French craft butchers have asked for national and European regulation to make halal labelling mandatory following a transparency controversy in the Paris region.
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.
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).
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 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.
Agri-food’s role in getting Ireland out of its economic crisis received a boost, as food exports grew at three times the rate of total merchandise exports in the first nine months of 2011.
Animal welfare organisations have asked the European Commission to suspend livestock trade between the EU and Turkey until transport conditions are improved.
Welsh lamb has joined Cornish clotted cream, West Country farmhousecheddar cheese and stilton cheese on the list of 34 UK productsrecognised by the EU for their quality and regional identity.
Europe's sheep population fell by four per cent last year, according to figures released from the EU's December sheep census. Within the major sheep-rearing countries however, the rate of decline varied greatly.
