Europe continues to lag behind in the use of irradiation, with only 10 member states approving facilities to process foods, according to the latest European Commission report released yesterday.

Europe continues to lag behind in the use of irradiation, with only 10 member states approving facilities to process foods, according to the latest European Commission report released yesterday.

While food irradiation is slowly gaining consumer acceptance in the US and several other countries, the technology has been slow to get support within many parts of Europe.

The European Parliament this week voted through four regulations relating to food ingredients - on authorisation procedure, additives, enzymes and flavourings - with notable amendments aimed at providing a heightened level of consumer protection across the bloc.

The European Commission adopted proposals for a common authorisation procedure on food additives, enzymes, and flavourings in July last year, with the intention of harmonising rules across the bloc and affording consumers the same level of protection no matter which member state they reside in.

The EU is moving closer to implementing measures to protect the food chain from a terrorist attack, by publishing a discussion paper on stepped up security measures that would affect manufacturers.

The measures could mean manufacturers would have to implement more stringent testing throughout the supply chain to check for any seeding of their products with biological contaminants such as antrax.

Current measures on traceability might also be stepped up, under the proposals.