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.
FISH QUOTAS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EU Council of Ministers has approved sharply reduced total allowable catch (TAC) quotas for cod, haddock and whiting (which are caught together) for the North Sea, the Irish Sea, west of Scotland and the Skagerrak waters closer to Norway.…
BIOTRADE FUND
BY KEITH NUTHALL
SWITZERLAND has donated US$2.5 million to a new international BioTrade Facilitation Programme funding the development of food exports from under-exploited natural resources in poor countries. The scheme is run by the UN development group UNCTAD and the International Trade Centre.…
RESEARCH PROPOSALS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE FIRST formal call for proposals under the European Union’s Euro 16.2 billion Sixth Framework Programme for research have been issued; they include a Euro 167 million budget for studies into food quality and safety. *Full details:
http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/call_details.cfm?CALL_ID=16…
CHILE - USA
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GROCERY Manufacturers of America group has applauded a new trade agreement between the United States and Chile. The GMA says the pact will spur freer trade of processed food to south America, and singles out the agreement’s proposed reductions in tariffs for such items as breakfast cereals, pasta and french fries.…
POULTRY TREATMENT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW treatment to protect chickens against infection has been developed to phase out antibiotics usage. Australian science agency CSIRO says naturally produced proteins called cytokines can improve the health of poultry; they are administered like vaccines and are naturally produced by chickens themselves, extracted, then copied.…
WTO ROUND
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission offered the US and other key trading partners at the WTO agricultural talks a 55 per cent cut in “trade distorting domestic farm support” subsidies, if they reciprocate with similar reductions. Brussels has also offered to cut its import tariffs on agricultural goods by 36 per cent and export subsidies by 45 per cent, while offering duty and quota free access for exports from least developed countries.…
GROWTH HORMONES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union Council of Ministers has agreed in principle to strengthen the existing ban on hormones used as growth promoters for meat sold in the EU, by significantly reducing the use of oestradiol-17-ß, not only as a growth promoter but for other veterinary uses.…
POLAND - EU
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A TRADE deal smoothing Poland’s 2004 entry into the EU has been agreed, where the EU introduces duty free quotas for products including chocolate, biscuits and confectionery and Poland cuts its import duties for chocolate, biscuits and confectionery by 30 per cent.…
GERMANY - ACRYLAMIDE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GERMAN government has called at the EU Council of Ministers for an EU-wide strategy to reduce the potential health risk from the production of acrylamide in certain categories of food, such as bread and chips.…
SHEEP AND GOATS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is pressuring EU Member States to set up effective tracking and identification procedures for sheep and goat livestock, formally tabling a uniform pan-European set of rules to better control disease outbreaks.…