Despite a slight easing in annual food and drink inflation – the first in 18 months – Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland said prices remain high, placing onus on government to help the sector to keep costs down for Scottish consumers.
Twenty Spanish organisations, including health and environmental campaigners as well as consumer representatives, are urging the Spanish government to take action to combat the ‘current food price crisis’ and ensure access to sustainable and affordable...
The Egyptian food safety authority has committed that the local food supply will hit World Health Organisation (WHO) trans fats guidelines within 12 months, claiming its recent policy changes will finally take it off the global high-consumption list.
A coalition of 286 civil society organisations have come together to urge the European Commission to follow through on its plans to legislate for a more sustainable food system. The move, they say, is necessary in the face of ‘political resistance’ that...
Deforestation in Brazil’s section of the Amazon rainforest dropped by 61 percent in January, the first month in office for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has promised to relaunch environmental protection efforts.
Achieving pre-market authorisation to put cultivated meat on people’s plates is no easy feat. With different geographies handling the regulatory process in their own unique ways, we dissect how it works in the EU and Israel, and ask how these systems...
Formula milk marketing tactics are exploitative, and regulations need to be urgently strengthened and properly implemented, according to a new three paper series published in The Lancet.
A ‘comprehensive’ new EU project, called CLEVERFOOD, has been launched with the aim of facilitating the society-wide mobilisation of European citizens to transform the food system in a way that benefits climate, biodiversity and people.
Trade groups like Craft Bakers Association, Scottish Bakers and Federation of Bakers have welcomed the UK Baking Industry Code of Practice (CoP) for the Labelling of Sourdough Bread and Rolls. The Real Bread Campaign, on the other hand, remains highly...
UK feed industry representatives, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), acknowledged the progress made in the new UK environmental improvement plan but says more detail is needed.
A row has broken about a UK government healthy eating tool for families and children that campaigners say is promoting ultra-processed foods despite their links to cancer, heart disease and early death.
A political agreement has been reached on the European Union’s due diligence legislation, and sustainable palm oil organisation Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is supportive. Yet challenges and risks exist, explains Ruben Brunsveld, deputy director...
Major South East Asian palm oil producer countries are gearing up to retaliate against the European Union’s controversial deforestation regulation, with the situation rapidly devolving to the point that a trade war could be on the horizon.
Additional strategies beyond a soft drinks levy will be needed to reduce obesity, particularly in older boys and younger children, according to new Cambridge University research that some have called ‘speculative’.
A row has exploded over the use of the Eco-Score label in Europe, with organic trade bodies suggesting it confuses consumers who associate the phrase 'eco' with organic production. However, backers argue that this is an attempt to ‘kill Eco-Score’...
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced fresh details of actions and payments for its environmental land management schemes.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has announced implementation guidelines for its National Nutrition Strategy 2022 – 2030, eyeing the ‘virtual elimination’ of trans fats in the local food supply as well as a 30% reduction in consumers’ average...
Removing around 216 calories from the daily intake of people who are overweight or obese would set England on a path to halve obesity by 2030, according to research published by the innovation charity Nesta. The analysis found that it is possible to achieve...
Defra, the UK government agency responsible for food and the environment, has embarked on a project it says will make ‘significant’ amounts of environmental data accessible to businesses. We caught up with Agrimetrics, a start-up working on the initiative...
From deposit return schemes to ‘dumpster diving’ legislation and single-use plastic bans, sustainability-driven policies are making a mark in Europe. How will this progress in 2023?
Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has granted a world-first regulatory approval to GOOD Meat for the use of serum-free media in the production of cultivated meat.
ClientEarth is taking action against the Italian authorities. According to the legal campaign group, intensive hazelnut farming in the Lazio region is being ‘wrecked by catastrophic pollution’ from intensive hazelnut farming.
ProVeg UK claims the British Government is preparing to ban plant-based products from using dairy descriptor names such as ‘m*lk’ and ‘b*tter’, plans that it has branded ‘outrageous and unnecessary’.
The EU is committed to the Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030. But, with food labelling often cited as a waste driver, are restrictive regulatory requirements impeding this effort? FoodNavigator speaks to Kristen Hovland, CEO of...
