Smithfield announces strong pork operating profit

18-Jun-2013 - The world’s largest pork processor Smithfield has released its full-year results, which saw it turn in its second-best total pork operating profit in the company’s history, with a rise of 1%.

New president for US pork body highlights opportunities

18-Jun-2013 - There is great opportunity for the coming year in the American pork sector, newly elected president of the National Pork Board (NPB) Karen Richter has said.

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.

News in brief

EU urged to consider animal welfare in TTIP talks

14-Jun-2013 - Three European campaigning organisations have written to the Irish Presidency of the Council of Europe and the EU27 ambassadors calling for consumer, animal welfare and environmental issues to be considered during the the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the United States.

Amazon called on to end foie gras sales

14-Jun-2013 - US animal welfare campaigners have attacked online retailer Amazon over its decision to sell foie gras.

G8 science ministers discuss antibiotic resistance

13-Jun-2013 - Antimicrobial resistance was top of the agenda at a meeting of international science ministers in the UK yesterday ahead of the G8 summit.

News in brief

Pig virus detected for first time in US

12-Jun-2013 - Officials have confirmed that testing has identified porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) for the first time in the US.

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.

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.

Opinion

Shuanghui's acquisition of Smithfield aims to satisfy rising domestic demand for meat

10-Jun-2013 - Chinese company Shuanghui Group recently announced the acquisition of US meat business Smithfield. Ildiko Szalai, an analyst with Euromonitor International, reflects on the reasons behind the deal.

McDonald’s supplier opens chicken plant in Russia

10-Jun-2013 - US meat giant Cargill has invested $40m in a new chicken processing facility in the Tula Oblast region of Russia.

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.

US tackles food waste head-on

06-Jun-2013 - The US government has launched a new campaign to encourage food producers, processors, retailers and consumers to take action to “reduce, recover, and recycle” food waste.

US poultry industry raises concern over TTIP

04-Jun-2013 - The US poultry industry has warned that it will not support the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement unless it guarantees better access to the EU market for US poultry exports.

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.

H7N9 bird flu threatens global poultry outlook

30-May-2013 - The outbreak of H7N9 in eastern and central China could threaten the outlook for global poultry sales, according to the latest quarterly poultry report from Rabobank.

Chinese meat processor to buy US pork giant

30-May-2013 - China’s largest meat processing company has announced plans to buy out US pork producer Smithfield Foods for approximately US$4.7bn.

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.

US food and agri bodies call for FTA with EU

22-May-2013 - Food and agricultural organisations in the US are urging the Obama administration to negotiate a “comprehensive” free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union.

News in brief

Pork expo to offer insight

21-May-2013 - The global pork industry is being offered the chance to gain some valuable insight as the date approaches for the World Pork Expo, held in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on June 5-7.

IFFA 2013

Perten focuses on meat

13-May-2013 - Perten Instruments is moving more heavily into the meat arena with a range of products for NIR analysis of meat products.

News in brief

McDonald’s offers supply chain insight

13-May-2013 - McDonald’s will offer members of the public a peek inside its supply chain to see how its meals are made, as a response to curiosity about traceability by its consumers.

Feature

Casings: China growth drives global market

09-May-2013 - In February this year, Viscofan, one of the world’s biggest casings manufacturers, opened a new factory in China. Costing €27.8m, the new collagen extrusion plant in Suzhou, 80km from Shanghai, is Viscofan’s first outside Europe. Here, cattle and pig hides are processed into artificial collagen casings and sold to sausage manufacturers across China and the rest of Asia.