Welcome to the final edition of the CIAA newsletter for 2008.

2008 has proven to be an active year for Europe’s food and drink industry, with a continued focus on competitiveness and the work being done within the High Level Group, the food information package and the very important topic of sustainability within the food chain, to name but a few.

The High Level Group provides an opportunity to put essential requirements of the food and drink industry into the political limelight, and has the potential to initiate a visible change.  That is why CIAA is strongly committed to this process and to laying the foundation for improved competitiveness.

One of the highlights of this year was the resounding success of the 2008 Congress, held last month. Almost 500 delegates joined us at Autoworld Brussels where high level speakers from the French ministry, the European Institutions, consumer organisations, environmental NGOs, science, press and industry came together to discuss this year’s theme, ‘The Food and Drink Industry in the 21st Century – Generating Growth, Serving Consumers, Respecting the Environment’.  With a view to minimise the environmental implications related to the CIAA Congress, all printed documentation, Congress bags, lanyards and badges were sourced from recycled materials and are reused wherever possible. CIAA is now working with The CarbonNeutral Company to off-set all remaining carbon emissions through investment in certified renewable energy projects in the EU and globally.  More information will be available on our Congress website.

I was also very pleased that the independent survey carried out by APCO Insight into the commitments made by CIAA under the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, recently won a European Excellence Award in the category ‘Food and Beverages’.  This prize recognises the high standards of both scientific reliability and political credibility of the research methodology used to carry out the survey of over 2,000 food and drink producers — including both multinationals and family-owned companies — that was conducted between November 2007 and mid-March 2008 in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

On behalf of all at the CIAA Secretariat, I would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas; we look forward to an active and prosperous year in 2009!

Bonne lecture!

Mella Frewen