Norway's food safety inspectors strike affects meat supply

"Several of the our employees in are out on strike," the country's food safety regulator said in a statement posted yesterday. "This will, among other things, have implications for the exportation of food, animals, fish and plants to and from Norway. It is yet uncertain how long the strike will last." Meanwhile Gilde, one of the largest meat processors in the country, has closed down five plants out of about 25 it has in the country, spokesperson Nils Ove Bredvold told FoodProductionDaily.com. The company blamed the lack of meat inspectors to monitor slaughtering operations. Bredvold said the cut in the meat supply had not caused any problems yet, as there were sufficient stocks to meet the demand. He expects the strike to end on Friday or Monday after government decided to step into the fray and order inspectors back to work. The inspectors strike is part of the larger industral action by the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations. The government will also compell compel the federation to negotiate a settlement over the wage dispute, reported the English version of Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. The newspaper reported that the food safety authority has requested dispensation from the strike in order to inspect slaughterhouses and keep the country's meat industry moving. The request was rejected by the union. The newspaper noted that government had to step into the fray due to animal welfare concerns. "Chickens raised for food must be killed within 30 days or they outgrow their cages," the newspaper said. "They also become so heavy their legs break. But without veterinary supervision they cannot be slaughtered." FSA director Jarleif Nordheim said that pig farmers would soon be facing the same difficult situation, the newspaper reported. Norway's inspectors approved a total of 283,400 tonnes of meat from domestic animal production for the market in 2005, an increase of 2,100 tonnes from the year before. The figure includes 112,800 tonnes of pork, 87,400 tonnes of beef and veal and 56,500 tonnes of poultry, Statistics Norway reported. Compared with 2004, poultry increased by 4.5 per cent, while other types of meat barely changed. Pork accounted for 40 per cent of the approved carcasses in 2005, beef 31 per cent and poultry 20 per cent.