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Egg Farmers of Canada Board of Directors Meeting The AI Surveillance Program (CANAISS) Update C&D Protocol Templates are Complete and Approved by CFIA Maple Leaf Identifies Listeria Contamination Source New Method Of Tackling Listeria In Food Conferences, Courses and Workshops
The Egg Grading and Further Processing Sectors will meet at the Delta Hotel in Ottawa as follows: Tues., Oct. 21 all day - Egg Grading Sector Wed., Oct. 22 morning - Egg Grading Sector Wed., Oct. 22 afternoon - Joint Egg Grading and Processing Sectors (review of egg business plan) Thu., Oct. 23 all day - Egg Processing Sector To book a $169 room at the Delta Ottawa please call 613 238-6000 or 800-268-1133 and quote Reservation ID code GFCPEP prior to September 20.
POTC, the Board of Directors, and the Chicken, Turkey and Hatchery Sectors will meet at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel as follows: Mon., Oct. 27 all day - POTC Tues., Oct. 28 morning - POTC Wed., Oct. 29 afternoon - Board Thurs., Oct. 30 all day - CHF morning - Chicken afternoon - Poultry Fri., Oct. 31 morning - Turkey To reserve a $149 room at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront via online booking, please use this link. To book an upgraded / harbour view room for $189, or a suite (junior - $249 and 1-bedroom $399), please call 1-888-236-2427 and quote group code "poupoua". Block expires September 26. Members attending either series of meetings are encouraged to book their accommodation ASAP as this can be a busy time of year for both hotels. Notices and preliminary agendas will be sent to sector members in the coming weeks. Egg Farmers of Canada Board of Directors Meeting The Board met on September 9 and 10 for the first time in the boardroom of EFC's impressive new offices. It is expected that the Pooled Income Fund (PIF) will close out the year at just under $50 Million. The projected 2008 supply to egg processors from the Canadian industrial product pool is estimated to be 400,000 boxes under 2007 levels due to fairly strong table egg sales. The Agency has revived a report that was not generated for some time showing a mid-year review of the supply of eggs to processors. This is a good report and will be sent to processor members. The strong financial position has prompted the Budget committee to recommend that the PIF levy be reduced by 2˘ a dozen to 20.75˘ effective in period 13 this year. This was unanimously approved by the Board. There was yet another lengthy discussion on comparative advantage and it concluded with the Board approving a quota increase of almost 162,000 layers. The QAC-recommended method was used to determine the allocation less an adjustment for unregulated layers. The 2009 Marketing and Nutrition Plan was presented and it received approval from the Board of Directors. The proposed budget of $9,675,000 will now go to the Budget Committee. This is a 6.9% increase over the 2008 budget. The issue of on-carton promotion was discussed and there continues to be a gap between what the Agency has offered -- 2.5˘ -- and the 3.5˘ that graders require to participate in the program. It remains uncertain whether the program will be repeated for 2009. Discussions on food sovereignty were deferred to the November meeting. CPEPC sectors will address this issue at their October meetings. At the close of the open meeting, EFC staff took attendees on a tour of their new office facility. The development of the jointly-owned facility was quite an undertaking and will no doubt pay off over the longer term. The tour concluded with a reception.
The Directors of Maple Lodge Farms Ltd. are pleased to announce the
appointment of Michael Burrows as the company’s new Chief Executive
Officer. Mr. Burrows brings more than twenty-five years of business experience, mostly in consumer packaged goods, to his new role. Most recently, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of E.D. Smith Income Trust and E.D. Smith & Sons Ltd. Previously, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Janes Family Foods Ltd., and held senior management positions at Mattel Fisher Price Inc. and Nabisco Brands Ltd. He began his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble Inc. Mr. Burrows earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Queen’s University and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from Carleton University. Maple Lodge Farms is Canada's leading independent chicken processor. It is committed to leading the Canadian chicken industry in every facet of operation. The objective is to always provide the highest quality, safety and innovation of food products in partnership with its suppliers and customers, creating an equitable and diversified workplace for its employees and supporting the community and charities to the highest standards of corporate citizenship. Founded in 1955, Maple Lodge Farms Ltd. is a private family owned Canadian Corporation. After the collapse of the WTO trade talks in late July, there was nothing of substance to report during the month of August. However, it should be noted that as the talks broke down, key Ministers pledged not to let the progress they felt was made in Geneva in July, evaporate. It has been reported that, following on that lead, Pascal Lamy, the Director General, has visited the G7 members - concentrating on India and the US, over the month of August. Highlighter readers will recall that the July talks broke down officially, over the Special Safeguard Mechanism issue - an issue which media reported as polarized between the US and India. G-7 senior officials met this week in Geneva to see what can be accomplished and what the timetable for any next steps should be. The backdrop for the next two years is clouded by some major political events like the US Presidential election, the potential election in Japan, the May 2009 Indian elections and the June 2009 EU Commissions Presidential change. Members of CPEPC's trade committee have received an update directly from Council office. As of publication of this edition of Highlighter, there was no further news from this week's meeting in Geneva.
