Shane Commentary
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Secretary Vilsack Intensifies Support of Organic Agriculture | May 21, 2013 |
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Speaking to a receptive and partisan audience at the Organic Trade Association Policy Conference, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack emphasized the contribution of his Department to advancing the cause of organic agriculture. The Organic Trade Association represents 6,500 organic businesses including farmers associations, importers, exporters, shippers and processors.
He stated “organic is not the same as, it is its own separate commodity and needs to be treated as such”. He added “I am committed to that”. It is general experience from official reports and quotations that Secretary Vilsack is not recognized for his oratory or comprehensibility.
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Urban Hens | May 21, 2013 |
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During the past five years there has been a growing movement to maintain a small number of hens in back gardens in urban and suburban neighborhoods. This raises the question of disease risk to the industry. At the outset, it is strongly advised that commercial egg and broiler producers in counties where municipalities are considering allowing backyard chickens should not appear to openly oppose permitting legislation. This will only create antagonism between aspirant poultry keepers and industry.
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The backyard chicken movement has probably peaked and will wane as obvious problems become apparent. These include the high cost of feed purchased in bags at pet and supply stores, the high cost of eggs produced, given low efficiency, predator loss, flies and parasites, disposal of excreta, risk of transferring Salmonella infection from hens to family members and the cost associated with erecting suitable housing and containment.
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HSUS and Deer Overpopulation | May 15, 2013 |
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The Humane Society of the United States has suggested that hormonal control be used to reduce the deer population of the Washington D.C. area thereby obviating culling by hunters. Administration of Porcine zona pellucida extract to deer will suppress the level of reproduction. The only problem with this “humane” approach is that the cost for Rock Creek Park alone would amount to $350,000 per year.
The reasons for the national explosion in deer population in urban areas include the absence of predators including coyotes, availability of food and restrictions on hunting.
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Current Position of the FDA on SH | Apr 28, 2013 |
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Dr. Gerardo Ramirez of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Office of Food Safety, Dairy and Egg Branch, commented on the FDA position with respect to Salmonella Heidelberg at the March National Egg Regulatory Officials (NERO) 21st Annual Conference and Training Seminar.
Ramirez acknowledged that SH has become a heavily discussed topic and that there is some confusion regarding the position of the FDA. A written response has yet to be provided to the UEP regarding the policy of the Agency.
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Final Demise of Fresh and Easy | Apr 22, 2013 |
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Tesco a UK based multinational food retailer ranked third in World sales after Walmart and Carrefour, has decided to close their Fresh and Easy stores, representing their entry into the U.S. market. The chain which has 199 stores and employs 5,000 has cost the parent company over $1 billion but has failed to turn a profit. Originally based on the Trader Joe’s model the ultimate product proved incompatible with consumer needs and has lost money since inception.
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Industry Statistics on SE Distorted | Apr 19, 2013 |
Dr. Sasidhar Malladi of the Center of Epidemiology and Animal Health, University of Minnesota, reported on the proportion of cases of SE attributable to consumption of eggs during a presentation at the 2013 Egg Industry Forum. According to data assembled by the CDC covering the period 1998 through 2010, eggs were stated to be responsible for 35% to 62% of all cases of SE and 68% of all SE outbreaks recorded.
It should be recognized that this period includes the single outstanding 2010 outbreak associated with the Iowa farms operated by the DeCoster Family and accordingly this data distorts the apparent impact of eggs among consumers. It is only recently that broiler and turkey meat and green produce have emerged as vehicles of SE infection.
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Control of H7N9 LPAI in China | Apr 16, 2013 |
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Consistent with unexpected and unprecedented transparency demonstrated by the public health authorities in China, there have been 60 cases of H7N9 infection recorded to date with twelve fatalities.
As of Sunday 14th April there was no evidence that the current outbreak is transmitted among humans from infected individuals to contacts and there is also no evidence of clinical disease in live chickens. As a precaution, authorities in Shanghai and Nanjing have depopulated and closed live bird markets and introduced other measures including banning pigeon races.
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The publicity associate with the outbreak has resulted in a precipitous decline in consumption of poultry partly because of unavailability from traditional markets but also reduced sales at restaurants and quick- service stores.
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Examples of Corporate Charity | Apr 15, 2013 |
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According to an article in the Progressive Grocer, the Kroger Company, one of the largest supermarkets chains in the U.S. gathered almost 5,000 employees to assemble 17,000 emergency food and personal care boxes for distribution in Louisville, KY. The event took place during a community “Give a Day” volunteer week during mid-April. The event ran concurrently with the Kroger Leadership Summit which brought together managers and supervisors to review company procedures and operations.
