On November 19, the EU’s Court of Justice gave the long-awaited judgment on the classification of cannabidiol (CBD). The Court judged that CBD cannot be qualified as a “narcotic” in the eyes of the law. As a result, CBD products can be marketed and benefit from the free movement guaranteed by Articles 34 to 36
The decision particularly affects those players who had looked to take advantage of ambiguous regulations and interpreted the legislation (in particular (EC) 258/97) that whole insects did not need to be considered ‘new’ in the European Union. In her latest article for Les Marchés, Katia Merten-Lentz explores the decision, and what it means for producers
A Parisian start-up recently announced the opening of a ‘vegetable meat’ production site in France. The firm produces meat-free steak, wings and nuggets which are sold around the country. However, French law will soon prohibit the use of such terms for vegetarian meat substitutes in a bid to protect the interests of the country’s farmers
This article was published on Food Navigator on the 6th of August.
On 20 May 2020, the European Commission completed the REFIT [1] Evaluation of the Regulation (EC) n°1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health claims (the NHCR). Even though the
In May, the European Commission published its ‘from-farm-to-table’ strategy which aims to introduce ‘nutrient profiles’ by Q4, 2022. The objective of nutrient profiles is to place limits on certain nutrients i.e. fats, sugars and salt that can be contained in foods which simultaneously claim certain health benefits. The introduction of the strategy is long-awaited and
In February, France’s Council of the State ordered a modification of the country’s Environment Code. The move was in response to the European case law which had ruled that organisms obtained through some mutagenesis techniques to be tolerant to herbicides are to be subjected to the same regulations as applied to genetically modified organisms. Katia
Since April 2020, new EU rules have taken effect requiring food businesses to label foods with the country of origin or place of provenance of primary ingredients. In this article Katia explores the new requirements. In summary, if the origin or provenance of a product’s primary ingredient is different to the origin or provenance currently
Fraud in the agri-food sector can take many different forms. In this article, Katia elaborates on the decision of the high court of Paris in the now infamous horsemeat lasagna scandal, as well as the judicial framework of food fraud. (article available in French only)
This article was published in
Especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities continue to carefully enforce the rules that help consumers make well-informed choices about the food they consume. Katia Merten-Lentz reflects on the food labelling requirements food business operators need to adhere to (article available in French only)
This article was published in Agra
Online food sales still need a clear definition and a proper legal framework at EU level to successfully take advantage of the cybermarket and create new opportunities for food business operators in the EU, writes Katia Merten-Lentz of international law firm, Keller and Heckman.
This article is powered by EU Food Law – Published