The volume of poultry meat produced in Russia in January-February 2012 exceeded 500,000 tonnes (t) in carcase weight, according to data released by the Russian Federal Statistic Service.
French agriculture government body FranceAgriMer is working on a new strategy for the country’s beef sector and slaughter industry, aiming to improve economic performances.
Negotiations towards a US-EU free-trade agreement (FTA) should include science-based solutions to agricultural disputes, a coalition of US organisations has said.
The percentage of animal by-products not complying with EU standards on antibiotic residues has been stable for the past three years, reaching 0.33% in 2010, the European Commission has revealed.
An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Egypt, which has killed an estimated 4,658 animals, with a further 40,222 suspected cases, is threatening food security in North Africa and the Middle East, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation...
European Commissioners Karel De Gucht and John Dalli have condemned Russia’s ban on imports of live animals from the EU that came into force yesterday (21 March), calling it “disproportionate and unjustified”.
The European Commission has allowed preventative vaccination in bluetongue-free areas, hoping to prevent outbreaks and limit the economic impact of the virus on farms.
Enforced control measures are being implemented to contain outbreaks of the viral Newcastle disease amongst domestic poultry and other bird species in Israel, and help avoid interruptions in both the national and export markets.
McDonald’s has bowed to pressure and performed a U-turn on its controversial decision to source 90% of the chicken for the London Olympics from chicken farms outside the UK.
South Africa is set to impose restrictions on pork imports on the grounds of health interests, in a move that may affect all countries which export pork to the market.
French supermarket giant Carrefour has closed one of its stores in China after being accused of selling regular chicken under a ‘premium’ label for high prices.
The British pig industry is calling on the European Commission to take action against member countries who fail to comply with partial stall ban legislation.
Canadian Parti Québécois (PQ) deputy André Simard has asked the province’s assembly to give a public report on ritual slaughter by 23 March, arguing that halal meat is being sold without consumers’ knowledge.
The European Union (EU) has signalled it is prepared to launch World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute actions should non-EU governments impose import bans on European meat and livestock over Schmallenberg virus (SBV) outbreaks.
UK meat professionals have criticised an American study linking consumption of red meat with increased mortality, saying it “should not be used to determine cause and effect”.
The European Parliament has voted for the increase of the duty-free quotas for hormone-free US beef, after the American Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposed to lift import restrictions on EU beef.
Ireland’s new animal health and welfare bill must not be an obstacle to the farming sector’s competitiveness, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said.
The European Commission is currently evaluating the costs of implementing harmonised campylobacter control measures, as the number of cases increased by 7% in 2010.
A relaxed attitude to ritual slaughter in some EU member states has led to systematic slaughtering without stunning, regardless of consumer need, according to EU welfare experts.
Campylobacter infections in the EU increased for the fifth year in a row in 2010, making a 7% jump to 212,064 cases, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reported.
Sales of organic lamb and poultry have risen in Great Britain, according to the Soil Association (SA), the UK body responsible for organic certification.
The European Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) is asking China to improve its poultry disease surveillance systems after exposing shortcomings in a report.
The French cattle and meat industry association INTERBEV has released a statement to put an end to the political row started by far-right candidate Marine Le Pen on halal meat.
The French and Bulgarian agriculture ministers, Bruno Le Maire and Miroslav Naydenov, are about to sign an agreement to co-operate for the future of European agriculture.
The meat industry’s dependency on soya bean to feed animals is the main cause of deforestation in the Brazilian region of Cerrado, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) argues.
The European Union (EU) has extended until 31 October its tough controls on imports of meat from Japan imposed because of health concerns over last spring’s nuclear disaster at Fukushima.
Animal welfare organisation Alsace Nature has filed a complaint with the European Commission against France, pointing to “regular and systematic breaching” of the EU directive on pig welfare.
Spanish slaughterhouses have been criticised for poor animal welfare standards, after an audit carried out by the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office found that four out of seven slaughterhouses did not meet requirements.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is campaigning for a pharmaceutical standard on Animal African Trypanosomosis drugs to be implemented in regions affected by the fatal livestock disease.
High production costs and stringent sow stall legislation have discouraged many pig producers in the European Union (EU), according to a UK Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) market survey.
French craft butchers have asked for national and European regulation to make halal labelling mandatory following a transparency controversy in the Paris region.
The Ghanaian ministry of health (MOH) has warned consumers against the dangers of eating foreign frozen poultry and urged them to buy domestic products, the Daily Graphic reports.
The number of farm animals produced in the UK under welfare standards accredited by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has increased by 52% in five years, the organisation revealed.
Saudi Arabia has called on all non-Muslim countries which export halal products to tighten their adherence to Islamic regulations, and has requested that an approved set of guidelines be drawn up to help importers ensure these are being met.
Latest statistics have shown the UK is now a net exporter of lamb. According to the data from beef and sheep levy body Eblex, sheep meat exports from the UK climbed by 11% in 2011, reaching 98,500t.
A suggestion to remove parts of chicken brains so they become unaware of their living conditions on intensive farms has come under attack from animal welfare organisations.
The UK-based Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has launched a £1.3m research project to find the gene responsible for campylobacter resistance in chickens.
