Talks between the European Parliament and the European Commission regarding an update on the EU regulation on novel foods have broken down. The institutions have two more weeks to find a compromise agreement before the whole review fails on March 30. The talks stumbled over disagreement on whether or not to ban food from clones and their offspring. The failure of the novel foods review would leave the use and development of new foods, as well as cloning and the application of new technologies, such as nanotechnology, in legal limbo for years to come. Those close to the talks say there is little hope of an agreement being reached before the deadline. The European Environmental Bureau expressed concern in particular over nanofoods, which would escape political attention if conciliation fails. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
http://www.euractiv.com/en/cap/eu-novel-food-regulation-review-risk-news-503223