Geographical indications (GIs) will not lose features that make them different from other Intellectual Property (IP) rights by moving competencies from the European Commission to the EU’s intellectual property office (EUIPO), its head told EURACTIV in an interview.
The EU's determination to become a global leader in sustainability will be matched by investments in solutions to deliver on the commitments set out in the EU's new food policy, Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told EURACTIV.com in an exclusive interview.
The announced EU food policy should also strive to create future prosperity for businesses in good harmony with the environment, not only to take policies against some parts of the food value chain, Nestlé Europe chief Marco Settembri told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Short food supply chains have a multidimensional role to play. They can help revitalise European farms by encouraging young people to work the land, but they also provide cheap and healthy food to consumers and attract tourists, campaigner Geneviève Savigny told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
What has been mixed in the current dual quality food conversation is ‘quality versus recipe’, as consumers have different preferences on sweetness and saltiness and we just have to accept it, FoodDrinkEurope leader told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Simplified food label schemes like the UK-style traffic light will provide EU consumers clear and simple elements and therefore, better inform them, Marco Settembri told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
There is a great need to raise awareness and enhance education on diabetes and a healthier lifestyle “at every level”, Stella de Sabata, head of the International Diabetes Federation, told EURACTIV.com.
Climate change is confronting the European food sector with an unprecedented risk related to supplies of agricultural raw materials, warns Pascal Gréverath.
Consumer confidence in food is at low levels. Displaying origin information can boost transparency and help reverse the tide, says Pauline Constant.
SPECIAL REPORT / The EU, which is currently revising its food labeling rules, should copy the 'traffic-light system' introduced in the UK, says Ilaria Passarani.
On the one year anniversary of the horsemeat scandal, a similar food fraud scandal can easily happen in the EU as the financial penalties for fraud are small and because the Commission does not want mandatory origin labelling for meat in processed meals, says Monique Goyens.
The Commissioner for health and consumer affairs tells EURACTIV that the horsemeat scandal should be seen for what it is: a fraud rather than a flaw in the regulation. He favours introducing tougher penalties for such incidents, but believes food labelling should be kept as a separate issue.
Ahead of a European Parliament vote tomorrow (16 June) on a European Commission proposal for a Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers, the director of the European Heart Network (EHN) called on MEPs to back "fair presentation" of the nutritional content of food products.
Clearer food labelling and awareness-raising campaigns can help prevent an obesity epidemic in Europe, Liberal Romanian MEP Magor Imre Csibi told EURACTIV in an interview. But taxing high-fat foods is not part of the solution, he added.
Food labelling has been mandatory in the United States for 15 years, but has not had any affect on consumer behaviour. "Labelling alone will not do the job," argues Sabine Nafziger, from the food and drinks industry confederation CIAA in an interview with EURACTIV.
Food labelling and advertising to children are two areas where industry is unlikely to be able to self-regulate and legislation is therefore required, argues Sue Davies from the UK consumer organisation Which?.
