TheMeatSite Newsletter - 31 October 2012

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Wednesday 31st October 2012

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

EDITORIAL: EU and US Clash over Use of Antibiotic Growth Promotor

The EU and US could be heading for another trade war, similar to the one it had over the use of growth hormones in beef cattle.

This time the row that is brewing is over the use of ractopamine - a beta agonist - as a feed supplement, which is used for boosting growth and increasing leanness in pigs, cattle and turkeys.

The latest turn of events in this saga came this week, when the Council of the European Union published its official response to the decision by Codex Alimentarius to set maximum residue limits for ractopamine, thus endorsing its use.

The decision by Codex was taken after a majority vote by the member nations. The majority was two.

The anger from the European Union at the Codex decision and the response by the council puts the EU on a collision course with countries such as the US and Canada, where the use of ractopamine is popular. Some estimates have the use in pig feed of between 60 and 80 per cent of the US herd.

An agreement was signed in Herning Denmark last week between pig producers, slaughterhouses and the food industry to boost slaughter pig production and cut exports of piglets to Germany.

The Herning Declaration signed at the start of the pig industry congress will seek to increase production of slaughter pigs in Denmark by two million over the next two years.

The agreement aims to make pig production in Denmark more efficient and to reduce risk to the Danish pig producers.

In recent years, the Danish slaughter industry has seen several obsolete slaughterhouses close and capacity moved to more efficient and newer plants.

At the same congress in Herning, the Danish pig industry declared that it was on schedule to fully comply with the European-wide ban on sow stalls at the start of 2013.

The most recent estimate indicates that around 85 per cent of producers are already keeping pregnant sows in group systems.

Of those who have not yet converted, a significant number are in the final stages of adapting their production to comply by the deadline date on 1 January.

However, the Danish pig producers are concerned that others in the EU will not meet the demands of the legislation and they have called on the EU not to have a derogation for those who do not meet the standards.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

US Per Capita Availability of Chicken Beats Beef
According to the USDA Economic Research Service's food availability data, the per-capita supply of chicken in the United States exceeded that of beef for the first time in 2010, reports Jeanine Bentley writing in Amber Waves.

Irish Consumers Continue Move to Private Label
At the moment the Irish grocery market is being underpinned by renewed food price inflation, according to Peter Duggan from the Strategic Information Services at Bord Bia - Irish Food Board.

Drop in Salmonella in Chickens
According to the June 2011 Agricultural Census, the total number of poultry in Great Britain was 142.9 million, comprising approximately 43.5 million laying and breeding chickens (including pullets), 88.3 million broilers and 11.0 million “other poultry”.

Slight Rise in UK Salmonella Tests in Pigs
Results from the June Agricultural Census indicated little change in the size of the Great Britain pig herd from 2010, down 1.3 per cent to 3.99 million head, according to the report from Defra's Veterinary Laboratories Agency.

Footpad Dermatitis in Dutch Broiler Flocks
Footpad dermatitis was frequently observed in Dutch fast-growing broiler flocks, with around two-thirds of the bird studied having some degree of lesions, according to new research from Wageningen University. Among the many factors that affected the severity of the condition were breed, thinning of flocks, age at slaughter, slaughter plant and the source hatchery.

Market Reports

» USDA International Egg and Poultry Review - 24 October 2012
» USDA GAIN: Argentina Dairy and Products Annual 2012
» USDA GAIN: China Dairy and Products Annual 2012
» USDA International Meat Review - 25 October 2012
» UK Poultry and Poultrymeat Statistics - October 2012
» USDA Poultry Slaughter - 25 October 2012
» Commercial Red Meat Production Down from Last Year
» Irish CSO - Livestock Slaughterings September 2012
» USDA GAIN: United Arab Emirates Poultry and Products Annual 2012
» USDA GAIN: New Zealand Dairy and Products Annual 2012

Company News

Marel Sees Reduced Revenue and Profits
ICELAND - Icelandic based meat and food equipment manufacturer Marel has seen reduced revenue and profits in the third quarter of the year.

Global Meat Industry News