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Background: The adverse relation between dietary trans fatty acid (TFA) intake and coronary artery disease risk is well established. Many countries in the European Union (EU) and worldwide have implemented different policies to reduce the TFA intake of their populations. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the added value of EU-level action by estimating the cost-effectiveness of 3 possible EU-level policy measures to reduce population dietary TFA intake. This was calculated against a reference situation of not implementing any EU-level policy (i.e., by assuming only national or selfregulatory measures). Design: We developed a mathematical model to compare different policy options at the EU level: 1) to do nothing beyond the current state (reference situation), 2) to impose mandatory TFA labeling of prepackaged foods, 3) to seek voluntary agreements toward further reducing industrially produced TFA (iTFA) content in foods, and 4) to impose a legislative limit for iTFA content in foods. Results: The model indicated that to impose an EU-level legal limit or to make voluntary agreements may, over the course of a lifetime (85 y), avoid the loss of 3.73 and 2.19 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), respectively, and save >51 and 23 billion euros when compared with the reference situation. Implementing mandatory TFA labeling can also avoid the loss of 0.98 million DALYs, but this option incurs more costs than it saves compared with the reference option. Conclusions: The model indicates that there is added value of an EU-level action, either via a legal limit or through voluntary agreements, with the legal limit option producing the highest additional health benefits. Introducing mandatory TFA labeling for the EU common market may provide some additional health benefits; however, this would likely not be a cost-effective strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to assess the competitiveness of the European food industry from an economic and legal perspective. Knowledge of its present competitiveness and improvement opportunities are lacking. To close this knowledge gap, we measured the competitiveness of eight subsectors, benchmarked them with four leading world economies, assessed the effect of differences in legal requirements, and predicted future developments using scenario analysis. International economics indicators supplemented with data on legal issues from a survey conducted by leading experts were used to measure competitiveness. The results show that the EU food industry's competitiveness is weak. The legal system was positively evaluated compared to the U.S. system, but major improvements are possible. The recommendations are to improve economies of scale, economies of scope, ICT-based supply chain management, and exploit cultural differences through innovation, within a more flexible and streamlined legal framework. [Econlit. Citations:F14, L66; Q13]. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles of business relationships and B2B communication in selected European agri-food chains are analyzed. Using survey data from 1,026 farmers, food processors and retailers in two commodity sectors (meat and cereals) and five different EU countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Poland), we test the empirical relevance of several theory-based determinants of relationship goodness. This is undertaken for the overall dataset and separately for different supply chain stages (farmer-processor versus the processor-retailer relationship) and for the individual countries. The estimation results, derived from structural equation modeling, suggest that the most important contributor to good business relationships is effective communication, with its two components, adequate communication frequency and high information quality, being equally important. The existence of personal bonds and an equal power distribution between buyers and suppliers are the second most important goodness-of-relationship determinants, while in addition the embeddedness of an agri-food enterprise in the local economy seems to contribute positively to good business relationships. The analysis also reveals that the relative importance of these determinants differs across the two considered stages of supply chain relationships and between the countries investigated. Agri-food business managers seeking to improve their supplier or buyer relationships need to consider the crucial role of effective communication and the positive contribution that the existence of personal bonds can make to the development and maintenance of sustainable relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the health claims being rejected by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) over functional foods that claim to increase the immune system has stopped some companies in its tracks. The European Union (EU) regulation 1924/2006 ensures that health claims on food products are backed by science-evidence. Lucia De Luca, EFSA spokesperson, points out that the regulatory body simply works within the EU regulation, that requires scientific evidence to support health claims.