Kroger also packed an estimated 8,500 family boxes containing personal care items in addition to non-perishable staples including canned fruits and vegetables and cereal to provide 140,000 meals. Kroger which operates 2,424 supermarkets in 31 states will partner with Feeding America the leading domestic hunger-relief charity.
In a similar initiative, Harris-Teeter, a regional supermarket chain operating in the mid-Atlantic states will pack and transport medical and computer equipment to Guatemala in cooperation with Chiquita a supplier of bananas and other fruit imported from Central America. The supermarket chain will also combine efforts with the Heinemann Foundation of Charlotte, home base of Harris-Teeter.
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Worker Safety | Mar 29, 2013 |
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US Poultry and the National Chicken Council have responded aggressively to the distortion of 2010 OSHA data by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. A report entitled Unsafe at these Speeds exaggerates the comparison between the 5.9% illness and injury rate for poultry processing workers compared 3.5% for all workers in the private sector.
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In fact 2011 statistics indicate a rate of 5.8% for poultry workers. The adverse comparison of 3.5% for all workers is essentially invalid. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an injury and illness rate for automobile manufacturing workers at 7.5%, for passenger airline workers of 7.9% and state and local government workers at 5.7%.
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Response to Environmental Working Group on Crop Insurance | Mar 25, 2013 |
The 2012 drought emphasized the need for U.S. farmers to purchase crop insurance.
It is evident that the program requires some modification to be equitable and to save taxpayer contributions but at the same time protect farmers against natural disasters. The accusations from the Environmental Working Group that “farmers are praying for a drought and looking for crop insurance” is fallacious in the extreme.
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Crisis Management reviewed at VIV | Mar 19, 2013 |
In a dinner attended by 150 industry leaders hosted by Alltech at the recent VIV Asia Exhibition in Bangkok, a panel reviewed crisis management and supply chain issues.
The significant question posed to the panel related to the central role of China as the source of recent adverse publicity. Jon Ratcliff, proprietor of Food and Agriculture Consultant Services of the UK cautioned that there have been other equally publicized food crises emanating from the EU including mycotoxicoses, contamination of beef with horse meat and in past years, episodes of dioxin entering the food chain. The task facing authorities in China in controlling food safety for a nation with 1.3 billion people spread over a large area is obviously immense.
Traceability is an important component of any nation or international food safety program. Phillip Wilkinson Director of the British Poultry Council and an Executive Director of Two Sisters Food Group, discussed the Red Tractor designation in the UK. This program mandates documentation of the food production chain and ensures quality standards from farm to packing.
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Biotech Crops Gaining Popularity World Wide | Mar 15, 2013 |
According to an article by Andy Vance posted on March 8th in the Feedstuffs Food Link, genetically engineered crops are gaining popularity worldwide. It is noted that the top five nations collectively with more than 380.5 million acres under GMO crops, represented 89% of the world total. The leaders are the U.S. (173 million acres), Brazil (91.5 million acres), Argentina (60 million acres), Canada (29 million acres) and India (27 million acres). The total acreage devoted to GM O crops has increased almost tenfold since introduction of these cultivars in 1996.
The four leading GMO crops were corn, soybeans, and canola. India grows only GMO cotton with 27 million acres planted. In contrast neighboring Pakistan, a significant producer, has only 7 million acres under GMO cotton. In developing nations GMO crops include cotton and corn with a few nations in Latin America cultivating GMO soybeans.
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Non-Level Playing Field for UK Egg Producers | Mar 12, 2013 |
EGG-CITE has commented previously on the unfavorable situation for UK egg producers relative to competition from exporters in other EU nations especially Spain and Poland. Since January 1st 2012 all hens producing eggs in the EU were to be housed in conformity with regulations designed to improve welfare.
According to the EU directive, hens may be housed under free-range management, enclosed in barns with floor systems or aviaries or confined to enriched colony cages. UK producers initiated a program of conversion from conventional cages in the mid 2000’s and by the end of 2011, 82% compliance had been achieved. Producers in the UK were fully in harmony with the EU regulations by February 2012. Most shell eggs in the UK are produced and marketed under the British Lion Egg Program which ensures acceptable housing and adherence to a Salmonella prevention program.
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FDA Addresses Problem of Contaminated Produce | Mar 8, 2013 |
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Eggs were a relatively easy target for the FDA in their efforts to remain relevant in the area of food safety. The Agency is now wrestling with the introduction of regulations to reduce the possibility of food-borne bacterial pathogens associated with produce. During the past five years it has emerged that many of the publicized outbreaks of food-borne infection including salmonellosis, listeriosis and related enteric infections are acquired from produce and fruit.
