The European Union's official seal for organic foods features a red strawberry glistening in the sunlight, with a farm in the background. Anyone who buys yoghurt containing the label expects to getting a pot full of natural goodness.
But appearances can be deceptive. An organic strawberry yoghurt doesn't necessarily contain any fruit at all. A gap in the EU rules on organic food allows producers to use artificial aromas.
Many consumers have long had their doubts about how genuine supposedly organic products are. Now the European Commission has delivered proof. "In the long run, standards that are not trustworthy can jeopardize public confidence and lead to market failure," says the draft of a new EU directive seen by SPIEGEL.
EU Farming Commissioner Dacian Ciolos wants to introduce stricter rules for the production and sale of foods bearing an official organic label. He wants to remove the many exceptions that lead to an organic product not consisting 100 percent of organic ingredients. "Organic production rules are watered down by exceptions and unclear provisions" the EU officials wrote in a paper.
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A top panel of experts in Davos has poured cold water on claims that the European crisis is over, warning that the eurozone remains stuck in a low-growth debt trap and risks being left on the margins of the global economy by US and China.
Axel Weber, the former head of the German Bundesbank, said the underlying disorder continues to fester and region is likely to face a fresh market attack this year.
"Europe is under threat. I am still really concerned. Markets have improved but the economic situation for most countries has not improved," he said that the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Mr Weber, now chairman of UBS, said the European Central Bank's stress test for banks in November risks setting off a new sovereign debt scare, reviving the crisis in the Mediterranean countries.
"Markets are currently disregarding risks, particularly in the periphery. I expect some banks not to pass the test despite political pressure. As that becomes clear, there will be a financial reaction in markets," he said.
As NO single country has managed yet to reduce its absolute national debt (AT BEST they reduced the RATE of their new annual-indebtness [ = slightly smaller budget deficits than in previous years], - claims that countries like Ireland repaid their bail-out loans to the ECB must be false, BECAUSE their national debt has not gone away but actually grown further. -- Because of this, new interest payments on that lingering national debt would be immediately applicable AGAIN, this time even larger than the previous interest payments, which these countries could not pay....... It just shows that the whole bail-out is a hoax.
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