Campylobacter and Salmonella infections reported in the EU in 2022 remained below pre-pandemic (2018–2019) levels, according to the latest EU One Health zoonoses report, but the number of reported foodborne illness outbreaks increased by 44 percent in comparison to 2021.

Beginning December 8, 2023, the EU will require ingredients and nutrition labeling for wine and wine products.

The European Commission is poised to make the controversial decision to renew ten-year approval of the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto-Bayer’s Roundup product line, which has come under fire in recent years for its association with cancer.

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.

The European Commission has set significantly stricter limits for the use of nitrites and nitrates as food additives to reduce consumer exposure to carcinogenic nitrosamines. EU food business operators have two years to adapt to the new limits.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we are joined by Kris de Smet, D.V.M., Head of the Food Hygiene Team under the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety at the European Commission. Dr. de Smet discusses his work with the European Commission and Codex Alimentarius in areas such as Salmonella mitigation, foodborne illness outbreak preparedness and management, and food safety culture improvement and measurement.

With a draft legislation recently introduced to the European Commission, Italy is seeking to prohibit the production and marketing of cell-based meat, as well as the sale of plant-based proteins labeled as meat.

A recent study exploring the use of a digital technologies for retail food safety inspections in the EU has revealed existing opportunities to improve inspection consistency through digitalization, as well as the barriers that exist to adopting a digital environment.

Based on an assessment of the impact of glyphosate on the health of humans, animals, and the environment, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has determined that there do not exist any critical areas of concern.