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July 3,
2009 M-COOL
Negotiations Yield Little Progress - Canada Guelph
Council Votes Down “Cage-Free” Motion
EU Farm Ministers Tighten
Slaughter Rules Winners of
CCGD Grand Prix New Products Awards™ C.D.C.'s Foodborne
Illness Study 'Skewed': N.C.C. NZ Researcher's Technique Can Distinguish Free-Range Eggs from
Caged
Conferences, Courses and Workshops CFIA and
industry have begun discussions on the 2009 Canadian Notifiable Avian
Influenza Surveillance System. Geographically, the country’s sampling
regions have now been grouped as BC, Ontario and the rest of Canada. The
pre-slaughter component will remain, but will make up a much smaller
portion of the overall sample size. Given that industry and CFIA have
the most knowledge in this component, it is likely to get started in
July and run through September to gather approximately 240 samples.
CPEPC will be working with CFIA contacts to use the same approach of
on-farm testing based on slaughter schedules. Beginning
later in October a new component for 2009, parent flock samples from
broilers, layers and turkey, will be added. Ducks, geese and specialty
birds will also be included in the sampling regime for 2009. The active
surveillance component, the existing passive surveillance component and
the post-outbreak surveillance samples from BC in 2009 will make for a
goal of approximately 852 sampled farms as compared with 646 farms in
2008. CPEPC
remains involved in the Technical and Communication subcommittees
alongside other industry reps and CFIA. We will continue to keep you
informed on the progress of CanNAISS 2009.
M-COOL Negotiations Yield Little Progress - Canada The
Minister of International Trade reports there is little progress in
discussions with the United States aimed at resolving Canada's concerns
over Mandatory US Country of Origin Labelling. Last
September new rules took effect which require a range of foods,
including muscle cuts and ground meats including beef, veal, lamb, pork,
chicken and goat meat to be identified at US retail according to its
country of origin. In February, approximately three weeks before the 16
March implementation of the final rule for Mandatory COOL, US
agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, issued a letter calling on American
retailers to implement additional voluntary labelling measures. That
prompted Canada to request additional formal consultations with the US
under the World Trade Organization dispute settlement process. In the
event the formal consultations fail to resolve the dispute, Canada will
be in a position to request that the matter be referred to a WTO dispute
settlement panel. International Trade Minister, Stockwell Day, reports
the issue remains unresolved. He said "We're not happy with their response to our
concerns back in January and February and so we filed under WTO for the
consultation process. That process, the time limit is winding down. The
people were appointed to do the consultations, to compare the notes. I
can't say that I've seen great movement there so we may have to take it
directly to the dispute settlement mechanism. We're prepared to do that.
We've told the Americans that. We'd like to see this settled in the
final phases of the consultation process but if that's not possible we
will not hesitate to take it to a dispute". Minister Day says indications
are that the US understands Canada's position on Country of Origin Labelling but really has not come up with a solution that Canada can
live with so we may have to force the issue by taking it through the
dispute settlement mechanism.
Guelph Council Votes Down “Cage-Free” Motion In a 10-1
vote held June, 29 Guelph City Council voted down the Humane Society
International-Canada resolution calling for the exclusive use of
cage-free eggs at all city owned establishments. Introduced by
Councilor Maggie Laidlaw, presentations were made by Egg Farmers of
Ontario, OFAC and local egg producers. Council has agreed to look at its
procurement policies for purchasing local products. The
location was spectacular and the weather also cooperated. The TFC summer
meetings were hosted by the Alberta Turkey Producers (ATP) in the
mountains in Kananaskis, Alberta. The Agenda was full and a lot of the
focus was placed on the 2009/10 whole bird allocation. After reviewing
the market conditions and a thorough discussion on the TMAC
recommendation, the TFC Board of Directors approved the TMAC
recommendation to further reduce the 2009/10 whole bird allocation by an
additional 2.5 Mkg. This decision resulted in a whole bird allocation of
70.6 Mkg for 2009/10. All Directors, with the exception of one
abstention, voted in favour of the motion. Directors also passed a
second motion requesting TFC staff to monitor the placements of poults
in an attempt to realize the lower whole bird allocation is implemented
as quickly as possible in the current year. The Supply
Policy Committee (SPC) provided a progress report on their work, which
included a review of the Export Policy, the Multiplier Breeder Policy
and the SPC work plan. The TFC Board also agreed to increase their
contribution to CPRC for research to $28.5 k. TFC staff provided updates
on the TRQ working group and the organic file, which included an
agreement between Canada and the U.S. and Canadian organic standards
being implemented on June 30th, 2009. Directors also approved the
2010/11 allocation process timetable and indicated their support the
Poultry Rejection Program (PRP).
Congratulations to ATP on a great meeting!! CPEPC looks forward to
hosting TFC in 2010.
EU Farm Ministers Tighten Slaughter Rules
Slaughterhouses across the European Union will have to change the way
they stun and kill millions of cattle, pigs and poultry after farm
ministers agreed on Monday to tighten the rules and improve animal
protection. From
January 2013, stunning and killing criteria for slaughterhouses will be
updated, and the general parameters for using electricity to knock out
animals, for example, or gas for birds, more concretely defined than
now.
