UK pig industry tackles EU non-compliance

02-May-2013 - The British pig industry will start monitoring the UK food chain to ensure that illegal pork is not brought in from farms that are non-compliant with the sow stall ban introduced at the beginning of this year.

Ukraine eases EU cattle ban

29-Apr-2013 - Ukraine has partly lifted restrictions on imports of cattle and small ruminants from Europe, while Russia and Belarus have tightened restrictions over Schmallenberg virus fears.

News in brief

EC gives meat producers a marketing boost

29-Apr-2013 - The European Commission has announced a series of three-year spending programmes to help meat producers from around the European Union (EU) sell their products at home and abroad.

EU beef demand stays strong, despite horsemeat scandal

22-Apr-2013 - The European horsemeat scandal has not had any significant impact on demand for beef, according to the Rabobank Beef Quarterly Q1 report.

Feature

EU sheep meat sector’s volatility opens up new export opportunities

19-Apr-2013 - A  combination of low prices and production costs, reduction in import volumes from non EU countries, increased production in some sheep meat producing  countries combined with an increasing demand in emerging markets have paved the way for  some EU lamb producers to boost exports and compete on a global scale.

Horsemeat: EU test results published

17-Apr-2013 - Nearly 5% of products tested for horsemeat across the EU were positive, while 0.5% of those tested positive for bute, the European Commission stated yesterday.

Horsemeat: Bute poses little consumer risk, say EU agencies

16-Apr-2013 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have said that European consumers were probably not harmed through eating illegally contaminated horsemeat during the recent mislabelling scandal.

EFSA gives opinion on MSM health risks

02-Apr-2013 - Mechanically separated meat (MSM) from poultry and swine carries similar risks to non-mechanically separated meat unless produced using high-pressure production techniques, according to a scientific opinion published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Russia considers EU chilled meat ban

28-Mar-2013 - Russia has announced it will ban imports of chilled meat from Spain and the Netherlands due, in its opinion, to a lack of proper veterinary control in these countries.

Guest article

Horsemeat: what are the long term impacts?

20-Mar-2013 - As the horsemeat scandal continues to spread across Europe and beyond, Simone Baroke, an analyst for Euromonitor, looks at the possible long term impacts.

Warnings over CAP cuts

15-Mar-2013 - The European Parliament (EP) has backed budget cuts to the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) agreed last month by European Union (EU) heads of government and the move is expected to have a negative impact on EU livestock farmers.

Brussels predicts halt to growth of EU poultry sector

13-Mar-2013 - A European Commission food market data report has predicted the long-running growth on European Union (EU) poultry meat production will finally end next year (2014), registering an anticipated dip of 0.7%.

News in brief

Bute risk assessed in Europe

12-Mar-2013 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are to carry out a joint assessment on the potential human health risks of residues of the pain-killing drug phenylbutazone, known commonly as bute.

European supermarket survey

08-Mar-2013 - A biennial UK supermarket welfare survey is due to be extended across Europe for the first time, due to interest from companies on the Continent.

US industry gives conditional welcome to EU FTA talks

07-Mar-2013 - A group of US food and agricultural oganisations has praised the Obama administration for launching free trade negotiations with the EU, but has called for any deal to address barriers to US meat exports.

What caused the European horsemeat crisis?

04-Mar-2013 - As the horsemeat scandal continues to rage through Europe, policy makers and industry are starting to reflect on what caused the crisis, and how it can be avoided in the future.

News in brief

Nestlé drops Spanish supplier over horsemeat affair

26-Feb-2013 - In the latest twist in the European horsemeat scandal, Nestlé Spain has dropped contracts with one of its Spanish suppliers after horse DNA was found in a batch of meat labelled as beef.

Warnings over EU agriculture cuts

22-Feb-2013 - Members of the European Parliament agriculture committee have raised concerns over cuts made to the European Union (EU)’s rural development fund in the recent EU 2014-20 spending deal – warning it may especially hit farmers rearing livestock of sheep and goats in poor regions.

News in brief

Brussels loses patience over sow stall failures

22-Feb-2013 - The failure of nine European Union (EU) member states to properly protect the welfare pregnant sows - breaking an EU law agreed 12 years ago - has caused the European Commission to threaten legal action over the issue.

MEPs call for improved traceability of horsemeat

19-Feb-2013 - Members of the European Parliament’s public health and food safety committee asked last night for horsemeat supplies within the European Union (EU) to be subjected to better traceability requirements, because of the ongoing labelling scandal.

European plan on horsemeat approved

18-Feb-2013 - The Standing Committee of the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) has endorsed a European Commission plan to tackle the horsemeat crisis by testing thousands of beef products across Europe for horse DNA.

EU to allow US live pig imports

06-Feb-2013 - The European Commission has lifted a ban on the import of live pigs from the US, showing the European Union (EU) is willing to compromise over its interests in the meat and livestock sector.

US senators call for action on EU trade barriers

28-Jan-2013 - Four US senators have called for EU barriers on US meat and other agricultural products to be addressed as a “priority” in trade negotiations.

OIE head warns EU over animal disease risk

24-Jan-2013 - The European Union (EU) should give more help to poorer trading partners in eradicating animal diseases, so it can keep itself safe from diseases and bioterrorism, the director general of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has warned.

News in brief

UK levy body organises conference for young meat executives

23-Jan-2013 - Welfare regulations affecting the production of meat across the EU are set to be highlighted at a meeting of future leaders within the international meat industry.