Latest news with #EFSA
Euractiv
2 hours ago
- General
- Euractiv
EU a step closer to fur farming ban after damning agency report
The EU's food safety watchdog has found virtually no way to improve the current farm system for minks, foxes, raccoons and chinchillas, clearing the path for the Commission to propose EU-wide restrictions. In a report out Wednesday, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says that the current cage system makes it very hard to satisfy the animals' physical and behavioural needs. 'Neither prevention nor substantial mitigation of the identified [welfare conditions] is possible in the current system,' it reads. Farmed species include the American mink, red and Arctic foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas. Back in 2022, 1.5 million citizens called on Brussels to ban fur farming under the initiative 'Fur Free Europe'. The European Commission then tasked EFSA with assessing the welfare conditions at fur farms, which prompted this week's report. The practice of fur farming is already declining across Europe and has been banned in over half of EU countries. However, the industry is still operating in countries including Finland and Poland. The Commission will follow up on EFSA's report by March 2026, but it has already taken a key step towards making fur farming illegal. Just last week, the Commission listed the American mink – introduced to Europe for fur production – as an invasive species, meaning that national governments will have to prohibit their breeding and sale. Mark Oaten, CEO of the International Fur Federation, told Euractiv that the organisation disagreed with some of the issues raised by EFSA in its report, adding that "more research is needed on some of the welfare measures." "Animal welfare is a priority for the whole fur community, and I am confident we already have the very highest standards," he said. Potential loopholes But animal welfare advocates weren't surprised by EFSA's findings. Reineke Hameleers, the CEO of Eurogroup for Animals, said that confining "inherently wild animals in cages for a luxury product" is a violation of animal welfare in itself. "In light of this new EFSA assessment (...) we urge the European Commission to ban fur farming across the EU, in line with the demands of EU citizens." NGOs argue that a blanket ban is needed to prevent member states from exploiting loopholes in EU rules on invasive species. 'When the raccoon dog was added to the [invasive species] list in 2019, Finland and Poland exploited the derogation and were granted authorisation for 30 years,' said the NGO Humane World for Animals. Beyond welfare concerns, activists have also called for a shutdown of the EU fur industry on public health grounds. In 2020, Denmark, which used to be the world's largest producer of mink fur, made headlines when it culled its entire mink population – up to 17 million – fearing the spread of COVID mutations found in fur farms. (ssm, jp, aw)
Fashion United
3 hours ago
- General
- Fashion United
EFSA recommends cage-free fur farming for improved animal welfare
Paris - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a scientific opinion on Wednesday recommending abandoning the cage system to improve the welfare of fur animals on farms. The EFSA suggests opting for a system of "enclosures that offer more space and stimulation" to mink or red foxes. This opinion was requested by the European Commission as part of its response to a petition requesting the end of the fur industry. The petition was submitted in 2023 after gathering one and a half million signatures. At the time, Mark Oaten, chief executive officer of the International Fur Federation, said he was open to "a scientific review of fur farms". He specified that an outright ban would cost thousands of jobs for an industry that represents 18 billion dollars worldwide. The EFSA gathered studies on five species (mink, red fox and arctic fox, raccoon dog, chinchilla). This also included site visits, hearings and calls for contributions to identify the points that harm the welfare of these animals and the means to remedy them. "For all five species, the most relevant points concern the size and layout of the cages. These restrict movement and prevent the animals from foraging. They can also lead to sensory under-stimulation or over-stimulation (for example, if there is no shelter allowing the animal to isolate itself if necessary)", the health authority said in the preamble. Mink raised in groups can, for example, inflict injuries on each other. The EFSA recommends isolating them after a certain age and separating males and females beforehand. Red foxes and raccoon dogs would benefit from a change in cage flooring and more space to reduce paw problems. Chinchillas suffer from the impossibility of hiding when a human, a source of stress, is nearby. The authority recommends adding a shelter. It adds that most of the points identified cannot be improved under the "current production system because the limited size of the cages prevents the addition" of equipment. Improvements related to food are possible, however, for example by giving chew bones to foxes or hay to chinchillas. The authority highlights the lack of information on possible alternatives to cages since this system is widespread in fur animal production. Around 20 European countries have already banned fur farming, including about 15 EU members. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Euronews
