News in brief

May sales lift for McDonald’s

14-Jun-2013 - Burger Giant McDonald’s has reported an uplift in sales for May, with both the US and Europe performing well.

Exclusive interview

OIE head Bernard Vallat on global animal disease control

13-Jun-2013 - While the European horsemeat scandal and a fresh Asian avian flu epidemic have dented public confidence in meat and livestock safety, Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), has stressed recent victories in the global battle for disease control.

US farming industry welcomes Senate approval of new farm bill

12-Jun-2013 - US farmers have welcomed the passing of a bi-partisan 2013 farm bill by the US Senate.

Australia sees record exports for beef and veal

11-Jun-2013 - Australian beef and veal exports hit record levels in May, exceeding 100,000 tonnes (t) swt for the first time in the nation’s history.

Canada plans retaliation over US’ COOL stance

11-Jun-2013 - Canada’s government has published a list of US commodities that are potential targets for retaliation unless the dispute over country of origin labelling (COOL) is resolved.

News in brief

Strong meat focus at Anuga

10-Jun-2013 - Preparations are well underway for one of the world’s biggest food fairs with visitors expected from around the world.

Big jump in Irish cattle slaughter numbers

10-Jun-2013 - Cattle throughput is up by over 9% for the year-to-date in the Republic of Ireland (RoI), including increases of 20% for steers and 13% for cows, driven by stronger trading as well as faster disposal of stock and higher mortality rates due to the fodder crisis.

Rise in Australian red meat exports to Saudi Arabia

10-Jun-2013 - Australian red meat exports to Saudi Arabia have soared so far this year with analysts predicting further growth in the market.

Staff and safety officials blamed for E.coli outbreak

07-Jun-2013 - The E.coli outbreak at Canada’s XL Foods meat processing plant was the result of failures by plant staff and food safety officials, an independent review panel has found.

Meat prices to remain high as demand increases

07-Jun-2013 - Prices for livestock products are expected to remain above historical averages in the medium term, according to a report presented yesterday (June 6) by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) and the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

MEP raises concerns over safety of Brazilian beef

07-Jun-2013 - A Portuguese member of the European Parliament (MEP) Nuno Teixeira has raised concerns about the safety of Brazilian beef after learning that two shipments of Brazilian beef have been blocked in the port of Rotterdam after testing positive for the presence of E.coli bacteria.

Market access slows US pork and beef exports

07-Jun-2013 - US pork and beef export volumes saw some recovery in April, but are still lagging behind last year’s levels, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.

News in brief

Japan sees notable rise in beef imports

06-Jun-2013 - Japan significantly increased beef imports in April, with growth driven by shipments from the US, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Finance.

Vaccination is not a ‘magic bullet’ for bovine TB

06-Jun-2013 - Vaccines are unlikely to be successful in tackling the problem of bovine TB in the UK, a new report from MPs has warned.

News in brief

Better intelligence needed to combat food fraud, says UK expert

05-Jun-2013 - An expert has warned that the UK’s food safety body must focus on improving its intelligence and major incident protocols in order to prevent further food fraud like the horsemeat scandal.

News in brief

UK appoints expert to lead review on horsemeat scandal

04-Jun-2013 - UK food minister Owen Paterson has revealed that Professor Chris Elliot of Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland has been asked to lead an independent review into the horsemeat scandal.

UK MPs urge reduced meat consumption

04-Jun-2013 - A group of UK MPs have called for a cut in meat consumption and a switch to pasture-fed systems in a bid to improve global food security.

News in brief

Australian Greens slam government on animal welfare bill

04-Jun-2013 - Australia’s Green Party has hit out at the country’s ruling Labor party for refusing to back a Private Members Bill to establish an independent Office of Animal Welfare.

News in brief

US reveals rise in meat stocks

03-Jun-2013 - US meat stocks rose last year, according to the most recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) cold storage survey.

Indonesia relaxes quotas on Australian beef

03-Jun-2013 - Indonesia has granted Australian beef exports exemption from quotas, under a new deal announced ahead of Ramadan and the Eid Fitri Festival.

Slow growth forecast for Russian meat industry

03-Jun-2013 - Despite the Russian meat industry having grown quickly over the last decade it is expected to drop over the next 10 years due to Russia’s new World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership and lower projected domestic consumption growth.

UK and Ireland have a shared future in food, says Paterson

31-May-2013 - Ways in which the UK and Ireland agri-food industries can work more closely were discussed at the UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit in Dublin on Wednesday (29 May).

News in brief

OIE declares US low risk for BSE

30-May-2013 - US meat bosses have welcomed a decision by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to declare the country a low risk for BSE in cattle.

Beef boosts Irish food exports

29-May-2013 - Strong beef sales have contributed to a 27% value hike in Irish food and drink exports over the last three years to €9bn in 2012, while trade with the UK has risen by 5% over the last year alone to €3.8bn or 42% of all exports.

Stranded NZ meat cleared for export to China

28-May-2013 - New Zealand authorities claim they have resolved a trading impasse with China which has left hundreds of pallets of frozen beef and sheep meat stranded in ports for weeks.