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A new EU agency for health considered by the European Commission
24 Sep 2020
The European Commission (EC) is considering strengthening the EU’s competence in health policy in the wake of the covid -19 crisis. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen anno...
Tags: Biodmedical, covid-19, European Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
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Single-Use Plastic Directive: still a lot to discuss
13 Sep 2020
Back in 2018, the EU reached an agreement to ban certain types of single-use plastic products with the Single-Use Plastic Directive. The Directive, which will enter into force in 2...
Tags: European Commission, European Parliament, Lobbying, Plastics, Single-Use Packaging
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SAFE welcomes MEPs’ decision to object new EC specifications for E171
08 Sep 2020
SAFE welcomes the positive outcome of the vote which occurred yesterday evening and hope that this democratic decision will encourage the Commission to promote a complete removal o...
Tags: E171, ENVI Committee, European Commission, European Parliament, titanium dioxide
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EU NGOs suggest ways to promote nutrition in the CAP
03 Sep 2020
On Thursday 3 September 2020, 6 European NGOs (including SAFE and EPHA, ECL, EHN, EMSA and EONS) sent an open joint letter to Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, suggest...
Tags: CAP, Common Agricultural Policy, European Commission, Healthy diet, Joint letter, NGOs, Nutrition, Strategic Plans
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F2F Strategy: NGOs urge the EC to halve per capita Food Waste at Farm level
09 Jul 2020
Back in May 2020, we welcomed the publication of the European Commission’s Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy for a fair, healthy, and environmentally-friendly food system. In thi...
Tags: European Commission, Farm to Fork, Food Waste, Harvest, Joint letter
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New EFSA opinion on welfare hazards in pig slaughters
24 Jun 2020
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a scientific opinion on 17 June in the context of a series of updated assessments on animal welfare at slaughter requested by th...
Tags: animal welfare, EFSA, European Commission, Farm to Fork, pigs
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The European Commission unveils its Farm to Fork Strategy
20 May 2020
On 20 May at 12.00 CET, the European Commission unveiled its long-awaited Farm to Fork Strategy, along with other communications including a report on front-of-pack nutrition label...
Tags: biodiversity, European Commission, F2F strategy, Farm to Fork, green deal
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NGOs call on the EU Commission to drop GMOs from US trade talks
05 May 2020
On 5 May, SAFE and 73 NGOs sent a letter to EC President von der Leyen to call on the EC to drop GMOs from the EU-US trade deal talks. SAFE would like to once again underline the n...
Tags: European Commission, GMO, Joint letter, NGOs, Trade Deals, US
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EC proposes market measures to assist meat & dairy sectors
22 Apr 2020
Amidst the coronavirus crisis, the European Commission today proposed granting private storage aid for dairy and meat sectors in a so-called effort to help farmers hit by the crisi...
Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, Dairy, European Commission, Meat
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CSOs urges the Commission not to postpone the Farm to Fork strategy
15 Apr 2020
The Coronavirus (COVID19) crisis significantly highlights the important and urgent need for a Common Food Policy that is forward-looking, precautionary, resilient, social- and heal...
Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, CSO, European Commission, F2F strategy, Farm to Fork, NGOs
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European civil society groups urge EU Commissioner to ban E171 in food
06 Dec 2019
On 5 Dec 2019, European civil society groups have sent a joint letter to Ms. Stella Kyriakides – European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety on the issue of the white co...
Tags: Consumers, E171, European Commission, Food Safety, health, Petition, titanium dioxide
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E171: consumers must be put first
23 Sep 2019
SAFE and other CSOs recently published a press release to urge the European Commission and national expert representatives to uphold the French ban on food colourant E171 (Titanium...
Tags: Consumers Rights, E171, European Commission, Petition, titanium dioxide
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Call for new EU legislation on Food Contact Materials to be based on five key principles
18 Sep 2019
SAFE and 24 NGOs welcome the European Commission’s initiative to evaluate the EU’s food contact material (FCM) legislation in a joint letter. The evaluation, including the furt...
