News

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) regularly reports that a third of the foods available to consumers ends up as food waste or food losses. According to a research team from the Dutch University of Wageningen, however, FAO data are no longer up to date - figures reported by FAO were first calculated in 2005 and published in 2007. Researchers' methodology and conversion of food waste to calories lost in the supply chain do not consider consumers. According to a study by a Dutch university, a reference 8% (in calories) of food waste could increase to 19% after applying the correct methodology. More information is available here.

A group of 33 scientists from around the world published a study on 03/03/2020, pointing out that the risks of some substances in food contact materials are currently unknown. According to researchers, there are substances that appear in food contact materials where the risks are properly investigated and assessed (bisphenol A or phthalates), but thousands of substances lack a proper assessment of their toxicity or the impact of their exposure on consumer health. According to the study, this mainly concerns recycled materials and alternatives to plastic packaging, such as paper or cardboard packaging. Around 160 world citizens' groups, in response to the study, called on the European Commission, among other things, to improve legislation on food contact materials. The European Commission is currently reviewing the legislation, the report was to be published in 2020, but the Commission postponed publication until 2022. More information is available here.

Swiss company Givandon introduced a new red colouring, specially developed for dyeing vegetable meat substitutes. The product, called Vegebrite Veggie Reds combines beetroot with other natural extracts and is intended for any plant-based meat substitutes, especially for raw vegetable product alternatives intended to replace meat in hamburgers. The colour of the raw material turns red in the raw state, the resulting food turns brown by heat treatment. The new colouring does’t need to be marked with an "E" number, its use is not restricted. More information is available here.

Chinese government veterinary research institute reportedly developed a vaccine against African swine fever, according to a statement from the institute last week. A weakened first strain of infection was used to produce the vaccine, and the vaccine was confirmed to be safe and effective. According to the Institute spokesman, the vaccine is a promising prevention against the spread of the disease in China and other countries, the expected date of commencement of production has not yet been indicated. The United States also confirmed the development of the vaccine in January 2020, but experts say it will take years for the US African swine fever vaccine to be available to farmers. More information is available here.

Last week, German Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner said it was very unlikely that imported goods, including food, would be a source of contagion for spreading coronavirus in Europe. Food supply is considered safe, according to the German risk assessment authorities, no case of virus spread through contaminated food or imported food and goods has been proven (here). Representatives of Italy ask the European Commission to extend the deadline for submission of applications for direct payments from the CAP until 15/10/2020, for rural development programs until 31/12/2020 (here). In connection with the spread of coronavirus, the European Parliament was closed to the public on 02/03/2020 for three weeks, but the work of the European Parliament continues. Emergency measures also moved the sessions of the European Parliament plenary from Strasbourg to Brussels. Due to travel restrictions, some public conferences, including the EDA Dairy Policy Conference organized by the European Dairy Association, have been cancelled.