commission breached eu law by failing to set endocrine ... · pdf filepreservation of a high...

Issue no. 300 December 18, 2015

Commission breached EU law byfailing to set endocrine criteria,Court rules

The European Commission has breached EU law byfailing to set the criteria for endocrine disruptors, theEuropean Court said this morning.

In the judgement of Case T-521/14, the General Courtsaid that the Commission had a clear, precise andunconditional obligation to adopt delegated acts settingthe criteria by December 2013.

This was set out in the biocides law, Regulation528/2012.

The wording of the regulation is perfectly clear anddoes not give rise to any ambiguity, the General Courtsaid.

Furthermore, it ruled that there is no provision in theregulation to carry out an impact assessment, as theCommission is doing.

And even if an impact assessment should have beencarried out, that in no way exonerates the Commissionfrom complying with the deadline set for adoption of thedelegated acts.

The General Court adds that, following the adoption ofthe regulation, the legislature neither amended norrepealed, by any binding text, the deadline for adoptionof the delegated acts.

Nor has the Commission proposed that the legislatureamend that regulation in order to defer that date.

The General Court says the Commission cannot rely onthe fact that the scientific criteria which it proposed werethe subject of criticism in the summer of 2013 when itwas claimed they had no basis in science and theirimplementation would affect the internal market.

That criticism is irrelevant to the fact that theCommission had an obligation to act before 12December 2013, by adopting the delegated actsreferred to in the regulation.

The General Court says the biocides regulation reflectsthe balance desired by the legislature between animprovement in the functioning of the single market anduse of biocidal products on the one hand, and thepreservation of a high level of protection of human andanimal health and the environment on the other.

The Commission cannot call that balance into question,the Court ruled.

There was a clear, precise and unconditional obligationon the Commission to adopt the delegated acts.

The case against the European Commission was takenby Sweden last year and supported by the EuropeanParliament, the Council and other individual memberstates, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium andDenmark.

The General Court has ruled very swiftly - some casescan take three years for a judgement to be issued.

The pesticides legislation also fixed a similar deadlinefor setting of the criteria.

Commisson to make no changes onendocrine criteria setting

DG SANTE says it will carry on with its impactassessment on endocrine disruptors, due forcompletion in 2016, and that the decision-makingprocess will start then.

So it looks as though in practice the judgement of theGeneral Court this week will have no practicalconsequences.

A European Commission spokesperson said: "TheCommission takes note of the Court judgementfollowing the application filed by Sweden versus theCommission for failure to act regarding setting newscientific criteria for defining endocrine disruptors, in theBiocidal Products Regulation, by the end of 2013.

"We need, however, to stress that the impactassessment is still on track.

"The objective is to conclude the impact assessment in2016. The decision-making concerning the criteria foridentifying endocrine disruptors will follow thereafter."

Later, at the midday media briefing, spokesman EnricoBrivio stressed the complexity of the task in hand,saying the Commission was a global pioneer.

"Nobody has done this before."

The General Court said the Commission had breachedEU law by failing to set the criteria by the end of 2013,as set out in the legislation.

But the court never specifies the consequences.

A spokesperson for the General Court said: "It is up tothe Commission to take appropriate measures."

MEPs will, however, call on the Commission to set the

EU Food Policy: December 18, 20151 Copyright 2015 Bartlett Media Ltd. Photocopying or electronic copying is illegal.

Contents

Commission breached EU law by failing to set endocrine criteria,Court rules

Commisson to make no changes on endocrine criteria setting

Baby milks - MEP sets out reasons for next week's challenge

Veto motion criticises sugar content of baby foods and marketing

German food industry CEO on Timmerman's REFIT Platform

Member states tell SANTE WHO profile needed for EU Pledge

Two EFSA GMO panel members abstain in vote on safety of GMmaize

Dutch retailers hit by Chinese baby milk racket

Belgian food retailers look at front-of-pack nutrition label

Industry is "on notice" on sugar tax, says chief medical officer

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

New agreement on Better Law making agreed in Brussels

Tentative deal reached on school fruit and milk scheme

Italian tomato industry is based on "massive exploitation", saysreport

EFSA warns processed fruit products could be harmful

EFSA under pressure to publish names of glyphosate experts

Andriukaitis responds to EFSA critics on glyphosate

Food industry chief warns of "chaos" if UK votes for Brexit

UK Brexit - the impact on food trade

Chicken acid wash taken off agenda

Tackling obesity - FDF boss says major resources needed

Novel Food Regulation published in Official Journal

High rate of non-compliance of plant protection products inFrance

Environment ministers start debate on circular economy

EFSA is "too distant", say stakeholders

EFSA cleared of maladministration

MEPs tell Andriukaitis that Commission is "disrespectful" inGMO row

NGO claims Commission's health mission hampered by "lack ofspirit"

European Court rules on salt labelling

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FVO food safety report is a tale of two German states

Herbal teas and honey found to contain harmful plant substance

ECHA issues another finely balanced verdict on BPA

Big rise in reported cases of Listeria and Campylobacter in EU

BENEO health claim published in Official Journal

High fibre claim set for ban

New acting head of Swedish National Food Administration

Cheese and drink claims likely to be banned early next year

New flavouring applications

Nestle Parliament meeting to promote smaller portions for kids

Italian advertising body in ruling against cranberry claim

More vitamin D fortification urged by Swedish food agency

EFSA gives green light for rebaudioside M

Animal meal - EFSA says more data needed on human risks

Consumers warned not to take caffeine powder

Global Energy Balance Network backed by Coca-Cola shuts

EFSA advises on E. coli

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criteria now.

Reacting to the General Court verdict, the Green MEP,Michele Rivasi, said: "The European Commission mustimmediately stop its flawed impact assessment and asa matter of urgency adopt criteria on endocrinedisruption which were ready in 2013."

"We cannot lose any more time and we will be vigilantin ensuring the Commission now fulfills its duty."

A spokeswoman for Pesticide Action Network , AngelikiLysimachou, said: "It seems DG SANTE will do exactlywhat it was planning to do, make sure the criteria haveless impact on the industry."

She argued DG SANTE was "bending the rules ofdemocracy."

Baby milks - MEP sets out reasonsfor next week's challenge

The European Commission is accused of underminingthe international code on the marketing of breastmilksubstitutes in a Parliamentary motion opposing itsproposed rules on infant and follow-on formula.

The rules contained in a delegated act are beingchallenged in a resolution which will be put to the voteby MEPs on Tuesday.

The resolution, tabled by the Green MEP, Keith Taylor,says that the marketing of follow-on formula should "notbe used as a Trojan horse that will mislead parents".

This is a reference to the practice wherebymanufacturers get round restrictions on the marketingof infant formula by using the same branding as forfollow-on formula, which can be advertised.

Mr Taylor, a British MEP, also objects to the delegatedact because it does not adopt zero tolerance towardspesticide residues, saying infants are particularlyvulnerable to endocrine disrupting chemicals.

He also considers that all health and nutrition claims onboth infant and follow-on formula should be banned.

In addition, he raises concerns about the benefits ofDHA which the Commission text says should be amandatory ingredient and EFSA said should beincluded.

In a demand for greater transparency, he calls forpublication of a list of all bilateral meetings held by theCommission with interested parties in relation todelegated acts.

The objection is not signed by any other MEPs butsome Socialists have indicated they could support it.

Mr Taylor will need a majority of MEPs in the ENVICommittee to support the resolution if it is to go forward

to a vote in the plenary next year.

First big testThis is the first big test of food-related delegated acts inthe European Parliament.

The Commission is obliged to consult stakeholders ondelegated acts, but member states and MEPs aremerely notified of the regulations. A delegated act is putto a formal vote only if there are objections.

Mr Taylor says breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk ofchildhood obesity, which he says is a bigger cause ofdeath than tobacco, alcohol and physical activity puttogether.

Referring to the WHO code, he says that "marketing ofbreastmilk substitutes, commercial follow-on andcomplementary foods are some of the reasons for lowbreastfeeding rates".

He also argues that the Commission text gives no legalcertainty to member states that they will be allowed toban or restrict the advertising of follow-on formula.

There is a reference to this in the delegate act but hesays it is not clear.

He wants advertising of follow-on formula limited topublications specialising in baby care and scientificpublications.

The European Commission is expected to argue that itsdelegated powers relate only to the composition of theproducts and not the wider issue of marketing.

There will be a debate on Monday prior to the vote.Some MEPs are reluctant to appear to push women tobreastfeed, which may play out against Mr Taylor.

Veto motion criticises sugar contentof baby foods and marketing

MEPs will vote next week on whether baby food shouldcontain 30% sugar and call on the EuropeanCommission to present its long-awaited report ontoddler milks.

The Green MEP, Keith Taylor, has tabled objections tothree delegated acts on infant and follow-on formula(see separate story), Foods for Special MedicalPurposes (FSMPs) and the composition andinformation required for processed cereal-based foodand baby food.

The way the food industry advertises and markets theseproducts is key in all three objections. The high levels ofsugar permitted in baby foods is also a central issue.

The draft resolution on baby foods focusses on the factthat the European Commission has, so far, failed topresent the long-awaited report on toddler milks, whichmany MEPs consider to be unnecessary, expensive



and a major source of sugar.

The draft resolution also objects to the fact that theCommission is allowing baby foods to derive 30% oftheir energy from sugar, when the WHOrecommendation is 10% maximum, and 5% preferred.

The British Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutritionhas said no more than 5% of energy should come fromfree sugars and this is now official government policy.

"The introduction of such foods, especially so early, islikely to contribute to the rising levels of childhoodobesity and may affect developing taste preference forchildren," states Mr Taylor's draft resolution.

Sugar levels for infants should be "kept to a minimum",he insists.

