African Swine Fever genetics changing

The genetics of African Swine Fever are changing and increasing the risk to the North American pork industry, says a researcher at the University of Minnesota.

Maria Sol Perez Aguirreburualde at the University of Minnesota keeps a global watch on African Swine Fever for the Swine Health Information Centre.

She said the recombinant strains are highly lethal and transmissible in pigs. 

Based on preliminary evidence, current live-attenuated vaccines based on ASFV genotype II, such as those being implemented in countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, are most likely not protective against these recombinant genotype I/II strains, she said.

They have spread within China and to Vietnam and across China’s border with Russia.

There are also some new strains that are not very deadly and they have been detected in Italy, Sardinia and Africa.

The first case of African Swine Fever was in 2018 in China.

So far the closest outbreak to North America has been in the Dominican Republic.

Wellington open to funding farmers

 

Wellington County has opened applications for up to $3,000 per project to improve land management.

Jordan Grigg, agriculture coordinator, said the program helps farmers transition to newer agricultural, or regenerative agricultural practices. 

"Generally we're looking for projects that will help integrate animals back into the system,” he told CKNX radio.

 “It could be things like rotational grazing or bale grazing. 

“In cropping systems, it might look like keeping roots in the ground or keeping the ground covered for more of the year. So that could be cover cropping projects, or inter-cropping," Grigg said.

Ultimately, Grigg says the county just wants to support local farmers in being more environmentally friendly and trying new things to improve their operations.

"Farmers are the stewards of our land and they definitely know what's going on on their farms the best. 

“So we don't want to come in and tell them what to do, but we're here to help if they decide to try something new because there can be a bit of a learning curve associated with it.”

Another Quebec case of avian flu

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reports another case of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in Quebec.

This one is in the regional municipality of comté de Lotbiniére. 

There are now three active cases in Quebec, but none in Ontario or the Maritime provinces.

There are 50 active cases in British Columbia and increasing daily, three in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan.

So far this year 12,287,000 chickens have either killed or euthanized.

Pork team visited China

Officials from the Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Meat 

Council went to China to talk trade.

They were with federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay who was also trying to stave off Chinese restrictions on Canadian canola.

China announced an anti-dumping investigation on Canadian canola right after Canada announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electrical vehicles.

Canadian Pork Council chairman René Roy said the mission comes at a pivotal time.

“Canadian pork producers are passionate about building strong trading relationships with China. Having one of our government’s most senior ministers attending this mission is an indication of that commitment.”

“We have always been committed to providing world-class, sustainable pork, and we know there is potential to provide even more if required to meet the growing demand in China,” Roy said.

Both organizations said in a joint statement that they have returned home with valuable insights.

Detroit packer recalls hamburger

 

Wolverine Packing Co. of Detroit is recalling 167,277 pounds of ground beef.

The United States Food Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it found E. coli 0157:H7 food-poisoning bacteria in the meat.

So far the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has not issued any cautions to cross-border shoppers.

Ag minister went to China

 

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay went to China last week to plead for ongoing sales of canola.

China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into canola from Canada.

That came after Canada imposed a 100 per cent tariff on China’s electric vehicles.

Vote favours nuclear dump in the North

 

Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation members have voted in favour of continuing negotiations to host a nuclear dump on nearby land.

The site is competing with another in Huron County where residents recently narrowly voted in favour of continuing negotiations.

“This is just the beginning of a long process, and our Nation will be leading every step of the way,” said Chief Clayton Wetelainen in a prepared statement.

Ignace municipal councillors earlier voted unanimously to move forward as a potential host of the $26 billion project.

Saskatoon lab says animals sourced COVID-19

 A researcher in Saskatoon is part of a team that is saying it has strong evidence that the COVID-19 virus jumped from infected animals to humans, rather than originating from a laboratory leak. 

The team analysed hundreds of genetic samples to conclude that the virus jumped from animals to humans in a food market in Wuhan, China.

Angie Rasmussen, a study co-author and virologist at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infection Disease Organization, told the CBC "it's very difficult to explain any other way, besides that virus was brought there with those live animals and it spilled over, twice actually, into the human population at the market.”

The study has been published in Cell, scientific journal.

Canadians accused of potato price fixing

McCain Foods and Cavendish farms, both dominant potato processors in the Maritimes, are named in a price-fixing lawsuit against them and J.R. Simplot and Lamb Weston.

They are being accused of sharing detailed, sensitive inside information with each other as part of an alleged conspiracy to raise the price of their goods and make more money off consumers.