The AI Surveillance Program (CANAISS) Update At the time of writing, CFIA reports that the central lab in Winnipeg has received 77 blood samples from flocks in the Atlantic, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, half of which have been tested. So far the process appears to be running smoothly. The first tested flocks will proceed to slaughter later this month. To eliminate a previously cumbersome procedure, CFIA has made a change with regards to the NAI status certificate in that a producer is no longer required to forward the certificate to the processor as a signal that the flock has been tested. CFIA will manage certificates and monitor that the receipt thereof occurs a timely manner in advance of slaughter. Processors will not know if a flock was tested or not. The details of this process have been provided directly to affected CPEPC members. CFIA intends to provide regular CANAISS update newsletters to industry beginning in a couple of weeks. C&D Protocol Templates are Complete and Approved by CFIA The National Poultry Group and CFIA have completed producer guidelines: Cleaning and Disinfecting Broiler Barns after a Notifiable Avian Influenza (H5 or H7) Outbreak, Generic Standard Operating Procedures and Checklists. It is a living document which will remain in draft and revised as necessary. Although it is written with a focus on broiler barns it is a guideline for other types of premises and producers will need to modify the template to suit their premise. A modified, farm-specific SOP requires review and approval from local CFIA. The document is available for producers from CFIA and the National feather boards.
Maple Leaf Identifies Listeria Contamination Source Maple Leaf Foods have released an update regarding its investigation into the likely cause of a Listeria monocytogenes contamination at its plant in Toronto, Ontario. After careful study of the records, the physical plant and product test results received from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), internal and external experts have concluded that the most likely source was a possible collection point for bacteria located deep inside the mechanical operations of two slicing machines on lines 8 and 9. Rigorous sanitisation of this equipment was completed on a daily basis in accordance with or exceeding the equipment manufacturer's recommendations. However, upon full disassembly, areas were found where bacteria may accumulate deep inside the slicing machines and avoid the sanitisation process. There were also other environmental factors, not on product contact surfaces, that may have contributed to the contamination. "We deeply regret this incident and the impact it has had on people's lives," said Michael McCain, President and CEO. "We have the highest food safety standards and we have worked around the clock and left no stone unturned to identify the root cause and eliminate the source of this contamination. Throughout this crisis we have done whatever it takes to place our consumers' interests and public health first. It's now up to us to earn back your confidence." "We are fully co-operating with the CFIA as they continue their investigation and conduct due diligence and verification. The plant will not re-open and no products will be released until the CFIA and Maple Leaf are confident in the effectiveness of the enhanced food safety protocols in place," continued Mr. McCain. www.worldpoultry.net Link to Sept. 6/08 Sun Media Column by Rod Charlton New Method Of Tackling Listeria In Food A new study has found that combining in-package pasteurisation with natural antimicrobial treatments is a novel approach in reducing the L. monocytogenes pathogens in food. The findings of the Clemson University researchers were published in the journal, Food Microbiology.
According to the study, L. monocytogenes can contaminate
ready-to-eat meat and poultry during post-processing steps such as
slicing, peeling and packaging. Tested in turkey www.worldpoultry.net
Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education (CPCFSE) Launches Their New Campaign and Website ‘Be Food Safe’ Be Food Safe officially kicked off in September with the unveiling of a brand new website, www.befoodsafe.ca. The campaign focuses on the four fundamental consumer messages with regards to food safety practices in the home; clean, separate, cook and chill. Simple and bold coloured graphics accompanied with text clearly depict the messages. Watch for the campaign appearing on consumer packaging, in grocery stores and flyers in the coming months. Graphics and all campaign material are available at no cost to CPEPC processing members for their use. Please contact Erica at the office for more details. ericacharlton@cpepc.ca Conferences, Courses and Workshops
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The Ontario Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs presents the