Slaughterhouses will also have to appoint a specific person responsible
for animal welfare and make sure all staff are properly trained and
certified. The updated rules will not ban any major method of stunning,
although the use of certain techniques will be limited. Carbon
dioxide for pigs and poultry, for example, may still be used despite
some scientists' reservations, and using waterbath stunners for poultry
will remain permitted.
Slaughterhouse operators will see their responsibilities increase,
regularly monitoring the efficiency of stunning techniques to ensure
animals do not "wake up". "We have a
duty to take care of animals. Their welfare is crucial, not only for
ethical reasons but also to ensure animal health and the quality of
food," EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said in a statement. The
agreement would make "a real difference to the way animals are treated
at the time of slaughter", she said, adding that distress would be
minimized in the slaughtering process. - Reuters
June 22, 2009
Winners of
CCGD Grand Prix New Products Awards™ On May 25
the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors gave out their Grand Prix
New Products Awards™ for products introduced between October 1, 2007 and
December 31, 2008, and CPEPC members were among the
winners
and
finalists. The 16th annual Awards, held in Quebec City as part
of the National Grocery Conference sponsored by CCGD and the Food and
Consumer Products of Canada honoured winners in 26 product categories
out of a record 203 entries. Products were graded against five
criteria: uniqueness and innovation, product characteristics,
presentation and packaging, overall consumer value, and consumer
acceptance. The night’s
big winner was Naturegg™ Omega 3 Hard Boiled Eggs from Burnbrae Farms.
It won in the Dairy & Egg Products category, and also took three special
awards: All Canadian, Innovation and Originality, and Canadian Grand
Prix Healthy Innovation New Product. “Naturegg™ Omega 3 Hard
Boiled Eggs are a great example of how the industry is thinking of
creative ways to help consumers meet their needs for fast, nutritious
and delicious food options,” said Michelle Scott, CCGD’s Vice-President,
Events and Grand Prix. “The eggs are precooked, peeled and ready
to eat, perfect for a nutritious “grab-and-go” snack, or to quickly add
to a salad or sandwich.” Maple Leaf
Foods won an award for Schneider's Sure Seal™ Fat Free® SmartSnax™
and finalists included Maple Lodge Farms (Chicken Bacon Style™) and
Olymel L.P./s.e.c. (Micro-wave Crispy Chicken Breast Strips).
C.D.C.'s Foodborne Illness Study 'Skewed': N.C.C. WASHINGTON — A study recently published on foodborne illness by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presents a misleading picture
of the safety of poultry, charged the National Chicken Council. "The
report contains anomalies that seriously skew the results," N.C.C.
stated. C.D.C.’s report suggests poultry are the single-leading cause of
outbreaks of foodborne illness, with poultry responsible for 21% of
outbreak-related cases. This is based on attributing 1,355 cases to
poultry out of a total of 6,395 cases (21.1%). However, of the total
cases attributed to poultry, 741, stemmed from a single incident in an
Alabama jail or prison in March 2006, which is suspected (but not
confirmed, according to a publicly available C.D.C. database) to result
from Clostridium perfringens in baked chicken. Without this single incident, poultry would account for 614 of 5,653
cases, or 10.9%. This would place poultry well behind other commodities
mentioned in the report, N.C.C. relayed. N.C.C. added the Alabama incident also explains another oddity in the
report: the high number of cases (902) attributed to C. perfringens in
poultry, which typically causes problems if food is left out in the
"danger zone" between 40şF and 140°F for an extended period of time.
While C. perfringens is a known cause of foodborne illness in poultry
(as well as other foods), it has not previously been mentioned as a
leading cause. If the Alabama cases are removed from the total, the number of cases of
foodborne illness from C. perfringens in poultry in 2006 would be 161.
The average annual number of cases of foodborne illness from C.
perfringens in all food sources from 2001 to 2005 was 2,077, according
to the report, From
www.meatpoultry.com June 19, 2009
NZ Researcher's Technique Can Distinguish Free-Range Eggs from
Caged A New Zealand researcher has developed a technique to identify the
difference between eggs from caged hens and those from free-range
and organically-raised hens. It is believed to be the first
time that eggs from different farming systems have been
distinguished by using isotope analysis. The system can have
potential within the egg industry to avoid mis-labelling. Karyne Rogers, of Geological and Nuclear Science's National Isotope
Centre in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, compared different brands of
off-the-shelf eggs from cage, barn, free range and organic farming
regimes. Using isotope analysis, she found almost all the eggs
could be differentiated by relating the carbon and nitrogen found in
the egg to the hen's diet. This was possible as diet directly
reflected the type of farming environment where the hens were
raised, Dr Rogers said. ''Free-range and organically farmed hens normally have access to a
wider range of food sources than caged hens, such as insects,
vegetation or organic feeds, and this changes the isotope
fingerprint of their eggs,'' Dr Rogers said. The findings, recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry, showed isotope analysis was a potentially useful
technique for identifying eggs from different farming regimes.
The research was performed on egg yolk, albumen and egg membrane to
see which egg components gave the best information about the hen's
diet. Dr Rogers said the technique held considerable promise for the egg
industry as an effective verification tool to guard against miss-labelling. ''The next step is to seek industry funding to work directly with
egg producers to further refine the technique so it can be fully
tested and applied in the industry.'' - From Poultex – June 16, 2009
Conferences, Courses and Workshops
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