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The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE) has published the steps and aspects needed to put in place sustainable food systems in the European Union through the new Farm-to-Fork strategy. According to DG SANTE, this should be an integrated approach to strategy management; inclusion (involving all actors), partnerships, and broad social consensus in favour of sustainable food systems; the fair transition process must allow all stakeholders a level playing field - no one should be left behind; in the transition process, the emphasis must be on research and innovation; financial support must be provided to accelerate investment and support actions; and cities and rural communities must also be involved in the process. The European Commission should present the first official information on the European Green Deal, which includes the Farm-to-Fork strategy, on 11/12/2019. According to preliminary information, in the framework of the European Green Deal, the Commission should submit legislation aiming at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 by March 2020, and by October 2020 the Commission should present how the strengthening of greenhouse gas reduction targets should be achieved by 2030 by at least 50-55%. A new plan to support the circular economy should also be presented in March 2020. The Farm-to-Fork strategy should then set a target of 50% reduction in the use of chemical pesticides by 2030 and an extension of the area under organic farming. The Commission is also planning to revise all relevant EU legislation that should be affected by the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork strategy, which should be completed by June 2021.
More information is available here.

A total of five MEPs from different political factions set up the European Food Forum (EPF) in the European Parliament last month; it will be launched on 10/12/2019. According to the founders of the Forum - Clara Aguilera (S&D, ES), Brando Benifei (S&D, IT), Róża Thun (EPP, PL), Asim Ademov (EPP, BG) and Irène Tolleret (Renew Europe, FR), the Forum should facilitate policy dialogue on sustainable food systems; actors in the food supply chain; and organizations representing the public and research. The Food Forum will not itself adopt its own positions, but will monitor and discuss current developments in the area of food policy at EU level, with the aim of developing the EU Common Food Policy.
More information is available here.

The Netherlands have joined France or Belgium in recent weeks and announced plans to introduce colour-coded nutrition labelling for food using the NutriScore system. However, according to NL, this will happen at the earliest in mid-2021, after the Scientific Committee has adapted the NutriScore system to the Dutch conditions. Developed by the French national health agency Santé Publique France, the Nutri-Score system is set more to nutritional standards, food availability and culinary culture in France. An example could be the evaluation of, for example, cheeses and fish, which according to the Dutch dietary guidelines are considered healthy food, while NutriScore marks both with a red label = a negative indicator. Santé Publique France states that the NutriScore system should be reviewed every three years, but only in order to update it according to scientific knowledge and developments in the field of public health information. However, representatives of FoodDrinkEurope, representing European food and beverage producers, said that NutriScore may not coincide with nutritional guidelines across EU Member States. NutriScore, therefore, according to FoodDrinkEurope should be assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), this idea was supported by Italian MEP Paolo de Castro (S&D). According to de Castro, NutriScore is inappropriate because, in addition to informing consumers, it also 'guides' them and determines which foods are 'bad' and which 'good'. However, EFSA does not have a mandate to assess NutriScore – it would have to be decided by the European Commission.

Last week, the Italian Prime Minister described NutriScore as 'nonsense', an unfair instrument that penalizes Mediterranean production, including olive oil and traditional cheeses, while encouraging the consumption of products such as Coca-Cola Zero.
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Slovak Minister of Agriculture Gabriela Matečná announced on 02/12/2019 that food controls throughout the Slovak supply chain were strengthened. According to her, Slovakia is one of the most successful EU countries in the field of food safety and control system due to high safety standards and frequent food controls. According to the ministry, 47,722 inspections were carried out in the period from 1 January to 30 October 2019, which represents a year-on-year increase of 6,000 inspections. The State Veterinary and Food Administration impose fines for a number of misconducts, including the sale of goods after the expiry of the minimum durability period. The Austrian retail chain Billa has already been fined € 1 million, but Billa refuses to pay the fine. According to a new amendment to the Act, which entered into force in Slovakia in May 2019, the fine must be paid within 15 days. In the event of non-payment, companies will face additional legal consequences.
More information is available here.

World chocolate producers Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz and Barry Callebaut signed a statement on 02/12/2019 calling on the European Union, to prevent further deforestation and control human rights violations in the cocoa trade through a due diligence system (EU regulation), with the aim of ensuring a level playing field for all companies in the processing chain. Cocoa production is considered to be one of the main causes of deforestation and human rights violations. The initiative of the largest chocolate producers comes at a time when the deforestation issue is expected to be dealt within the framework of the so-called European Green Deal. The EC has refused to comment on the corporate initiative, but is considering due diligence, market control and product labelling systems with the possibility of specific measures for commodities such as soy, palm oil and beef.
More information is available here.