EC's decision to approve its acquisition
of Degussa's food ingredients operations, claiming that the
decision will accelerate the company's focus on creating value and
growth for its customers.
The EC has cleared Cargill's acquisition of Degussa's food
ingredients business after ruling that the move would not stifle
competition within the lecithin market.
Sweden has been hit with a double blow, becoming the first in the
Scandinavian region to detect avian influenza in wild birds, and
also finding its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) in a cow.
Europes biotech industry has criticised Romania's proposed ban on
transgenic soybeans, claiming that the decision will negatively
impact both the European food industry and consumers.
China has joined Taiwan and South Korea in suspending pork imports
from Belgium and the Netherlands as the two countries attempt to
minimise the damage to their meat industries due to the presence of
dioxin contaminated feed.
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.