News

Up to 6 outbreaks of highly infectious H5N8 avian influenza have been reported in the Polish Wielkopolskie region. 65,000 chickens were affected in the region, and 50,000 chickens in the neighbouring region. Wielkopolskie region supplies up to 40% of the country's egg production. In Bulgaria, which is one of the countries most affected by African swine fever, veterinary authorities have reported new outbreaks of the disease in the north of the country, with the result that another 24,000 pigs must be killed. In the last six months, around 130,000 pigs have been killed in Bulgaria.
More information is available here.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a report concluding a large-scale study on the welfare of rabbits kept for meat production in the EU. In 2018, the Chairpersons of the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development asked EFSA to draw up two scientific opinions on welfare related to stunning and slaughter of rabbits and conditions related to slaughter for reasons other than meat production (e.g. disease control) and EP Environment Committee. The conclusions of the study point to worse welfare of rabbits in traditional cage systems compared to other systems, with organic systems being the most favourable according to EFSA. The report compared 6 different rabbit breeding methods and suggested improvements in all systems examined. Rabbits are the second largest species in the EU in terms of numbers; most rabbits are concentrated in FR, HU, IT, PT and ES. The conclusions of the report contain concrete recommendations to improve animal welfare and stress the need to collect data on the welfare of farmed rabbits across the EU that have been found to be wrong.
More information is available here.

According to the latest government data, French farmers have increased the use of plant protection agents, pesticide use increased by 24% in 2018 compared to 2017. According to statistical data, the use of pesticides in France also increased by 25% between 2009 and 2011, and 2016 and 2018.
More information is available here.

The Polish parliament discussed new legislation on taxation of sweetened drinks and small bottles of spirits last week, on the basis of a proposal from the Polish Ministry of Health in December. According to the first bill, the price of soft drinks containing sugar was to increase by 0.70 zloty (0.16 EUR) per litter, or by 0.80 zloty (0.19 EUR) if a larger proportion of sweeteners is contained in the drink. If the drink contains caffeine or guarana, the increase could be up to 1 zloty (0.22 EUR) per 1 litter of drink. Taxation should also affect a small, 300 ml bottle of alcohol (so-called 'małpka'), where each bottle will be increased by 1 zloty. However, the fee is paid not by the manufacturer but by retailers offering small bottles. The new tax law is due to enter into force in April 2020, bringing up to 3 billion zlotys (EUR 0.7 billion) per year in the state treasury. Already from 01/01/2020, an increased excise tax of 10% on alcohol, tobacco and liquid used in e-cigarettes has been applied in PL.
More information is available here.

The Portuguese Directorate-General for Health (DGS) recommends that the government of Portugal adopt one simple nutrition labelling scheme to help consumers and professionals choose and choose healthier foods. The DGS, together with the Institute of Environmental Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (ISAMB-FMUL), stated in its report that there should be only one consensus labelling system that is adaptable to products sold in Portugal. The French food labelling system using the Nutriscore colour label has received dynamic support in Europe, but has not been supported by DGS and ISAMB-FMUL.
More information is available here.