Alessandro Ford
Big Chocolate is conning you this Easter
BRUSSELS — The Royal Gallery of Saint-Hubert in the Brussels Old Town is a noisy place. Fashionistas maul the haute couture; families chomp on waffles under its 19th century arches. But it’s the smell that guides you to the money. Aromatic, caramelly, roa...
6 months ago
Belgium’s renowned chocolatiers grapple with soaring cocoa prices
BRUSSELS — You famously never know what you’re going to get when you open a box of chocolates. But for Belgium, a state that’s synonymous with the high-end confectionery, soaring cocoa prices are making life for the nation’s chocolate aficionados even mor...
6 months ago
The EU says it wants food security. It really wants exports.
BRUSSELS — Food security: It’s the new slogan dominating European farming. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pinned it at the top of her agricultural agenda, promising European lawmakers that she would ensure it in her second term. Th...
2 months ago
EU’s first application for cultivated meat is for French foie gras
French food startup Gourmey has become the first company to apply for EU market access for cultivated or “lab-grown” meat, after it submitted an application for a cell-based duck product to the European Commission on Thursday.The novel food would be used...
2 months ago
Cypriot firm accused of profiting from EU potash sanctions against Belarus
Belarusian journalists have found that a Cypriot company linked with a former top aide to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is profiting through inflated contracts related to new export routes of the fertilizer ingredient potash, which were set up as...
2 months ago
Europe’s soil emergency
BRUSSELS — Extreme weather has made 2024 a ruinous year for European farmers. Charged by climate change, a savage cycle of droughts and floods, winter heat waves and late frosts has devastated agricultural areas. In recent months, cows died of thirst in S...
2 weeks ago