Tags: chemicals, Circular Economy, European Commission, FCM, Transparency
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European civil society groups raise questions about industry-funded study on E171 toxicity and call on decision-makers to support the French ban on unnecessary food additive
12 Sep 2019
A crucial European meeting to discuss the French ban of E171 – the food additive version of titanium dioxide – is due to take place on Monday 16th September. Civil soci...
Tags: Consumers, E171, European Commission, Food Additives, France, Industry, titanium dioxide
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36 CSOs send Open Letter to the European Commission President (EN/FR/ES)
17 Jul 2019
Civil society organisations, in the areas of farming, fisheries, environment, animal welfare, health, consumers, consumer co-operatives, development, social justice, climate, and f...
Tags: CSO, European Commission, Food Policy, Integrated, NGO, President, Ursula von der Leyen
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health malfunctions
10 Jul 2019
There is a clear malfunctioning of the EU Platform on diet, physical activity & health, as highlighted by BEUC, EPHA, and 5 other NGOs. SAFE was rejected after 2 years in waiti...
Tags: EU Health Diet, European Commission, Food Policy, Sugar Project
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NGOs call for a European Commission Vice President to be made responsible for ensuring the transition to sustainable food systems
08 May 2019
In an open letter to the lead candidates, 32 NGOs (including SAFE) call on the next European Commission President to put an EU food policy in place. The organizations also called f...
Tags: European Commission, Food Policy, IPES, SAFE, Sustainable food
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Joint letter to demand the removal of E171 from the EU list of permitted food additives
06 May 2019
On 3rd May, SAFE and 8 EU NGOs (BEUC, CIEL, ECOS, EEB, FoodWatch International, HEAL, HEJ, WECF) sent a letter supported by 30 national NGOs to Vice-President Jyrki Kaitanen urging...
Tags: E171, European Commission, Food Additives, Joint letter, SAFE
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Food safety in the future EU budget (2021-2027)
11 Jun 2018
On June 7, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal for a new Single Market Programme, which also addresses food policies. Specific objectives include: supporting sustainable ...
Tags: EU, European Commission, Food Safety
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Pesticide Dependency Reductions must become one of the success indicators of the Common Agricultural Policy
05 Jun 2018
On the 1st of June, the European Commission has published its legislative proposals and its impact assessment on CAP reform. Within the hundreds of pages of documents, pesticide us...
Tags: Agriculture, CAP, Environment, EU, European Commission, Glyphosate, Pesticides
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50 shades of green: Europe’s farm reforms explained
01 Jun 2018
Deep budget cuts and an untested plan to let national governments take the reins are causing jitters across the bloc. Read the full article on Politico here....
Tags: Agriculture, CAP, Environment, EU, European Commission
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Insufficient consideration for food issue in CAP
30 May 2018
The Commission is due to unveil its next Common Agriculture Policy on June 1st and Olivier De Schutter, former UN Special Rapporteur on the right for food and co-chair of the inter...
Tags: Agriculture, CAP, Environment, EU, European Commission, Sustainable food
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EU Commission wants new powers to vet product safety
12 Apr 2018
On April 11, the European Commission proposed giving itself new powers to request scientific studies on the safety of products, in an effort to quell public concerns that industry ...
Tags: Consumers, EFSA, European Commission, Food Safety, Glyphosate, GMO, Monsanto, Pesticides, Roundup
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Post-2020 CAP: simplification and investments
26 Mar 2018
The European Commission, steered by Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, has taken a number of initiatives to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and help EU farmers cope...
Tags: Agriculture, CAP, Environment, EU, European Commission, Member States
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Fakers, bakers and praline-makers fear bite of EU origin labels
21 Mar 2018
Following the Commission’s proposal for new legislation on so-called country of origin labelling, food companies fear that they will be forced to indicate the origin of the...
