News

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has seen a significant increase in applications for the registration of novel foods compared to the previous 14 years. Since January 2018, when the new European legislation of the new food parties came into force, EFSA has received 156 applications for registration of novel foods, incl. cell cultures of apples or proteins from mung beans. More than 100 applications are still in the approval process. Food business operators welcomed the new regulation, which is probably the reason for the large increase in the number of applications sent to the Commission and forwarded to EFSA.
More information is available here.

Meat consumption should fall from 68.7 kg per capita per year to 67.6 kg by 2030. This was stated by the European Commission in the new European Agricultural Outlook for 2030 of 16/12/2020 (available here). Beef consumption will decline in the coming years, chicken should replace pork consumption. The European Commission is forecasting change in the context of changing consumer preferences and the increased emphasis of consumers on climate protection.

More than 130 environmental organizations and independent researchers have called on the European Commission to revise the draft delegated act on taxonomy. In a delegated act, the Commission sets out what measures in the livestock sector could be considered "green", i.e., climate friendly. However, according to environmental organizations, livestock production is highly carbon-intensive, polluting, and closely linked to the problem of deforestation. It also causes problems in the areas of animal welfare and human health. Including the sector in the taxonomy, according to environmental organizations, would slow down the shift to more sustainable, more protein-based consumption. The only exception could be livestock production carried out in an organic regime.
More information is available here.

As of 14/12/2020, 5 outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza virus had been confirmed in France. In the prefecture of Landes, 3 outbreaks on duck farms were confirmed. In the town of Angresse, 3,000 ducks and chickens had to be killed, and 6,000 and 15,000 ducks on the other two affected farms. Two outbreaks have also been detected on duck farms in the prefecture of Vendée. Protection zones of 3 km and surveillance zones of 10 km have been established in the vicinity, in which the movement of poultry is prohibited, and strict hygiene measures must be observed.
More information is available here and here.

On 14/12/2020, the European Commission terminated its license to use the fungicide Mancozeb on the European market. This was based on the evaluation of the European Food Safety Authority of 20/11/2019, which questioned the safety of the active substance Mancozeb. Member States are required to withdraw all products containing it by June 2021.
More information is available here.