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Heavenly Foods Farm in Saint Lucia Looking for Poultry Equipment and Services

Government Announces Plans to Implement Listeria Report Recommendations

On September 11th, the Offices of Gerry Ritz - Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and Leona Aglukkaq - Minister of Health, issued a joint press release as follows:

The Government of Canada is making significant investments to strengthen Canada's food safety system. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq today announced that the Government will invest $75 million in Canada's food safety system and act on all 57 recommendations made by Independent Investigator Sheila Weatherill.

"The Government of Canada's highest priority is the safety of Canadians," said Minister Ritz. "We are making significant investments to hire more inspectors; update technologies and protocols; and, improve communication so that Canadians have the information they need to protect their families."

"Our government continues to be committed to protecting and improving the health and safety of Canadians," said Minister Aglukkaq. "Nothing can be more fundamental to the health and safety of our families as the safety of the foods we serve them, which is why we continue to take the steps necessary to improve Canada's food safety system and ensure Canadians have the information they need to protect themselves from foodborne illnesses."

The new investments being announced today will improve the Government's ability to prevent, detect and respond to future foodborne illness outbreaks. Among other improvements, the Government will:

• hire 166 new food safety staff with 70 focusing on ready-to-eat-meat facilities;

• provide 24/7 availability of health risk assessment teams to improve support to food safety investigations;

• improve coordination among federal and provincial departments and agencies;

• improve communications to vulnerable populations before and during a foodborne illness outbreak;

• improve tracking of potential foodborne illness outbreaks through a national surveillance system;

• improve detection methods for Listeria monocytogenes and other hazards in food to reduce testing time and enable more rapid response during food safety investigations, as well as expanding the Government's ability to do additional Listeria testing; and

• initiate a third-party audit to make sure Canada's food inspection system has the right resources dedicated to the right priorities.

This investment builds on the Government's 2008 commitment of $113 million for food safety. Already, the Government has made significant changes to Canada's Listeria management strategy, including making environmental testing and reporting mandatory in ready-to-eat meat plants.

More information can be accessed at this link:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/newcom/2009/20090911e.shtml#back

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CFC Meeting September 9 -10, 2009

On September 9th CFC held its meeting and on September 10th related meetings coordinated by the National Farm Products Oversight Committee were held dealing with Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) imports administration and Interprovincial Movement.

At the CFC meeting the allocation for A-95 was established at Base less one percent which is equal to 137.6 million kilograms. Although somewhat higher than the CPEPC position of Base less 2.5 percent, the CPEPC directors at the CFC table voted in favour of the motion to approve the allocation, making the decision unanimous by the CFC board. As is often the case during the CFC allocation process, CPEPC felt that if it did not compromise and support a consensus at Base minus one percent it may have resulted in an even higher allocation being set by CFC.

Other significant items on the CFC agenda included an update report from the Production Policy Committee on the Allocation Report Card and further debate on a Differential Growth Policy. With respect to the PPC report; preliminary recommendations were made regarding healthy ranges for TRQ and Storage Stocks as well as proposed process options for the development of the Gross Processor margin healthy range. Final decisions on healthy ranges for all three items are targeted for the November CFC meeting. On Differential Growth; CFC staff reviewed a discussion paper on a top down – bottom up hybrid approach. Following the meetings’ discussion CFC staff will further refine the details on the concept and circulate a revised discussion paper to stakeholder for comment. The goal is complete development on a differential growth policy by the end of 2009.

On September 10th an information day was held on TRQ administration at which approximately 125 individuals attended. Several federal government representatives spoke on the various aspects of the TRQ system including; the types of TRQ, how it is allocated, who it is allocated to, and how it is monitored and enforced. In the afternoon a meeting to discuss issues related to the interprovincial movement of live chicken was held. Meeting participants agreed that interprovincial movement had become a serious issue and must be addressed in order to avoid a possible crisis in the industry. Although recognized that all aspects of the country are being affected, Central Canada and New Brunswick were identified as the areas of greatest concern at this time and initial steps in an effort to seek a solution were agreed to.

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Government Of Canada Investing To Create A More Competitive Processing Industry

The Government of Canada is investing in new processing technologies and projects that will create new, more stable markets to improve income opportunities for farmers and the processing sector.

“Our Government knows that a healthy processing sector will drive the recovery of our economy,” said the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture), who made the announcement September 11 in Saint-Ambroise, Quebec. “This investment will help processors acquire new technology, new equipment, and new expertise that will keep them on the cutting edge here at home and around the world.”

The AgriProcessing Initiative (API) will deliver $50 million over five years in repayable contributions to processing facilities. API will provide contributions for the purchasing and installing of equipment in Canadian facilities to enable the adoption of new manufacturing technologies and processes. The initiative may also contribute towards costs related to the contracting of external expertise for services related to equipment installation, and consultation, design, and advice regarding new (novel to facility) manufacturing technologies, processes and products.

“This smart investment in Canada’s processing sector will benefit the entire value chain to build a more profitable industry and a stronger economy," said Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Lemieux who made the announcement with Member of Parliament Joe Preston in Guelph, Ontario. “This funding will help our processors weather the credit crunch and build their businesses for the future.”

API is now the second program outlined under the five year $500 million Agri-Flexibility fund, after the Livestock Auction Traceability Initiative. The Agri-Flexibility fund announced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan was created to help reduce costs of production and improve environmental sustainability for the sector; promote value-chain innovation and sectoral adaptation; and respond to emerging opportunities and market challenges for the sector. Beginning September 1, the AgriFlexibility fund is accepting project proposals from provincial governments and the agricultural industry.

To receive an application form for the API, please email API@agr.gc.ca or phone toll free 1-877-246-4682.