Tags: Consumers, Country of origin, EU, European Commission, Food Packaging, Labelling, Transparency
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Des OGM interdits découverts dans des aliments pour animaux
21 Feb 2018
Un vent de panique souffle sur la Commission européenne. Selon des documents officiels auquel Le Monde a eu accès, des produits destinés à l’alimentation animale ont été ...
Tags: Agriculture, Animals, Consumers, European Commission, Food Safety, France, GMO
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MEPs back down from EU bisphenol ban
12 Jan 2018
The European Parliament has shied away from demanding a full ban on bisphenol A, instead approving measures that will lower the amount of the chemical that can be part of food pack...
Tags: BPA, Consumers, Endocrine disruptors, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Packaging, MEP
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Six member states call for glyphosate alternatives, exit plan
05 Jan 2018
Six member states that opposed the re-authorisation glyphosate, the world’s most commonly used weedkiller, sent a letter to the European Commission last month asking the EU execu...
Tags: Agriculture, ECHA, EFSA, Endocrine disruptors, Environment, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Safety, Glyphosate, GMO, Member States, Monsanto, Pesticides, Roundup
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The Future of Food and Farming – for a flexible, fair and sustainable Common Agricultural Policy
30 Nov 2017
Read the full press release from the European Commission on the Future of Food and Farming here....
Tags: Agriculture, Animals, CAP, Climate Change, Environment, European Commission, Meat, Organic
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MEPs demand glyphosate phase-out, with full ban by end 2022
24 Oct 2017
Parliament backed a full ban on glyphosate-based herbicides by December 2022 and immediate restrictions on the use of the substance, on Tuesday. Read the full article on Eur...
Tags: Agriculture, Consumers, EFSA, Endocrine disruptors, Environment, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Safety, Glyphosate, Pesticides, Roundup
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Andriukaitis: ‘Enough’ with member states hiding behind the Commission on glyphosate
10 Oct 2017
The member states should stop hiding behind or even pointing the finger at the European Commission regarding the re-authorisation of the world’s most commonly used weedkiller, gl...
Tags: Agriculture, Endocrine disruptors, Environment, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Safety, Glyphosate, Member States, Monsanto, Pesticides, Roundup
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MEPs reject Commission’s endocrine disruptor definition
09 Oct 2017
The European Commission will have to rewrite its definition of endocrine disruptors, after MEPs shot down the executive’s proposal in a vote in Strasbourg on Wednesday (4 October...
Tags: Agriculture, Endocrine disruptors, Environment, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Safety, Glyphosate, Pesticides
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EU health chief says all alcoholic beverages should be labelled
31 Aug 2017
The European Commission wants the industry’s expected alcohol labelling self-regulatory proposal to cover all alcoholic beverages in order to avoid confusion among consumers. &n...
Tags: alcoholic beverages, Consumers, European Commission, Food Packaging, Labelling
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Food industry upset over obligatory labelling of origin of pasta and rice
30 Aug 2017
Italy’s decision to impose mandatory labelling on pasta and rice packaging has triggered protests from the food industry, which has called on the European Commission to cancel ...
Tags: Agriculture, Consumers, Country of origin, European Commission, Food Packaging, Labelling
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Italian pasta labels test limits of EU law
30 Aug 2017
A dispute over pasta is set to shape the future of the EU’s single market. Unsurprisingly for a battle over spaghetti, it was Italy that fired the first shot. Rome last week pas...
Tags: Consumers, Country of origin, European Commission, Food Packaging, Italy, Labelling
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EU adopts bill to reduce acrylamide in popular foods
19 Jul 2017
EU member countries today adopted legislation aimed at reducing the amount of acrylamide in popular foods such as bread, cereal and chips. Read the full article from Politic...
Tags: Acrylamide, EFSA, European Commission, Member States
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Endocrine disruptors: EU definition contains ‘too many exemptions and loopholes’
12 Jul 2017
After years in the pipeline, an EU-wide definition of endocrine disruptors was finally approved by member states on 4 July. But MEP Pascal Durand told EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-F...
