Page 137 of articles about nutrition

EU Member States should be able to state environmental grounds, such as pesticide resistance, for restricting or banning the cultivation of EU-approved genetically-modified crops, said the Environment Committee on Tuesday. Stating these grounds could strengthen legal protection against possible WTO challenges to GMO bans, it added.

The Cabinet of Ministers extended the quotas of exportation of grain crops until July 1, Agrarian Policy and Food Supplies Minister Mykola Prysiazhniuk has told journalists.

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.