Update

• As of January 1, 2022, the new European Regulation 2018/848 for organic production and labeling of organic products came into effect. This Regulation therefore replaces the current Regislation. As a result, the rules for producing, processing, trading and labeling organic products in the European Union are changing.

• On January 18, 2022, the European Regulation 2022/63 was published to ban the use of titanium dioxide in food. This ban will come into effect on August 8, 2022. The producers in all links of the chain have six months to put everything in order. The recipes and labels must be adjusted on time. The same date of August 8, 2022 applies to everyone, regardless of the food group and regardless of the stage in the food chain. After August 7, 2022, foods produced up to and including August 7, 2022 may still be sold, but please note: they may no longer be used to make composite foods that are placed on the market. Not even for decorating a cake, for example. After all, after August 7, 2022, no food containing E171 may be produced or imported into the EU. The coloring agent E171 may still be sold for use in medicines. Please note: food supplements are foodstuffs and not medicines. The coloring agent E171 and coloring preparations containing E171 may no longer be sold to the consumer.

• The NVWA has changed the working method with regard to reporting to the NVWA that a maximum residue limit (MRL) is exceeded for pesticide residues in the context of Article 19 of the General Food Regulation (ALV, Regulation 178/2002). With this new working method, the Netherlands is in line with the working method of the European Commission and most other EU Member States. In the context of the notification obligation, companies can now take into account the measurement uncertainty in their favor, where analysis results of residues of plant protection products are concerned and the food is (possibly) not harmful to health. This last requirement does not apply to animal feeds, but the animal feed must not be unsafe.

• Clean label ingredient: Avoiding E-numbers with unauthorized nutrients is not allowed. It is a trend to avoid E-numbers in product packaging texts and to use innovative extracts or derivatives of nutrients that also have an additive (= technological) function instead. VWS reports the examples: ‘citrus extract’ instead of citric acid, buffered vinegar instead of acetic acid, plant extracts with additive function (preservation, color, taste, etc.), rice bran instead of additives such as bulking agent and free flowing agent, including silicon dioxide and microcultures whose main function is preservation. The EC and the Member States have confirmed in the additives working group that these so-called clean label ingredients meet the definition of an additive and may only be used as an additive after official approval. The NVWA will not act on applications for admission that have already been submitted. However, the submission should have been made before January 1, 2022. This can lead to legal problems, especially with extracts and derivatives of nutrients.

• Two authorized Stevia species in the EU indicate a labeling change (E960a and E960c). The EC has approved an application for a new production process (enzymatic) for E960 steviol glycosides, whereby more rebaudioside M becomes available. The approved additive will be included in Annex II of the Additives Regulation as ‘E960c Enzymatically produced steviol glycosides’ and must be declared as such. For the sake of clarity and coherence, it has been decided to change the only permitted E960 Steviolglycosides to E960a Steviolglycosides from Stevia. A transition period of 18 months applies to this labeling change.

• The Hygiene Code for the fresh produce retail trade 2022, which was submitted by AGF Detailhandel Nederland to the Minister for Medical Care on 2 September 2021, has been approved as a hygiene code, as referred to in Article 4, second paragraph, of the Food Hygiene Commodities Act Decree. This decision shall enter into force on 1 February 2022.

• New KB (BE): plastic swabs and tableware banned from January 24. https://www.health.belgium.be/nl/news/plastic-wattenstaafjes-en-tafelgerei-verboden-vanaf-24-januari. A new KB is a decisive step in Belgium in the fight against single-use plastic. http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/besluit/2021/12/09/2022020004/justel A new KB bans various single-use plastic products such as cutlery, plates and straws. An exception is provided for existing stocks. In addition, different products are given a specific label with information about the presence of plastic and the impact on the environment.From 2023, the environmental inspection of the FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment will carry out checks.In the Netherlands, the SUP Directive has been implemented in the Plastic Products for Disposable Use Decree and in the Packaging Management Decree 2014. In order to achieve a reduction in consumption, the Netherlands will keep the option open to no longer provide food packaging and drinking cups (as described in Article 15d of the Packaging Management Decree 2014) free of charge to the end user as of 1 January 2023 or to provide the end user with a reusable alternative at points of sale and distribution, and/or prohibit these above-mentioned products to the end user in certain locations or on certain occasions.

• IFS kicks off with IFS Food v8. There will be a change due to:
  • adaptation of the standard to the new Codex Alimentarius
  • adaptation to the new version of ISO22003-2 (Food safety — Part 2: ‘Requirements for bodies providing evaluation and certification of products, processes and services, including an audit of the food safety system’.

In addition to the adjustments named above, the following points are also included in this process, namely:

• view/reassign some standard components (focused on the audit-trail)
• revision of the scoring system, especially focused on the b-scores
• being more consistent in formulations within the standard elements

Another consequence that IFS indicates is that the doctrine will become more compact and new software for reporting will be introduced. The consultation draft will be given to IFS stakeholders in April 2022. This is currently the only time indication from IFS.

• Shortage of sunflower oil. In the Netherlands, definitive agreements have been made between CBL, FNLI, MVO, NVWA and VWS about the labeling of foods in the event of a shortage of sunflower oil (publication 11-04-22 on the NVWA website) and in Belgium agreements have been made between the FPS Economy, FPS Public Health and the FASFC (available from April 22 on an online platform https://labelingderogation.economie.fgov.be/). As a result of the current crisis in Ukraine, signals have been received from companies and organizations about expected shortages of raw materials, in particular a shortage of sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is used as an ingredient in a large number of foods, such as biscuits, marinades, sauces and margarines. The sunflower oil in these foods will have to be (partly) replaced by other vegetable oils, such as rapeseed oil and soybean oil. Unfortunately, it is not possible to adjust all the labels in time, as a result of which, for example, the ingredient list on the label will no longer be correct. The NVWA and the Federal Government have therefore drawn up an action plan for this.