News

Israel has granted the world's first permit for lab-grown tissue imitating beef. Aleph Farms' "Petit Steak" was given the legislative green light. To produce its products, Aleph Farms uses GMO- and antibiotic-free starter cells from a single fertilized egg from a Black Angus cow and grows the imitation tissue in a controlled laboratory environment. Apart from these starter cells, there are no animal-derived ingredients in the culturing process or in the final Petit Steak product. No application has yet been made in the European Union for the placing on the market of laboratory-grown meat-mimicking tissues.
More information is available here.

On 23/01/2024, the European Parliament and the Council reached a preliminary agreement on voluntary digital labelling of fertilisers. The new Regulation will allow manufacturers and suppliers of fertiliser products to provide information on labels in digital form if the products carry the CE marking - i.e. meet European health, safety and environmental standards. For fertilisers sold in large quantities, sellers will only be able to use digital labelling if they also publish product information physically at the point of sale. The formal adoption of the Regulation will be followed by a two-and-a-half-year period for the development of technical rules. The European Commission has welcomed the agreement.
More information is available here and here.

On 26/01/2024, the European Commission authorised the use of genetically modified maize and renewed the authorisation of two genetically modified rapeseed crops as food and feed. The authorisations are based on a favourable scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which concluded that these crops are as safe as their conventional counterparts. The Commission decisions do not allow the cultivation of these crops in the EU, but only their import into the EU from third countries for use as food and animal feed. The authorisations are valid for 10 years and all products based on these crops will be subject to strict EU rules on labelling and traceability.
More information is available here.

Flanders has approved an amended decree setting limits on nitrogen emissions until 2030. The Belgian region has so far been well above the nitrogen emission limits set by the European Union, so the new limit will lead to changes in Flemish farming practices, in some cases even to the closure of operations. Local farmers plan to fight the decree legally.
More information is available here.

On 06/02/2024, the European Commission is expected to publish its long-awaited proposal for the Union's Climate Targets 2040. Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, who has taken over from his predecessor Frans Timmermans, said in October 2023 that the Commission would present a Communication on the 2040 climate targets in the first quarter of 2024 (by 2050 the EU should achieve climate neutrality). According to Hoekstra, a Scientific Advisory Committee has been working on the Communication, including, for example, a proposal to set a minimum target of a 90% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 or a proposal to strengthen the role of plants in nutrition. Environment Ministers discussed the Commission's plans on 15/01/2024 during the Council of Ministers. Several EU countries have already expressed support for the plans to reduce emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 (DK, PL, BG, IE, FI, SE, LU, NL, ES), but Hungary has expressed scepticism, while France, Italy and Germany have not yet taken a position. Once the Commission has presented its proposal, the ordinary legislative process will start, involving the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Negotiations usually take around two years, in this case the length of the process may be affected by the upcoming European elections (June 2024).
More information is available here.