The FDA has issued regulations to potentially reduce infection in consumers under the Food Safety Modernization Act. It is intended to impose on processors and farmers the obligation to develop and apply operating procedures and quality control which will be incorporated into formal action plans. Standards would be developed for agricultural water, health and hygiene facilities, installations and packing equipment.
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2011 ADUFA Report on Antibiotic Use in Livestock | Mar 8, 2013 |
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A recently posted FDA report entitled Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food – Producing Animals* documented annual sales of 13,551 metric tons of antibiotics among nine classes for livestock in 2011. The data was collected in terms of the Animal Drug User Fee Amendments of 2008 (ADUFA) to Section 512 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Manufacturers of antibiotics are required to submit a report annually to the FDA detailing the quantities sold or distributed for food-producing animals. The reports are summarized and made available for public reference. The table below is a component of the report summary. The “class” NIR indicates “Not Independently Reported” and represents antimicrobial classes with fewer than three individual sponsors or manufacturers.
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Benefits of GMO “Golden Rice” Recognized | Mar 7, 2013 |
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Recent studies published in peer-reviewed journals have demonstrated the benefits of “Golden Rice” in China and the U.S. Golden Rice was created through a joint program at Freiberg University in Germany and the Institute of Plant Sciences in Switzerland during the late 1990s.
Genes were inserted into rice to code for the synthesis of beta carotene which is the precursor of Vitamin A. Golden Rice contains sufficient beta carotene to supply 60% of the required daily amount for children in 100 to 125 grams of rice.
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Adoption of the improved GMO variety was impeded by opponents of genetic modification despite the need for Vitamin A supplementation in the Third World. Vitamin A deficiency is regarded as the major cause of blindness in various countries in Asia and Africa and is indirectly responsible for immunosuppression and damage to the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory tract. Green Peace which was opposed to the introduction of Golden Rice claimed that the benefits were overstated and that introduction of the GMO variety was equivalent to “economic colonization”.
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Legislation Proposed to Improve Transparency over Antibiotic Use in Livestock | Mar 7, 2013 |
A Bill entitled “Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals” has been introduced into the 113rd Congress by representatives Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Henry Waxman (D-CA). These legislators have a long history of activism in public health concerns and appear opposed in principle to the use of antibiotics in livestock production.
Provisions of the Bill would require drug manufacturers to provide information to the FDA on the classes of drugs and their specific use in various species. In addition producers of poultry, swine and other livestock would have to submit reports on the classes and quantities of antibiotics incorporated into feed. The Bill would require documenting information on quantities of drugs sold for each livestock class by state. The Bill will also require producers to distinguish between antibiotics used for either therapy or for growth promotion.
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Rueful Departing Statements by Lisa Jackson of the EPA | Feb 26, 2013 |
Outgoing Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson noted that “if I were starting again, I would from day one make a much stronger effort to do personal outreach in rural America”. In an article published by Reuters, Jackson regrets not having a dialogue with the farming community which would have dispelled mistrust at the outset of her administration.
During her tenure at the EPA, the Agency proposed measures aimed at improving the health of the Nation and counteracting climate change.
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Politicization of HPAI in Mexico | Feb 26, 2013 |
The EGG-CITE postings relating to the re-emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain H7N3 in Mexico on Monday 18th and Monday 25th February documented the effect on our southern neighbor’s poultry industry. Bachoco, (Industrias Bachoco) the Nation’s largest broiler producer and second largest egg producer has reported confirmed cases of infection in operations located in adjacent counties in Guanajuato State. At the time of reporting, 480,000 infected birds have been depopulated and almost 1 million have been vaccinated. Twelve breeder farms, ten broiler flocks and two table egg-producing farms have been diagnosed with HPAI. This represents 0.25% of total egg production and 6% of broiler breeder output in Mexico
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FTC Intensifies Up Standards for Health Advertising | Feb 13, 2013 |
In an article published in The Perspectives distributed by Food Technology Mark Mansour, a partner in Akin Gump, a prominent law firm commented on the FTC surveillance of health claims.
Since the Administration of President Obama first took office, David Vladeck, Head of the Office for Consumer Affairs at the FTC has focused on health claims by food manufacturers. General Mills was warned to stop making claims that their Cheerios cereal could lower serum cholesterol. The FTC has also halted advertising by manufactures of alethic shoes claiming performance and weigh loss benefits.
The most recent example of an exercise in FTC authority involved POM Wonderful LLC which was alleged to have made misleading claims about cardiovascular health benefits for their pomegranate-based juices.
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