The JRC's EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) has launched a study to review alternative methods and models being used for research in the areas of Respiratory Tract Diseases and Neurodegenerative Disorders.
According to the April issue of the JRC MARS Crop monitoring Bulletin, which was published today, in many parts of Europe, unfavourable weather conditions caused delays to the sowing of spring and summer crops. In most cases, there is still time to complete sowing within a suitable window without significant impact on yields.
The Short-term outlook for EU agricultural markets in 2018 and 2019, which presents the outlook for 2018-2019 for arable crops and meat and dairy markets in the EU, was published by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture today.
The report shows that EU cereal production is making a recovery, increasing by 10mt from 2016 to 2017. Oilseed production is expected to increase. Rapeseed is expected to increase by 9% over 2016-2017 levels.
Ecosystems deliver essential goods such as food, energy, raw materials, air and water. They also regulate our climate and provide habitats for pollinators that fertilise our crops. These services are vital to our economy. Ecosystem degradation (due to pollution, habitat loss, climate change and the introduction of invasive alien species) lowers the capacity of ecosystems to continue providing these services in a sustainable way.
JRC scientists developed a rapid analytical method for the identification and quantification of more than 100 liquid smoke components. The work is relevant for the implementation of European legislation related to smoke flavouring used for food products.
About 10 thousand tons of liquid smoke flavourings are used annually in the EU. The chemical composition is complex. The type of wood and other factors used for production of smoke determines the quality of the product.
The JRC has released ERM‑CA403 - a new Certified Reference Material (CRM) based on seawater that was certified for the mass concentrations of eight trace elements. This CRM enables better control of the quality of environmental water samples.
Directive 2013/39/EU on environmental quality standards for surface waters lists priority substances, including cadmium, nickel, lead and their compounds for which Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) were set.
The JRC released a new set of certified reference materials (CRMs) for genetically modified maize. These GMO CRMs will enable control laboratories to verify whether food or feed products on the EU market are correctly labelled with respect to the EU authorised maize event Bt-11.
The JRC developed and released this new set of certified reference materials (CRMs) for the quantification of genetically modified Bt11 maize (unique identifier SYN-BTØ11-1).
The latest edition of the monthly Anomaly Hotspots of Agricultural Production (ASAP) Global Overview, which reports on agricultural production of hotspot countries in Southern, East, North and West Africa, the Middle East, Central and South-east Asia, and Central America and the Caribbean, has been published today.
The world's first comprehensive evidence-based assessment of land degradation and restoration highlights some sobering facts regarding how worsening land degradation caused by human activities is undermining the well-being of 3.2 billion people (two fifths of the world's population), driving species extinction, intensifying climate change, and leading to increased risk of migration and conflict.
The JRC has developed and released ERM-BD512, a new reference material based on dark chocolate and certified for four trace elements: cadmium, copper, manganese and nickel.
This material will support food control authorities in quality control of their measurement results to the safety of chocolate.
On 1 January 2018, a new amendment ((EC) No 488/2014) to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 came into force establishing, among others, new maximum residue levels (MRLs) for cadmium in chocolate and cocoa products.
