Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 30.1.2008

ÚOHS specified rules for rise and functioning of sale cooperatives

The Office for Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) delimited newly permitted activities as well as things absolutely forbidden for sale cooperatives of farmers and food producers. Concerning the former, it is dealt for example with agreements on market division and agreements on price. The Office published a new methodology today which specifies conditions of rise and operation of sale cooperatives. Farmers and food producers by means of integration endeavour to reach a stronger position in negotiation with trade chains.

Package of food should be better-arranged

An instruction of the European Union should unified legislative in the EU concerning marking of food. There should be presented only basic nutrition data on packages. Information on allergens should be published also on unpacked foodstuffs. The European Commission adopted a proposal on Wednesday on whose base EU rules for marking of foodstuffs should be revised and unified. All packaged food should have obligatory data as a content of sugar, fat and salt. An aim of the proposal is first of all to arrange better data on labels of foodstuffs. The main nutrition data should be shown on the front side of packages; the font should be of minimal height three millimeters.

Paradise of modified crops? Czech Republic. It will welcome more corn

The Czech Republic confirms its reputation of European Great Power in growing of genetically modified crops. Another type of GM corn will be tested in field experiments at four localities. A Global company Syngenta will test a corn with name GA 21 resistant to pests in the Czech Republic. Testing stations in Nechanice, the Agricultural Research Institute in Krom˙˙í˙, and the Research Institute of Plant Production in Prague have already asked the Ministry of Environment for permission to realize field tests with this corn.

Farmers: Sudden frosts should damage vegetating plants

A course of this year’s winter worry South-Moravian farmers; they are afraid of a sudden arrival of strong frosts. Many agricultural crops have not transformed in dormancy owing to the moderate winter; they started to vegetate, and water-swelling plants could crackle in frosts. “At temperatures deep below zero, there is also danger of soil movement and damage of root systems of permanent cultures”, Tomáš Martine, a manager of the company Zem˙d˙lská, a.s. ˙ejkovice said today to ˙TK. According to long-term meteorological forecasts temperatures in February should move on average about one degree below zero.