EU member states currently have very different legal approaches to dealing with consumers collective interests. As a result, small consumer disputes are rarely taken to court by consumers because of the costs of pursuing legal action and the relatively low recompense of doing so.
To address this problem, the European Commission adopted the directive (EU) 2020/1828 on 25 November 2020 to harmonize the current variety of national systems. In France, however, the directive is unlikely…
It’s increasingly common for criminal offenses to be judged outside of courtrooms, and the food industry is no different. If a party has admitted they are at fault for certain infractions, they may be able to avoid lengthy and expensive public trials by following alternative legal proceedings. However, little is known about these procedures – and why the assistance of a lawyer is still vital, even if the case isn’t tried in court. Katia Merten-Lentz…
Published by the European Food Safety Authority on 13 January 2021
Extract:
Today’s batch of EFSA scientific opinions on novel food applications includes the first completed assessment of a proposed insect-derived food product. Our safety evaluations are a necessary step in the regulation of novel food, as our scientific advice supports EU and national decision-makers who authorise these products for the European market.
Read the full article here.…
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 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Here, Katia Merten-Lentz and Manon Ombredane explain the details…
In the context of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy – which aims to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly – the European Commission announced a proposal for harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling, to enable consumers to make informed, healthy and sustainable food choices, write Katia Merten-Lentz of international law firm Keller and Heckman, and Caroline Commandeur, Associate at Keller and Heckman
This article was first published at IHS Markit (subscription required),…
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 and vendors of whole insects (in French).
Le statut juridique des insectes entiers clarifié
Cet article a…
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 and other agricultural parties. So, will the start-up be able to market their vegetable products using the titles of meat equivalents? Le…
The 43rd Codex Alimentarius Plenary Commission meeting will be held remotely this year, in multiple online sessions. The digital format is new, but the program essentials remain the same: adopting new CAC texts, revoking old texts and revising those which have reached the end of the development process. In the latest article for Les Marchés, Christophe Leprêtre and Katia Merten-Lentz give an oversight of what we can expect and the major points of discussion.
This …
This article was first published at IHS Markit (subscription required), 3 September 2020
The internet has become a platform for selling food across the globe. This phenomenon has even increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some malevolent operators use the current crisis as a business opportunity and have freed themselves from the EU food legislation, as Katia Merten-Lentz, partner at international law firm Keller and Heckman, and associate Caroline Commandeur write.
More and more…
The report finds that official controls in EU Member States on feed additives and their pre-mixtures, function largely well in context of the established risk-based control systems. However, it also outlines some areas for improvement such as the assessment of feed business operators’ hazard analysis and critical control points’ systems, the assessment of operators’ tests on homogeneity and measures to minimize unavoidable carry-over of certain feed additives, the follow-up of non-compliances, official controls on retained…