News

The food Company Unilever is committed to reducing the volume of plastic packaging used by 100,000 tonnes each year to a final value of 600,000 tonnes by 2025. This would be a 50% reduction. At the same time, Unilever wants to accelerate the use of 100% recyclable or compostable packaging. Over the past few weeks, Nestlé has launched a research centre focused on solving plastic packaging problems. Nestlé aims to use only 100% reusable or recyclable packaging by 2025 with minimal environmental impact, while maintaining food safety and freshness. Nestlé will focus on developing reusable packaging solutions, more easily recyclable packaging, alternative packaging materials, and research on biopolymers - materials that are biodegradable and degradable in the composting process.
More information is available here and here.

The European Parliament plenary voted on 10/10/2019 on the authorization of three GM crops resistant to pesticides (two types of maize and soybeans) and a total of sixty-three pesticides. The European Parliament has refused authorization of substances, the result of the vote is not binding on the European Commission, and the Commission does not have to respond to Parliament's opinion. Pascal Canfin (Renew, FR), Chair of the EP Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, said it was unacceptable for European farmers to be banned from active substances that continue to be used in third countries - a ban on the use of these substances should therefore apply commodities imported from third countries.
More information is available here.

Agrochemical Company Bayer is considering initiating legal proceedings should the European Commission and EU Member States decide not to extend the license for the use of glyphosate after 2022. France and Austria plan to introduce a ban on the use of glyphosate by 2022, Germany by 2023. The agrochemical company Bayer is considering initiating legal proceedings should the European Commission and EU Member States decide not to extend the license for the use of glyphosate after 2022. France and Austria plan to introduce a ban on the use of glyphosate by 2022, Germany by 2023. At the end of 2018, the EU glyphosate license was extended to 5 years, expiring in December 2022. According to the evaluation of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), glyphosate is not a carcinogenic substance.
More information is available here.

Dutch Minister of Agriculture Carola Schouten said last week that the Netherlands will provide a voluntary scheme of EUR 180 million, which should be used, for example, to compensate farmers who decide to close their pig farms to reduce nitrogen emissions. The scheme should be available from November 2019, in addition to the closure of some farmers; it should also be used to support innovation and investment in pig breeding to reduce emissions. The Schouten voluntary scheme will provide support to farmers who decide to stop their activities, while contributing to strengthening the sustainability of those farms that will be maintained, which will have a positive impact on the environmental impact of agriculture.
More information is available here.

Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis stressed in his speech at the 6th meeting of the EU Animal Welfare Platform in Brussels on 07/10/2019 that legislation on animal welfare must remain a key point for the incoming Commission. Andriukaitis has also launched its second EU Animal Welfare Reference Centre, which supports and educates in the field of legal protection of animals. According to the Commission, a major achievement of the platform is the ban on cosmetic animal testing in 2009 or the promotion of animal welfare in the EU - Mercosur trade agreement.
More information is available here.