Be it a feasible game plan or just a pipedream, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is determined to make good on its pledge to eradicate hunger in Africa by 2030 by mobilising political support ahead of the African Food Summit.
With new European Union (EU) packaging rules on the horizon, the bakery and snacks sectors are gearing up to address packaging requirements and waste management policies that better reflect market and environmental needs.
The German federal government has adopted a new nutrition strategy that places increasing plant-based consumption and reducing the intake of products that are high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) at its heart. The reaction has been mixed, with critics suggesting...
By Katia Merten-Lentz, Partner and Founder Food Law Science & Partners
As the environmental impact of food becomes an important indicator for consumers all around the world, private and public initiatives have multiplied. These initiatives use several methodologies to calculate the environmental impact of a product, which...
Prioritising study quality over quantity will be key to achieving a health claim through the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the face of additional complexities following the new Transparency Regulation of 2019.
The UK’s CLEAR consortium complains that a lack of global data that distinguishes between farming methods and countries risks making eco-labels a blunt tool for consumers seeking greater transparency about food products.
BrewDog’s tongue-in-cheek marketing style has once again fallen foul of the UK’s advertising watchdog: with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upholding a complaint against the brewer’s ‘one of your five a day’ phrase in a marketing email.
Motif FoodWorks has filed a suite of new petitions with the US Patent and Trademark Office challenging US patents held by Impossible Foods over the use of heme proteins in meat alternatives as it defends itself against accusations of IP infringement....
A provisional political agreement has been reached between the EU Parliament and the Council in relation to EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains.
Scientists are calling for a European legal framework for energy drinks (EDs) to regulate maximum levels of active components, volume size, and initiate labelling improvements to mitigate health risks from excessive exposure.
The European Commission has adopted a proposal to establish a voluntary framework to certify ‘high-quality’ carbon removals. To some, this represents an ‘essential steppingstone’ in the region’s net zero journey – but others warn it could place strain...
Which hurdles need to be overcome for Europe’s due diligence legislation to prove effective? From farmers to crushers and vegetable oil makers, industry weighs in.
Bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics are often considered as the environmental heroes taking on conventional plastic – but the European Commission says such formats need to be approached carefully if they’re to live up to their promise.
In the US, a cultivated meat product has successfully completed the FDA’s pre-market safety review, moving it one step closer to commercialisation. What implications does this regulatory greenlight have for Europe’s cell-based meat sector?
As concerns over corporate greenwashing mount, the European Commission has published the first draft of proposed sustainability reporting standards. However, the Commission has also delayed plans to outline how green claims can be communicated to consumers...
Why does the European Commission consider its proposed due diligence legislation – designed to curb deforestation and forest degradation in supply chains – the best proposal on the table, globally?
As climate talks conclude in Sharm El Sheikh, for the first time ever a deal has been reached that will see agriculture integrated into the UN’s climate action body. The result of lengthy talks and a significant process of negotiation, does the so-called...
Cultivated meat – made from animal cells grown in bioreactors instead of living breathing animals – has edged one step closer to commercialization in the US after the FDA sent Berkeley-based UPSIDE Foods a ‘no questions’ letter affirming the safety of...
Despite UK government guidance that no added sugars, including those from processed fruit, should be consumed by children up to the age of two years old, new research from Action on Sugar (based at Queen Mary University of London) has revealed what it...
Chronic food inequality is hurting the health outcomes of millions of children living in poverty. Experts speaking at the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) conference in London this week shone a light on the issue.
The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) partners have pledged to ramp up their investment in climate smart food systems ahead of Agriculture Day at COP27. But for critics the US$8bn on the table doesn't go nearly far enough...
Ahead of this week’s trilogue negotiations on the EU’s Deforestation Regulation, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (IPOA/GAPKI) has complained the legislation “will increase poverty, decrease sustainable development, and undermine decades of progress...
Iodine deficiency is a growing threat - and one that could result in the 'cognitive underperformance of communities at a large scale', scientists warned this week.
A new Oxford-led analysis reveals the average salt content of products sold at UK supermarkets has shown no change in the past five years. The categories with the highest salt content in 2020 were savoury snacks and bread.
