Freshfel Europe AGM appoints new President and Vice President

On the occasion of Freshfel Europe’s Annual General Assembly on the 7-8 June 2018 in Hamburg, the Freshfel Europe members elected Mr. Stephan Weist (Rewe Group) as President and Mr. Salvo Laudani (Fruitimprese/Oranfrizer) as Vice-President of the Association for the next two years.

Upon election, Mr. Weist affirmed, “I am happy and also proud to be the first retailer representative appointed as chairman of Freshfel Europe. This will allow me to support the fruit and vegetable category that I am passionate about. Over the coming years we need to make sure politics understands and supports our sector in its specificities versus those of other agricultural sectors”. Mr. Laudani also expressed, “By working together, producers, traders and retailers can create value in the fruit and vegetable market and will be able to engage more final users, offering them unforgettable experiences”.

Freshfel Members also warmly thanks Mr. Luc Clerx who served the Association for the last 4 years as President, leaving behind a well structured and reputable association, making the most of its membership’s professional input to best represent the general interest of the fresh produce value chain.

Freshfel Europe 2018 Activity Report published

The Freshfel Europe General Assembly reviewed the outreach of Freshfel Europe over the last twelve months, which is detailed in the Freshfel Europe 2018 Activity Report available for download here.

The Activity Report provides a useful snap overview of Freshfel Europe, its structure and the wide diversity of topics that the Association is engaged in for the benefit of the general interest of the fresh produce supply chain. It tackles policy issues relevant to Freshfel Europe members such as the road to simplification and modernization of the CAP, the assets of fresh produce for sustainability and the circular economy, the new basis for the functioning of the food chain, the prioritisation of F&V in R&I, the new momentum around plant health, the confidence in fresh produce quality and safety, and the search for new trade opportunities within the rise of protectionism and unilateralism, securing trade flows in the Brexit negotiation. The report also highlights Freshfel Europe’s actions to place health and nutrition policy in the spotlight for fresh produce to build new opportunities and stimulate consumption together with a call for stronger focus on fresh produce in promotion policy.

Freshfel Europe presents Thematic Network at EU Platform on Diet in Luxembourg

On the 1 June Freshfel Europe presented its Thematic Network to members of the EU Platform on Action for Diet, Physical Activity and Health in Luxembourg. As the leader of Thematic Network on ‘Stimulating fresh fruit and vegetable consumption for healthier European consumers’, Freshfel Europe will develop a Joint Statement with other stakeholders to be presented at the EU Health Policy Platform meeting in November this year. The presentation is available here and more information about the Thematic Network is available via the EU Health Policy Platform.

During the meeting representatives from the Austrian Ministry presented on their forthcoming conference on ‘People’s Food – People’s Health’, which will take place on the 22-23 November in Vienna. The results of the of the mid-term evaluation of the EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity (2014-2020) were also presented to Platform members, in addition to progress on Platform members’ commitments on reformulation and marketing. The next meeting of the Platform, which will also be a joint meeting with the High Level Group, is scheduled for the 26 October 2018.

Freshfel Europe following Brexit negotiations closely

With the deadline of March 29 2019 approaching, Freshfel Europe is closely following with members and the public sector alike the potential business implications for fresh produce. More than 3.2 million tonnes of fresh produce are shipped each year from the EU to the UK, representing more than 150,000 containers of perishable fresh produce.

On 12 April, Freshfel Europe participated in a meeting with the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), together with other members of CELCAA, the European Liaison Committee for Agricultural and Agri-Food Trade. A number of issues related to the future EU-UK relation were discussed with UK officials, including customs, geographical indications, the future relationship with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), rules of origin and phytosanitary matters. During the meeting, Freshfel Europe recalled the need to consider facilitation measures to customs, such as the “systems approach”, particularly for perishable commodities, and shared its Working Document “Bottlenecks for fresh produce trade after Brexit” with Defra officials.