Obesity measuresHe says the delegated regulation does not considersufficient measures to protect infants and youngchildren against obesity and that the allowed maximumsugar level should be substantially lowered, in line withWHO recommendations.

Obesity is a major problem, a bigger cause of deaththan smoking, alcohol and lack of physical activity, hemaintains.

With regard to Foods for Special Medical Purposes, thedraft resolution suggests that companies are gettinground the existing rules on infant and follow-on formulaby marketing products as FSMPs and not includingstatements about breastfeeding.

He says the advertising of FSMPs should not bepermitted and that information for health professionalsmust be "restricted to scientific and factual matters".

He also wants brands names which are "de facto healthclaims" to be banned.

All three texts focus on the use of pesticides in theproduction of these foods and the fact that theInternational Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) hassaid glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans.

Mr Taylor wants zero tolerance of pesticides.

There will be three separate votes in the Environment,Public Health and Food Safety Committee nextTuesday.

Mr Taylor will require a simple majority in theCommittee in order to take the draft resolutions to avote in the plenary.

This is the first major test of delegated acts on food inthe European Parliament.

For delegated acts, there is no vote in the StandingCommittee of member state experts. The Commissionhas a duty to consult stakeholders but Mr Taylor iscalling for more transparency about these meetings.

The European Council also has the right to object,

based on a qualified majority.

German food industry CEO onTimmerman's REFIT Platform

Peter Loosen, CEO of the German food industryassociation, BLL, has been appointed to the new REFITstakeholder group, chaired by First-Vice PresidentFrans Timmermans, to identify laws which could beimproved.

The group, which also includes Ursula Pachl, of theEuropean Consumer organisation, BEUC, is made upof representatives of business, social partners and civilsociety.

Food laws are thought to be a prime target for theCommission's Better Regulation for Better Resultsagenda - already the General Food Law is beinganalysed and the need for nutrient profiles for healthclaims is being investigated.

The Refit Platform comprises 28 high level governmentofficials and 20 stakeholder members includingrepresentatives from the Social Platform, the DanishChamber of Commerce, Business Europe and FinanceWatch.

"The REFIT Platform's expertise will also help us tohave an open, transparent and inclusive dialogue onhow to best remove any unnecessary burdens andimprove the quality of our laws," added MrTimmermans.

However, such platforms have faced problems in thepast because consumer groups and NGOs could notsupport cutting administrative burdens, fearing costsavings for business would harm food safety, healthand environmental protection.

EU FoodPolicy 17 Oct 2014).

In the final report of the Stoiber High Level Group onAdministrative Burdens, a formal dissenting opinion wasissued by BEUC, the European Environmental Bureau,the European Public Health Alliance and theConfederation of European Trade Unions (see

The Platform, which will meet for the first time on 29January, will examine public suggestions starting fromthose submitted by stakeholder and citizens via the"Lighten the Load" online tool.

This encourages people to submit ideas on laws whichcould be axed or changed, specifying how much moneyor time could be saved.

It will be interesting to see if the Refit Platform will bedramatically different to other Better Regulation groupsset up previously.

As well as NGO representatives, such as Mike Clarke,of the Royal Society of Bird Protection, there are also



some who will present the industry point of view.

The European Commission has been pressed to bemore transparent about these groups but, so far, thereare no declarations of interest of the members includedon the website.

Member states tell SANTE WHOprofile needed for EU Pledge

The Swiss government has made an agreement withthe food and drink industry that only products whichmeet the World Health Organisation (WHO) Europenutrient profile model will be permitted to be marketedto children.

The issue was discussed in Brussels at the High LevelGroup on Nutrition, at which member states urged theEuropean Commission to use the WHO model as abasis for its own dialogue with industry on advertising tochildren.

The Swiss agreement is likely to trigger further calls forthe EU Pledge on advertising to be revised toincorporate the WHO model.

Leading food businesses who participate in the EUPledge have their own system of nutrient profiles butthese are not as strict as the ones adopted by theWHO.

According to the official DG SANTE note of themeeting: "The WHO model firstly has in mind theprotection of public health whereas the EU Pledgebalances it with industry's interest in selling products."

The Joint Research Centre presented a comparisonbetween the EU Pledge and the WHO nutrient profiles.

"All member states voiced their support to a betterframing of food marketing to children and consideredthat the WHO model can play a role for that purpose,namely in future negotiations," say the minutes.

Sodium limitThe JRC presentation highlighted that for savourybiscuits, crisps and non-cheese dairy, the sodium limitin the WHO model is a fraction of the level allowed bythe EU Pledge.

But for fish products, the WHO allows more sodiumthan the EU Pledge.

In terms of sugar levels, the WHO permits half thesugar in breakfast cereals compared to the EU Pledge.

The WHO sugar limits are also about 25% stricter forprocessed fruit, processed vegetables and yoghurtsthan the EU Pledge but the WHO allows more sugar inbread and pasta.

The JRC said it was hampered in making comparisonsbecause the two schemes group foods differently.

Different reference points are used - added sugarversus total sugar.

It also said that portions are "not always clearly definedin the Pledge".

If the WHO criteria were applied to the marketing offoods to children, it would no longer be permitted toadvertise fruit juice.

The marketing of sweet biscuits, fine bakery and othercereal-based products would be banned as wouldadvertising of ice creams. However, butter wouldbecome eligible for advertising within specified limits.

Savoury snack advertising would be restricted tounsalted preparations such as plain or roasted nuts andseeds, plain popcorn and rice waffles.

Breakfast cereal advertising would largely be restrictedto base muesli with no added sugar, porridge, oat branor similar.

The broad WHO model definition of processed meat,poultry, fish and similar products would allow highersodium levels than currently permitted under the EUPledge.

For some convenience foods, the WHO model wouldmean less strict energy, saturated fat, sodium and totalsugar limits for some products.

"Overall, the WHO model is stricter than the EUPledge," the JRC said.

Slovenia said that by the end of the year the WHOnutrient profiles would be included in its nationalimplementation of the Audio Visual Media ServicesDirective, which governs marketing.

At the meeting, Switzerland also highlighted theproblem it faces with sugar reduction in cereals andyoghurts. It has a memorandum of understanding onthis with industry but the production of the productstakes place abroad.

Switzerland called for a cross-border agreement onreformulation.

Two EFSA GMO panel membersabstain in vote on safety of GMmaize

Two members of EFSA's GMO panel abstained fromvoting in favour of an Opinion which found that agenetically modified maize from Syngenta was as safeas conventional maize.

However, the Opinion, published on 7 December, didnot make clear that the two panel members had notvoted in favour.

The abstentions are only recorded in the official EFSA



minutes published this week following the meeting inOctober at which the Opinion was adopted.

After a previous case in September when a GMO panelmember failed to support an Opinion, EFSA said thatabstaining did not mean a panel member wasexpressing a minority opinion or presenting a differentscientific view.

Under its founding regulation, EFSA is legally obliged topublish minority opinions.

The GM maize, Bt x 11 x MIR162 x MIR604 x GA21,was assessed for feed and food uses, import andprocessing. This is the second time that a member ofthe new GMO panel, which was reconstituted in July,has failed to support a positive Opinion.

The minutes of the meeting do not reveal which expertsabstained.

It is a complicated Opinion because EFSA was asked tolook at so-called "sub-combinations" of the stackedevent and said that it used a weight of evidenceapproach.

"For some sub-combinations that could be produced byconventional crossing through targeted breedingapproaches, little or no specific data were submitted,"the minutes say.

"To reduce these uncertainties and to confirmassumptions made for the assessment of thesesub-combinations, the EFSA GMO panel recommendsthat the applicant collate relevant information."

This should focus on the expression of the newlyexpressed proteins, it adds.

In the earlier case, a member of the GMO panelabstained in a vote on an Opinion on a Monsanto GMsoybean which was supported by the rest of the panel.This was also a stacked event.

Dutch retailers hit by Chinese babymilk racket

Retailers in the Netherlands selling powdered baby milkare in the front line of a battle with criminal gangs tryingto cash in on huge consumer demand for Dutch infantformula in China.

Retail Netherlands, the retailers' organisation, says itsmembers are reporting rising theft of infant formuladriven by gangs who supply the Chinese black market.

Since the melamine-in-babymilk scandal many Chinesehave been willing to pay hugely inflated prices for thepowder manufactured by Nutricia in the Netherlandsrather than buy a similar product made in China.

Dutch baby milk products can sell for ten times more inChina than in the Netherlands.

Faced with falling supply, many shopkeepers haverationed sales. For several years, some have restrictedsales to one product per customer, often incurring theanger of their regular customers.

Now, retailers are increasingly having to deal withshoplifters working for organised criminal networks,many of which are run by eastern European gangs.

"This year we really saw the problem of theft get biggerand bigger, and organised groups becoming more andmore interested. That has really added a sense ofurgency to the problem," said Bert van Steeg of RetailNetherlands.

For the past year, the organisation has been holdingregular meetings with the police and Nutricia to discusshow to combat the black market trade.

Growing criminal networkMr van Steeg complains the police have not put enoughresources into pursuing the criminals - perhapsbecause baby milk is an unfamiliar target for criminalactivity.

"Some people in the police know what is happening butit does not get enough priority," he said.

Last month, the Dutch food safety authority, nVWA,uncovered a fraud with life-threatening potentialinvolving fake Nutrilon products destined for theChinese market.

Nutricia's standard milk powder had been mislabelledas being formula suitable for babies with a milk allergy.Four people were arrested as a result of theinvestigation.

Danone, which owns Nutricia, recently announced it willbuild a second factory in the country enabling it todouble Dutch production of its infant food products by2017.

But Mr van Steeg says that won't solve the problem ofcriminality; if anything it could just serve to attract moregangs to the Netherlands given the almost limitlessChinese demand for baby milk formula.