For further details on AgriFlexibility, visit www.agr.gc.ca/agriflexibility.

For more information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca .

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Pilgrim’s Pride May Be Purchased by Brazil’s JBS

Brazilian meat processor JBS S.A. is reported to be in negotiations to purchase U.S. poultry processor Pilgrim’s Pride for $2 billion dollars. The transaction could be finalized in September.

The Brazilian press first reported this September 2, and it was met with “no comment” responses by both Pilgrim’s Pride and JBS. The Brazilian press acknowledged the deal could still fall through.

Pilgrim’s Pride is the largest U.S. poultry processor and also has operations in Puerto Rico and Mexico. JBS is one of the largest meat processors in the world.

Pilgrim’s Pride filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2008, and has a September 30 deadline to file its reorganization plan.

Last year, JBS’s U.S. businesses reported an income of nearly $9 billion, while Pilgrim’s Pride’s income was $8 billion.

According to the Brazilian news Web site, O Popular, if the transaction goes through, it will create a company to rival Tyson Foods in the beef, poultry and pork sectors.

Dr. Sylvain Fournaise Appointed VP, Food Safety And Technical Services at Olymel

M. Réjean Nadeau, President and CEO of Olymel L.P. is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sylvain Fournaise, m.v., M.Sc. to the position of Vice President, Food Safety and Technical Services. Dr. Fournaise has been with Olymel for more than ten years, and in that time has developed an intimate knowledge of the company. His advanced academic training and rich experience in the private and public sectors, in particular with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), uniquely qualify him to assume responsibility for all aspects of food safety and technical services in our company. Together with his staff, he will ensure that the highest standards of food safety are rigorously applied in our facilities—always a vital aspect of our operations. I have total confidence that he will continue to meet the highest standards set by the regulators and you, our customers.

Dr Fournaise holds a degree in veterinary medicine from Université de Montréal, as well as a master’s degree in Food Science and Technology from Université Laval. He started his career in 1985, practicing animal medicine in a private practice. In 1986, he joined the Food Production and Inspection Branch of the federal Department of Agriculture, which was later to become the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. His first position was as head veterinarian at a slaughterhouse, and he later served as veterinarian in charge of toxic infections and food emergencies at the Quebec CFIA regional office. From 1992 to 1998, he was manager of the meat inspection program for the Quebec region, still with the CFIA.

Dr. Fournaise joined Olymel in 1998 and has occupied a variety of strategic positions in the company, as well as with the senior management committee, all related to quality assurance and operations. His nomination as Vice President, Food Safety and Technical Services is effective immediately.

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Meat Import Volumes To Russia To Be Adjusted

Russia's Ministry of Agriculture has developed a decree that will regulate meat imports to Russia in 2010-2012.

According to the law, the quota on poultry imports will almost be halved - from 952 t this year to 550,000 t in 2012. The quota for pork will gradually decline, while for beef there will be a slight rise.

In addition, the duty rates on extra-quota imports will be increased for all types of meat. Russia will continue to use the current country principle of quotas allocation, but, perhaps, it will be adjusted according to real import volumes.

According to the head of the executive committee of the Russian Meat Association, Sergei Yushin, the allocation of quotas among countries should be carefully worked out:

“It makes no sense to provide the guaranteed volumes of quotas to some countries if they fail to supply their volumes to Russia. For example, 80% of licenses for the import of beef accounted for the EU, but Russia has always negotiated with the EU about the reissue of those licenses, because they did not provide the real meat volumes,” added Yushin.

As for the Russian poultry industry, according to CEO of the Russian Poultry Union Galina Bobyleva, the local producers are ready to offset the reduction in poultry imports.
“We do not expect any price fluctuations in the poultry industry, if there is a stable situation on the grain market,” she said. Over the past 7 months of this year, Russian poultry production has increased by 142,000 t compared to the same period in 2008.

www.poultex.com

New Associate Member J.D. Sweid

CPEPC is pleased to welcome new associate member J.D. Sweid Ltd., which includes Elmira Poultry Inc. in Waterloo, ON.  Many of you know Greg Ferguson from his days at Maple Leaf.

J.D. Sweid Ltd.

Greg Ferguson

605 Kumpf Dr.

Waterloo, ON N2V 1K8

Tel 519 725-4110  800 663-5694

Fax 519 725-4072

E-Mail gregf@elmirapoultry.com

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Conferences, Courses and Workshops

  The Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters 78th Annual Conference & Trade Show will take place October 19-21 at the Delta Meadowvale Conference Centre in Mississauga, ON with the theme, "Best Practices in Global Trade and Customs".  This is the largest conference and trade show of the year for Canadian importers and exporters.  Senior government officials and leading experts in trade and customs will share their insights and expertise on global trade. One-day, two-day and three-day packages are available. Visit www.iecanada.com for the agenda and trade show and sponsorship opportunities.

  The Poultry Industry Council 2009 Poultry Innovations Conference, Focus on Productivity, will be held November 9-10 at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel & Conference Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  For information or sponsorship opportunities call PIC at 519 837-0284 or e-mail pic@poultryindustrycouncil.ca

Heavenly Foods Farm in Saint Lucia Looking for Poultry Equipment and Services

Heavenly Foods Farm located in Saint Lucia is looking for poultry equipment / services for operation to be set up with specifications as follows: 36,000 birds from day old up to six weeks, process at 400 birds per hour, package into parts which include [wings, quarters, whole legs, drumsticks etc], whole, along with processing to chicken franks, nuggets, vienna sausages etc. as well as wholesale and retailing of table eggs. Contact Perez St. Helene at psthelene_1@yahoo.com or 1(758) 722-8575.

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