News

Members of the European Parliament voted on 18/09/2019 on the issue of patenting products obtained through conventional breeding by the European Patent Office (EPO). The European Parliament rejected the patenting of EPO products, calling on the Member States and the Commission to do everything in their power to ensure legal clarity regarding the ban on patentability of products obtained essentially by biological processes by the EPO. The issue of patenting is also discussed by agricultural experts of individual EU Member States, who will meet for further discussion on 23/09/2019.
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On 14/09/2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) launched a public consultation on the risks of high levels of pesticide residues in food. EFSA invited interested parties to submit written comments on two draft reports on chronic nutritional effects and chronic thyroid effects by 15/11/2019. Both draft reports, prepared in cooperation between EFSA and the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands (RIVM), summarize that the risk to consumers from exposure to food is well below the regulatory action threshold.
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The European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) received 3699 reports in 2018; of which 1118 cases were classified as Warnings (these cases pose serious health risks for EU citizens). The number of reports increased by 19% compared to 2017, most of the reports concerned nuts, food and vegetables. The most commonly reported problems were the occurrence of aflatoxins in nuts and the mercury content in swordfish meat. The European Commission has also received a large number of notifications concerning outbreaks of listeriosis in various EU countries. According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, 191 of the 3699 notifications concerned notifications in which the Czech Republic was listed as the country of origin or product distribution, or in which the Czech Republic was listed as a supplier. A total of 81% of notifications in the Czech Republic concerned food, 12% concerned materials and articles in contact with food, and 7% concerned feed.
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On 20/09/2019, France presented its fourth National Health and Nutrition Program, in which it committed itself to further develop and extend the use of the Nutri-Score food labelling, which aims to clearly inform consumers about the nutritional value of a product through a 5-color scale from green (foods low in fat, sugar or salt), to orange and red. Nutri-Score should be one of the key aspects of the program. The strategy is also aimed at reducing the salt, fat and sugar content of food produced by French producers. In addition, France is seeking the mandatory introduction of a Nutri-Score system at European level, i.e. in all EU Member States.

At the Strasbourg plenary session on 18/09/2019, MEPs adopted a non-binding resolution supporting the proper Brexit and allowing for a further extension of the procedure under Rule 50 if there are grounds for extending the deadline. 544 members voted in favour, 126 against and 38 abstained. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 16/09/2019, who continues to insist on leaving the EU on 31/10/2019 with or without a deal. Jean-Claude Juncker called on the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to submit operational proposals.
More information is available here.