Nutricia, which is the most prized brand in China, says ithas already stepped up output to meet demand both athome and abroad.

However, it recently angered some Dutch supermarketsby using an advertising campaign to tell customers theycould avoid shortages in shops by buying productsonline from its own website.

De Telegraaf newspaperSome supermarkets were themselves this monthaccused by of making profitson the grey market by shipping supplies of Nutrilon toChina while leaving their own shelves bare.



Belgian food retailers look atfront-of-pack nutrition label

Belgian food retailers are looking at whether to use afront-of-pack nutritional label on "own label" products inthe major supermarkets.

They have had a meeting at which presentations weremade about the various front-of-pack schemes alreadyin existence or being planned in other member states.

These include the British traffic light label, the Choices"I choose" tick label, the Nordic Keyhole label and themodel being proposed by Carrefour, which focuses onhow often to eat various products.

A spokesperson for the Belgian Federation forCommerce and Services, known as Comeos, said ithad been a brainstorming meeting and it was not yetdecided whether to launch a front-of-pack label.

"The discussions are at a very early stage," she said.

It is understood that there will be further discussion bythe Comeos board.

Comeos members include major supermarkets such asCarrefour, Colruyt, Cora, Lidl, Delhaize, Champion,Intermarche and Leader Price.

One source said that there was also growing interestamong food processors in Belgium on using some typeof front-of-pack label or signing to flag up healthierchoices.

Industry is "on notice" on sugar tax,says chief medical officer

The food industry is "on notice" that a sugar tax is onthe table unless it changes tactics to tackle the obesitycrisis, Britain's chief medical officer has said.

Prof Sally Davies said large food companies needed tomake major changes in the reformulation of productsand their marketing strategies if they did not want to seea sugar tax imposed.

Her annual report said obesity should be treated as apriority but did not refer to a sugar tax.

But speaking on the BBC, Prof Davies said: "I think(sugar tax) is a runner. With smoking, it took 20 yearsfor the public to believe (a tax) was needed. I thinkwe're at tipping point.

"I think industry is on notice. If it doesn't deliver, thenwe'll have to look at a sugar tax."

She said Britain would only need a sugar tax if theindustry failed to reformulate, resize, "sort theiradvertising out" and make healthy life an easy option.

Her report for 2014 focussed on women's health and

said the government should include obesity in thenational risk register of civil emergences, whichincludes terror attacks, natural disasters and diseaseoutbreaks.

She said she was not linking obesity directly toterrorism but that elevating the problem to the riskregister would get government to tackle the crisis atevery level.

"Politicians have to know the public will be with them,and as with seat belts, attitudes can change," she said.

"Supermarkets have to stop cheap promotions onunhealthy food, putting it at the checkout. We have tolimit advertising dramatically and particularly to children.

"One can of Coke is more free sugar than anadolescent should have in a day."

Her report said that children of obese women coulddevelop health problems, such as obesity, diabetes andhigh blood pressure.

Half all women aged 25 to 34 are overweight or obeseand she said pregnancy was definitely not a "time to eatfor two".

Meanwhile, the Welsh Assembly has voted in favour ofa sugar tax.

Labour supported a Plaid Cymru (Free Wales) motionsupporting the tax, resulting in a 38 to 10 vote in favour.

There are moves to bring forward rules which wouldallow the Welsh assembly more power over sometaxation.

Merry Christmas and Happy NewYear

EU Food Policy

We would like to wish all our readers a very MerryChristmas and a Happy New Year. This will be the lastfull issue of for 2015.

However, we will be sending out breaking news at thebeginning of next week, covering the debates and votesin the Environment, Public Health and Food SafetyCommittee.

Our next issue will be Friday 8 January.



New agreement on Better Lawmaking agreed in Brussels

The new Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) on BetterLaw making in Brussels was agreed by the Parliament,Council and European Commission this week.

It includes a commitment by both the Council andEuropean Parliament to carry out impact assessmentson "substantial amendments to Commission proposals"if they consider this appropriate and necessary for thelegislative process.

It is up to each institution to define themselves what isappropriate and necessary.

The Agreement provides for more expert consultationsby the Commission before it adopts delegated acts,including systematic consultation of experts designatedby member states.

It aims to ensure that EU legislation focusses on areaswhere it has the greatest added value for Europeancitizens and that laws are simple and clear.

The three institutions "recall the Union obligation tolegislate only where and to the extent necessary" inaccordance with the Treaty.

The goal is to avoid over-regulation and administrativeburdens for citizens and businesses.

"The agreement on better law making reflects the jointcommitment of the EU institutions to make the life ofcitizens and companies easier," said Nicolas Schmit,the Luxembourg Labour and Employment Minister.

Under the agreement, the Commission will consult boththe Parliament and Council before adopting its annualwork programme. In addition, there will be jointlegislative priorities for the following year.

Before adopting a proposal, the Commission willconduct public consultations, particularly encouragingparticipation from SMEs. These will take greateraccount of the impact of new laws on competitiveness.

The Commission itself will carry out impactassessments before it makes proposals, as it is alreadydoing.

There will also be an effort to simplify EU legislation,with a report from the Commission annually on progressmade.

"The Commission will, where appropriate, specify theburden reduction and savings potential of individuallegislative proposals against the wider context of thecosts and benefits of EU regulation," said a Councilmedia statement.

However, given the current rows between the EuropeanParliament and the Commission on issues such asGMOs, it remains to be seen as to whether this

agreement results in better co-operation in practice.

Tentative deal reached on schoolfruit and milk scheme

Agriculture Ministers were briefed this week on atentative deal reached with the European Parliament onthe school milk and fruit and vegetables scheme.

The overall amount of aid would be €250 million - €150million for fruit and vegetables and €100 million for milkand milk products.

It would include processed products as well as freshproducts - initially the Parliament wanted to include onlyfresh products.

There has been a lot of discussion over what would beincluded in the scheme and it looks as though thiswould be regulated by a delegated act but that nationalauthorities would have some say.

The new school scheme, applicable from August 2017replaces two separate schemes.

Earlier, the trilogue talks were suspended because ofdisagreement on legal bases.

Now, it seems likely that Article 43(3) would be used bythe Council to fix national allocations for the aid for milkand to set the percentage of aid for accompanyingmeasures.

Article 43(2), which would involve codecision with theEuropean Parliament, would be used for the provisionson aid, criteria and transfers.

The issue was further discussed at the SpecialCommittee on Agriculture on Wednesday, at whichHungary and the Netherlands opposed it and the UKabstained.

Hungary wants to keep the two separate schemes whilethe Netherlands says it is an issue for subsidiarity. TheUK had concerns about the legal base and the budget.

Germany proposed a joint declaration saying that theuse of the legal base should be carefully evaluated andthat legal precedents were not set by this agreement.

The next step is to see if the European Parliament willaccept this text, paving the way for a first readingagreement.



Italian tomato industry is based on"massive exploitation", says report

Italian tomato producers are accused of complicity in“massive exploitation” of migrant workers, in a newreport by the UK-based Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).

The report highlights the role of illegal gangmasters,known as Caporali, who hire migrant workers to pickand pack Italy’s tomatoes, often for less than €30 a day.

"Foreign labour is regarded as crucial to enable Italianagriculture to compete on global markets.

"Yet in a race to make the biggest possible profit,employment laws are being routinely ignored," said theETI’s food and farming adviser, Nick Kightley.

Italy accounts for 50% of EU processed tomatoproduction and supplies 60% of the UK market,according to the report, Counteracting exploitation ofmigrant workers in Italian tomato production.

"Tomatoes are the crown jewels of Italian agriculture.They are Italy’s major agricultural export and Italy is theworld’s third largest producer of processed tomatoes,"said Mr Kightley.

The ETI is urging UK retailers who rely on Italianprocessed tomato imports to use their power andinfluence to put pressure on their suppliers.

“Italian tomato processors are significant companies intheir own right and must also accept accountability fordue diligence and reporting within their supply chains,as must organisations of agricultural producersincluding cooperatives,” it says.

Organised crimeThe ETI points out that 99% of Italian agriculturalproduction comes from 5,000 cooperatives - groups ofmedium and small-sized farms. Most tomatoes areproduced in the regions of Apulia and Emilia-Romagna.

"The majority of farms producing tomatoes are smalland it is mainly on farms with smaller fields,predominantly in the south of Italy, where workers sufferfrom exploitation by Caporali as tomatoes must beharvested manually rather than by harvestingmachines."

Figures for the number of foreign agricultural workers inItaly vary from the official estimate of 116,000 to aroundhalf a million according to the Association for LegalStudies on Immigration.

The ETI report says the human rights organisation,MEDU, reports that migrant workers are often paid 40%lower than legal minimum thresholds. Non-EU workersfare worst.

Migrant tomato pickers normally work a 10 to 12-hourday and typically earn €3 per crate of tomatoes pickedunder a piecework system. Workers told researchers

they often earned less than €30 a day.

The ETI report claims that Italian law offers littleprotection to workers who are mostly too afraid tocomplain and find themselves at the bottom of a longand complex supply chain.

Labour inspections are too few and there is little actionby the authorities to counter a pervasive system.

The report says Italy has not incorporated theadministrative sanctions in EU legislation on theexploitation of agricultural workers (Directive 52/2009)such as exclusion from public subsidies and contracts,and EU funding.

EFSA warns processed fruitproducts could be harmful

The European Food Safety Authority has raisedconcerns about the safety of sterilised apple and pearproducts because of an insecticide used on the fruit.

