The Food Tech Event in the Brabanthallen on 20 and 21 May in ’s-Hertogenbosch once again showed how fast technological developments in the food sector are following. The fair showcased a wide range of solutions: from robotisation and vision technology to digital factories and AI-driven quality control. What was particularly striking was that these technologies were not [...]
On 29 May 2026, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature sent a response to the House of Representatives to a memorandum by a food sector entrepreneur. The title of that note was “Is switching to plant-based food better for the environment?” The Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature had the [...]
During the Animals in Animal Husbandry and NVWA committee debate on 23 April 2026, the risk assessment of the red meat and coarse game chain was on the agenda. The report was prepared by NVWA's Risk Assessment & Research Bureau, BuRO for short. BuRO recommends reforming the system that ensures food safety, animal health and animal welfare. The focus should [...]
The House of Representatives discussed the European Food and Feed Safety Simplification Omnibus Package on 12 May 2026. The name sounds appealing. Fewer rules. Less duplication. More space for entrepreneurs. Some of the proposals are indeed practical. Duplicate notifications can disappear. Procedures can be faster. Redundant reports need not remain in place because they once [...]
The European Commission chooses a strikingly clear message in 2026: “No safe food without safe feed.” No safe food without safe feed. [1] That sounds logical. Yet in practice, feed, animal health and food safety are still often treated as separate worlds. The livestock farmer looks at the animal. The feed supplier to its raw materials. The slaughterhouse to [...]
EFSA recently published The 2024 European Union report on pesticide residues in food. Adopted on 25 March 2026, the report charts official controls on pesticide residues in food over 2024. The main message seems reassuring: most of the products examined meet the legal standards. But who further [...]
The NVWA's intervention at a meat processor in Brabant has affected several links in the meat sector in a short time. The withdrawal of the EC approval meant the company was shut down immediately. As a result, products may no longer be processed or traded within the European market. For the company concerned, this means an immediate stop [...]
The NVWA has updated the working regulation HTSL-TRTPECOL-WLZVL-01 - Welfare during transport of vertebrate animals with effect from 1 May. This working regulation describes how official NVWA veterinarians check animal transports related to economic activity, including cross-border transport. The changes seem limited, but in practice can directly affect exporters, assembly centres, transporters, livestock farmers [...]
The European Commission has published a new overview report on the welfare of farmed fish in the EU. The report is the result of a two-year project looking at how member states and Norway deal with fish welfare on farms, during transport and when killing fish. The main message is clear: fish welfare is still [...] within Europe.
From 1 July 2026, the Netherlands will introduce the truck toll. Trucks and heavy commercial vehicles will then start paying per kilometre driven on almost all motorways and on some provincial and municipal trunk roads. The charge will apply to vehicles in the N2 and N3 category: goods vehicles with a maximum technical mass of more than 3,500 kg. For ordinary vans [...]
