News

A UK scheme that labels pre-packed food in red, amber or green according to their level of healthiness was rejected by Mediterranean countries at EU level but is slowly gaining momentum across Europe. Read more.

For the moment, there is no evidence to suggest manufacturers are using lower quality or less nutritious ingredients in food and drink products in Eastern Europe, the Commission has said, after meeting with manufacturers and consumer groups on dual quality products. Read more.

Counterfeit certification labels, such as fake organic or protected designation of origin (PDO) labels, continues to be a major problem for the European food industry, according to a report by Europol. Read more

EU agri-food exports were €10.6 billion in April 2017, a level equal to the average of the last four years. The latest figures show that the highest increases in monthly export values (April 2016 compared to April 2017) were recorded for Turkey (+ €87 million) and Korea (+ €86 million). Other gains in EU agri-food exports came mainly from Asia (Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia). Monthly exports to China, the USA, Egypt and Algeria decreased. As with the previous month, the biggest growth in exports came from milk powder. Full details.

Agriculture ministers Marián Jurečka from the Czech Republic, Gabriela Matečná from Slovakia and Dejan Židan from Slovenia have stepped up their calls for EU-wide legislation on unfair trading practices in the agri-food supply chain, urging the European Commission to bring forward strong legislative proposals “as quickly as possible”.