In one lawsuit filed in Illinois on Friday, a Pennsylvania-based supermarket chain alleged McCain, Cavendish, Lamb Weston and J.R. Simplot have been working together to fix the price of frozen potato products "above competitive levels," in violation of antitrust laws, since at least early 2021.

The document on behalf of Redner's Markets claimed the so-called potato cartel made "matching, simultaneous or near-simultaneous price increases" in 2021 and 2022. The claim said one restaurant owner in Washington, D.C., noticed the alleged timing and posted about it online on April 19, 2022.

"Amazing how all of the major suppliers for french fries and the like are all raising their prices at the same time and by the same amount," read a post on X from the owner of Ivey and Covey. "Totally not collusion or anything, right?"

British farmers stage protest

Thousands of farmers descended on the British Parliament this week to protest restoration of a capital gains tax on farm inheritances.

It is the first demonstration of its kind in England where farmers have not copied frequent farm protests in France, Germany and other member countries of the European Union.

In the 1990s the inheritance tax was removed and now the government has brought in a 20 per cent tax on inheritances exceeding $1.83 million Cdn.

They demonstrated with banners, shouted through bullhorns and brought toy tractors. Their peers in Europe created tractor blockades, burned straw bales and spread manure to punctuate their protests.

Nut Works on recall

 

Nutworks Canada is recalling its raw pistachios, which were distributed from its North York facility across Canada because Canadian Food Inspection Agency testing found salmonella food-poisoning bacteria.

Food price increases top inflation rste

Food prices rose by 2.7 per cent in October, more than the overall inflation rate of two per cent, reports Statistics Canada.

October was the third consecutive month price growth for groceries outpaced headline inflation.

Notable contributors to the acceleration were higher prices for other fresh vegetables ( up by 7.3 per cent) and preserved fruit and fruit preparations ( up by 7.6 per cent). 

The acceleration was moderated by downward pressure from fresh or frozen beef in October (up by seven per cent compared with 9.2 per cent in September), among other food items.

Chicken board tweaks growth policies

The Chicken Farmers of Ontario is tweaking its growth policies to open more opportunities for farmers and processors.

They build on a major change in approach that began about a decade ago, removing draconian bans on producers and small-scale and innovative processors.

Now a new Market Opportunity Program will open new avenues to produce chickens “to address a market opportunity”.

The New Entrant Processor Policy will be updated. It allows new entrants and existing small-scale processors opportunities to “supply markets as a primary processor”. In other words, they will  be allowed to market to further processors.

CFO will re-design the Small Whole Bird program, providing opportunity for primary processors to use available supply to meet or address a market opportunity for birds in the 1.60-1.84 kg weight category, such as the Portuguese barbecue or small barbecue bird restaurants,*  the board’s website said.

The Portugeuse barbecue marketers have complained in the past about severe shortages.

The Ontario board has been able to partially relax its bans because it finally persuaded the national supply management agency that Ontario needs opportunities to expand production more than the national average to address chronic shortages.

The other provinces are wary of losing markets to competition from Ontario-processed chicken products.

Ontario was so chronically short of chicken, and large-scale processors were so competitive, that farmers were being offered premiums. That drew criticism from the board's regulator, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission which banned premiums.

Then Ontario processors began importing chickens from Quebec and Quebec processors retaliated by buying chickens from Ontario growers.

And then Ontario clamped down on processors, in effect applying supply management to them. And they, in turn, resisted any policies that would enable small-scale and new entrant processors to be able to source chickens without buying "allocation" rights.

Organic carrots on recall

 

E. coli in organic carrots from California has prompted nation-wide recalls for brands sold by Loblaws and Metro supermarkets which ihcludes Zehrs Markets and Food Basics.

Fourteen products sold from as far back as Aug, 14 may be contaminated by E. coli which can result in severe food poisoning.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is reacting to findings in the United States. It said there have been no reports of illnesses in Canada.

PED outbreak in Perth County

 

Swine Health Ontario reports there has been an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in a farrow-to-wean facility in Perth County.

Avian influenza in Quebec

There has been an outbreak of avian influenza in Quebec prompting a cull of 1,411,000 birds, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website.

Hours later the CFIA said there was another outbreak.

It big case was in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality, the second in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality.

There are no active cases in Ontario.

British Columbia has been hit hard, especially in the Abbotsford-Chilliwack area of the Lower Fraser River. The province is dealing with 41 outbreaks, Alberta with three and Saskatchewan with one.

Kraft mac&cheese honesty challenged

 

Kraft Heinz has been hit with a class action lawsuit over the use of ‘no artificial preservatives’ labelling on its Kraft Macaroni & Cheese product.

