Brussels, 21/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - MEPs on the European Parliament's environment committee decided on 20 February to follow the suggestion of their rapporteur, Mario Pirillo (S&D, Italy), and approve a recommendation for tighter controls of the food chain by national authorities in Europe. In amendments to the draft regulation to merge the 16 existing regulations or directive, the MEPs strengthened the definitions and qualification requirements for staff and introduced measures to reduce conflicts of interest, calling for competent authorities to be independent of the operators they are monitoring. The MEPs increased the penalties for those found guilty of flouting the rules. Member states will be expected to publish, on a voluntary basis, information about operators' performance and guidelines to enable results to be compared. (AN/transl.fl)