Summary of newspapers of the previous days –13. 3. – 15.3. 2009

Eight thousand farmers dragged through Prague

The demonstration was really big – but also probably completely useless. They will be maximally fined. For the fact that they walked four alive cows in Prague. Though, they towed only a paper one in the Wenceslas square. Eight thousand farmers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Germany and Lithuania arrived at Prague to protest against how the European Union divides subsidies. The east pa rt of Union gets for agriculture only a part of what the original European fifteen. “We are here so that the government would help us.”

Bio-vegetable – really without pesticides

Bio-foods will protect your children against pesticides, chemical substances which farmers use as pest-protection. This is a main argument of bio-products supporters. A test of MF DNES, in which we stand fruit and vegetable together in “bio” and “non-bio” version, confirmed that we can believe it. Analyses carried out in laboratories of the Institute of Chemical Technology Prague showed that bio is really without pesticides.

How is it with foods of new type?

A progress in scientific research, a development of innovations, and finally, also globalization caused that foods for which consumers had not been used to started to appear n European market. The European Union already in 1997 determined a procedure of approval of these foods of new type before their first market introduction. In each food specialists have to evaluate whether it is safe and what influence it could possibly have on human nutrition. In the result the European commission can define use conditions and food marking.

Mycotoxins minimize from beginning

More than 250 kinds of fungi produce toxic metabolites – above all in cereals. These mycotoxins get also in foods and feeds and they can harm health of people and animals. The mycotoxins are chemically very stable. High temperatures, UV-radiation or oxygen decrease their concentration only slightly. To detect toxins, labour-intensive and costly analytical methods are necessary. Therefore it is optimal, if a grower prevents from spread of harmful fungi at the very beginning, so already in growing of cereals.