The authorised insecticide, diflubenzuron, which is usedon apples and pears in the EU, has dangerousmetabolites which EFSA fears could increase when thefruits are sterilised in food processing.

a prioriEFSA said back in 2012 that the metabolite,4-chloronilide (PCA), was a concern forconsumers, workers and bystanders because it is it agenotoxic carcinogen.

But then the European Commission asked EFSA ifthere was a safe level of exposure, based on the"margin of exposure" approach.

Now, EFSA is concerned that residues of diflubenzuronbecome 4-chloroacetaniilde (PCA)when processed intoproducts such as canned apple puree, apple pie, andpear and apple juices.

It also raises concern about PCA being present in milk.However, in its published report, EFSA has had to blackout the details of the relevant studies at the request ofthe applicant, Chemtura Netherlands BV.

The Authority states in its assessment published lastweek that its Scientific Committee said in 2005 that"substances that are both genotoxic and carcinogenicshould not be deliberately added to foods or for useearlier in the food chain".

It also adds that the wider application of the margin ofexposure approach beyond contaminants andimpurities considered by the Scientific Committee wouldraise some scientific and risk management issues.

EFSA warns that "genotoxic carcinogens may beeffective after a single exposure".

Some of the trials on processed foods were not carriedout in what EFSA would regard as the worst case



scenario.

There is also concern about another metabolite andwhether, like PCA, it is genotoxic and carcinogenic.

"There is indication of significant transformation ofdiflubenzuron residues into PCA under conditionssimilar or equal to food sterilisation," it concludes.

It says there is a "high concern for consumer safety"and certainly a risk for people who pick apples andpears.

This is an EFSA peer review of a report by memberstates, whose rapporteur was Sweden.

The procedure is the same as for the recent glyphosatereview.

It will be discussed by the European Commission andmember states in the context of the review of theapproval of diflubenzuron.

EFSA under pressure to publishnames of glyphosate experts

The European Food Safety Authority is under pressureto publish the names of exactly who actively contributedto its assessment of glyphosate and their declarationsof interest.

This follows the disclosure that some member stateexperts involved on EFSA's pesticide working groupshave refused to provide a declaration of interest.

One of them was the subject of a breach of trustprocedure at EFSA in 2011 because he failed todeclare interests with chemical firms.

This week, the head of legal affairs at EFSA, DirkDetken, said that although this scientist, Corrado Galli,was appointed by Italy for the purpose of theassessment, in fact he had failed to attend thediscussion.

EU FoodPolicyFollowing the revelations about Prof Galli,

submitted an access-to-documents request to MrDetken, asking for copies of all the comments made byProf Grilli, including those made at the teleconference.

Mr Detken replied: "Although Corrado Galli was putforward by Italy as one of its experts to participate in theteleconference (teleconference 117), together withmember state scientists during the peer review, Dr Gallidid not attend, meaning that the documents you seekwith your request do not exist."

EU Food Policy asked EFSA several times two weeksago why Prof Galli was allowed to participate and this isthe first time that EFSA has said that he did not.

Before, we were told that it was up to member states toput forward their experts and that EFSA itself had no

control over them, and no power to force them to makea declaration of interest.

EFSA has published the names of all its experts inseveral working groups on pesticides and theunscreened DoIs of those experts willing to submit one.

But so far, it has not issued a list of which experts madewritten comments and which attended theteleconference.

Andriukaitis responds to EFSAcritics on glyphosate

The Health and Food Safety Commissioner has told the96 scientists who criticised EFSA's work on glyphosatethat the European Commission is legally bound to takeaccount of EFSA's verdict.

The scientists wrote to Vytenis Andriukaitis supportingthe conclusion of the International Agency for CancerResearch (IARC) that glyphosate is "probablycarcinogenic" to humans.

They criticised the EFSA verdict that glyphosate is"unlikely" to cause cancer in humans.

response,In Commissioner Andriukaitis says he has"full confidence" in the EU process which involves thepooling of expertise between EFSA and 28 memberstates.

He tells Prof Chris Portier, the corresponding author ofthe letter, that EU legislation on plant protectionproducts (1107/2009) specifically refers to therapporteur member state's Assessment Report, carriedout by Germany, and the EFSA conclusions.

The law says these must be taken into account whenthe Commission drafts a proposal for arenewal/approval or the non-approval of an activesubstance.

"As these are legal obligations, I am not able toaccommodate your request to simply disregard theEFSA conclusion."

Indeed, his words suggest that the EuropeanCommission is legally bound to renew the glyphosateapproval based on the EFSA assessment.

Dr Andriukaitis says that EFSA will separately addressall the scientific issues raised in the letter, incooperation, where appropriate, with the GermanFederal Institute for Risk Assessment, BfR, which wasthe member state rapporteur.

"The Council of the European Union and the EuropeanParliament, as co-legislators of Regulation 1107/2009,agreed on a pivotal role of EFSA in the review ofpesticide active substances in the EU," Dr Andriukaitisadds.



"I have full confidence in the EU process established bythat regulation."

TransparencyWith regard to the issues on transparency raised byProf Portier, Dr Andriukaitis points out that EFSA madethe summary dossier from the applicant available on itswebsite.

It also carried out a public consultation on the RenewalAssessment Report and published conclusions, as wellas background documents running to more than 6,000pages.

He adds that some of the information on the identity ofthe study authors is restricted in documents publishedby EFSA, in line with confidentiality clauses in theregulation.

Dr Andriukaitis does, however, urge Prof Portier toscrutinise EFSA's findings in the peer review onglyphosate, which are now available on its website.

"I would like to encourage you to take up that invitationwith the aim of resolving or at least further clarifying thecontentious scientific issues," he says.

"Diverging scientific opinion on such a widely usedproduct is indeed disconcerting."

Dr Andriukaitis is to meet with Prof Portier in January todiscuss the issues.

Prof Portier was an "invited specialist" for the IARCpanel but not a panel member because he works for anenvironmental NGO.

In what looks like a put-down, the Commissioneraddresses him as "Mr" and sends the letter to him in hiscapacity as senior contributing scientist, EnvironmentalDefense Fund, the NGO.

Prof Portier, himself, has stressed that he worked forthe US government for more than 30 years and that hismain income is his retirement plan, not money from theNGO which, in any case, does not work on glyphosate.

Dr Andriukaitis also says that the letter from Prof Portierwas discussed in the Standing Committee with memberstates, who were themselves involved in thepeer-review.

Food industry chief warns of"chaos" if UK votes for Brexit

The chief executive of the UK's Food and DrinkFederation, Ian Wright, has spoken passionately infavour of Britain remaining in the EU and warned of anexodus of food businesses if British citizens vote toleave.

He said the referendum, due before then end of 2017,could result in "chaos for years" if an independent

Britain was forced to negotiate new trade deals with itspartners around the world.

He called on food industry leaders to speak out duringthe campaign but also warned that they could faceintimidation - though he declined to call it that - from EUopponents.

Mr Wright, the former head of corporate relations atDiageo, said the drinks giant was among a number ofleading UK companies which had considered movingtheir operations our of the UK if it voted to leave.

"I was involved with a plan two years ago that wouldhave involved moving the (Diageo) headquartersabroad," he said.

He said he expected food businesses were makingsimilar plans.

"UK, Food and Europe: in or out?"

"Fifteen or 16 of the biggest food businesses areAmerican of European but they are here because this isthe best place to do business in the EU," he told aconference entitledCity University, London.

He predicted that US firms would reconsider theirinvestment and EU companies would downgrade theiroperations in the event of a "leave" vote.

He said the food and drink industry had a duty to speakout in the referendum debate because their input wouldbe a "critical determinant" in influencing the way peoplevoted.

However, despite the assumed support of big businessfor EU membership, there was "frustration thatcorporate Britain was not quite as prepared as it mightbe to open its mouth on the subject".

Stressing that he was giving his own personal views, hesaid that fear of a backlash from EU opponents was toblame and pointed to the abuse directed at companieswho had opposed Scottish independence in last year'sreferendum.

ReprisalsStaff at Diageo had faced personal reprisals, he said,citing cases of colleagues being forced off the boards ofpublic sector bodies such as health service trusts or toldthey could not be school governors.

"It is wholly reprehensible. It is anti-democratic," hesaid.

Mr Wright said the FDF was waiting until its membershad been consulted before taking a formal position onthe EU referendum.

He said the future of the food industry was at stake andthat the food industry had to take its place - it was fartoo serious to leave it to someone else.

Among other dire predictions about the consequencesof Brexit, Mr Wright said it would cause a chronic labourshortage in the food industry.



Describing the EU as a "massive talent pool", he saidworkers from other countries would be needed to fill a100,000-strong skills gap between now and 2025 whichBritain's ageing workforce could not fill.

While not always a fan of individual Europeanregulations, Mr Wright that UK industry welcomedEU-level legislation because it removed the "massiverepeat costs" involved in exporting to the rest of Europe(if each country had its own rules).

He said that if the UK left the EU, it would inevitablylead to the break-up of the country - with Scotland andprobably Northern Ireland deciding to stay in the EU.

Membership of the WTO was not a given, he added,and there were 187 or so agreements that would needto be renegotiated.

UK Brexit - the impact on food trade

Britain's approach to farming and its role in the foodsupply chain would be among the key challenges to beaddressed if the UK votes to leave the EU, aconference in London on the implications of Brexitheard this week.

UK,Food and European: in or out?

"Nearly one third of our food comes from the EU andwe are not talking about it," said Professor Tim Lang, ofCity University, who organised the event entitled

If it votes to leave the EU, Britain will have to decidewhat sort of trade relationship it wants with Europe, notto mention the rest of the world.

But with David Cameron still engaged in negotiationswith his EU partners to avoid such a scenario, there'slittle debate yet about the implications of so-calledBrexit.

With 73% of British food exports going to the rest ofEurope, the referendum vote could be criticallyimportant for many British food businesses.

