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.
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 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.
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.
A halal food plant that aims to supply meat to Muslim consumers across Europe has received approval and funding from the UK agriculture ministry (Defra).
The National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales (NFU) and Italy’s Confederazione Nazionale Coldiretti are working together to ensure the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform benefit farmers in both countries.
The Botswana government claims it is fulfilling demands made by the European Union (EU) to improve livestock disease controls in the face of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks, and hopes an EU beef import ban will soon be lifted.
A group of organisations have expressed concern about the possible introduction of genetically modified (GM) animals in the European Union (EU), after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released guidance for applicants.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has imposed a temporary levy on Brazilian poultry products after allegations of dumping from certain exporters.
An American animal welfare organisation has dismissed a UK study on the link between farm antibiotic use and the development of antibiotic-resistant disease in humans as “misleading” and “highly irresponsible”.
Veterinary and meat industry experts have called on meat producers across Europe to improve the quality of their meat inspections to meet current and planned tougher European Union (EU) standards.
The Schmallenberg virus (SBV), recently observed in ruminants, is likely to spread to other European countries when temperatures get warmer, according to the European Food safety Authority (EFSA).
The European Commission has granted legal protection to a ham from the northern German state Schleswig-Holstein, preventing meat traders from selling ‘Holsteiner Katenschinken’ unless it is made in its home area by traditional production.
UK cattle slaughterings dropped by 6% in the second half of 2011, mainly due to a reduction in young bull kill, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has announced.
The European meat industry has criticised a decision by the European Parliament not to introduce food labelling that would display percentages of cuts in salt, fat and sugar.
The European Commission has asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to provide a scientific assessment of the risks related to the Schmallenberg virus.
The Dutch government is pressing for a co-ordinated European Union (EU) response to fighting the Schmallenberg virus, a damaging disease spreading rapidly among livestock across Europe.
The UK poultry sector needs to focus on consolidation, efficiency and internationalisation to maintain its competitiveness on the EU market, a new report has suggested.
Global broiler production has increased by 37% between 2002 to 2011. Production increased from 59m tonnes in 2002 to 81m tonnes in the main producing countries in 2011. Total world production could however be up to 100m tonnes per annum based on latest...
Beef exporters have the potential to increase their revenue by 10% to over $6bn in 2012, the Brazilian Association of Meat Export Industries (Abiec) has announced.
