On February 28, a free seminar on the safety regulations that Canadian authorities require to market food will be held in Guatemala City.
From a statement issued by Agexport:
The Business Intelligence Unit at the Market Development and Commercial Promotion Department of AGEXPORT and the Embassy of Canada in Guatemala are calling on exporters who have experience in exporting food to the Canadian market.
In the last quarter of 2014 reports of food recalls and notifications of regulatory compliance increased by 16% particularly in fruits, vegetables and fish derivatives.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
Food recalls and notifications from the European authorities increased by 16% in the last quarter of 2014 compared to the previous period.
The European Union is proposing simplifying the approval processes for "novel foods" products, so called because they have no history of consumption, are produced with new ingredients or are "traditional" in origin.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer):
The European Union (EU) has taken up the proposal for regulation for novel foods.
The FDA now requires calorie information to be included on menus of restaurants, chain, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations.
From a statement issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) US:
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has finalized two regulations requiring the inclusion of calorie information on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations, in order to offer consumers greater nutritional information on food eaten outside of the home. The regulations are a requirement of the law on Affordable Health Care and Patient Protection 2010.
On November 4th, the Guatemalan Exporters Association will be providing information on regulatory technical requirements to be met in order to export food to the EU.
From a statement from the Guatemalan Association of Exporters:
The Commission on Food and Beverage at AGEXPORT will be holding a seminar on the 'technical regulatory requirements on food exports to the European Union' on 4 November.
Including information on food labels relating to "added sugars", updating serving sizes and calories are some of the changes proposed.
From a statement issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is proposing an update to the Nutrition Facts labels used on most packaged food in the United States. If the proposal goes through, the following will be some of the proposed changes.
Questions and answers on the application of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on food information to consumers.
Starting in December 2014 the regulation No. 1169/2011 on food information for consumers will come into effect.
On October 25, 2011, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information given to consumers (hereinafter called 'the IAC Regulation').
A recent update of a Sieca regulation is causing confusion because of the inclusion of potassium bromate as a permitted additive.
This topic has been discussed by delegates from the Central American Ministries of Economy, Trade and Health, who have participated in review meetings of the Central American Regulations of the Member States of the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIEC).
Two new programs propose verification regulations on foreign suppliers for importers of food used for human and animal consumption.
The new rules proposed by the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA), is in the process of public review and comment for a period of 120 days.
The first set of rules "... would require U.S. importers to verify that their suppliers produce foods that meet U.S.
Regulations on food packaging come into effect in January 2013, with emphasis on nutritional labeling information.
A press release from Procomer reads:
Regulations on food packaging will take effect from January 1, 2013, to guide the public and reduce the risks of non-communicable chronic diseases, reported Su Zhi, representative of the Ministry of Supervision Public Health of China on August 13.