6 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
The French rebel against a pesticide authorised for use in the EU
It's a debate that is shaking up French society this summer. With 1.8 million signatures collected within just a fortnight, the petition against the Duplomb Law is sending shockwaves through the political world. One point in particular is crystallising tensions: the reintroduction of a pesticide. The legislation authorises farmers to use acetamiprid, possible because the substance is authorised for use in the EU until 2033. It was a 23-year-old student who lit the fuse. She submitted her petition two days after the final adoption of the law on 8 July. For the ecologist MEPs, this text is a dangerous message sent by Paris to its European partners. "The problem is that France could very well have gone to its counterparts in the other Member States and said, let's harmonise our legislation, let's harmonise our bans, let's do it in the general interest and let's work towards that. This is not what France has decided to do," laments Majdouline Sbaï from the Greens/EFA European Parliament bloc. "By taking a step backwards, France is bound to set Europe back", she added. France wants to use this substance, which has been banned since 2018, to protect its beet, hazelnut, cherry and apple crops. Supporters of the law and France's leading farmers' union believe that national producers are at a disadvantage compared to their European counterparts and are talking about unfair competition. Right-wing MEP Céline Imart points out that insect pests "destroy between 30 and 50% of hazelnut crops." "And so what happens in this case is that we import products from our neighbours, from Germany or Italy, but also Turkish hazelnuts in the end, to supply the factories and production in France." A controversial pesticide "Neocotinoids, which include acetamiprid, are considered to be bee killers. A bee is used to pollinate. This type of substance is a real danger for bees and therefore for future pollination," warns Majdouline Sbaï. "But beyond that, it is also implicated and considered as a carcinogen, as a danger to the health of humans." However, the public health debate is more complex. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is cautious on this point. Last year, it stated that "there are major uncertainties in the body of evidence concerning the developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) properties of acetamiprid and that additional data are therefore necessary to (...) allow an appropriate assessment of the hazards and risks." The pesticide could have effects on foetal brain development. The EFSA has therefore proposed reducing the daily dose. "I understand that there is this debate. What is extremely damaging today is that the debate is biased. And when we try to bring science, rationality and scientific studies to the table", we "end up coming up against this emotion generated by the buzz of fear," replies Céline Imart. A blow for climate policy The Duplomb Act is part of a trend towards calling into question the climate policy adopted in recent years. The text includes other provisions that facilitate intensive livestock farming and construction of water storage facilities, otherwise known as megabasins. "Yes, this is yet another attack on the commitments made in the previous mandate," says Majdouline Sbaï. On the other hand, Céline Imart (EPP) welcomes the fact that this law calls into question the European Green Pact. "I'm very proud to be helping to unravel this Green Pact, because I think it's the wrong way to go about things. The punitive logic, the logic that will further burden farmers, their productivity, their profitability," insists the MEP. For the time being, the petition in France has met the criteria for a new debate in the National Assembly. The President of the National Assembly said she was in favour of a further exchange of views between MEPs. However, this debate can only deal with the petition, and will not be followed by a vote that could immediately repeal the law that has already been passed.
