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.
BIOCONTAMINATION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
CONCERNS about biocontamination of food processing and other industries, have sparked the development of an International Organisation for Standardisation (IOS) management blueprint on checks and reforms. *ISO 14698-1:2003 and ISO 14698-2:2003 – contact sales@iso.org…
SWISS-EU
BY KEITH NUTHALL
IN a move to prevent the spread of farm animal disease, Switzerland and the EU have agreed to inspect each other’s livestock, if they wander over unfenced Alpine borders.…
FOIE GRAS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EU trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy has said he regrets a US ban on imports of French meat cuts including foie gras and some sausages on health grounds, after Brussels banned US egg and live poultry exports because of an American outbreak of bird flu.…
PERSONAL ALCOHOL IMPORTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has formally proposed scrapping the indicative limits guiding European Union (EU) customs officials in deciding whether alcohol imported by travellers from other EU countries is for personal use. Its proposal has sparked an angry response from the UK government, which views it as disguised tax harmonisation.…
BELGIUM BOTTLES CASE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening Belgium with legal action at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over laws restricting the size of drinks bottles to a range of fixed quantities. The Commission considers these restrictions “an unjustified obstacle to the free movement of goods”, giving Belgium two months to devise reforms, or maybe face an ECJ case.…
AUSTRALIA YOUTH BEER
BY MONICA DOBIE
AUSTRALIA’S two large brewers have shifted their advertising campaigns to attract more 18-30’s into drinking their beer over pre-mixed drinks. Carlton & United Breweries and Lion Nathan spent far more money last year promoting premium and youth oriented beer brands than on their traditional top-selling brands.…
ECJ FRANCE TV ADS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN ADVOCATE General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has recommended that bans imposed by France on the broadcast of alcoholic drinks advertising, especially those on hoardings at foreign international sports events, are legal under European Union (EU) law.…
WINE PROMOTION - EU
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission will spend more than Euro 2.2 million over three years promoting European Union wine. Euro 1.22 million will be shared by the Union interprofessionelle des Vins du Beaujolais and the Deutsches Weininstitut pushing their wines in Japan, Euro 440,000 goes to Portugal’s Commissao de Viticultura a Regiao dos Vinhos Verdes for campaigns in the USA, Canada and Switzerland, and Euro 150,000 to Italy’s Produttori Moscato d’Asti Associati for US sales, for instance.…
FINLAND DUTIES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE FINNISH government has cut its high spirits taxes by one-third on average and its levies on wine and beer by around five and 10 percent respectively, to stop massive cross-border shopping when neighbouring low-tax Estonia joins the European Union (EU) in May.…
BIOFUELS AUSTRALIA
BY MATTHEW BRACE
THE AUSTRALIAN government wants to increase biofuels production to 350 million litres per annum by the end of the decade, to encourage canegrowers to switch from sugar to ethanol production, despite a recent report saying the policy could cut between A$70.9 million (US$52.2 million) and A$74.3 million (US$54.7 million) from GDP in 2010 because of costly subsidies.…