Prof Lang said there was a £21 billion trade gapbetween what Britain imported (£39.5 million) and whatit exported (£18.8 billion).

"Fruit and vegetables is a catastrophe," he saidbecause the UK imports £9 billion but exports only £1billion.

If Britain followed Norway's example and joined theEuropean Economic Area, it would have to comply withmost EU single market legislation relating to food,several speakers stressed.

An alternative would be a looser free trade agreementwithin the context of existing World Trade Organisationrules.

Alan Swinbank, emeritus professor at Reading

University, said that if Britain joined the EEA the rules ofcommerce with the rest of Europe would be largelyunchanged.

But he questioned whether eurosceptics would see thebenefit of such an arrangement.

"To what extent, in terms of complaints aboutbureaucracy and red tape, would this scenario differfrom what we have now?" he asked rhetorically.

Whatever the UK's future relationship with Europe,once outside the EU it would have to renegotiate morethan 50 trade agreements with non-EU countries toreplace the EU agreements which currently apply toBritain.

To those who suggest this could be quickly resolved,Prof Swinburn cautioned: "My perception is that tradeagreements take years to negotiate".

He also questioned if the UK had sufficient officials todo the renegotiations.

Within the EU, Irish beef and Danish butter producerswould be among those most affected by any change inthe relationship with Britain. Conversely, British lambexporters would not want to lose access to theirEuropean markets.

Free tradeTraditionally a critic of the costly Common AgriculturalPolicy, Britain would have to decide whether to replaceEU subsidies to farmers or to take a more liberal, freetrade approach to its food supply.

Martin Haworth, of the National Farmers Union, said itwould be hard for Britain to impose higher tariffs underWTO rules.

"If we cut tariffs, we would have to cut our tariffprotection against the rest of Europe but the EU wouldnot have the same obligation to reciprocate," he said.

While many farmers complained about the 40,000 legalacts imposed by Brussels, Mr Haworth said that, formany of them, EU direct payments were the differencebetween profit and loss.

Perhaps the most concrete worry for UK farmers isBritain's dependence on migrant labour. At presentmore than 22,000 full-time workers on Britain's farmsare from other EU countries.

In 2012, according to the NFU, more than 21,000Bulgarians and Romanians were employed as seasonalworkers on fruit and vegetable farms.

Other speakers, including those from the restaurant andcatering sector, as well as the food processing sector,stressed the need for migrant workers from the rest ofthe EU.

"If we didn't have migrant workers, all my restaurantswould close tomorrow," the celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver,was quoted as saying.



However, there would be no threat to food security fromBrexit, Prof Swinbank said.

"Provided Britain remains a wealthy country, there willbe suppliers around the world wanting to supply theBritish market. I don't see this impacting on the foodsupply to Sainsbury's."

Chicken acid wash taken off agenda

Discussion of the controversial chicken acid wash,peroxyacetic acid (PAA), was removed from the agendaof the Standing Committee this week shortly before themeeting.

The European Commission, which wants to authorisePAA following an application from the United States,was not very forthcoming about the reasons.

"It was just due to logistics," a Commissionspokeswoman told us.

Other sources suggested that the Commission needs tochange the definition of poultry meat before authorisingPAA.

This is because under the Common MarketOrganisation Regulation 1308/2013 poultry meat isdefined as "suitable for human consumption which hasnot undergone any treatment other than coldtreatment".

Obviously, if poultry were to be treated with PAA itwould not meet the definition of poultry meat under thismarketing standard.

One source said that if this is the case, discussion ofauthorisation of PAA would be put off until the secondhalf of 2016.

The Commission wants to authorise PAA as part of apackage of measures to tackle Campylobacter, one ofthe biggest causes of food poisoning in the EU.

Consumer groups are opposing the authorisation,however, and had launched a new campaign expectingit to be on the agenda.

The European Consumer Organisation BEUC, sayschicken sold in Europe should note be "dipped inchemicals to wash bacteria away".

BEUC supports the use of a good hygiene limit forcampylobacter but said the EU needed to safeguard its"farm to fork approach on food safety".

Monique Goyens, BEUC director general, said:"Campylobacter threatens public health and we need tomake our chicken safer.

"Setting targets to slash levels of this bug on poultrycarcasses is a good move, as farmers and abattoirs willhave to improve their practices.

"A green light for PAA on chicken could lead to farmsand poultry plant workers lowering their guard onhygiene standards.

"This is not the way forward, especially when theeffectiveness of PAA has been questioned by theEuropean foods safety watchdog," she said, referring tothe EFSA Opinion.

Tackling obesity - FDF boss saysmajor resources needed

Would the UK be able to tackle obesity more effectivelyinside or outside the EU? - that was one of thequestions raised this week at a discussion of BREXIT.

Some observers say that if the UK were to leave theEU, it could make the traffic light labelling systemmandatory and impose strict national sugar targetswithout fear of any single market challenges from theEuropean Commission.

But the head of the Food and Drink Federation, whichrepresents food processing firms, took a different view.

Ian Wright argued that the UK needed to stay in the EUto remain prosperous to have the resources and healthservice to tackle obesity.

He said Britain on its own would be poorer and lack theresources to deal with the problem.

Furthermore, he said the EU was a more effectivelegislator than some governments in this context.Leaving the EU would be to turn our backs on theinternational cooperation which was needed to deal withobesity.

Novel Food Regulation published inOfficial Journal

Official JournalThe recently agreed new Novel Food Regulation waspublished in the on 11 December.

It amends the Food Information Regulation (1169/2011)with regard to the definition of engineerednanomaterials and repeals the old Novel FoodRegulation 258/97.

It will apply from 1 January 2018 but some Articlescome into effect at the end of this month in order thatimplementing acts can be delivered by January 2018.

These include the following Articles:

• Art 4.4 covering implementing acts on determining ifa food is novel or not

• Art 8 - implementing act on list of novel foods

• Art 13 - implementing acts regarding scientific



requirements for applications

• Art 20 - implementing acts on scientific requirementsconcerning traditional foods from third countries.

The Novel Food Regulation provides for the EuropeanCommission to determine, in cases of doubt, if a food isnovel or not.

It sets up a centralised risk assessment procedurethrough EFSA and much stricter rules on the timetablefor assessment and presentation of proposals forauthorisation to the Standing Committee.

It also provides for third countries to notify certaintraditional novel foods, though there are provisions forEFSA and member states to object on safety grounds.

EU Food Policy 13 November.For further details see

High rate of non-compliance of plantprotection products in France

There is a high rate of non-compliance with pesticideregulations in France, according to the Food andVeterinary Office, the inspection arm of the EuropeanCommission.

In a recent audit, the FVO highlighted that France is thesecond largest user of plant protection products in theEU after Italy (118,000 tonnes) and manufactures €2billion of PPP a year, some of which is exported.

"Controls on specialist operators such asmanufacturers, re-packers and seed treatment plantsare not sufficiently detailed," the FVO says.

Inspections, some unannounced, revealed a 50% rateof non-compliance. Examples included banned PPPs instorage and use of PPPs after their licences had beenrevoked, according to the FVO report.

Illegal PPPs are also distributed "through highlyorganised networks involving importers, manufacturers,re-packers and distributors".

Since 2005, 69 cases have been brought to court, ofwhich 33 are ongoing. The industry estimates that 5%of PPPs used in France are illegal.

There are also problems with the website run by thefraud office, the DGCCRF, which does not accuratelyreflect the labels in use.

Furthermore, the FVO says that French inspectors "donot have the appropriate equipment to verify theauthorisation status of PPPs during inspections", so thecontrols are not performed efficiently or effectively.

Overall, it says the system is well organised but that thespecific risks associated with large scale manufacturersand seed treatment plants are not given sufficientweighting in the risk analysis.

Environment ministers start debateon circular economy

Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella presentedthe recently adopted Circular Economy Package toEnvironment Ministers in Brussels this week saying hewould set up a Food Waste Platform.

A number of delegations took the floor in a publicdebate but it was a general discussion and there wereno substantive points made about food waste and thelack of a food waste target.

Predictably, the UK suggested that some of the wasterecycling and reduction targets might be too high to beachievable while Sweden called for a ban on anythingwhich could be recycled going to landfill.

One or two delegations called for more ambition but thePolish delegation thanked Mr Vella for the newproposal, saying that the economies of each memberstate were different.

"One size does not fit all," the Polish representativesaid.

Mr Vella referred to the high level of food waste andargued that the Sustainable Development Goal ofhalving food waste by 2030 was appropriate.

He said the Commission would focus on establishing away of measuring food waste. There would also be afood waste Platform, he stressed.

Separately, the European Parliament will have its firstdebate on the Circular Economy proposal next week inthe Environment, Public Health and Food SafetyCommittee.

MEPs from a number of different groups are expectedto call for a food waste target to be included - manyhave already stated this.

EFSA is "too distant", saystakeholders

The European Food Safety Authority is "too distant andslow to communicate with industry", according to someof the Authority's industry stakeholders.

They say this is a "common experience" with theApplications Desk that EFSA set up to help applicants.

Furthermore, those which belong to the StakeholderConsultative Platform (SCP) feel it is "too broad to be ofuse" and those which are outside it feel "like secondclass citizens".

These are some of the attitudes which EFSA willdiscuss with stakeholders at the SCP meeting 13January, which was postponed from November.



The EFSA management board needs to decide by Junewhether to retain the SCP or to develop other ways ofengaging with stakeholders.

According to the EFSA research, many academics sayleading scientists don't sit on panels because of theconflict of interest rules.

They say EFSA does not engage with a sufficientlywide range of scientists and that it needs to engagewith a broader range of data sources and scientists tostay abreast of the latest developments.