Plaintiffs David Hayes, Kamilah Galbreth and Taylor Ambroisno say the claim is fraud, an unjust enrichment and violates state consumer protection laws in Illinois, New York and California.

They argue that the mac and cheese was marketed as containing ‘no artificial flavours, preservatives or dyes’ despite containing citric acid and sodium phosphates, which they claim are artificially derived and act as preservatives in the product. 

They are seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief to prevent the company from continuing to label its products as such.

They accuse Kraft Heinz of using a synthetic form of citric acid manufactured from a type of black mould called Aspergillus niger.

The lawsuit cites academic studies and articles explaining that “approximately 99 per cent of the manufactured (as opposed to naturally occurring) citric acid in the world is cultivated from Aspergillus niger”.

Additionally, they point to the use of sodium phosphates, which are ‘frequently, but not exclusively’ used as preservatives in food products such as cheese. 

The plaintiffs allege that these are also artificially synthesised and do not exist in nature as pure compounds or pure minerals like common salt.

Kraft Heinz responded with a motion to dismiss, which the court granted in part and denied in part. 

District judge Mary Rowland ruled that the plaintiffs’ allegations regarding the artificial nature and function of the ingredients as preservatives were plausible, writing: “These allegations are enough to withstand a motion to dismiss”.

But she ruled against the request for an injunction on the labeling.

Rabobank has stand-pat outlook

 

Rabobank issued a forecast that is basically a repeat of grains and oilseeds production and prices for the 2025-26 crop year.

Specialist Andrick Payen said "we’re not seeing acreage expanding that much (in Canada) and we see yields continue to be a challenge in terms of production.” 

Canadian yields have flat-lined while they continue to increase in the U.S.

Owen Wagner, another Raboresearch grains and oilseeds analyst, said “25 per cent of Canadian soybeans were grown for direct human consumption compared to two per cent in the U.S. You get a good idea for the different models both countries have pursued,” he said.

He also noted that Canadian net farm income increased between 2019 and 2022 while it declined in the United States.

Florida law banning cultivated meat challenged

 

Upside Foods of California is continuing its legal challenge of a Florida law banning the production and commercialization of cultivated meat.

A federal district court In North Carolina ruled in October against a move by Upside to gain an injunction against enforcing the law which came into effect in July.

Now Upside and the Institute for Justice are planning to appeal.

"We have not yet appealed the denial of the preliminary injunction, but we plan to," said J. Justin Wilson, vice president for communications with Institute for Justice.

Neither the judge’s decision on the preliminary injunction nor the appeals process end the original lawsuit, which will determine the constitutionality of the Florida law.        

Pork deemed excellent protein

Research supported by hog producers has found that all pork is an excellent source of protein for people of all ages..

The study has been accepted and published by the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (JFSA) Reports.

“With the exception of chorizo for children less than three years old, all pork products have ‘excellent’ protein quality for individuals older than six months of age, with DIAAS (Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score) greater than 100,” the study said.

A team from the University of Illinois studied store-bought pork made from nine pork products — back ribs, tenderloin and shoulder butt, Coppa, prosciutto and speck Italian hams, and chorizo, Italian, and bratwurst sausages.

“Pork proteins can complement proteins with low quality to produce a meal that is adequate in all amino acids,” the report said.

Chorizo fell slightly below the 100 standard sulfur amino acid digestibility for children ages six to 36 months.

Among the nine tested products, prosciutto had the highest score for all ages, while tenderloin and Coppa ham ranked above back ribs, shoulder butt, chorizo, and bratwurst.

Funds from the national pork checkoff fund helped pay for the research.

A bonus offered for feeding Enogen corn

 

Farmers who feed Enogen corn will be eligible for four cents per day per animal, but for now only in the United States.

McDonald’s restaurant chain is teaming with Syngenta which markets Enogen on the subsidy which aims to capture five per cent feed efficiency improvement and thus lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Syngenta said Canada is a high priority for being added to the program.

Enogen contains more alpha-amylase enzyme which improves the conversion of starch to sugars.

In return for the payment from Syngenta,  McDonald’s owns the carbon intensity offset asset.

Producers also have to commit to feeding Enogen corn at 50 per cent of the starch in the cattle’s ration on a dry matter basis in a Total Mixed Ration. 

The corn can be in any form that’s usually fed on a farm, including silage, high moisture corn or grain corn. 

Enogen is approved for food and feed use in North America, but not for sale to consumers because it’s different from most corn.

It can be used to produce ethanol.

Sterilizing wild pigs

 

Genetically engineering wild boars could render female offspring sterile and eventually wipe out the species, hopes Ray Lu of the University of Guelph.