Throughout April, Freshfel Europe participated in meetings with Spanish officials both at the Ministry of Commerce and the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU, one of the most affected countries by Brexit as far as the fresh produce sector is concerned. Indeed, Spanish imports to the UK alone represent more than one third of EU imports to the UK (1.5 million tonnes out of 3.2 million tonnes). During the meetings, Freshfel Europe outlined the challenges that the fruit and vegetable sector is facing due to Brexit in terms of phytosanitary and other regulatory issues, the potential introduction of customs and other controls for exports to the UK, and new administrative, infrastructure and software needs, among others.

Freshfel Europe Food and Plant Safety Working Group Meeting

On the 19 April, 30 Freshfel Europe members met in Brussels for a Plant Safety Working Group Meeting to review the latest developments for the sector around food and plant safety matters. The meeting reviewed the latest developments of the food safety legislation, in particular regarding actives substances and their MRL, marketing standards and labelling and the plant health reform. Moreover, participants had the opportunity to debate with DG SANTE representatives about biocidal products, with regard to the setting of their MRLs, as well as about the changes related to official controls legislation and import conditions.

As a follow up Freshfel Europe also addressed a letter on topical issues including concerns over the European Commission’s envisaged safeguard measures on pitahaya (dragon fruit) originating in Vietnam, calling the Commission to consider more proportionate, transparent actions, as the emergency measures under consideration could result in non-desired, negative consequences, such as the stop of imports. Freshfel Europe also raised concerns on the evolving approach by the EU on the transitional measures in case of MRL changes, to provide a non-discriminatory, environment among suppliers and create security for product grown within an agreed legal environment.

Freshfel Europe attends 4th EU Platform on Food Loss and Food Waste meeting

On the 24 May, Freshfel Europe, as a member of the Platform, attended the fourth meeting of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste. The meeting took place in Vilnius at the AgroBalt Fair alongside the High Level Political Forum on Food Loss and Food Waste on the same day.

Freshfel Europe closely follows the work of the Platform as part of its sustainability agenda and its role to highlight in this forum the specificities of fresh produce and the numerous actions already undertaken by the sector to minimize food loss and waste.

The meeting reviewed food loss and food waste deliverables as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan and global monitoring of SDG 12.3. Besides this, an High Level Political Forum on Food Losses and Food Waste was organized by the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture, where Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis and Director General of UN Food and Agriculture Organization Jose Graziano da Silva addressed officials and participants on the importance of combatting the global challenge of food loss and food waste for a more circular economy. The Platform was also the opportunity to exchange on best practices and strategies to tackle food waste. More information about the meeting and previous meetings of the EU Platform is available here.

R&I: Freshfel Europe takes part in EUFRUIT project meeting

The International Expert Group on pesticide reduction in the framework of the EUFRUIT project met in Odense, Denmark on 23-24 May 2018. During the last meeting of this group, the yearly scan and analysis of all the research within the European institutes regarding this topic was presented by the representatives. Apart from this, the group also discussed the dissemination efforts that need to be undertaken in the upcoming final year of the programme.

As the aim of the project was to close the gap between the research centres and the sector itself, one of the milestones of the consortium is to involve the growers and technical advisors in the project as well. Against this backdrop, the consortium decided to hold its final conference at Interpoma in Bolzano in November 2018. On this occasion, the group will publish a detailed overview of the scanning and analysis of the work done in European research centres regarding reduction of pesticides. This article will be published on the Knowledge Platform, the online platform created by the project consortium that gathers all documentation regarding the project consortium’s work, which is publicly available. More information regarding the project and access to the Knowledge Platform is accessible on the website.

Freshfel Europe’s role in the consortium is to not only to disseminate the knowledge, but also to provide the consortium input regarding the latest state-of-play of the food safety policy in the EU and the evolving societal expectations from consumers.

R&I: Freshfel Europe participates in EuroMix project meeting

The EuroMix Consortium met in Athens, Greece, on 23-25 April 2018, to evaluate the developments in the different work packages from the last 6 months. The different representatives from the 22 partners also discussed the way forward for the last year of the project. Specifically, in Work Package 10 the final conference was discussed, which will be held in Brussels on 26-27 March 2019. This conference will be organised together with EDC-MixRisk, another Horizon 2020 project with close links to EuroMix. EDC-MixRisk focuses on the effects of mixtures of endocrine disruptive chemicals on children by developing methods for risk assessment. The aim is to promote use of safer chemicals for the next generations.

