New standards for reducing the prevalence of salmonella and campylobacter in young chickens and turkeys are being implemented in the United States. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is acting on base-line studies that indicated American consumers are still being exposed to pathogens in poultry. After two years of enforcement, the FSIS estimates that the new standards will prevent approximately 5,000 cases of campylobacter-caused illnesses and... ...Read more »

You may have noticed that consumer behaviour is changing significantly. People are not only demanding better quality food, they are also seeking more information about how their food is produced. The welfare of the animals that give us our food is becoming a key influencer in consumer purchasing decisions. In fact, market research shows around half of grocery buyers would prefer to purchase a humanely farmed product, over a conventionally farmed product. Just like cartons of eggs on the supermarket... ...Read more »

The US Department of Agriculture has proposed a new “test and hold” procedure for meat and poultry products that aims to reduce the amount of “unsafe food” reaching the shelves. Under the proposal, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) would be able to hold products from commerce until test results for harmful substances are received. Currently, when FSIS collects a sample for testing, the sampled products are requested but not required to be held until... ...Read more »

Sales of organic products in the UK dropped by 5.9% in 2010, local certification body the Soil Association revealed yesterday. Organic sales fell to GBP1.73 billion (A$2.7 billion), with sales at multiple retailers – which account for 72.3% of total organic sales – sliding by 7.7% during the 12 months, the Soil Association’s Organic Market Report found. Additionally, the number of organic food producers fell as farmers and manufacturers felt the squeeze of increased competition... ...Read more »

Just when you think we couldn’t know less about where our food comes from, the RSPCA says a revolution is stirring, with people increasingly curious about how and where their food is produced and about the animal that provides it. Bottom line is, consumers are becoming more conscious shoppers. With supermarkets stocking up on higher welfare products, the manufacturing and food service industries are also listening to consumers and looking to source more humanely produced products including cage-free... ...Read more »

Lenard Poulter, founder of the successful Lenard’s chicken franchise, has struck out at retail giant Coles for its decision to include fresh chicken in its price war with rival Woolworths. Poulter called on the Federal Government to intervene to stop the market domination by Coles and Woolworths, which he says is damaging farmers, manufacturers and suppliers and is not in the long-term interests of consumers. “This market dominance by the major retailers who are insisting on unsustainable... ...Read more »

The Australian Government Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, today chaired the sixth meeting of the Food and Health Dialogue. The Dialogue brings together government, industry and public health groups with the aim of addressing poor dietary habits and making healthier food choices easier and more accessible for all Australians. The Dialogue is undertaking, as its primary activity, action on food innovation. This includes a voluntary reformulation program to reduce risk-associated... ...Read more »

The EU has issued data it claims will play down fears that the abolition of milk production quotas in 2015 could flood markets with cheap milk and drive some producers to the wall.In a food commodity forecast to 2020 released yesterday, (13 January), the Commission concludes said the end of quotas was projected to have a “limited impact on milk deliveries at the aggregate EU level”. It said milk production should actually remain below the last 2015 quota cap, with production falls caused... ...Read more »

The Chicken Meat Industry Act 1977 will expire at the end of the year, Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman announced today. The decision follows a recent inquiry by the Economic Regulation Authority (ERA) which recommended the Act should not be continued. The Act requires that its effectiveness is reviewed every five years, and should only be continued if its continuation can be justified. The Act was introduced in 1977 as a transitional measure to improve the stability of a fledgling chicken... ...Read more »

Any attempt to evade the EU ban on battery cages for laying hens due to take effect in January 2012 must be resisted, says a European Parliament resolution approved on Thursday. Animal welfare must be safeguarded and unfair competition prevented from producers who continue unlawfully to use these methods. MEPs want the Commission to take “urgent action” towards Member States to ensure that egg producers comply with the ban. National action plans with “dissuasive sanctions”... ...Read more »