Green guidance for EU food and drink firms

A forum under the EU's IPPC industrial pollution directive has agreed a new guideline on best available techniques (BAT) to minimise environmental impacts in the food, drink and milk industry. This is the 24th sectoral BAT reference document, or bref, to be finalised under the process.

The Seville-based IPPC bureau will now send the bref to the European commission for formal adoption. The IPPC directive requires that all food and drink processing plants above certain size thresholds must apply BAT, as described by the bref, by October 2007.