The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (EC’s DG SANTE) recently published a report on the effectiveness of EU Member States’ strategic approaches for fighting food fraud, which informed a guidance document that supports Member State efforts in this area.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a joint statement with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Environment Agency (EEA), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to express their commitment to supporting the One Health agenda.

Europol has drawn attention to an increasing trend of food fraudsters relabeling expired goods after operation OPSON Europe—a Europol-INTERPOL joint operation targeting fake and substandard food and beverages—found relabeled expired products at an “unprecedented scale.” Overall, €30 million euros worth of illicit foods weighing 8,000 tons were seized between December 2022 and April 2023. 

Although the use of glyphosate on crops poses a food safety risk and its use should be curbed, completely banning the substance too early may lead to farmers using chemical alternatives that are just as harmful to human and environmental health, according to experts from Wageniningen University and Research (WUR).

Wageningen University Food Safety Research recently launched a four-year project with the goal of developing an early warning system to detect the presence of mycotoxins in European cereal grains.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published a report detailing the activities of its Advisory Group on Data during 2022. The aim of the EFSA Advisory Group on Data is to demonstrate the ways in which digitalization of food systems can improve food safety in Europe.

The use of Methyloxolane, a plant-based solvent, has been authorized in Europe for the production of food ingredients as a substitute for hexane, which is derived from petroleum. The Minafin Group’s EcoXtract® brand supplies Methyloxolane solvent for the extraction of oils, vegetable proteins, and natural ingredients.

Harmful mycotoxins are on the rise in Europe’s wheat, affecting almost half of crops, according to a new study led by the University of Bath.

There was an overall increase in reported cases of zoonotic diseases and foodborne illness outbreaks in 2021 compared to 2020, the latest EU One Health 2021 Zoonoses Report revealed. However, cases and outbreaks are still below the levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goodway Technologies is opening an office in Düsseldorf, Germany, bringing the company’s cleaning and sanitation solutions to Europe's food and beverage market.