Tags: Endocrine disruptors, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Packaging, Food Safety, Hormone
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EU experts agree on criteria for endocrine disrupting chemicals in pesticides
12 Jul 2017
Experts from the 28 EU member states approved on Tuesday (4 July) a proposed list of criteria to identify endocrine disruptors in plant protection products – a move presented by...
Tags: Consumers, EFSA, Endocrine disruptors, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Packaging, Food Safety, Hormone
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Parliament calls for mandatory EU-wide food waste targets by 2020
13 Apr 2017
EU lawmakers today (11 April) urged the European Commission to set binding EU-wide food waste reduction targets by 2020, to be met by 2025 and 2030. The European Parliament’s Com...
Tags: Environment, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Waste
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Cancer warning over posh crisps as study shows they contain three times recommended levels of acrylamide
06 Apr 2017
Eating crisps could cause cancer, a study by government-backed scientists has found, as they contain high levels of acrylamide, a known carcinogen. Tests conducted by Fera Science ...
Tags: Acrylamide, Babies, Consumers, EFSA, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Safety
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Brussels urges full ban on pesticides suspected of killing bees
27 Mar 2017
The European Commission has proposed a full ban on pesticide substances suspected of having a negative impact on bee colonies in the EU, inflicting a major upset on two of the worl...
Tags: Agriculture, European Commission, Pesticides
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Glyphosate and the crucial battle for independent science
27 Mar 2017
At its core, the political battle for transparency about the herbicide glyphosate is actually a battle for independent science and for the transparent and democratic functioning of...
Tags: Agriculture, Consumers, Endocrine disruptors, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Safety, Glyphosate, MEP, Pesticides
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Commission to set maximum acrylamide levels in ready-to-eat foods
10 Feb 2017
The European Commission plans to set maximum levels for acrylamide in ready-to-eat foods such as baby foods, crisps and breakfast cereals. Read the full article on BakeryAndSnacks ...
Tags: Acrylamide, Consumers, EFSA, European Commission, European Parliament, Food Safety, MEP
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NGOs: Commission’s acrylamide regulation has ‘wrong’ legal basis
22 Nov 2016
Food and consumer organisations claim that the European Commission’s draft regulation on acrylamide is based on a wrong regulation and this has a direct effect on the lack of max...
Tags: Acrylamide, Consumers, European Commission
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Acrylamide proposals strengthened in new draft
11 Nov 2016
The European Commission has moved to strengthen proposed new regulations on acrylamide, but the amendments are unlikely to be enough to appease campaigners. Read the full article ...
Tags: Acrylamide, European Commission
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Slow Food address EU Commissioner over meat promotion
10 Nov 2016
Following the recent declarations of Phil Hogan, European Agriculture Commissioner, announcing his plan to allocate 15 million dollars a year to promote meat consumption in Europe,...
Tags: Agriculture, CAP, Consumers, European Commission, Meat
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Politico: Food activists attack new EU rules on cancer-causing chemical
29 Sep 2016
Newly proposed EU rules on an obscure carcinogen found in everything from chips to coffee have sparked a battle between health campaigners and lobbyists representing companies such...
Tags: Acrylamide, EFSA, European Commission
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Open Letter to Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis and First Vice-President Frans Timmermans on the Commission Draft Regulation on the application of codes of good practice to reduce the presence of acrylamide in food
16 Sep 2016
SAFE- safe food advocacy Europe, CEO – Corporate Europe Observatory and WeMove.EU welcome the much-needed initiative of DG SANTE to adopt measures to reduce the levels of acr...
Tags: Acrylamide, European Commission
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Vast majority of MEPs demand legislation on origin labelling
13 May 2016
EU politicians have upped pressure – once again – on the European Commission to bring in mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) for lightly processed meat and dai...
Tags: Country of origin, European Commission, European Parliament, Labelling
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Greenpeace to publish 248 pages of TTIP leaks
02 May 2016
Greenpeace said yesterday (1 May) it was in possession of leaked documents showing that a planned huge free trade deal between the United States and the European Union poses “maj...
Tags: European Commission, Food Safety, TTIP