Europe Agri articles from March 2002

Europe Agri archives from March 2002

FOOD SAFETY: CALL FOR EUROPEAN RAPID ALERT SYSTEM TO PROTECT CONSUMERS.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Hartwing de Haen, Deputy General Director of the WHO, stressed among other things that the fact that food products had never been as safe as today in European was definitely no reason to relax efforts. Dr David Nabarro, Executive Director of...

POTATO STARCH: FINLAND ASPIRES FOR HIGHER QUOTA.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... When potato starch quotas were last reviewed in 1998, the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers agreed to pay heed to a possible expansion of the potato starch market and problems specific to certain EU regions. The compromise...

FOOD SAFETY: COMMISSION BIDS TO CUT DIOXIN, FURAN AND PCB RESIDUES IN FOOD.(European Union)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Maximum levels for dioxin residues in animal feed are set in Directive 1999/29/EC (amended by Directive 2001/102/EC) and in foods by Regulation 466/2001/EC (amended by Regulation 2375/2001/EC). According to the Scientific Committee for Animal...

NEW DATES FOR HOLIDAY-PERIOD EXPORT LICENCES FOR BEEF AND VEAL.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... The European Commission has made a temporary amendment to the rules on how to treat applications for beef or veal export licences. The normal period given to the Commission to decide on the licence application is five working days. Because of...

VETERINARY POLICY: EU VETS MODIFY SWINE FEVER RESTRICTIONS IN SPAIN, GERMANY AND LUXEMBOURG.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... The European Union has decided to lift Classical Swine Fever (CSF) protection measures in Luxembourg with effect from March 15. The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (formerly known as the Standing Veterinary Committee)...

FMD FOLLOW-UP CHECKS ON MEAT LEAVING THE UK.(foot and mouth disease)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... The European Commission has adopted a Decision to tidy up some issues outstanding after the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the UK last year. The UK has now been restored to disease-free status and has been allowed to resume meat and...

SOUTH AFRICA TO START USING CHEESE EXPORT QUOTA.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... The European Commission has adopted a Regulation to allow applications for licences to export cheese from South Africa to the European Union. South Africa has had a quota for cheese exports to the EU since 2000 but has been unable to use it...

FOOD ETHICS: FAO EXPERTS LOOK INTO GLOBALISATION OF AGRICULTURE.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Ethical challenges for food and agriculture posed by the process of globalisation include loss of cultural identity and diversity and accelerated loss of biodiversity and degradation of natural resources. In certain circumstances, globalisation...

ALCOHOL: DAYS NUMBERED FOR SWEDISH ALCOHOL AD BAN?(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... The European brewing industry has welcomed a Swedish court ruling which attacks the Stockholm Government's ban on alcohol advertising. The Brewers of Europe (CBMC) said Stockholm City Court's refusal on March 4 to grant an injunction to the...

LIFE SCIENCES: EU LEADERS THROW THEIR WEIGHT BEHIND EUROPEAN STRATEGY PROPOSALS.(research and development)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... "In order to close the gap between the EU and its major competitors, there must be a significant boost of the overall R&D (Research and Development) and innovation effort in the European Union, with a particular emphasis on frontier...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: CODEX TASK FORCE AGREES PRINCIPLES FOR ASSESSING GM-FOODS.(FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission awaits report)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... The Principles would require authorities to consider the uncertainties identified in the safety assessment and implement appropriate measures to manage these uncertainties. One management option described in the Principles is post-market...

RESEARCH: EU FUNDS PROJECTS ON WAYS GENES ARE INVOLVED IN CANCERS.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Some 50 of the genes examined by the consortium, involving 13 partners from five EU Member States, were found to have significant similarities with genes involved in human diseases, including cystic fibrosis, hereditary deafness and non-insulin...

ENLARGEMENT: ALL FOR ONE AND EURO 24 BILLION FOR ALL.(enlargement of the European Union membership)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... The Estonian Chief Negotiator with the EU, Alar Streimann, told the Committee a story in which the three musketeers kidnapped Cardinal Mazarin to raise funds for the Queen. When the Cardinal insisted there was no more money in the kitty, the...

FAO: NEAR EAST CONFERENCE CALLS FOR MORE INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE.(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 22, 2002... Near East Agriculture Ministers commended the FAO for its initiative to set up a Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety. 20% of the Trust Fund's initial target sum of USD500 million have been secured already. The Tehran Conference called...

NEW PUBLICATIONS.("Guide to the European Union 2001 - 2002: An Overview of Current Issues")
March 22, 2002... GUIDE TO THE EUROPEAN UNION 2001 - 2002: AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT ISSUESPublished in February 2002, this Guide is a survey of current European Union affairs. Written by veteran Brussels journalist and former Managing Director of Europe...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN SPRING 2002.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... MARCH18-22 Financing for development, conference organised by the UnitedNations. Monterrey, Mexico.20-21 OECD Agriculture and Trade, working party meeting organised by the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Trade...