Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
NEW COMMISSIONERS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE KEY European Commissioner for Europe’s food processing industry over the next four years will be Mariann Fischer Boel, of Denmark, her country’s current agriculture minister and a liberal. She was appointed to take office from November by incoming Commission president José Durão Barroso as agriculture commissioner.…
SUGAR RULING
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A WTO disputes panel has ruled that EU sugar subsidies break global trade rules, although the European Commission is expected to appeal. The case was brought by Brazil, Thailand and Australia and the ruling follows the announcement of reforms to the EU’s sugar market system.…
NORWAY DUTY
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EU is to annually allow 2,470 tonnes of Norwegian margarine into its markets duty free, under a limited new trade deal with Norway.…
DANONE RUSSIA
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is investing up to Euro 17.5 million in the Russian subsidiary of French dairy group Danone, allowing it to more than double annual production in Russia to 310,000 tonnes by 2007.…
DYE CONCERN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EU food contamination rapid alert system RASFF has revealed cases where carcinogenic dyes Sudan 1 and Sudan 4 have been discovered in food. Affected minced meat, spice-salt, chilli sauce and pepper, palm oil, pepper sauce, cayenne and red peppers have been removed from sale in Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.…
GM PROCEDURES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has rejected claims from the European Parliament’s Green group that the EU’s authorisation process for products is undemocratic. The Commission has approved sales of GM maize when the EU Council of Ministers cannot reach a decision.…
PALESTINE FOOD
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ITALIAN government and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have launched a US$1.5 million project to restore civil-conflict damaged food production in the West Bank and Gaza, for instance by restoring greenhouses and irrigation systems.…
EFSA GM CRITICISM
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority has undermined Austrian and Greek blocks on sales of GM maize and oilseed rape (respectively) possessing prior EU market approval. EFSA concluded they had “no new scientific evidence” of human health or environmental risks.…
APPLES WTO
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE USA has asked the WTO to approve US$143 million of punitive duties on Japanese food exports, because it says Tokyo has failed to implement a disputes panel ruling opposing health restrictions on American apple exports.…
AVIAN FLU BAN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EU import bans of poultry products from Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, China, South Korea and Vietnam have been extended to December 15 by the European Commission over continuing bird flu concerns.…