He is adapting an idea that helped knock out malaria-carrying mosquitos.

“I do believe this is a potential solution,” said Ray Lu, associate professor in the university’s molecular and cellular biology department.

A Saskatcehwan innovator Imported Eurasian wild boars in the 1980s for hunting and meat, says the Canadian Council on Invasive Species. 

Some of those pigs escaped or were released into the wild, where they’ve since adapted and thrived.

They now rip up fields and pose a threat to spread diseases to commercial herds. The main concern is deadly and highly-contagious African Swine Fever which infects wild pigs in  Europe and Asia.

Feds invest $17.41 million in Thames River

 

The Canada Water Agency has committed $17.41 million over four years to support the Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Program.

There will be money for farmers who reduce phosphorous runoff.

The funds will be managed by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.

In 2022, phosphorus loading from Canada to Lake Erie reached 2,091 tonnes, with approximately 53 per cent of phosphorus in the Huron-Erie corridor – encompassing the Thames River – originating from non-point sources. 

The conservation authority said this program is an essential step in reducing phosphorus levels and protecting freshwater resources.

JBS his record profit

 

JBS posted a record profit of 3.8 billion Brazilian reals for its third fiscal quarter, more than 5.7 times as much as a year ago.

Its beef business on Brazil led its results.

JBS Beef North America reported a six per cent increase in net revenue to $6.3 billion US.

Loblaws sales and profits rise

Loblaws reported a 6.7 per cent increase in profits to $777 million for its third quarter.

Revenues increased by 1.5 per cent to $16.5 billion.

The best results were for its discount stores. 

It opened 25 new No Frills stores in the quarter. It is also testing three new No Name stores that pare down prices further by lowering operating costs. the stores carry a narrower assortment of products and do not have refrigerators.

A previous charge related to a commodity tax matter at President’s Choice Bank was reversed during the quarter, after Loblaw won a legal appeal. That change positively affected the company’s net earnings by $125-million, offset by the amortization of assets related to Shoppers Drug Mart and the Lifemark chain of clinics.

Including those and other adjustments in the same quarter the previous year, adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders were $767-million compared to $719-million last year.

Agropur promotes Dubé

Jean-François Dubé has been appointed senior vice president of operations at Agropur. 

He will oversee operations at the company’s 29 production facilities in Canada and the U.S.

Dubé was previously vice president of strategic initiatives and organizational transformation.

Maple Leaf sales, profits up

 

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $17.7-million compared with a loss of $4.3-million in the same quarter last year.

Sales for the quarter totalled $1.26-billion, up from $1.24-billion a year ago.

It said its plan to create Canada Packers Inc. to take over its pork business is taking longer than anticipated because it needs to gain Canada Revenue Agency’s opinion of its “butterfly reorganization”.

Temple Grandin coming to Guelph

 

Dr. Temple Grandin, one of the world’s best-known specialists in animal behaviour, will be in Guelph Dec. 3 to speak at an event sponsored by the Centre for Meat Innovation and Technology.

A venue has yet to be chosen.

She will speak about the ABCs of Humane Animal Handling.

Ross Shantz dead at 81

 

Ross Shantz of Waterloo has died. He was 81.

He was active in many Mennonite endeavours including the annual New Hamburg Mennonite Central Committee auction and the House of Friendship in Kitchener.

He was president of the Ontario Pork Congress in 1987-88 and a member of Waterloo County Pork Producers Association.

He saved Waterloo County Supplies Co-operative after investments in hog production soured; rather than sinking into bankruptcy, he felt horse-and-buggy Mennonite farmers who had invested in the co-op needed to have it survive.

He was dismayed about the waste of surplus milk so set up a drying business on his farm at the western border with the city of Waterloo. 

There were times when tanker trucks delivered milk from processing plants whose pasteurizing had failed.

He gave frontage of his farm to a refugee who developed a tree business.

He planted hundreds of trees.

When hog prices plunged, he started Shantz Country Pork Family Restaurant in Waterloo at a time when the OntarIo Pork Producers Marketing Board started a restaurant in Toronto. Neither venture made a dent in pork demand and both closed.

He and his son expanded the milk-drying venture into a pork feed business.

When I was a reporter and columnist for the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, we often talked things over, in particular his concerns about Mennonite investors in Waterloo County Supplies Co-operative.

He was one of the nicest farmers I ever knew.

         

B.C. youth now in critical condition

 

The British Columbia teenager infected with highly-pathogenic avian influenza is now listed in critical condition in hospital.

Officials have not yet identified how he contacted the virus, but there has been a rash of two dozen outbreaks of avian influenza in commercial poultry operations in British Columbia over the last month.

