TheMeatSite Newsletter - 14 September 2011

TheMeatSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 14th September 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: US Declares War on E.Coli serogroups

The US Department of Agriculture has declared six additional serogroups of pathogenic E. coli as adulterants in non-intact raw beef.

Raw ground beef, its components, and tenderised steaks found to contain these bacteria will be prohibited from sale to consumers.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will launch a testing programme to detect these dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.

As a result of the action, if the E. coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145 are found in raw ground beef or its precursors, those products will be prohibited from entering commerce.

US meat processor Cargill has launched a recall of more turkey products because of concerns of Salmonella contamination.

The company said that as a precautionary measure, Cargill Value Added Meats Retail, part of Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, has announced an immediate Class I voluntary recall of approximately 185,000 pounds of 85-per cent-lean fresh ground turkey products produced at the company’s Springdale, Arkansas plant on 23, 24, 30 and 31 August this year.

The company said that the recall was due to possible contamination from Salmonella Heidelberg.

The Tunisian authorities have amended their BSE testing requirements for Irish beef so that they are consistent with those that apply within the EU.

For cattle whose beef is destined for Tunisia, this means an increase in the minimum age of testing from 48 months to 72 months.

Meanwhile in the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has discussed a proposal to relax certain provisions in the current ban on the use of meat and bone meal (now called processed animal protein, PAP) in feeds for poultry and pigs. The ban was introduced as part of the measures to counter the spread of BSE.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 5 new features this week:

Spoilt Food Soon a Thing of the Past?
Unwanted bacteria, yeasts and moulds can cause major problems for the food industry as well as consumers. Norwegian researchers have developed new methods to identify potential sources of contamination.

GLOBAL POULTRY TRENDS - Americas Holds Share of Global Chicken Meat Production
More rapid growth in production among the leading South American countries will enable the Americas to maintain its share of global chicken meat output at 47 per cent in 2011, writes industry watcher, Terry Evans in this, the first part of the 2011 series of Global Poultry Trends, exclusively on ThePoultrySite.

The European Response to BSE: A Success Story
Food safety authorities across Europe and the meat industry will need to stay vigilant to the threat of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) even while the number of incidents has dramatically decreased.

International Meat Review - 1 September 2011
Changes in population and income and moves in imports of feed cattle to Mexico are likely to affect the US beef trade with the country according to the USDA.

July Beef, Pork Exports Continue To Surge
July was another very strong month for US beef and pork exports, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Both are on pace to set new export value records in 2011 and to eclipse the $5 billion mark for the first time ever.

Company News

Traceability in Focus at DanFish 2011
DENMARK - Traceability and marine scales will be the focus for Marel at this year's DanFish international fisheries exhibition, to be staged in Aalborg, Denmark, from 12 - 14 October.

Systems Integration Talks Traceability in Canada
UK - SI's CEO, Rob Stephens, has just returned to the UK following his participation at a food traceability and value chain management workshop held in Toronto, Canada.

Global Meat Industry News