TheMeatSite Newsletter - 9 November 2011

Welcome to this week's newsletter

EDITORIAL: Concern over Rise in Meat Fraud Cases

Concern is rising in Poland over the number of meat fraud cases that have been discovered.

Almost 18 per cent of the meat in 108 processing plants that had been investigated by the Agriculture and Food Quality Inspectorate had a different content than that declared by producers.

This was more than five per cent higher than in the fourth quarter of 2010, and nearly 13 per cent greater than at the end of 2008.

This discovery was made at a time when a key conference in Krakow was discussing an Eastern Partnership of countries to establish EU law in the area of veterinary and phytosanitary issues, food safety and quality.

In the UK, the British Food Standards Agency is to encourage slaughterhouses to use CCTV to monitor animal welfare in their plants.

A paper to be presented to the FSA Board next week encourages CCTV as part of a range of safeguards to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare.

The FSA says it continues to work with businesses and meat industry representatives to encourage voluntary installation of CCTV as best practice.

In addition, the FSA is currently gathering a body of evidence from a range of sources, including those businesses that already use CCTV, to determine the benefits of CCTV.

A report from the European Food Safety Authority shows that compliance rates over pesticide residues in food in the EU are continuing to rise, with 97.4 per cent of the samples analysed falling within the permitted Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs), a rise of about one percentage point since 2008.

The data is published in the European Food Safety Authority's third Annual Report on Pesticide Residues, which gives an overview of pesticide residues found in food, including food of animal origin, in the European Union during 2009 and assesses the exposure of consumers to those residues through their diets.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 8 new features this week:

Setting Health and Safety Standards for the World
International standards for food safety and animal health and welfare can be and often are contentious issues, writes TheMeatSite Editor in Chief Chris Harris.

Brasil Foods - Setting its Sights on the World
Following its takeover of Sadia, Brasil Foods has set its sights on developing into a totally global company by 2015, writes TheMeatSite Editor in Chief, Chris Harris.

Research Shows No Cancer Link with Hot Dogs
The addition of ascorbate (vitamin C) or its close relative, erythorbate, and the reduced amount of nitrite added in hot dogs, mandated in 1978, have been accompanied by a steep drop in the death rate from colon cancer.

Focus On Consumer Trends To Increase Returns
Whilst finished cattle prices in the UK have increased significantly over the last year, Richard Phelps, Managing Director of Blade Farming said that is was important to ensure that an increase in price meant improved returns. Charlotte Johnston, TheMeatSite editor.

BPEX Export Bulletin – October 2011
About 250 people attended the 22nd English Meat Dinner during Anuga in Cologne, which celebrated Red Tractor produce and was addressed by Minister, Jim Paice according to the British Pig Executive's (BPEX) Export Bulletin.

International Meat Review - 27 October 2011
US beef and veal exports dropped in August, but pork exports rose according to data from the USDA.

UK Poultry and Poultry Meat Statistics – October 2011
Broiler and turkey slaughterings in the UK rose in October compared to September seeing a rise in poultry meat production according to the UK Hatcheries Survey and Poultry Slaughterhouse Survey results produced by Defra.

South Africa - Poultry and Products Report 2011
Total broiler production for 2010 amounted to 969 million broilers or 1.3 million tons of meat, four per cent more than the 931 million broilers or 1.25 million tons of meat produced in 2009, according to the latest GAIN report from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. In 2011, broiler production is expected to reach 980 million broilers or 1.315 million tons of meat, representing a one per cent increase from 2010.