TheMeatSite Newsletter - 9 May 2012

TheMeatSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 9th May 2012

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Jobs Go as Plants Close of Lean Finely Textured Beef

The media furore over the use of lean finely textured beef in beef products in the US took its most severe and possibly final toll this week as the company at the forefront of the debate was forced to close three of its plants.

Only last week, Beef Products Inc had been promoting the safety and nutritious value of the products at the American Meat Institute Expo in Dallas.

The exhibition and conference also held a special seminar session to show to the media and the exhibition visitors that the product was safe.

However, the pressure of the campaign against the product that has resulted in many organisations, food service outlets and retailers demanding its withdrawal from their products has forced BPI to close its plants in Amarillo, Texas, Garden City, Kansas and Waterloo, Iowa with the loss of 650 jobs.

A plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska, will stay open but run at reduced capacity.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said: “The fact that a false, misleading smear campaign can destroy a company’s reputation overnight should disturb us all.

"My office will never stop fighting for every single job in this state, and I continue to hope that as consumers learn about this safe, healthy and lean product, they will understand what a great product lean, finely textured beef truly is."

In Brazil, meat processing giant JBS SA is to lease the assets of Brazilian poultry processor Frangosul, a company controlled by the French group Doux.

JBS said the move is another step to become the largest producer and meat processor in the world.

The company is already the second largest operator in the global poultry segment.

Under the agreement signed, JBS said it will not assume any pending, charges, restraint, seizure or inability of any other nature.

This is a lease asset and JBS said it will hire all current Frangosul employees and continue all contracts with the integrated service providers and third parties.

With this new Brazilian chicken operation, JBS will boost its production capacity by 15 per cent to approximately nine million birds per day.

A new report from the agri-business analysts, Rabobank, has linked the price of pork in China to the movement in the Consumer Price Index.

The report "Is the CPI the China Pork Index?" says that "a large portion of the China food CPI is due to pork’s large share in the CPI basket and its high price volatility".

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 7 new features this week:

Processing Automation to Increase Profitability
The continued growth of the poultry market and the increased demand from retailers and food service operators for higher quality safe and wholesome products is placing more and more pressure on the processor, writes Chris Harris.

Welfare Considerations Can be Significant for Business
From the time that birds arrive at the slaughterhouse to the time at which they have been slaughtered, there are several key welfare considerations, writes Paul Cook director of RL Consulting.

Processors Fighting the Battle against Pathogens
Poultry processing companies are fighting a continual battle to ensure that the products they produce are wholesome and safe, ensuring that they are not contaminated with foodborne pathogens when they leave the plant, writes Chris Harris.

GLOBAL POULTRY TRENDS – Africa Outpaces Global Egg Growth
Output continues to rise in Africa and Oceania, writes market watcher, Terry Evans, in his latest analysis of the egg industries in these two regions.

Estimating Animal Abundance in Ground Beef Batches
Estimating the source and numbers of animals that have been used in batches of gound meat can be significant in the event of a food recall.

Safety of Raw Milk Sales in Northern Italy
All pathogens investigated were detected in raw milk sold from vending machines, according to new research from Italy. They found that raw milk is a significant source of exposure Mycobacterium avium subsp. and that the official culture method (ISO) may be ineffective in detecting low contamination levels in milk.

Changing Broiler Diets for Better Breast Meat Quality
Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) included in diets without animal protein significantly improved broiler performance, increased breast meat yield and affected some meat quality parameters, according to new research from Belgium.

Market Reports

» USDA Agricultural Prices - April 2012
» USDA GAIN: Eggs and Products in Spain and Portugal - May 2012
» USDA Dairy Products March 2012 Highlights
» Irish CSO Livestock Slaughterings March 2012
» BPEX UK Pig Meat Market Update - May 2012
» International Egg and Poultry Review: Colombia
» BPEX Weekly Export Bulletin - Week 18
» AHDB European Market Survey - 4 May 2012
» AHDB UK Market Survey - 4 May 2012
» UK Egg Statistics May 2012
» USDA National Dairy Products Sales Report - 2 May 2012
» International Egg and Poultry Review: Brazil

Company News

CATO Introduces New Grinder Line
SPAIN – CATO has launched a new Power Plus Grinders Line for the treatment of frozen meat.

Landia Chopper Pumps Increase Productivity
UK - Tough, sturdy Chopper Pumps made by Landia have helped enhance productivity at one of the UK’s leading national and international suppliers of top quality beef products for the retail, commercial and food-service markets.

CTB New Long Term Owner of Meyn
NETHERLANDS - CTB, Inc. has reached an agreement to acquire Meyn Holding. B.V., a parent company to Meyn Food Processing Technology B.V., the global leading poultry processing equipment company, from Altor 2003 Fund.

Global Meat Industry News