With regard to NGOs, some see engagement withEFSA as essential but others are not interestedprovided EFSA is more transparent and "producesmore credible scientific Opinions".

There is a also a perceived lack of response or action toconcerns they raise through public consultations.

Those inside the SCP "question its value" and thoseoutside "see it as a tool of industry influence overEFSA".

For the research, a range of stakeholders wasinterviewed including two animal welfare NGOs, fiveNGOs involved with GMOs, two other NGOs, sevenindustry representatives and three people fromacademia.

The aim was to understand the views of stakeholders inorder identify how EFSA could improve its engagementwith them.

EFSA cleared of maladministration

The European Ombudsman has cleared EFSA ofmaladministration concerning its public consultation onthe controversial chemical, glyphosate, after theAuthority introduced flexibility following the complaint.

The pressure group, GMO Free Wales, complainedabout the consultation because respondents had tosend comments via a template which it said preventedordinary people from contributing.

It also complained that you had to sign a disclaimer inorder to get the copy of the Renewal AssessmentReport by Germany.

The Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, said that after shecontacted EFSA, the Authority took immediatemeasures to simplify the consultation and deleted therequirement to accept any terms or conditions beforesubmitting comments.

EFSA accepted the comments from GMO Free Walesby mail rather than template and it also simplified thetext and gave more explanation on how to submitcomments.

"This suggests that the EFSA takes a genuine interest

in its public consultations," she said.

The safety or otherwise of glyphosate was not thesubject of the complaint, Mrs O'Reilly stressed and shealso agreed with EFSA that the consultation should notbe reopened.

She says that the template is a complex and longdocument and that, even with the clarifications on howto fill it in, it is still not a straightforward procedure.

But she says EFSA had good reasons to use thetemplate because of the complex nature of thedocument which runs to 3,945 pages.

"In the present case, EFSA has demonstratedcommendable flexibility," she said, adding that shetrusted this would be the case for other consultations.

She welcomed the fact that EFSA would in futureinclude a generic comment section and an emailaddress.

You can find her full comments on the website of theEuropean Ombudsman.

MEPs tell Andriukaitis thatCommission is "disrespectful" inGMO row

MEPs want Health and Food Safety Commissioner,Vytenis Andriukaitis, to come to the EuropeanParliament to answer accusations that the Commissionis being disrespectful of the Parliament.

The row erupted when the Commission authorised theGMO NK 603 x T25 just a few days after MEPs tabled adraft resolution opposing its authorisation in theEnvironment, Public Health Committee.

This week, MEPs voted in support of a motion sayingthe authorisation should be withdrawn by 403 votes to238 in the plenary in Strasbourg. There were 50abstentions.

OfficialJournal

But the European Parliament has no power to veto theauthorisation, which was published in the

on 8 December.

Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska said that under thelegislative procedure involved, the Parliament couldonly object if the Commission had exceeded the powersdelegated to it.

This was not the case, she told MEPs during the debateearlier in the week when she was standing in for theHealth and Food Safety Commissioner, Dr Andriukaitis.

The Green MEP, Bart Staes, said she must tell DrAndriukaitis that the behaviour of the Commission "isnot acceptable". He said Dr Andriukaitis must come tothe ENVI Committee to discuss the issues.



Many MEPs of all political persuasions - centre-rightEPP, Socialist, European Direct Democracy andFreedom, Greens - supported the draft resolution tostop the market authorisation of the Monsanto GMmaize for use in food and feed.

Notably, they were opposed by the centre-right MEP,Renate Sommer, and the European Conservative andReformist, Julie Girling, who said the Commission wasright to proceed with the authorisation.

Mrs Sommer, who authored a Paliamentary report onGMOs some years ago, said it was not true that GMOs"would poison us all" and that the Parliament hadagreed the rules.

"The European Commission has behaved correctly,EFSA said it was fine," she said, warning that if importsof the GM maize were banned the EU would haveinsufficient animal feed.

Mrs Girling accused other MEPs of being "populist,anti-corporate and downright wrong".

But others supported the draft resolution, includingcentre-right Hungarian MEP Gyorgy Holvenyi who saidthe EFSA risk assessment was flawed.

Winding up, Commissioner Bienkowska acknowledgedthe concerns of MEPs that the GMO was glyphosateresistant. But she said this was regulated under theEU's plant protection product legislation.

She said the concerns raised about glyphosate were"duly noted".

Speaking after the vote on Wednesday, Mr Staes saidthe Commission authorisation was "scandalous" in viewof the objection raised by the Environment, PublicHealth and Food Safety Committee.

"This is a blow to the EU's democratic process andunderlines the urgent need to revise the EU system forapproving genetically modified food."

NGO claims Commission's healthmission hampered by "lack of spirit"

There is currently a "lack of spirit to fight for DGSANTE's mission to improve health and theenvironment", the NGO Pesticide Action Network toldthe Health and Food Safety Commissioner, VytenisAndriukaitis, last week.

Ahead of the Standing Committee meeting onpesticides, PAN complained not just about the failure toset criteria for endocrine disruptors but also the"apparent reluctance to follow the rules", and the use ofderogations and loopholes.

"We therefore need your support to get your DG backon track," PAN told Dr Andriukaitis.

It said the Commission had failed to ban the six mostdangerous endocrine disrupting chemicals. It called fora ban on Amitrole, Flumioxazin and Linuron, sayingthey were classified as reproductive toxins 1B.

"These pesticides have horrible adverse effects, causeharm to people and the environment every day andshould never have been allowed on the market in thefirst place," PAN tells Mr Andriukaitis.

PAN also says that EFSA has highlighted a "criticalarea of concern" for pesticides such as Flupysulfuron,Isoproturon, Pymetrozin and Flutianil and that theyshould be banned.

It accuses DG SANTE of developing derogations tokeep pesticides on the market when should in fact bebanned.

"We hope for your support for a radical U-turn of thepolicy of your DG," says PAN.

"For the pesticide Amitrole, capable of causingmalformations of the foetus, the dossiers and the EFSApeer-review are ready since July 2014 and no decisionis taken (sic)."

Instead, DG SANTE was claiming "negligibleexposure", PAN said. In the case of Flumioxazin, theCommission was claiming its withdrawal would be a"serious danger to plant health".

European Court rules on saltlabelling

A natural mineral water may not claim to be low insodium or salt if its sodium content is 20mg a litre ormore, regardless of the chemical form of sodium, theEuropean Court ruled on Thursday.

Neptune Distribution, which markets Saint-Yorre andVicy Celestins in France, argued that sodiumbicarbonate might be regarded as less damaging tohuman health than sodium chloride.

But the Court of Justice ruled that the directive onnatural mineral waters only permits claims or indicationssuggesting waters are low in sodium or salt if the totalsodium content, in all chemical forms present, is lessthan 20mg/l.

The French authorities challenged the claim onSaint-Yorre that it "contains only 0.53g of salt (orsodium chloride) per litre, that is to say less than a litreof milk".

A similar claim about Vichy Celestins said it contained"only 0.39g of salt per litre or two to three times lessthan is contained in a litre of milk".

The Court said consumers should have appropriate andtransparent information as to the sodium content of



drinking waters to ensure protection of human health.

The quantity present in natural mineral waters must bedetermined by the total amount present in the mineralwaters concerned, whatever its chemical form.

The consumer might be misled where packaging, labelsand advertising for natural mineral waters suggestedthey were suitable for a low sodium diet whereas, inreality, they contained more than 20mg/l of sodium.

The Court ruled in favour of the French authorities,saying that to just give the amount of sodium chloride,or table salt, could be misleading.

A high risk to human health from consumption ofsodium bicarbonate, as of other forms of sodium, couldnot be excluded, it said, and therefore the precautionaryprinciple must prevail.

The case C-157/14 was brought by the French Ministryof Economy and Finance.

The EU health claims law does not permit low saltclaims on mineral water, which are governed by thenatural mineral waters directive.

FVO food safety report is a tale oftwo German states

report

The European Commission's food inspection arm, theFood and Veterinary Office, has published a critical

into Germany's efforts to control animalby-products, once again highlighting stark differencesbetween states and the lack of national control.

While Bavaria comes out well from the inspection visit,the same is not true of North Rhine Westphalia wherethe FVO found no controls were carried out on transportfirms nor the companies storing animal by-products.

A district authority had also classified traders andtransporters as "low risk" without looking at the amounttraded or the risks of cross-contamination.

The German authorities claimed that there had been nonon-compliances over a period of two years in NorthRhine Westphalia.

But the FVO inspectors questioned this because theyfound clear breaches of the law which they said hadbeen overlooked.

The FVO raised concerns about processed animalproteins containing ruminant material dispatched toanother EU member state which did not appear in theEU's TRACES register for four weeks.

Furthermore, in another example, one documentrelating to ruminant processed animal protein gave atrader in one member state as the destination butanother document for the same consignment showed adifferent destination.

There remains a strict ban on the feeding of ruminantprotein to ruminants following the BSE scandal.

Herbal teas and honey found tocontain harmful plant substance

High concentrations of harmful pyrrolizidine alkaloidshave been found in products such as herbal teas andhoney in tests conducted by the German stateauthorities.

Despite the risk they pose to human and animal health,the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, BfR, says notenough is known about how they enter the food chain.

"Due to their carcinogenic potential, 1-2 unsaturatedpyrrolizidine alkaloids in particular should not becontained in food and feed," it says.

The alkaloids are present in a large number of plantspecies as protection against herbivores.

Ingested in large quantities, they can result in acuteliver disease. The BfR says several months of moderatedaily intake have been found to cause liver damage inhumans.

Some pyrrolisidine alkaloids have also been shown tobe genotoxic and cancinogenic in animal experiments.

