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Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said during the Green Week that the Farm to Fork Strategy will also include a proposal governing genetic engineering. According to Kyriakides, the European Commission is assessing the current situation. In addition, the strategy should include binding targets on both the use and risks associated with the use of pesticides, as well as labelling measures based on the origin of the ingredients and the nutritional value. German Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner supported the use of new breeding techniques, including genetic engineering. Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski supported the introduction of mandatory animal welfare standards, while farmers strengthening welfare conditions should be more supported by CAP resources. In this context, Wojciechowski supported the provision of an adequate budget for the CAP. The Commissioner also stressed that 52% of EU land is owned by only 3% of farmers and therefore he wants to review the current situation in each Member State.

Consumers are relatively indifferent to the emergence of dual-quality food on the market, according to the latest study conducted by the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). According to the results of the JRC, most EU consumers do not distinguish whether foods sold in their country contain a different composition from products of the same brand in another Member State. The JRC study consists of four sections on the economic impact of dual-quality food sales, one report based on a survey of 10,600 consumers in six EU countries (DE, HU, LV, SE, ES and RO) and 6 different foods to assess willingness to pay for different versions of the same food brands. In most cases (23 out of 30) consumers did not observe the differences between the national version and the version from another EU country. According to the results of the study, dual quality plays only a minimal role in consumer preferences, and consumers do not pay attention to comparing compositions. The JRC study is not yet publicly available.

The Commission's definition of what all includes the group of single-use plastic products can be problematic and can contradict own Single-use plastic directive. This follows from a study by the independent consultancy agency Eunomia published on 21/01/2020. By 07/2020, the EU is to publish guidelines on the Directive, which also regulates what products are a single-use plastic product. The study notes that the current definition excludes certain materials from the ban because they are not officially considered to be plastics - e.g. natural unmodified polymers such as viscose or lyocell polymers. Thus, these materials could continue to be used, although they may not be biodegradable, and are as harmful to the environment as conventional plastics. The study therefore recommends extending the scope of the Single-use plastic directive in general until the July deadline before the guidelines are issued.
More information is available here and here.

The Italian Competition Authority concluded five investigations into misleading consumers - this was misleading information provided on pasta packaging. In four cases, the pasta manufacturers committed themselves to changing the packaging and information on the website in order to clearly distinguish the origin of the pasta and the origin of the wheat. The fine of € 1 million was imposed only on Lidl, which did not submit any commitments to modify the information on the product packaging during the preliminary investigation.
More information is available here and here.

The European Police Office (Europol) informed on 20/01/2020 that an organized group that had trafficked horse meat unfit for human consumption in Spain had been exposed. Cattle, farms and veterinarians were involved in the illegal trade and counterfeiting of documents and horse passports. Compared to the 2013 scandal, when horse meat was presented as beef and sold to several EU countries, the current case is alarming precisely because it is unsuitable for consumption.
More information is available here.