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The European Commission is planning to establish 'nutrient profiles', that is, maximum amounts for nutrients such as fat, sugar and/or salt in foods, above which the use of nutrition or health claims would be restricted or forbidden. For example, breakfast cereals exceeding a sugar limit could no longer advertise their fibre or vitamin content. The Commission was already tasked with setting nutrient profiles to restrict the promotion of food high in fat, sugar and/or salt under the Nutrition and ...

Animal welfare is an increasingly important issue for citizens, farmers and policy-makers. While European Union (EU) legislation sets high standards in this regard, assessment of its implementation shows that weaknesses persist in certain areas. The European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) has prepared a report on the implementation of EU legislation regulating animal welfare on the farm. A vote on the report is expected during the February 2022 plenary session. ...

As part of the work on the EU's 2021-2027 budget, the European Commission proposed a set of regulations with the aim of reshaping and modernising the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP). Put forward on 1 June 2018, the 'CAP reform package' was finally adopted in December 2021. One of these regulations, the Amending Regulation, introduces changes to rules governing the common market organisation (CMO) in agricultural products (including the rules on wine), the EU quality schemes (geographical indications ...

In June 2018, the European Commission presented a legislative package aimed at reforming the common agricultural policy (CAP), including some of the rules on the common market organisation (CMO) in agricultural products. Following long negotiations, the text finally agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in June 2021 is scheduled for a vote during the November II plenary session.

The way most food is produced is harming the planet. A profound change is needed, involving all agri-food actors. As consumers, we sit at the end of the agri-food chain. Our daily dietary choices implicitly support certain food systems, production methods and types of food. What could help us make better choices?

The EU implements a quality policy (quality schemes) aimed at protecting the names of certain agricultural and food products. The objective is to promote the unique features of these products linked to their geographical origin (geographical indication) as well as the traditional know-how behind their production (traditional speciality guaranteed). The EU rules on quality schemes have been established by a number of regulations adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Recently ...

In its Europe's Beating Cancer plan, published in February 2021, the European Commission suggests – among other initiatives concerning cancer prevention – several actions concerning alcoholic beverages, such as limiting online advertising and promotion, and reviewing European Union (EU) legislation on the taxation of alcohol. Also among the proposals is mandatory labelling of ingredients and nutrient content on alcoholic beverages by the end of 2022. Health warnings on labels should follow by the ...

The European Union (EU) has a long history of regulating the welfare of farmed animals. Currently, the 'on-farm' aspects of animal welfare (AW) are regulated by five directives adopted by the Council of the EU. The European Parliament is scrutinising the implementation of the EU legislation through a dedicated report (with the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee (AGRI) taking the lead and the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) giving its opinion). This European Implementation ...

This briefing provides an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission's impact assessment (IA) accompanying the above-mentioned proposal, adopted on 10 December 2020 and referred to the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO). The proposal seeks to update the EU's legislative framework for batteries as laid out in Directive 2006/66/EC (the Batteries Directive), whose objective is 'to minimise the negative impact of batteries ...

Household consumption in the EU has major environmental impacts, which in a number of cases exceed planetary boundaries. Two thirds of consumers in the EU realise that their consumption habits have negative effects on the environment, and the solution that they mention most often is to change consumption habits and production patterns. However, a number of studies have shown a gap between consumers' good intentions and their actual behaviour. This happens because sustainability is not the only thing ...