How does the EU’s General Food Law impact on your business?

The European Commission has launched a public consultation in order to better understand how General Food Law (i.e. EU rules on food/feed safety along the production chain) affects small businesses in the sector.  The Commission is keen to hear about SME experiences, both good and bad, in terms of complying with the legislation.  If, for example, the current legislation creates additional paperwork or undue costs for your business, then they would like to know. 

This survey is aimed at all food/feed businesses along the supply chain, including: processors and manufacturers or food/feed products; manufacturers of food contact materials (e.g. packaging, cutlery, kitchen equipment) and plant production products (pesticides); wholesalers of food/feed products (including import/export); retailers (mainly selling food/feed, specialised or non-specialised); Caterers/restaurants;  transport/storage (mainly for the food/feed sector, specialised or non-specialised).

Your feedback will help assess the effectiveness of the law, and possibly make changes to it.  If you are operating in one of the sectors above and would be willing to complete a short survey on how food/feed regulations impact your business, please click through the following link: http://t.co/VSQqqewv20. By participating in this survey, you could be in with the chance of winning a bottle of Prosecco!

For further information about this public consultation, contact Katherine@corkchamber.ie. 

Irish food and drink buyers sought for trade mission to La Rioja, Spain, 3-4 June

Irish food and/or drink importers and buyers are invited to a food and drink focused trade mission to La Rioja (Spain) on 3^rd and 4^th June. This business mission is being organised in the framework of the Enterprise Europe Network and the Employer’s Federation of La Rioja. The Employer’s Federation of La Rioja will cover the cost of flights, accommodation and board for eligible applicants.

The event will comprise of bilateral business meetings between Spanish companies and Irish food and drink buyers or importers. Delegates will also have the opportunity to visit the companies’ premises. The overall scope of the event is to facilitate new international linkages within the food and drink sector.

The Rioja region is renowned for its Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) wine, olive oil, tinned vegetables, cured and cooked meats, and cheeses. The target audience for this mission will comprise of supermarket chains, foodservice distributors, importers of Spanish food products, and wine importers.

 For a copy of the application for and a catalogue of the companies’ profiles, please contact Eimear@corkchamber.ie.

Irish buyers sought for Sicily4Expo 2015 taking place during July, September and October 2015

Sicily’s Regional Government and the Enterprise Europe Network are organising a series of sector-focused B2B matchmaking events which will take place at different stages during Expo 2015. The scheduled events are as follows:

• A trade mission for the agrofood, organic food, tourism, fashion and design, craftsmanship, and marine sectors will take place in Palermo, July 12^th – 15^th 2015.
• A trade mission for the renewable energies, ICT, mechatronics, biomedical, eco-building, sustainable mobility, and water management, will take place in Catania from September 20^th to 23^rd 2015.
• A trade mission for the agrofood sector will take place in Milan and Catania from October 18^th to 21^st 2015.

Sicily’s Regional Government is offering to pay the travel, board and accommodation expenses for eligible Irish buyers from the above-mentioned sectors.

For further information about this event, please contact Eimear@corkchamber.ie. 

Exploring the relationship between Food, Health and Nutrition

The Enterprise Europe Network at Cork Chamber is calling for expressions of interest from companies that would like to join a delegation to ‘Food Matters Live’ which will take place from Tuesday 17 - Thursday 19 November 2015 at the ExCeL in London. 

Food Matters Live is the UK's first cross-sector event bringing together professionals from across the food and drink industry, nutrition and health to address one of the most important challenges of our time: the relationship between food, health, nutrition and their connections with the environment, population health and wellbeing. 

Food Matters Live will allow attendees access to:

• Over 400 leading organisations forming a carefully curated exhibition
• Over 450 speakers participating in the conference and seminar programme
• Over 100 free to attend conference and seminar sessions
• Special events include a free matchmaking meeting organised by Enterprise Europe, a Meet the Buyer event, an Open Innovation Pitching Event and the Free From Eating Out Awards
• Thousands of visitors from a range of professions and disciplines, including food science and manufacturing, R&D, food marketing, retailing, nutrition and public health

For more information contact Katherine@corkchamber.ie or see www.foodmatterslive.com