Freshfel Europe disseminates the knowledge generated by the consortium via its many meetings and takes part in the organisation of stakeholder conferences. More information regarding EuroMix and its partners can be found on the website.

CDG on F&V: Freshfel Europe presents outreach of its joint social media campaign #FruitVeg4You with Copa-Cogeca

On 20 April, the European Commission organised its biannual Civil Dialogue Group on Horticultural products – Fruit and Vegetables. This meeting is Chaired by Mr. Jose Antonio Garcia Fernandez, Freshfel Board member and Director of Spanish Interbranch Ailimpo. The meeting, which convenes delegate stakeholders from the different Member States, aims at taking stock of the latest updates regarding the secondary legislation prepared by the European Commission on the CAP, to discuss the market situation, and international trade developments as well as some food safety issues.

Freshfel Europe, apart from being an active participant in the discussions, also gave a joint presentation with Copa-Cogeca on the progress of the social media campaign #FruitVeg4You, which has been running since March 2017.

GREX Apples and Pears: Freshfel Europe’s first apples & pears outlook for the new season & review of R&I project covering deciduous products

On 20 April, the European Commission organised its biannual Civil Dialogue Group on Horticultural products – Fruit and Vegetables. This meeting is Chaired by Mr. Jose Antonio Garcia Fernandez, Freshfel Board member and Director of Spanish Interbranch Ailimpo. The meeting, which convenes delegate stakeholders from the different Member States, aims at taking stock of the latest updates regarding the secondary legislation prepared by the European Commission on the CAP, to discuss the market situation, and international trade developments as well as some food safety issues.

Freshfel Europe, apart from being an active participant in the discussions, also gave a joint presentation with Copa-Cogeca on the progress of the social media campaign #FruitVeg4You, which has been running since March 2017.

GREX on Stone Fruit: Freshfel Europe’s input on action to stimulate consumption

On 29 May 2018, the European Commission met with expert stakeholders of the stone fruit sector to provide the latest Europech updates regarding production forecasts for the summer season. The forecast indicates lower level of production compared to previous years, while the latest climatic conditions are placing additional pressure on the volume placed on the market due to hail damage, while demand on Northern markets were high to warm and sunny weather. Freshfel Europe is also assisting the European Commission and the sector to gain confidence in the forecast data by a better understanding of new methodologies used for the forecast.

On the occasion of the meeting, Freshfel Europe additionally presented a review of own initiatives and other policy tools to create a favourable environment to stimulate consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Freshfel Europe responds to public consultation on EU Single Window environment for customs

Freshfel Europe has responded to the European Commission consultation on the Inception Impact Assessment for an EU Single Window environment for customs. In its response, Freshfel Europe welcomed the spirit of the Commission’s roadmap, which identifies the challenges the industry is currently facing in the area of customs, and urged for a smart Single Window for customs to be developed as a matter of priority. This digitalisation will allow the EU to maintain its economic position, keeping its attractiveness as a destination of imports and facilitating EU exports. Nonetheless, the letter highlights that this digitalisation shall take place in a careful, orderly manner in order to prevent the creation unintended, negative consequences. To conclude, Freshfel Europe expressed its readiness to support the Commission in its efforts to unwrap the Single Window initiative and digitalise the customs world.

Future of Research & Innovation

On 2-3 May 2018, the European Commission organised a high-level conference on the future of Agri-Research, assembling over 500 scientists, farmers, people from rural communities, industry, advisors, policy makers and NGO representatives. Scope of the conference was to take stock of the activities done so far under Horizon 2020, to look forward to the 2019 and 2020 calls under the Horizon 2020 programme, and to have a preliminary look at the new Horizon Europe framework programme, that will cover the period 2021-2027. Freshfel Europe is currently involved in two Horizon 2020 projects (EUFRUIT and EuroMix) and hopes to partake in other consortia in the near future.

Together with its Task Force partners, AREFLH, EUFRIN and EUVRIN, Freshfel Europe is due to meet DG AGRI later in June to review the fresh produce perspective in this evolving environment and with the setting of a new policy with increased budget.