European natural cosmetics standard finalized
It took six years of negotiations to reconcile all the interests of the major European labellers of natural cosmetic products. The new European guidelines on certified organic and natural cosmetics have been on the Internet since 4 November 2008 and are to come into force in January 2009. The new standard will make it possible to compare products, and the conditions for international trade will be improved.
The guidelines are to be posted on the Internet for two months, and the working group is asking for comments to be submitted by 4 January 2009 to: info@cosmos-standard.org www.cosmos-standard.org [+] 

 "Organic & Fair" – the new special show at BioFach 2009 
A new special show is to enhance the coming BioFach in Nuremberg. It will have a separate display area of some 1,000 m² with a special product presentation similar to the novelty stand. A Fairtrade Cafe will offer visitors snacks and coffee specialities, and a "Fair & Ethical Trade Forum" will be included in the congress programme. The new special show is located in hall 3, which also houses the novelty stand, Internet cafe, an Indian restaurant and the trade press stand. [+]

 New international organic research centre in Denmark
The Minister of Agriculture, Eva Kjer Hansen's, has welcomed the new international centre for organic research in Denmark: "With the establishment of ICROFS as an open international research centre, it is my ambition that Denmark becomes the leading country for increasing international cooperation on organic research. Through shared knowledge and cooperation across countries and continents, all of us will get the best out of the research resources. Further, organics has some interesting potentials in relation to sustainable production of foods and adaptation to climate changes."
ICROFS has just published its first 9-page newsletter.[+]

 Bio Suisse calls for quality strategy from Swiss Federal Council
Bio Suisse welcomes the Swiss government's negotiations with the EU for an Agricultural Free Trade Agreement. However, the aim of the agreement should be to combine the reduction of customs duties with the integration of the Swiss food and agriculture sector. The Swiss organic federation thinks this needs a policy strategy and the inclusion of the whole value creation chain. "The quality strategy is based on economic, ecological and social prosperity, in contrast to a purely quantity-based strategy to secure the market position with the lowest possible prices," is the wording of a press release from Bio Suisse.
Achievements like food safety, comprehensive declaration, environmental protection and animal welfare, which apply to the whole production, should not be undermined.[+]

 Spain: No coexistence rules yet for GM crops
Three years after the announcement of a national monitoring programme by the Spanish government to control the coexistence of GM and conventional farming, not even a draft measure on this has been prepared and the subject has been shelved until further notice. In the opinion of the Director General for Industry and Food Markets, Francisco Mombiela, the question of coexistence has "no priority at the moment". In contrast to Spain, ten EU countries have already regulated coexistence with minimum separations between GM and conventional farming to reduce the possibility of genetic contamination and enable the EU labelling standards to be met.
There was a proposal for a planned separation of up to 200 metres between GM and conventional farming, but no agreement was reached. Spain grows 70% of the genetically modified variety Bt corn in Europe, which equates to 75,148 ha.[+]

 Survey for EU organic wine regulation
The EU Commission is to commence discussions on an organic wine regulation in the coming months. The ORWINE project www.orwine.org has analysed the organic wine sector. A variety of producers and traders would like a standard, clearly defined EU regulation on organic wine. Organic wine competes directly with conventional wine and must therefore have a comparable quality; a zero input arrangement (e.g. a general ban on the use of additives and processing substances for wine-making) would lead to an unacceptable economic risk for the producer.
The ORWINE project would like to hear and consider the detailed views of those affected before finalizing its recommendation to the EU Commission. An Internet survey intended for all organic wine producers and their organizations in Europe is to be completed by the end of November 2008. [+]

 EU project to cut certification costs
The certification processes are associated with considerable costs for organic farmers. The Certcost project (Economic analysis of certification systems for organic food and farming) that started on 1 September 2008 aims to optimize the certification procedures European-wide. The project is funded with a total of 2.7 million euros from the 7th EU Research Framework Programme. Besides FiBL, nine other European institutions are participating, including the Aarhus University, Denmark, Aberystwyth University, Great Britain, Ege University, Izmir/Turkey, and Kassel University, Germany. The project is directed by Professor Stephan Dabbert of Hohenheim University. [+]

 Europe's secret plan to boost GM crop production
The European heads of government are secretly preparing an unprecedented campaign to spread the production of GM crops throughout Europe, as revealed by confidential documents obtained by the British newspaper "The Independent".
The documents are the minutes of unofficial meetings between representatives of the 27 European governments convened on 17.7 and 10.10.2008 by Manuel Barroso, the pro-GM President of the European Commission. The meetings were chaired by his head of cabinet Joao Vale de Almeida.
The meetings were mainly concerned with speeding up the introduction of genetically modified crops in Europe and persuading the public to accept them.
The documents call for "an emotion-free, fact-based dialogue on the high standards of the European GM policy", in which the industry, economic partners and science are to play a key role. [+]

 USA: What is the impact of the financial and economic crisis ? 
Whole Foods Market based in Austin/Texas saw a total sales increase of 13% for its fiscal fourth quarter, comparable-store sales gained just 0.4%, compared to an 8.2% increase in the prior year reports Mediapost. For the first five weeks of the first quarter, which ended this week, the company says comparable-store sales decreased 3.3%.
A recent analysis by Nielsen reports that organic sales now total $4.7 billion, with dollar sales up 23% and unit sales up 20% compared with a year ago. In the most recent period (through early September, before October's market meltdown), growth slowed to 13% for dollar sales and 8% for unit sales. The Natural Marketing Institute expects growth will taper off to about 10% in 2008 and 2009, and 5% by 2020. [+]

  News Ticker                                                   

> The Lao Coffee Association is to export the first organic coffee from Laos next year. The plantations have been converted to organic with the help of the German and French governments and meet the standards of the EU Organic Regulation. The target markets are Japan, the USA and Europe.

> A new film dealing with the necessity of changing to organic food for children is being launched on the market in France.

> The New Grammar School in Nuremberg has offered all pupils a 100 % organic meal since October and has installed the first organic milk shake vending machine in Germany.