Strange Fruit
The fruit produced by the baobab tree has just been approved for sale across the EU, meaning that it can now be exported from Africa and sold across Europe. That Brussels had the right to embargo such fruits in the first place was news to me. But on a closer inspection of the European Commission website, it seems that they do indeed. This relates to legislation about what they term 'novel foods', defined as 'foods and food ingredients that have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree within the Community before 15 May 1997.' The Commission says that the requirement for approval is an issue of safety. 'In order to ensure the highest level of protection of human health,' the website warns, 'novel foods must undergo a safety assessment before being placed on the EU market.' Although the baobab fruit wasn't consumed in Europe pre-1997, it has always been widely enjoyed in its native Africa. Being high in vitamin C, it boasts numerous health benefits and is a great source of iron and calcium. This has made it highly popular with pregnant women there, who refer to the baobab as 'the tree of life'. The pulp will be used as an ingredient in goods such as cereal bars and fruit smoothies. So it's a good outcome, but it is a pity that when helping lift Africa out of poverty is a stated ambition of so many European politicians, we have put yet another costly barrier in the way of African exporters. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/matt/blog/2008/07/16/novel_fruits
The fruit produced by the baobab tree has just been approved for sale across the EU, meaning that it can now be exported from Africa and sold across Europe. That Brussels had the right to embargo such fruits in the first place was news to me. But on a closer inspection of the European Commission website, it seems that they do indeed. This relates to legislation about what they term 'novel foods', defined as 'foods and food ingredients that have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree within the Community before 15 May 1997.' The Commission says that the requirement for approval is an issue of safety. 'In order to ensure the highest level of protection of human health,' the website warns, 'novel foods must undergo a safety assessment before being placed on the EU market.' Although the baobab fruit wasn't consumed in Europe pre-1997, it has always been widely enjoyed in its native Africa. Being high in vitamin C, it boasts numerous health benefits and is a great source of iron and calcium. This has made it highly popular with pregnant women there, who refer to the baobab as 'the tree of life'. The pulp will be used as an ingredient in goods such as cereal bars and fruit smoothies. So it's a good outcome, but it is a pity that when helping lift Africa out of poverty is a stated ambition of so many European politicians, we have put yet another costly barrier in the way of African exporters. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/matt/blog/2008/07/16/novel_fruits