Bioterrorism at Feed Lot

Jan 23, 2012

News reports in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Fresno Bee confirm that agribioterrorists were responsible for destroying 14 vehicles at the Harris Farm feed lot in Coalinga CA on Sunday, January 8^th.

The North American Animal Liberation (NAAL) Press Office announced that they had received an anonymous E-mail claiming responsibility for the senseless destruction.  According to the Fresno Bee report, a spokesperson for the NAAL stated that their organization does not participate in illegal actions. Apparently they are perfectly content to distribute reports of wanton vandalism, presumably to publicize their “cause” and possibly to stimulate copycat actions.  The fact that the statement issued by the NAAL press office included the sentiment that “we were extremely pleased to see that all 14 trucks were a total loss with some being completely melted to the ground”,  certainly lends credence to support, if not outright collusion with the perpetrators.

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Consumers Concerned over Packaging

Jan 23, 2012

In an article published in Beverage Industry dated January 17^th the National Marketing Institute (NMI) of Harleysville PA reported on a survey relating to lifestyle, health and sustainability based on responses from 4,000 U.S. adults.

According to Steve French, of the NMI, “marketers can maintain current and attract new consumers by using less packaging and ‘greener’ packaging materials”. He added “specifically ‘renewable’ and plant-based materials are rated most environmentally friendly among consumers”. 

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Rise of Store Brands

Jan 23, 2012

An article by Karolina Trojanowska in a recent edition of International Supermarket News highlights the rise of store brands (private labels) in the EU and the U.S.  It is estimated that store brands will increase by 23% in 2012 if past annual trends continue.

Price was revealed as the most significant factor in driving the buying decision.  An important consideration for suppliers to supermarkets is the fact that a European study conducted in 2011 disclosed that 80% of consumers believe that store brands were either equal to or better than national brands.  Retailers are progressively placing their store brands in close proximity to national brands to generate the perception of equivalence in quality and quantity but emphasizing the difference in price.

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Continued Concern over EU Cage Ban Compliance

Jan 20, 2012

Farmers in Scotland have expressed concern over the impotence of EU regulators to enforce directives and regulations. This stems from the observation that 46 million hens are still held in illegal conventional cages representing 14% of the EU egg production industry located in 14 member states

The major concern of the National Farmers Union of Scotland is that the ban on sow-stalls which was introduced into the UK in January 1999 will represent a replay of the caged-hen fiasco.  The Chairman of the National Farmers Union for Scotland, Phil Sleigh will address EU Commission officials on the issue. 

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Move from Cages to Increase Risk of SE in the EU

Jan 20, 2012

Research conducted at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, in Belgium has clearly indicated the high risk associated with SE transmission in hens housed in aviaries and floor systems*.  At 16 weeks of age pullets were inoculated with SE and three weeks later were housed together with susceptible contacts in conventional cages, enriched cages, aviaries or a litter system.  Intra-flock transmission was significantly higher in aviary and floor systems and more contaminated eggs were recovered compared to either of the confined systems.

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Store Closing to Strengthen Companies

Jan 20, 2012

Delhaize America has announced their intention to close 113 Food Lion stores in markets where the company has low density.  The Bloom brand will be discontinued and 64 of these stores will be converted to the Food Lion identity.  A distribution center in Clinton TN will be closed.

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Continued Uncertainty in Grain Markets

Jan 20, 2012

The Washington Report of the National Chicken Council commented on the current uncertainty regarding domestic use and exports of corn on residual stocks.  Based on the marked fluctuation in price during 2011, based on assessment of residual stocks, it can be anticipated that 2012 will be a year of turbulence.  The most recent data on supply, usage and exports is tabulated in EGG-CITE.com, released on January 12^th.  The USDA anticipated increased corn production based on a slightly larger acreage harvested and an improvement in yield to 147.2 bushels per acre.  The increase of 48 million bushels in supply compared to the December 2011 report would however be offset by an increased projection of exports.

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Claims Amassing Over German Dioxin Contamination

Jan 14, 2012

The liquidator of Harles and Gentzsch the company responsible for disseminating fat contaminated with dioxins in 2011, announced that claims against the company amount to $30 million to date.  The actual loss to more than 600 farmers and their feed suppliers is obviously far greater with an estimate of 5,000 farms involved.  According to the report on World Poultry.net the German Farmers Association estimated that egg and pork prices dropped by 25% to 30% as a result of consumer rejection following the initial news reports of contamination.

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Consolidation Of Regulatory Agencies Proposed

Jan 27, 2012

Press reports during the second week of January 2012 confirmed the intention of the Obama Administration to merge federal agencies involved in trade and commerce. The U.S. Trade Representative, the Small Business Administration, the Export/Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency would be combined into a single department within the Department of Commerce. 

Congress has expressed concerns over the proposal although the Business Roundtable is supportive.  Obviously consolidation will impinge on turf and vested interesst will always fight to support the status quo.  An objective of the reorganization will be to save up to $3 billion over 10 years although the proposal will result in the loss of approximately 1,500 positions by attrition and transfer.  Currently the U.S. Trade Representative is a cabinet position but was formerly within the Department of State.

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Salmonella Control

Jan 23, 2012

A paper presented by Ducatelle et al of Ghent University presented at the XVII World Veterinary Poultry Association meeting in August 2011 is currently circulating on the web. An interpretive summary is provided for the benefit of readers of EGG-CITE.com. It is stressed that the paper deals with control of Salmonella in general although extensive reference is made to Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) infection in egg production.

In the context of the U.S. egg production industry it is clear that existing modalities are effective.  This is confirmed by the low incidence rate of infection in flocks and the fact that since August 2010 there have been no major recalls associated with SE.

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Mechanism of Antibiotic Resistance Studied

Jan 23, 2012

An article in the January 17^th edition of the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences described studies on the mechanism of drug resistance conducted at the USDA-ARS National Animal Disease Center in Ames, IA in conjunction with scientists at Michigan State University.

A compound comprising chlortetracycline, sulfamethazine and penicillin commercially available as ASP 250™ was administered to piglets to study the composition of microbial flora over a two week period.  Non-medicated litter mates were used as controls.  In the study, phylogenetic, metagenomic and quantative PCR-based techniques were used to assess the effect of sub-therapeutic antibiotic administration.  The results showed that the phylotypes of microbial flora demonstrated a higher level of Escherichia coli compared to non-medicated control piglets.

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