Euronews
22-07-2025
- Health
- Euronews
EU food safety officials set new limits on safe fluoride intake
Food safety officials have lowered the safe limit of fluoride in drinking water, though they say there is no evidence of serious health harms at levels commonly found in the European Union. Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that can help prevent tooth decay. Only a handful of EU countries, including Ireland and parts of Spain, add fluoride to drinking water, but it can be found in about 90 per cent of toothpastes. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries set a maximum fluoride limit at 1.5 milligrams per litre (mg/L) – the EU's legal limit – because higher levels can cause bone and teeth problems, particularly in children. But more recent studies have found that even below that level, fluoride intake may be linked to lower IQ in children. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reassessed the possible risks from fluoride because of those concerns. The agency screened more than 20,000 scientific papers on fluoride's effect on the developing brain, thyroid, bones, and teeth, tracking people's exposure to fluoride in drinking water, food, fluoridated table salt, and toothpaste and other dental care products, when they are eaten or ingested. In the EU, fluoride in drinking water is usually under 0.3 mg/L, which is a safe level, EFSA said. 'We estimated that, in general, with the current concentrations of fluoride in European drinking water, total fluoride exposure … does not pose a health concern,' Susanne Hougaard Bennekou, a toxicologist and chair of EFSA's scientific committee, said in a press release. There was one exception among children ages four to eight – though the potential effects were not exactly severe. If these children regularly swallow their toothpaste, they could experience mild tooth discolouration, particularly in their developing molars. 'This is unlikely to occur if children spit the toothpaste out properly after brushing their teeth,' Bennekou said. New safety thresholds Because of this risk, EFSA set a new safe fluoride intake level at 1 milligram per day (mg/day) for babies under the age of one, 1.6 mg/day for toddlers aged one to three, and 2 mg/day for those aged four to eight. The agency said the safe limit for adults and children older than eight is 3.3 mg per day. For pregnant women, this limit would protect their developing babies against toxicity in the brain, as well as any risks of thyroid and bone problems. The new thresholds are part of a consumer risk assessment, but they could prompt a change in the EU's legal limits on fluoride in drinking water. EFSA officials said it is still not entirely clear whether fluoride poses a health threat at levels below 1.5mg/L, and called for more research on the issue. 'There is evidence that we can't ignore linking fluoride to possible effects on the developing nervous system of the foetus,' Thorhallur Halldorsson, a food science researcher and chair of EFSA's working group on fluoride, said in a statement. 'But the evidence is not sufficient to set a threshold'.
Medscape
11-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Toxic PFAS Contaminate Eggs, Meat, and Milk
Following a recent cadmium exposure alert from the Union régionale des professionnels de santé-Médecins libéraux, a French regional body representing private practice physicians, attention has shifted to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of long-lasting industrial chemicals linked to serious health risks. Générations Futures, a France-based environmental non-governmental organisation headquartered in Paris that monitors the health and environmental impacts of chemical pollution, raised an alarm after analysing data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), showing widespread PFAS contamination in food across Europe. PFAS, often referred to as 'forever chemicals,' persist in the environment for decades and enter the human body primarily through dietary exposure. According to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, this chemical class includes thousands of compounds that have been widely used since the 1950s in industrial and consumer products, including textiles, food packaging, firefighting foams, refrigerant gases, non-stick coatings, cosmetics, medical devices, and pesticides. Despite their extensive use, only three PFAS are routinely monitored, and four are subject to regulatory restrictions. However, many others contaminate water and food at levels well above health-based thresholds. PFAS are associated with multiple health risks, including endocrine disruption (such as thyroid dysfunction), metabolic effects (including elevated cholesterol levels), hepatic and renal toxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and immune system impairment. Alarming Levels Générations Futures found that 69% of fish, 55% of offal, 55% of molluscs, 39% of eggs, 27% of crustaceans, 23% of milk, and 14% of meat samples contained at least one of the four PFAS currently regulated in food. In addition, the group identified seven other hazardous, non-regulated PFAS in samples of offal, fish, and eggs. The EFSA has established a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 4.4 ng ingested per kg of body weight for the combined exposure to the four regulated PFAS. According to the data analysed in the report, a 4-year-old child consuming a single egg would exceed this limit by 1.4 times. A 60-kg adult consuming 500 g of meat would ingest 2.5 times the TWI. The report highlighted that current regulatory limits prioritise economic considerations over public health. Authorities have set threshold limits on contamination levels according to observed contamination levels, aiming to remove only the most polluted products from the market. These limits also vary by food type and lack a consistent scientific basis. Générations Futures calls on public authorities to follow the example of Germany and the Netherlands by implementing systematic monitoring of PFAS levels across all food types, not just meat, offal, and fish, and by strengthening regulations to limit emissions and reduce exposure. The group supports the adoption of the PFAS restriction proposal 2023 under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals regulation, which aims to ban or limit approximately 10,000 PFAS compounds. The group also called for the revision of the PFAS limits set at the European level to better protect public health.
