Page 897 of articles about news

In a report out today (Tuesday 13 January) on the English pig industry, the Committee says that although the pig industry is highly competitive and is well known for being cyclical, the last ten years have seen a steady decline in the scale and productivity of the English pig industry and an increase in the pig meat imported into the UK to satisfy consumer demand.

The United States Department of Agriculture today announced details of the final regulation for the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program required by the 2002 and 2008 farm bills. The full text of the final rule will be published in the Jan. 15, 2009 Federal Register. The rule becomes effective on March 16, 2009, 60 days after the date of publication.

Tesco yet again has strained its relationships with its suppliers, by demanding compensation from its pig meat suppliers for the loss of profits arising from the recent recall of pork products.

RSPCA is launching its “Rooting for Pigs” campaign today, calling on supermarkets and other food retailers to work with it to develop and sign up to a voluntary labelling agreement because there are currently no set definitions for pork product labelling. According to a poll conducted by RSPCA only two percent of those questioned understand the terms such as “outdoor bred” and “free range”.

Country of Origin Labelling has hit the trade in live pigs in North America. Translating the fourth-quarter figure to an annual equivalent suggests 2009 live swine imports will be roughly 6.5 million to 7 million head, the lowest tally since 2002.

Due to technical adaptations, Denmark has asked the Commission to authorise the update of four authorised methods and the utilisation of two updated methods (Autofom DK and FOM II).

During the first nine months of last year Germany became the top European exporter of pig meat, reaching a total of 1.5 million tonnes of pig meat and derived products, with an increase of 74% of exportations to third countries compared with the same period of the previous year. (Original in German. Read Google translation here)

Belarusian Veterinary Service has finished the inspection of some Russian meat processing plants which supply products to Belarus.

The Commerce Ministry will seek a Bt63.3-billion budget from the Cabinet to facilitate subsidy programmes for 11 farm goods this year. Of the total budget, Bt10 billion will be set aside for operation costs, and Bt53 billion will support pledging programmes for 11 products, comprising rice, maize, palm fruit, tapioca, rubber, sugarcane, egg, chicken, pork, shrimp, and fruits.

On 15 October 2008, The European Commission launched a consultation on agricultural product quality. At the close of the consultation period on 31 December 2008, more than 500 written responses had been received from a broad range of stakeholders: from farmers, retailers, European interest group representatives, local authorities, consumers, environmental NGOs, and many others.

Pork prices are expected to remain strong for the next six to twelve months because of fewer domestic pigs. Australian Pork Council CEO Andrew Spencer says pork prices are currently at record highs because of a combination of low grain prices, a low Australian dollar and a general shortage of pigs.

Federal Agency for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) has lifted restrictions on meat product imports from some Danish enterprises, as Rosselkhoznadzor’ press-service reports.

The Government of Canada is implementing two key recommendations: to create a market-access secretariat, and to pursue commercially-significant access to beef markets as a first step to achieve full access as recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The Czech presidency of the EU Council has published its work programme for the next six months, pledging progress on the food labelling regulation proposal, debate on food quality issues, simplification of the CAP and discussions on the policy’s future.

Payments worth €35 million have been made by the Department of Agriculture in relation to December’s pig dioxin scare, the joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture was told yesterday.

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate an ongoing multistate outbreak of human infections due to Salmonella serotype Typhimurium. As of Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 388 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 42 states.