Happy New Year!

If you're tired of year-end reviews and outlooks for 2017, relax. 

You won't find any on this blog.

What you can't remember is not worth remembering, and what you don't know about 2017 is probably a good thing.

Tupperware recalls spice

Tupperware Canada is recalling its Southwest Chipotle Seasoning because it might be contaminated with salmonella food-poisoning bacteria.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there have been no reported illnesses in Canada and also says the recall originated in another country it does not name.

Tupperware sells the spice via Tupperware parties and the internet.

Tim’s going to antibiotic-free chicken

Tim Horton’s and Burger King are going to buy only chickens raised without antibiotics, beginning in 2018.

In the United States, the move will take place during 2017.

Both chains are owned by Restaurant Brands International.

"We believe that it is important to reduce the use of antibiotics important for human medicine in order to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics in both veterinary and human medicine," Restaurant Brands said.

McDonald’s and Wendy’s made the same move earlier this year.

All three restaurant chains have faced lobbying pressure for more than a year.

Ontario free of PED for six months

It’s six months since the latest outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, the longest stretch since the disease first came to the province from the United States in January, 2014.

There was a brief flare-up in May and June, including a farrow-to-finish operation in Elgin County on May 16, two finisher barns, one in Oxford County June 7, the other in Waterloo Region June 23, and then a nursery-to-finishing operation in Huron County on June 30.

The industry has stepped up biosecurity to keep the disease from spreading, including better cleaning and disinfecting of trucks and disinfection measures for anyone entering hog barns.

Fremont votes approval for Costco poultry plant

Fremont City Council in Nebraska voted this week to approve plans to develop a $300-million poultry plant to supply Costco.

Lincoln Premium Poultry is in charge of the project which includes an 85,000-square-foot hatchery, 360,000-square-foot processing facility, 32,000-square-foot feed mill with 145-foot silos.

The company has also lined up farmers to grow the chickens and banks to lend them money.

The original project was estimated to cost $180 million and be open by August, 2018.

It is now a $300-million project scheduled to open in 2019.

The company’s planners have visited Europe and have decided to buy automated equipment that will reduce the expected workforce from 1,100 to between 800 and 1,000.

This is a type of investment that won't happen in Canada because provincial trade barriers and marketing boards make it virtually impossible to develop one complex capable of marketing chickens across the nation.

Beef consumption to increase

Beef consumption will increase by 1.15 per cent per year to reach $2.1 trillion US by 2020, says Grand View Research Inc. of San Francisco.

Beef is the third-most consumed meat globally and it will gain on pork and poultry as people in developing nations earn more income, says the report.

Another factor favouring beef is food safety issues such as chemical residue and pathogen detection in other meat products.

Ground beef is the most-consumed product, with demand exceeding 29.5 million tons in 2013.

Beef steaks are expected to be the fastest-growing segment due to increased preference for high quality beef, particularly in North America. Demand is estimated to increase at a rate of rate of 1.24 percent from 2014 to 2020.

The report also says:

• The global beef demand was 67.4 million tons in 2012 and is expected to reach 72.9 million tons by 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 1.15 percent from 2014 to 2020.
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• Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest regional market for beef with revenue exceeding $580 billion in 2013. Growing disposable income of China coupled with high preference for red meat are the reasons.
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• Increasing demand for halal beef in predominantly Islamic nations is expected to be a key factor having a positive impact on the market. The demand for Kosher beef is expected to increase in North America owing to consumer perceptions that it is a safer, higher quality and healthier beef.
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• The global market was moderately consolidated with the top four companies accounting for more than 70 percent of the market in 2013. The key companies in the market include Tyson Foods, JBS, National Beef Co. and Cargill Meat Solutions.