It is thought one reason for their presence in herbal teasis that pyrrolizidine alkaloids-containing wild herbs suchas ragwort are collected when the raw materials forthese products are harvested.

However, the BfR says it is also possible that plantsused in certain teas form these substances themselves.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids can also get into honey if beescollect pollen and nectar from pyrrolizidinealkaloid-containing plants.

Grazing animals are at risk if the alkaloids are presentin pasture or where they are present in fields used toproduce green fodder and soilage.

Areas which are left uncultivated for agriculturalreasons can lead to the spread of pyrrolizidinealkaloid-containing plants to grazing pastures.

The BfR is sufficiently concerned about the problemthat it recently organised a conference in Berlin withstakeholders and scientists to discuss how best to traceand tackle the presence of the alkaloids in food andfeed.

"Developing effective strategies for avoiding andminimising the transfer of these substances to food andfeed is one of the most important goals from theviewpoint of consumer health protection," it says.



ECHA issues another finely balancedverdict on BPA

The Socio-Economic Assessment Analysis (SEAC)Committee of the European Chemicals Agency hasissued another finely balanced verdict on the restrictionof Bisphenol A in till receipts.

On the one hand, it says that the socio-economicbenefits of the restriction are unlikely to be higher thanthe socio-economic costs.

But it then points out that Risk Assessment Committeehad previously concluded that the risk for workershandling till receipts was not adequately controlled.

And it noted that there were other considerations infavour of restrictions which should be taken intoaccount.

It then goes into a further cost analysis arguing that therestriction would mainly protect cashiers - a relativelysmall group with low incomes.

But the costs of the restriction would be spread acrossthe EU. At €0.20 to €0.60 per person per year, this wasconsidered affordable.

ECHA will send the opinions of the Risk AssessmentCommittee and SEAC to the European Commissionwhich will decide on any restrictions through theREACH committee, made up of member state experts.

Big rise in reported cases of Listeriaand Campylobacter in EU

Human cases of Listeria rose by 16% in the EU lastyear and cases of Campylobacter were up by 10%,continuing the upward trend that began in 2008.

These are the main findings of the latest annual reportpublished on Thursday by the European Centre forDisease Control (ECDC) and the European Food SafetyAuthority (EFSA).

Mike Catchpole, chief scientist at the ECDC, said it wasworrying that Campylobacter and Listeria infectionswere rising. He said Campylobacter control measuresneeded to be strengthened in the EU.

The European Commission is currently looking atsetting a limit for Campylobacter in food, similar to theSalmonella limits, as well as the authorisation of an acidwash for chicken.

Dr Catchpole also said that Listeria surveillance neededto be improved.

Listeria is one of the most serious forms of foodpoisoning because it can cause miscarriages and befatal in the elderly and people with a weakened immunesystem.

"All main actors in the food chain need to act togetherto improve monitoring at EU level. Such cooperation iscrucial to reduce the disease burden in Europe," saidMarta Hugas, head of EFSA's Biological Hazards andContaminants unit.

There were 2,161 confirmed cases of Listeria in 2014.

It looks as though the controls for Listeria are failingbecause, despite the rise in cases, the legal safetylimits are seldom exceeded in ready-to-eat foods whenthese are tested.

Campylobacter, which is mainly found in chicken meat,remains the biggest source of food poisoning in the EU- with 236,851 cases.

Most member states reported a rise in Campylobactercases, which could be partly explained byimprovements in the surveillance system, says thereport.

Cases of Salmonella have also risen but this seems tobe the result of more member states reporting on itcompared to 2008, the first year the report was done.

EFSA and the ECDC are at the mercy of data frommember states for the report. It is widely acknowledgedthat many cases of food poisoning go unreported sothis assessment is probably just the tip of an iceberg.

Furthermore, member states have made mistakes withdata in the past and a previous report is consequentlyhaving to be rewritten. This affected 2012 and 2013data.

BENEO health claim published inOfficial Journal

OfficialJournal

The European Commission regulation authorising thehealth claim on Orafti Inulin "contributes to normalbowel function" has been published in the

12 December (L328/46).

The applicant, BENEO-Orafti, has also securedexclusive use of the claim for five years because it isbased on an unpublished, proprietary study.

The company wanted to make a claim about transit butEFSA only find evidence for the normal bowel functionclaim which is achieved by increasing stool frequency.

The product is made of native chicory inulin and theNDA panel at EFSA said there was evidence that ithelped maintain normal defecation by increasing stoolfrequency.

The company has to provide information to theconsumer that the beneficial effect is obtained with adaily intake of 12g of chicory inulin.

The claim can only be used on foods which provide forat least this 12g daily intake of native chicory inulin.



High fibre claim set for ban

A European Commission draft proposal to ban the claimabout high fibre, sourdough rye bread has been sent tothe EU's trading partners.

The applicant, Oy Karl Fazer AB, wanted to claim thatthis type of bread reduced post-prandial glycaemicresponses when compared with the effect of consumingglucose.

However, the European Food Safety Authorityconcluded that almost any carbohydrate-containingfood would reduce post-prandial blood glucoseresponses when compared with the same responsesafter consuming glucose.

The proposal to ban the health claim is expected to goto a vote by member states in the Standing Committeein Brussels early next year.

Trading partners have until 14 February to issuecomments.

New acting head of Swedish NationalFood Administration

Annica Sohlstroem was appointed actingdirector-general of the Swedish National FoodAdministration on 10 December, taking over from StigOrust Fjord, who is now director-general of the CabinetOffice.

Ms Sohlstroem joins from the aid organisation, ForumSyd, where she has been director general since 2010.

She worked at the National Food Administration from2001 to 2010 as firstly chief nutritionist and later head ofnutrition.

(EU Food Policy 07 June 2013).

Mr Stig joined the NFA from the Social Insurance Officein 2013 and was appointed until 2019 to replace IngerAndersson

Cheese and drink claims likely to bebanned early next year

Draft European Commission proposals which wouldban health claims about probiotics and carbohydratesolutions have been sent to the EU's trading partners.

The texts concern the application from E-piim for aheart health claim about Lactobacillus plantarumTENSIA and the application from the British SpecialistNutrition Association about carbohydrate solutionsmaintaining endurance performance.

The first text, which will go to a vote in the StandingCommittee early next year, says that the TENSIA

semi-hard Edam type "heart cheese" is not proven tomaintain normal blood pressure.

EFSA issued a negative Opinion on what was a secondattempt by E-piim to secure a claim for the product.

With regard to the BSNA application, EFSA said thatinsufficient information was provided to demonstrate theeffect of carbohydrate solutions on performance asopposed to drinking water or electrolyte solutions.

Both applications were for Article 13.5 functional claimsand both requested protection of proprietary data.

The European Commission will need a qualifiedmajority in the Standing Committee to ban the claimsbut so far member states have not raised anyopposition.

New flavouring applications

The company, Silesia Gerhard Hanke, has applied tomarket a grill flavour concentrate in the EU, under therules set out in the Regulation 1331/2008 whichestablishes and EU positive list of flavourings.

The European Food Safety Authority's CEF panel willevaluate safety.

The European Commission will then consider the EFSAOpinion before discussing with member states whetherto authorise the flavouring or not.

Separately, Senomyx Inc has applied to market theflavouring 2-(4-Methylphenoxy-N-(1H-pyraz ol-3-yl) -N-(thiophen-2-ylmethyl) acetamide.

Nestle Parliament meeting topromote smaller portions for kids

Nestle will discuss its development of on-packmessages highlighting smaller portion sizes for childrencompared to adults at the rescheduled meeting onportions in the European Parliament in mid-March.

The meeting, which had to be rescheduled due to thesecurity lockdown in Brussels last month, will discusshow to talk to consumers about eating smaller portions,according to Nestle's Gisele Fournier.

EU Food Policy,Speaking to she said Nestle had madecommitments to issue portion guidance on foods forchildren and families and would be reaching its target ofputting this information on pack next year.

"It is quite a challenge in terms of what is a portionsize," she said.

Nestle showed us one example it was working onfeaturing the cereal brand, Cheerios, part of its jointventure with General Mills.



The pack would suggest that kids have 7-9 tablespoonswhereas an adult would have 9-14 tablespoons. Itwould also recommend 125ml of milk and a glass ofwater.

"Portions need to be adjusted according to age, heightand physical activity," says the mock-up packaging.

The European food trade association,FoodDrinkEurope, has agreed industry-wide portionsizes for breakfast cereal - either 30g or 45g dependingon the density of the cereal.

But Nestle wants to develop a system that differentiatesbetween child and adult portions. "If we make itinteresting, we hope we will be followed," said MsFournier.

As part of its commitment, Nestle has expanded its99kcal range of chocolate biscuits and is launching newconfectionary products with a smaller portion sizecompared to the standard product.

Italian advertising body in rulingagainst cranberry claim

The Italian advertising standards body has ruled againsta health claim on a cranberry supplement concerningurinary tract and cystitis infections but, controversially,did not refer to the EU health claims law.

The IAP (Istituto dell'Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria) saidthe company, Specchiasol, had exaggerated claims inthe marketing of the NOCIST food supplement.

The IAP said the marketing material and the brandname, NOCIST, itself were misleading.

There are no approved EU health claims for cranberry'seffects on urinary tract infections but the IAP did not usethis as a reason for rejecting the claim.

Instead, it asked the company for evidence and rejectedthe claim on the basis of this.

More vitamin D fortification urged bySwedish food agency

More milk products, vegetable drinks, and fats and oilsshould be fortified with vitamin D because ofdeficiencies, according to the Swedish National FoodAdministration (NFA).

Following a consultation on proposals to fortify morefoods with vitamin D, it has ruled out adding it to butter.

