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Vegetable substitutes for meat products are also gaining popularity in fast food chains, and the market for plant alternatives is growing significantly. Burger King launched a new vegetarian burger in Europe last week, the Unilever licensed Rebel Whopper is now available in more than 2,500 stores in 25 countries. Burger was created by Vegetarian Butcher, a Dutch-based company that specializes in the production of vegetable meat substitutes. Also competing McDonalds has recently teamed up with Nestlé SA and Beyond Meat to produce their own vegetarian burgers, which should also be available in the European Union; Smithfield Market, the UK's largest meat wholesale market, also began selling meat substitutes for the first time in its 800-year history.

The cereal and snack maker Kellogg Europe committed itself to reducing organic waste by 50% by 2030 on 12/11/2019. Organic waste is produced during food production due to e.g. cleaning processes or quality controls. Kellogg is interested in innovative organic waste processing - in the UK, for example, the company has partnered with the Seven Bro7hers brewery to process organic cereal waste into beer. Kellogg plans to donate pre-packaged products that cannot be sold due to, for example, packaging damage during shipping.

The Council of the European Union asks the European Commission to review and update the rules on the protection of animals during transport. In particular, according to the draft Council conclusions, the Commission should intensify cooperation with individual EU Member States and demand more effective enforcement of the existing rules on the protection of animals during transport. The Ministers of Agriculture should then approve the final version of the Council conclusions at the December Council.
More information is available here.

On 13/11/2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published new scientific opinions to help the EU update measures to address animal welfare risks. One of the opinions concerns the whole process of slaughtering poultry from receiving and unloading poultry through stunning to bleeding and killing, EFSA proposes to introduce a number of preventive and remedial measures. According to the report, the biggest risk is employee misconduct, so EFSA recommends thorough staff training for the various stages of slaughter. In addition, EFSA will publish opinions on pigs (March 2020), cattle (June 2020), and other animal species (December 2020).
More information is available here.

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) during a meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) on 7 - 8/11/2019 in Geneva opposed the European Union's position on a policy change on maximum residue limits and consumer protection for a wide range of pesticides used in the cultivation of citrus fruits and bananas, which have been used for a long time without causing problems. A total of 17 WTO members, including the USA, Canada, India and many South American countries, have expressed concern about the potential negative impact, especially on banana producers in developing countries, as there are currently no other effective alternatives to plant protection.
More information is available here.