Page 125 of articles about nutrition

The FAO Food Price Index has dropped for the first time after eight months of continuous price spikes. The Index averaged 230 points in March 2011, down 2.9 percent from its peak in February, but still 37 percent above March of last year.

EFSA’s scientific experts have updated scientific advice on the safety of irradiation of food – a process which can be used to destroy bacteria that cause food poisoning. In its comprehensive advice to EU policy makers, EFSA’s BIOHAZ Panel looked at the efficacy and microbiological safety of the process, and EFSA’s CEF Panel looked at possible risks arising from the formation of several chemical substances as a result of food irradiation.

The European Parliament would support a Commission proposal to lift the ban on the use of meat-and-bonemeal in pig and poultry feed but only if the strictest testing and surveillance mechanisms are enforced, according to a draft report.

The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger Regulation to the acquisition by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont", USA) of Danisco A/S ("Danisco", Denmark).

Meat from the offspring of cloned animals could find its way onto the EU market, with no-one being any the wiser, after member state representatives refused the Parliament's demand to label clone-derived products. The two sides met until late Monday night to discuss updating novel food rules, but were unable to reach agreement on clone-derived food and nanotechnology.

FAO's first forecast for world wheat production in 2011 stands at 676 million tonnes, representing a growth of 3.4 percent from 2010, the March 2011 edition of the Crop Prospects and Food Situation report. This level would still be below the bumper harvests in 2008 and 2009.

With enormous potential and a growing market, China will be able to raise its self-sufficiency rate in soybeans to 30 percent within three years, said Liu Denggao, vice-president of the China Soybean Industry Association.