Europe Agri articles from July 2003

Europe Agri archives from July 2003

FOOD LABELLING: COMMISSION IN CLAMPDOWN ON MISLEADING HEALTH AND NUTRITION CLAIMS.
July 18, 2003... No legally-binding rules are yet available for the use of food claims, such as "low fat" or "high in fibres". The draft Regulation aims to harmonise the use of such claims so that products claiming to be for example "high fibre" have a defined...

SUGAR INTERVENTION PRICES FOR 2003/04 FIXED.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The European Commission has fixed the sugar intervention prices for the marketing year 2003/04 in Member States that will not produce enough sugar to cover their consumption. Prices therefore vary between the affected Member States in relation...

YET MORE TIME TO LEGALISE ILLICIT VINEYARDS.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Wine producers have been given more breathing space by a Commission Decision which extends the deadline for the legalisation of illicit vineyards in Member States. This is the second time in three months that the deadline has been put back a...

OLIVE OIL: OLD LABELS WILL REMAIN VALID FOR ANOTHER YEAR.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The European Commission has decided that olive oil producers will have more time to adapt to new rules on acceptable labelling practice. Under Regulation 1019/2002 of June 2002, only the terms "fruity", "bitter" and "pungent" are admissible...

NEW WINE LABELLING RULES PUT OFF TO USE UP OLD LABELS.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... New rules relating to what wine producers can print on their labels will enter into force on February 1, 2004, following a decision by the European Commission on July 4. The rules on the description, designation, presentation and protection of...

PLANT HEALTH: COMMISSION JOINS FIGHT AGAINST CORN ROOTWORM.
July 18, 2003... Plant health experts in the Phytosanitary Committee are looking at the question in more depth on July 17 and 18, but the broad lines of their approach are already clear. With the Commission's support, they plan to step up checks on imports of...

ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS: HYGIENE RULES FOR COLLAGEN POSTPONED.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Collagen imports to the European Union from third countries will escape new hygiene rules until September 30, 2003 because talks with suppliers on implementing the standards are still ongoing. New hygiene rules were due to come into force for...

COMPENSATION FOR FARMERS HIT BY CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER OUTBREAK.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Pig farmers in Germany, Luxembourg and Spain will receive funding from the European Commission in compensation for measures they were forced to take under programmes to eradicate Classical Swine Fever (CSF). The decision was published on July...

HELP FOR DROUGHT-HIT EU FARMERS.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Ceareals experts have given the green light to a European Commission proposal which will help farmers affected by a severe drought in some EU regions. Members of the Cereals Management Committee have agreed that as of July 4, farmers in...

COMMISSION CLEARS DIAGEO AND HEINEKEN STAKES IN NAMIBIAN BREWER.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The European Commission granted regulatory clearance on July 11 to Anglo-Dutch plans by two drinks industry heavyweights - Diageo and Heineken - to take joint control of Namibia Breweries Limited, along with another local partner. The brewery,...

EBRD UNVEILS RAFT OF FINANCING SCHEMES.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has unveiled a number of new financial assistance packages for countries in East and South-East Europe. Among others, the Bank announced on July 4 that it had agreed a USD2.5 million...

BEST AGRIFUND CLEARED TO BUY DUTCH SLAUGHTERHOUSE DUMECO.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The European Commission has given the go-ahead for the Dutch company Best Agrifund to buy the slaughterhouse group Dumeco, also from Holland. The Commission said on July 3 that although the transaction would broaden Best Agrifund's activities...

UK SUPERMARKETS SAY THEY WILL NOT STOCK GM FOODS.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The United Kingdom's largest supermarket retailers told Government Ministers on July 16 they will not stock genetically-modified (GM) foods because consumers do not want them, a spokesman for the largest outlet said. Chiefs of the country's...

MONSANTO CALLS GM CONTAMINATION IN ITALY AN ACCIDENT.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The head of Monsanto Italia Jean-Michel Duhamel insisted on July 15 that the contamination of hundreds of hectares of maize in the Northern Italian region of Piedmont with genetically-modified seeds was accidental and within normal industry...

PETITION FOR RELEASE OF FRENCH ANTI-GM ACTIVIST.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Yet another twist in a long saga of demonstrations against the incarceration of Jose Bove, the controversial French farmer arrested for destroying genetically-modified crop trials, has seen 445 researchers sign a letter to French President...

ITALIAN DROUGHT FORCES CHOICE BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Italy is facing a Summer of drought and power cuts after the country's biggest river, the Po, dropped to its lowest level in 100 years, threatening water supplies for irrigation and electricity production for the densely populated northern...

DROUGHT-HIT OILSEEDS SEE YIELDS SLASHED.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Extreme weather conditions - humidity in the autumn, frost and then dry weather in the spring - are likely to lead to a slump in oilseed yields this year which could cancel out a rise in area, analysts said on July 11. In France, where farmers...

GERMAN AUTHORITIES CLEAR BASF'S PURCHASE OF BAYER CROP ARM.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The German cartel office said on July 10 that it had approved chemical giant BASF AG's purchase of rival Bayer AG's crop science operations, with conditions. The cartel watchdog said BASF had agreed to grant interested third parties an...

INTERFISH IPO RAISES EURO 3.5 MILLION.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The initial public offering (IPO) of fish farming firm Interfish SA for listing on the Athens bourse's small-cap market was oversubscribed 7.9 times, lead underwriter Omega Bank said on July 9. Interfish went public at Euro 4.70 a share raising...

DAIRY GIANT GLANBIA PLANS AMERICAN JV IN TEXAS.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Dairy product giant Glanbia said on July 9 that it is in advanced negotiations with Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. and Select Milk Producers Inc. to build a Euro 152 million (USD170 million) cheese and whey products production facility in the...