05-Dec-2011 - As 2011 draws to a close, many in the food industry can look back and say that, in some respects, there has been more than just the state of the economy to cry about.
05-Dec-2011 - Frustrated food and drink manufacturers are considering sensory claims in preference to health claims; few of which have been approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
01-Dec-2011 - Water supplier Highland Spring Group is determined to challenge the EU’s recent ruling on health claims for water, despite further clarification from Brussels.
28-Nov-2011 - The government says it has not ruled out a ban on imported eggs that do not comply with new welfare standards.
21-Nov-2011 - Illegal fishing, which now accounts for 15% of world catches according to EU calculations, distorts the market for fish, and threatens the viability of honest businesses that refuse to deal with criminals, warned politicians.
18-Nov-2011 - Drink manufacturers can no longer claim that water can prevent dehydration following a ruling from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
07-Nov-2011 - The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has welcomed invitations from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for the industry to take the lead in devising alternative methods of meat inspection.
04-Nov-2011 - Retailers are being urged to boycott European pork that fails to comply with new pig welfare laws.
03-Nov-2011 - Food and agriculture minister Jim Paice has reassured Britain’s pig producers that the government will fight their corner in Europe. He aims to prevent them being disadvantaged by continental competitors who fail to stop using sow stalls when a partial ban of the practice comes into effect in 2013.
02-Nov-2011 - The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has welcomed comments from the Health Select Committee about the government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal describing the plan as “no silver bullet” to tackle obesity.
01-Nov-2011 - With increasingly demanding consumers, over-regulation and problems securing funding, life isn't easy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
28-Oct-2011 - Food and beverage manufacturers risk claims of discrimination unless agency workers receive equal treatment to full-time employees, warns legal specialist Eversheds.
28-Oct-2011 - Recent proposals to reform the EU’s sugar regime could cost 850 UK jobs, claims leading sugar producer Tate & Lyle.
21-Oct-2011 - Food producers may still be able to make unverified health claims about their products, despite tougher European regulations coming into force early next year.
17-Oct-2011 - The government’s plans for a supermarket adjudicator continue to divide industry opinion after the publication on October 15 of its response to a report from the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee.
04-Oct-2011 - The European Council has kicked into the long grass a number of the more contentious parts of the Food Information Regulation (FIR), which covers the labelling of food and drink, according to a legal expert speaking on the day it was adopted last week.
03-Oct-2011 - Any food business that fails to rectify hygiene deficiencies in its operations will, from next April, risk being served with a Remedial Action Notice (RAN), potentially forcing it to stop working until improvements are made.
03-Oct-2011 - The recent call from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for the food sector to remove 'sell-by' dates from products has been welcomed by the Food Ethics Council (FEC). However, the charity also warned that such a move would only provide a partial solution in terms of cutting the overall volumes of food wasted.
03-Oct-2011 - Threshold levels for allergens in foods look no closer today, despite the millions spent on researching the subject. The goal is to enable manufacturers to confidently label products as free-from and avoid others falling back on 'may contain' labels.
03-Oct-2011 - The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (DEFRA's) press release on its Guidance on Date Marks spawned a welter of media stories that confused an already confused picture. But we can blame the press release. It did not clarify that 'use-by' and 'best-before' dates were already required by law. Practically all newspapers thought they were a new measure by DEFRA to replace 'sell-by' and 'display-until' dates.
03-Oct-2011 - The number of agency workers hired by the food industry is expected to dip with the arrival of new labour regulations that come into force this week.
03-Oct-2011 - A new EU directive to be implemented in the UK next year could free up more than an estimated £24bn held in outstanding late invoice payments, according to the Forum of Private Business (FPB)
03-Oct-2011 - News that Denmark is to become the first country in the world to introduce a tax on foods with saturated fat, in a bid to foster healthy eating, has sharply divided British opinion.
29-Sep-2011 - The long-awaited new EU Food Information Regulation (FIR) has moved one step closer to coming into force, after the European Council adopted it today.
19-Sep-2011 - UK importers have welcomed the lifting of an EU ban on Egyptian produce which they argue should never have been imposed.