TheMeatSite Newsletter - 16 February 2011

Wednesday 16th February 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Food and Farming Coming to the Fore in Global Negotiations

The UK must get world leaders to open up markets allowing the farming sector to export more and free up world trade, the British agriculture secretary Caroline Spelman told the National Farmers' Union annual conference in Birmingham this week. She said the UK backed the European agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos for focusing on climate change and food security as major challenges to the European agriculture sector.

However, she said that the commission's proposals lack foresight and fall short of what is necessary.

She said that agriculture is now coming to the front of negotiations globally and is being seen as a crucial issue in stabilising the world economy and providing food for the world.

In New Zealand, a new study commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has put the economic cost of the major foodborne infections in New Zealand last year at NZ$162 million – almost twice the figure calculated five years ago.

The increase is not due to more illness, but more reliable estimates of economic cost.

The study calculated the total cost to New Zealand society from illness caused by foodborne Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, Yersinia and norovirus in 2009.

The Swedish pig meat industry has warned of a threat to the sector with three farms going out of business every day because of rising input costs.

And in France, this week, French farmers are threatening to stop, check and seize consignments of pig meat that are not officially stamped.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 5 new features this week:

Measuring Meat Eating Quality
The eating quality of meat helps to control the number of resales and the success of the product. This was the message from Charlotte Maltin from Quality Meat Scotland to the QMD R&D Conference in Perth, writes TheMeatSite Editor in Chief, Chris Harris.

BPEX Export Bulletin - February 2011
The British Pig Executive's (BPEX) Export Bulletin for February 2011 reports pig industry trends from around the world. The EU's recent Private Storage Scheme appears to have been a success in halting the fall in pig meat prices.

International Meat Review - 3 February 2011
The US cattle inventory for January was the lowest since 1958 becasue of high feed costs according to the USDA's International Meat Review.

Research Focussing on the Other E. coli
Most people are aware of the efforts to reduce health risks from E. coli O157:H7 linked to undercooked ground beef and fresh produce, including spinach and lettuce.

World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates - February 2011
Production forecasts for 2011 are raised for beef, broilers and turkey but lowered for pork, according to the latest USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.

Global Meat Processing Industry News