The Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration is inching towards a joint regulatory approach for cell-cultured, or so-called lab-grown meats. Agri-Pulse reports Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb “drew no lines in the sand” throughout a two-day meeting on the subject. Gottlieb told reporters that FDA and USDA have worked together in the past, …
China Blames Food Scraps for ASF Outbreak
China says the outbreak of African swine fever likely stems from the feeding of food scraps to pigs. China’s agriculture ministry Wednesday moved to ban the feeding of kitchen waste to pigs after more than 40 outbreaks of the disease have been reported since early August. China has not said how the disease first entered the country, but officials found …
China-owned Smithfield Foods Eligible for U.S. Trade Relief
China-owned Smithfield Foods is eligible for payments under the $12 billion aid package for farmers. The Washington Post reports word of the eligibility has made smaller pork producers unhappy. The Virginia-based, but China-owned, pork company can apply for federal money under a program created this summer. JBS of Brazil is also eligible to apply. The Department of Agriculture announced the …
Livestock Groups ask for Additional HOS Rule Flexibility
Organizations representing livestock, bee, and fish haulers across the country recently submitted a petition to the Department of Transportation (DOT) requesting additional flexibility on Hours of Service (HOS) requirements. Current rules limit drive time to 11 hours and limit on-duty hours to 14. Instead, the organizations request that livestock haulers be granted approval to drive up to 15 hours. National …
NCC Says USDA Must Take Part in Regulation of Cell-Cultured Meat Products
The National Chicken Council (NCC) delivered its priorities for cell-cultured meat products as part of the first joint meeting between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on the use of cell culture technology to develop products derived from livestock and poultry. “As these new technologies are being explored, it is critical that they receive fair and …
Beagle Brigade Helping Protect Homeland Pork
When Hardy, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) trained detector dog, sniffed out a roasted pig head in traveler baggage at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport early this month, it underscored the efforts USDA and its partners are undertaking to keep African Swine Fever (ASF), a swine disease that could devastate the U.S. pork producers, from entering the country. USDA continues …
China Has Culled 200,000 Pigs Due to Swine Fever Outbreak
China, the world’s largest pork producer, has culled 200,000 pigs from its herds due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever. A Reuters report says Chinese health officials made the announcement last week. That number represents a small part of the 700 million pigs that China slaughters every year for food consumption. However, due to restrictions on transporting animals that …
U.S. Suspends Pork Imports from Poland
The U.S. suspended pork imports from Poland last week after an outbreak of African Swine Fever in that country. Pork Business Dot Com says the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service also has concerns over Polish export protocols. APHIS discovered that a Polish export facility shipping pork to the U.S. didn’t follow the requirements designed to help prevent the …
Trade News Has Pork Producers Feeling Optimistic
News on the trade front is getting better for U.S. pork producers as the Trump administration announced it wants to negotiate trade agreements with the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom. The National Pork Producers Council commended the administration for its ambitious trade agenda. The administration recently updated agreements with Canada and Mexico and with South Korea that maintained …
Pork Producers Encouraged by Trade Announcement
Representatives of the U.S. pork industry say “we’ve got the momentum on trade headed in the right direction.” National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl stated “pork producers are hurting because of retaliatory tariffs on pork,” but says their patience is starting to pay off. The comments followed the formal announcement that the U.S. is seeking new free trade agreements …