TheMeatSite Newsletter - 21 December 2011

TheMeatSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 21st December 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

EDITORIAL: Campaign Against Antibiotics Stepped Up

The campaign against the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock production in the US was stepped up this week with renewed appeals from Congresswoman Louise Slaughter for the practice to be ended.

The campaign will undoubtedly be met with cries of anguish from some sections of the US farming community, who regularly use antibiotics to enhance feed conversion and boost weight gain.

However, there is a growing clamour of concern over the potential for a growth in antibiotic resistance in humans being passed on by eating meat from animals raised this way.

There is particular concern over the salmonella strain, Salmonella typhimurium, which is resistant to multiple antibiotics important for human health including beta-lactams, animoglycosides, and cephalosporins.

Congresswoman Slaughter has introduced a bill to phase out the practice using antibiotics.

"The routine, regular dosing of antibiotics to healthy animals is absolutely contributing to the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria," she said.

Meanwhile, the US beef and pig meat industries are reporting an increase in exports.

During October beef exports were up 10.7 per cent compared to a year ago and beef imports were down 4.4 per cent and pork exports were up 42 per cent compared to a year ago and pork imports were down 11 per cent.

October has seen net exports of pork, beef, broiler and turkey meat hit the highest month ever at 1.225 billion pounds and also represented the largest per cent of total US monthly production at 15.5 per cent.

The October results for pork exports were the second highest month ever at 438 million pounds year on year. Exports to China/Hong Kong were up 277 per cent, Japan up 38 per cent, South Korea up 65 per cent and Canada up 27 per cent.

This is reflected in global trade as Europe is also reporting strong exports of both beef and pork, with the EU now becoming a net exporter of beef following years of being a net importer.

The dynamics seen in the US pork exports with the majority going to Asia points to where the new demand is.

Because of the Christmas and New Year Holidays, the next issue of TheMeatSite newsletter will be sent out on 4 January 2012.

Finally, we wish all our readers and advertisers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 8 new features this week:

Study Finds Cooking Increases Energy from Meat
Next time you are out to dinner, you may want to think twice before ordering your steak rare, according to scientists at Harvard University.

Chilled Food: Fresh Products Popular with Consumers
The relatively new convenience product segment known as chilled food involves food that is freshly made, freshly processed and freshly cooled.

Economic Implications of FDA's Food Safety Modernisation Act
The 111th Congress enacted the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which was signed into law by President Obama on 4 January 2011. This is the first comprehensive reform of FDA food safety policy since the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was enacted in 1938, although the food safety programs of the US Department of Agriculture's FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) had been modified in the interim.

Campylobacter Contamination in Broiler Carcasses
Campylobacter were detected in 51.9 per cent of broiler carcasses, according to researchers based in Belgium, and slaughterhouse hygiene scores and Campylobacter contamination were found to be correlated.

Agricultural Commodities: Beef & Veal
The Australian weighted average saleyard price for beef cattle is forecast to remain relatively high in 2011/12 at an average of 326 cents a kilogram (dressed weight), according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) December Agricultural Commodities report.

United Kingdom Pig Meat Market Update - December 2011
The monthly average DAPP for October was little changed from September at 145.52p per kg dw, according to Stephen Howarth, Senior Analyst (Pigs), AHDB Market Intelligence, in his latest explanation of the UK and EU trends.

Carcase Weight, Nutrition & Finishing Impact Dark Cutting
Using data collected on 204,071 Meat Standard Australia (MSA) graded carcases at one Western Australia processor from February 2002 till December 2008, Beef CRC researcher Peter McGilchrist and colleagues from Murdoch University investigated a range of animal and pre-slaughter factors that impact on the rate of dark cutting.

Agricultural Commodities: Lamb
The Australian weighted saleyard price for lambs is forecast to average marginally lower in 2011/12 at 540 cents a kilogram, a decline of one per cent compared with 2010/11.

Company News

Cross Web Labellers in Tandem Operation
GERMANY - MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection has developed a tandem operation for cross web labellers. This enables labellers to be installed very close to each other on the packaging machine.

Gainco Distributor for Anritsu Products
US - Gainco, a leading manufacturer of yield management systems and supplier of foreign object detection systems for meat and poultry processors, has reached an agreement with Anritsu Industrial Solutions USA, in which Gainco has been named the exclusive authorised distributor and reseller of Anritsu-brand HD x-ray inspection systems, checkweighers, combination systems and related quality control software to the poultry processing industry in the USA.

Global Meat Industry News