Archive

BY MONICA DOBIE
WINE production waste – or pomace – the seeds, skin and stems of crushed grapes, could be commercially developed as a natural inhibitor against several types of bacteria, a new study has claimed. Research by Turkish academics published in the UK-based Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, showed that pomace has high concentrations of antioxidants which, when mixed with methanol in concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 20%, prevented the growth of 14 types of bacteria including E-coli, salmonella, staphylococcus aureus and enterobacter aerogenes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PERMANENT duty free quota is to be opened for Norwegian exports into the European Union (EU) of certain soft drinks, following trade talks between Norway and the European Commission. The EU Council of Ministers has been asked to approve the new arrangements, which would create a duty free quota of 13 million litres for “waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added sugar or other sweeteners and flavourings” and “other mineral waters containing sucrose and invert sugar”.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
A SMALL group of Quebec wine and cider producers is trying to topple the Canadian province’s alcohol monopoly via an obscure 19th century law. The Association des Producteurs de Boissons Alcoolisées du Québec and some private supermarket owners have invoked an 1864 temperance law, petitioning municipalities to call local referendums on whether the monopolistic Societé des Alcools du Québec (SAQ) should sell alcohol in their areas.…

KEITH NUTHALL
OUTGOING European Union (EU) trade commissioner Pascal Lamy has tried to advise textile exporting developing countries on not being steamrollered by China when textile and clothing quotas are scrapped this December. He told the European Parliament’s trade committee that countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka should exploit continuing tariff preferences for their exports to the EU.…

KEITH NUTHALL
PERU has abandoned plans to impose a definitive anti-dumping duty on textile and clothing imports from China, deciding not to follow up the earlier imposition for 200 days of provisional tariffs on these products.…

KEITH NUTHALL
PAKISTAN polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturers have escaped from paying punishing anti-dumping duties on exports to the European Union (EU), while Brussels wants to levy such tariffs on similar products from China and Australia. The European Commission has asked the EU Council of Ministers to release provisional duties collected from Pakistani manufacturers, while retaining those taken from Chinese and Australian producers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE RENEWABLE energy and CHP sectors will be closely studying the appointment of new European commissioners for energy and the environment, who take office this November, especially as the change of guard means the departure of energy commissioner Loyola de Palacio.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has its critics, heaven knows, but the renewable energy industry is rarely among them. Brussels likes green electricity production and is prepared to fund it. This is important as the EU has large budgets, as every Eurosceptic likes to point out.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WITH Greece and Cyprus are taking over the key European Commission jobs for the cosmetics, soap and perfumery sectors, the enthusiasm of Brussels for tougher environmental, consumer protection and animal welfare rules could wane.

Cypriot Markos Kyprianou has been appointed as health and consumer affairs commissioner in the new Commission that takes office in November.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Environment Agency (EEA) has released a detailed warning about the climatic catastrophes poised to hit Europe because of greenhouse gas-related global warming. A comprehensive report collates evidence that extreme weather events are increasing in number and severity, such as floods, droughts and storms.…