Although in May, the NFA suggested that sweeteneddairy products should not be fortified, dieticians haveargued that more than half the products on the marketare sweetened and so, not to allow fortification would

be very limiting.

Although fish, shellfish and fortified milk are goodsources of vitamin D, many Swedish consumers do notget enough, it says.

During the summer, sunlight on the skin is the mainsource of the vitamin but during the winter people getvery little sun in Sweden.

With the revision of the original proposal, there will nowbe a fresh round of comments.

EFSA gives green light forrebaudioside M

The European Food Safety Authority has given thegreen light for rebaudioside M to be included in theauthorisation for the natural no calorie sweetener,steviol glycosides (E 960), known as stevia.

The ANS panel concluded that this type of rebaudiosideis not a safety concern.

Commercial stevia extracts have been found to containmeasurable levels of rebaudioside M but it is not listedas one of the steviol glycosides permitted.

The current acceptable daily intake of 4mg/kgbodyweight a day can be applied to total steviolglycosides, EFSA said.

Animal meal - EFSA says more dataneeded on human risks

More data is needed to know whether feeding animalswith treated Jatropha seed kernels poses a risk tohumans, the European Food Safety Authority has said.

In its Opinion, it said that the feed did not pose a risk topigs at the levels proposed.

But when it looked at the transfer rate from feed to milk,eggs or animal tissue in terms of what humans wouldbe exposed to, it said "more data are needed to drawconclusions on human risks".

Following oil extraction from the seeds for biodieselproduction, the kernels have a high protein content,making them attractive as animal feed.

However, they contain toxic substances whichcompanies want to extract before using the rest in feed.

But the Contaminants Panel said there were substantialuncertainties and a lack of relevant studies on thepresence of phorbol esters.



Consumers warned not to takecaffeine powder

Consumers have been warned not to take caffeinepowder being sold through Internet sites because theymight poison themselves.

The Swedish National Food Administration says purecaffeine powder is being sold with instructions to takeone sixteenth of a teaspoon a day (200mg).

But toxicologist Emma Halldin Ankarberg has toldconsumers that it is "almost impossible" to dispense thisamount with precision.

A cup of coffee typically contains about 100 milligrams.

The Swedish Poison Centre said that caffeine poisoningcauses nausea, vomiting and tremors and can, athigher doses, lead to seizures and disturbance to theheart rhythm.

Global Energy Balance Networkbacked by Coca-Cola shuts

The Global Energy Balance Network, the obesityresearch group backed by Coca-Cola, is discontinuingoperations due to "resource limitations", according to ashort statement on its website.

All the other information has been taken off the site andthe GEBN says the closure is "effective immediately".

The non-profit organisation claimed that the $1.5 millionit received from Coca-Cola had no influence on its work.

But emails obtained by journalists in Novembersuggested that the company helped pick its leaders,edited its mission statement and suggested articles andvideos for its website.

One email from Coca-Cola executives proposed thatthe GEBN would use social media and run apolitical-style campaign to counter the "shrill rhetoric" ofthe "public health extremists" who want to limit or taxfoods deemed unhealthy.

Coca-Cola later acknowledged that it had not beensufficiently transparent about its involvement.

New York TimesThe first reported Coca-Cola'sinvolvement in August this year.

The GEBM said its mission was “to connect andengage multi-disciplinary scientists and other expertsaround the globe dedicated to applying and advancingthe science of energy balance to achieve healthierliving”.

But critics say it was set up to downplay the role of junkfood in obesity by promoting the idea that lack ofexercise, not bad diet, was primarily responsible for the

epidemic.

EFSA advises on E. coli

The spread of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli(EAEC) could be through asympomatic food handlers,the European Food Safety Authority said this week in areport on the pathogen.

EAEC have been associated with travellers' diarrhoeain children in both low income and high income regions,and with severe diarrhoea in patients with impairedimmunity and urinary tract infections in many countriesincluding EU member states.

The report highlights the outbreak in Germany in 2011linked to fenugreek seeds, which killed 54 people.

It also says that, apart from this 2011 outbreak, there isvery little data on outbreaks and no reportingrequirements for EAEC in animals and food.

Other outbreaks have been linked to goat's milk (2006)and curry leaves (2013).

The Opinion says E. coli takes many forms and statesthat "multiple pathogen outbreaks in which a range ofpathogens as well as EAEC are implicated are beingincreasingly identified".

The emergence of mixed EAEC/STEC pathotype E. coliis likely to be an ongoing low frequency event, it says.

It also warns that there have been foodborne outbreaksof EAEC in recent years in which the causative strainshave exhibited antimicrobial resistance.

The Opinion stressed the need for surveillance and forfurther research, particularly into better detection tests.

In Brief

Vote on invasive species listThe European Parliament approved a non-bindingresolution opposing a draft EU list of 36 invasive alienspecies this week at its plenary in Strasbourg.

The list is proposed by the Commission to prevent thespread of these species but MEPs say the mostproblematic are missing from the draft.

Furthermore, they say that some species which do notcause significant negative impacts are listed.

EFSA criticised at SymposiumDifferences between the chair of the EFSAmanagement board, Sue Davies, and the executivedirector, Bernhard Url, were alleged this week at theCity University Symposium on BREXIT.

The academic, Erik Millstone, argued that Ms Davieswas trying to make EFSA more transparent but that Dr



Url was insisting scientific discussions must go onbehind closed doors.

Prof Millstone argued that EFSA was still subject to"corporate capture" and argued that while it hadperformed well on health claims, it was struggling withtoxicological and ecological files.

EFSA warning on small hive beetleThe small hive beetle, a pest which affects bees, couldspread from Italy to other member states rapidly, EFSAwarned this week.

Present in Italy since 2014, the small hive beetle canspread rapidly over large distances if their hives aremoved, EFSA said.

Restrictions on the movement of honey bees,bumblebees and commodities from infested tonon-infested areas should therefore be maintained, itsaid.

Pig meat aidAgriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan announced moreaid for pig meat this week but said he did not agree withsome member states that there should be a return toexport refunds.

The more generous terms will apply from January 4.

EFSA issues mollusc adviceEFSA has evaluated possible alternatives to the heattreatment of molluscs as required by EU legislationbefore they are placed on the market.

The Biological Hazards panel said that the current rules- heat treatment to 90 degrees for 90 seconds - canlead to different levels of virus reduction.

It depends how long it takes to heat up to thetemperature and then cool down.

Farm incomes fallNew figures released by the EU statistical office,Eurostat, this week show that EU farm incomes fell inreal terms by 4.3% in 2015 compared to last year.

This masks large differences with drops of -39% inGermany, -23% in Poland and -20% in Luxembourgand increases in other member states.

Child labour in prawn tradeAn Associated Press investigation found that ThaiUnion, owner of John West in the UK, has beenconnected to forced labour, child labour and badworking conditions in Thailand.

The investigation tracked prawns from the Gig Peelingfactory to major Thai exporting firms and then trackedwhere the products ended up globally.

The investigation found that migrants, includingchildren, were forced to work for little or no pay peelingprawns which were destined for Europe, the US andAsia.

John West itself was not directly implicated in thefindings.

EFSA makes more data availableThe European Food Safety Authority has made moredata available to the public through its data warehouse.

This includes national dietary surveys.

Chair announced of new food markets committeeAgriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan this weekannounced that former Dutch agriculture minister, CeesVeerman, will be chair of the new Agri-MarketsCommittee.

The other members will be announced early next year.

Wiley to publish EFSA journalThe European Food Safety Authority's EFSA Journalwill be published by Wiley as of January 2016.

EFSA says Wiley is the largest society publisher andthird globally for open access journal publishing.

It says using Wiley will give it an improved platform forthe journal, fewer errors in outputs and greater visibilityand impact.

CEO fundraising for new report on EFSACorporate Europe Observatory has launched afundraising campaign to secure €5,000 to look atalleged conflicts of interest EFSA including links ofpanel members to agribusiness corporations.

It wants to promote stronger independence rules atEFSA as well as "expose agribusiness lobbying" on EUdecisions on GMOs and pesticides.

Ministers raise concerns about imported honeyFive delegations expressed concern about the quality ofhoney imported into the EU at the Agriculture Councilon Monday.

Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland andSlovenia are concerned about the competitiveness ofthe EU beekeepers.

Several delegations said control services needed to useappropriate analytical methods on imported honey.

These need to detect authenticity and fraud, they said.But ministers disagreed on whether country of originlabelling needs to be reinforced.

Council adopts position on animal healthThe Agriculture Council adopted the Council position atfirst reading on the Animal Health law on Monday.

It aims to ensure high standards of animal and publichealth in the EU. The European Parliament adopted itsposition in April of last year and a trilogue agreementwas reached in June 2015.

The vote in Parliament to confirm the deal is expectedearly next year.

No objections on transport of liquids



The Council said this week that it would not oppose theadoption of a Commission regulation allowingderogations for transport of liquid oils and fats by sea.

New blood glucose claimFood For Health Ireland has submitted a health claimapplication for a claim about helping to "regulate bloodglucose levels following food consumption".

The product is known as FHI LFC24 and is understoodto be peptides developed by FHI.

Le Pen voting fraud investigationThe co-chair of the Group of European of Nations andFreedoms in the European Parliament, Marcel De Graff,has had sanctions imposed after he voted for theNational Front leader, Marine Le Pen, who had left theplenary.

But centre-right MEP, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, whowitnessed it, says the scandal is not over and thatNicolas Bay, general secretary of the National Front,has also voted on behalf of Mrs Le Pen.

She called on the Parliament to "fully assess thepolitical responsibility of Mrs Le Pen" as chair of theENF group.



EU Food Policy.com

Editor-‐in-‐chief

Kate Trollope

[email protected]

Director

Patrick Bartle:

patrick.bartle:@eufoodpolicy.com

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