News

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an opinion in May on titanium dioxide (E 171), a long-discussed food additive used in food bleaching. According to the EFSA opinion, titanium dioxide can no longer be considered as a safe food additive because its genotoxicity cannot be ruled out. According to current information, the European Commission is ready to present a proposal to ban the use of titanium dioxide in the European Union, negotiations with the Member States will begin on 18/05/2021. It is not yet known on what date the substance will be banned and how long the transition period will be set. The ban can cause problems not only when using the substance as a food additive in food, but also in food supplements or food packaging.
More information is available here.

On 11/05/2021, the French Ministry of Agriculture announced the provision of almost €90 million to farmers to compensate for losses caused by bird flu, which affected poultry farming at the turn of 2020/2021. This is only the first step in helping farmers, according to Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie, the final amount of compensation is likely to be higher. Of this €90 million, €40 million is earmarked for farmers, €30 million for animals and the hatching egg sector, and €9 million for farmers who are unable to sell their produce due to veterinary restrictions. Processors of raw materials will then be entitled to claim a total of €10 million in the form of repayable cash advances.
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On 12/05/2021, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs presented a new Animal Welfare Action Plan, the new rules should apply at both national and international levels. The new action plan builds on existing world standards, recognizes animals as sentient beings by law, and will be a commitment to a range of measures for livestock, wildlife, and pets. The plan includes, for example, a ban on the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter, including a commitment to review the use of cages for laying hens, farrowing cages for pigs or microchips for cats.
More information is available here.

On 04/05/2021, the European Commission adopted rules to extend to 2021 flexibilities for carrying out checks required for CAP support. More flexible rules were adopted on 16 April 2020, due until the end of 2020. The more flexible rules originally adopted on 16/04/2020 were to apply until the end of 2020, however, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Commission has decided to extend the flexibility of controls in 2021 (retroactively from the beginning of 2021).
More information is available here.

The United Nations (UN) has called for the transfer of potentially harmful environmental subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy to measures to promote climate and biodiversity. At the same time, the UN calls for a review and adjustment of subsidies paid to agriculture, fisheries, and other industries. According to the UN, several subsidies lead to overuse of fertilizers, deforestation, the expansion of agricultural land boundaries, and the strengthening of animal production.
More information is available here.