European Parliament has adopted a new amendment to Regulation 396/2005, setting new limits for the substance lambda-cyhalothrin. Regulation (EU) 2018/960 was adopted on July 6, 2018, and it replaces all the limits set in the previous Regulation (EU) 2017/626.

In an amendment to the farm and food bill, France aims to ban Titanium dioxide (TiO2) in foods. After a study conducted by INRA (French Agricultural Research Institute) where rats were fed TiO2 nanoparticles and it was revealed that it caused damage to the colon.

On May 4 and 7, the EU parliament adopted two Regulations that amend Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 16 2008 on food additives.

On April 3 and 4 2018, the EU parliament adopted two Implementing Regulations that are amending Commission Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 on pharmacologically active substances and their classification regarding maximum residue limits in foodstuffs of animal origin.

On March 12, 2018,  the alcoholic beverage industry submitted a self-regulatory proposal to the Commission and presented it to Commissioner Andriukaitis.

One year ago, the  European Commission adopted a report to the European Parliament and the Council regarding the mandatory labeling of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration of alcoholic beverages. This report is based on data collected by the Commission through Member States and stakeholders consultations.

The draft regulation lays down modalities for the provision of information on the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient as required by Article 26 (3) of Regulation (EU) N° 1169/2011. However, this regulation would not apply to GI’s (geographical indications) protected under regulations: 1151/2012, 1308/2013, 110/2008 and 251/2014.

The EU has finalized negotiations for a trade agreement with Japan. EU firms already export over €58bn in goods and €28bn in services to Japan every year. But European firms face trade barriers when exporting to Japan which make it hard for them to compete.

The Council and the Commission gave the green light for the new regulation, which will affect organic agriculture. Once adopted, the new rules will go into effect on January 1, 2021.

On September 21, 2017, CETA, a new trade agreement between the EU and Canada, entered into force provisionally. As such, most of the agreement now applies. The part that still doesn’t apply is the investment protection and the Investor Court System (ICS). National parliaments in EU countries – and in some cases regional ones too (Wallonia for example) – will then need to approve CETA before it can take full effect.

On July 20, 2017, Belgium notified the European Commission via RASFF – the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, of fipronil presence in eggs imported from the Netherlands. The Content of fipronil in contaminated eggs ranged from 0.0031 to 1.2 mg/kg – ppm while the maximum residues levels (MRLs) in EU regulations for fipronil are set at 0.005 mg/kg. Presence of fipronil residues in eggs is believed to have been caused by the illegal use of this chemical on farms in the Netherlands to combat parasites in food-producing animals (chickens). This resulted in fipronil being detected in eggs produced by these animals.