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The European Commission has approved an Irish investment plan of € 200 million for long-term investments in the food industry. The EC approved the Irish plan on 04/02/2020, with the scheme running from 2020 to 2025, and will provide grants to SMEs and large companies processing and marketing agricultural products. The plan is primarily aimed at investing in innovations that would not have been feasible without public support. The Commission has also ensured that the scheme complies with the State aid rules in agriculture as it will not lead to undue distortions of competition and trade.
More information is available here.

Food company Danone will provide a financial investment to the French company Phenix, whose activities are focused on reducing food waste. Phenix has created a platform to combat food waste, designed for each link in the food chain, from manufacturer to restaurants. Its customers include e.g. Coca - Cola or Carrefour. The solution portfolio includes various forms ranging from donations to NGOs, food banks, discount sales through consumer-focused applications, or feed processing. The amount of Danone's investment is not known, but in 2018 Phenix was supported by other companies with € 15 million.
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The British tax levied in 2018 on soft drinks containing more than 5 g of sugar per 100 ml of beverage brings positive results. According to a study published in PLOS Medicine, 52% of beverages would fall into this category before tax, while in February 2019 it was only 15%. Fruit and milk-based drinks and companies selling less than 1 million litters per year are exempt from tax. The author of the study, Peter Scarborough, an associate professor at Oxford University, proposed extending the tax to include exceptions.
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The Greek Ministry of Agriculture confirmed last week that African swine fever (ASF) has been confirmed for the first time in Greece. The infected animal was found near the border with Bulgaria and northern Macedonia, in an area called Serres. In order to prevent the spread of ASF, the authorities banned the export of pigs and pig meat products from the region concerned. Greece is the tenth EU country affected by African swine fever.
More information is available here.

On 04/02/2020, the Institute for European Environmental Policy published a vision for the future of the European dairy industry, in which authors Faustine Bas-Defossez and Ben Allen stressed the need to develop an EU-wide definition of sustainable food and diet, together with the need to support Member States in financial mechanisms for sustainable food as a tool to subsidize the purchase of healthy and sustainable food available to all. They also recommend that the EU gradually phase out reduced VAT rates on unsustainable fertilizers and pesticides. The dairy sector accounts for 12% of European agricultural production, although dairy farms have decreased by 81% over the past 30 years, but production remains stable.
A vision for the future of the European dairy industry available here.