Twelve rabid bats identified

 The Canadian Food Inspection Agency tested 132 samples and found rabies in 12 during October in Ontario.

That brought the total to 75 rabid bats in the province so far this year. 

There was one human case near Brantford.

The national total has risen to 119 and 111 of them were bats.

There were two rabid Artic foxes- one of them in Manitoba, the other in Nunavit – four skunks and one dog in Manitoba.

                           

Less beef bolsters pork outlook

 

Because there will be less beef this year and next, the outlook for increased pork demand is good, market analyst Kevin Grier told the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium in Saskatoon.

Grier said InterPIG always ranks Canada as among the lowest cost producers in the world, a little bit higher cost than Brazil or the United States, but always right there among the most competitive in terms of producer production costs. 

“We may not be a low-cost producer at the packer level but we compete in other ways, through increased quality specifications, service, that sort of thing so from the farm to the packer we are competitive industry and that’s how we compete, on costs but also on service and quality,” he said.

About 70 per cent of Canada’s pork is exported.

Ports resume shipments

Ports in British Columbia and Montreal will soon be working again because the federal government has intervened to end employer lockouts.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has sent the labour disputes to binding arbitration and ordered people back to work after long-running labour disputes reached what he described as a "total impasse."

The lockouts have tarnished Canada’s reputation for delivering goods such as grains and oilseeds, pork and beef and lumber.

Animal health profits rise

Two companies that market animal health products to farmers made higher profits according to recent quarterly financial reports.

Elanco posted a profit of $364 million compared with a loss of $1.1 billion for the same quarter last year. Its revenues were up by one per cent to $1.03 billion.

Phibro’s second-quarter profit was $7 million compared with a loss of $8 million last year and sales increased by 13 per cent to $260.4 million.

Saputo profit slips as sales rise

Saputo Inc. of Montreal reported its second-quarter profits slipped to $126 million from $156 million last year.

Revenues increased to $4.71 billion from $4.32 billion.

Its profit on Canadian operations increased by 9.5 per cent.

It also reported gains from “operational improvements” on its holdings in the United States.

Weak tornado hit near Fergus

A weak tornado ripped apart trees and downed some hydro lines near Fergus shortly after Environment Canada issued a tornado warning for the Caledon area.

Most of Southwestern Ontario experienced heavy rains and winds as a storm swept up from Texas Sunday evening.

Ports on lockdout

Ports in British Columbia and Montreal are idle because employers have locked out union workers.

In British Columbia, resumed negotiations lasted only an hour because the employers insisted on holding to their final offer, prompting the union negotiators to walk out.

The shut-downs impact grain, pork and other agricultural exports and imports of things farmers buy from overseas suppliers.

First Canadian case of avian flu

 

British Columbia has confirmed the first case of avian flu in a person.

It’s a teen in the lower Fraser Valley where there have been a number of recent outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks.

A statement from the office of the provincial health office said a teenager in the region covered by Fraser Health tested positive for bird flu, and the teen is currently getting treatment at BC Children’s Hospital.

The statement said the positive test was done by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, and samples are on their way to Winnipeg’s national microbiology lab for confirmatory testing.

There have been a number of people in the United States who work with dairy cattle and poultry who have been infected, but those cases have been mild.

Senate neuters pro-supply-management bill

 A bill that intended to protect supply management from further market erosion to imports has been neutered.

Senator Peter Harder gained 10-3 support for his amendment that exempts existing trade deals, their re-negotiations and current negotiations from the intended protections.

Bloc Quebecois has made passage of the bill a condition of its support from the minority Liberal government.

“It’s unfortunate that the atmosphere surrounding this bill has turned from one of policy to one of politics,” Harder said.

Lighthizer pegged to return as negotiator

 

President-elect Donald Trump will pick Robert Lighthizer to return as U.S. trade representative, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Lighthizer was one of the leading figures in Trump’s trade war with China and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, with Mexico and Canada during his first term.

Trump has said he intends to impose an across-the-board tariff of 20 per cent on all goods from all countries and recently said 10 per cent with more against some countries such as China.

The Canada-United States-Mexico (CUSMA) trade deal is up for review next year.

World food prices rise

Despite lower pork prices, the United Nations reports that world food prices rose in October to an 18-month high.

Palm oil led vegetable oils prices which was a category with the greatest increases.

The U.N. index increased to 127.4 points last month, up two per cent from a revised 124.9 points in September and five per cent higher than a year ago.

 Overall meat prices edged down by three-tenths of  a per cent. Pork registered the sharpest decline and poultry also declined, but beef went up.

Hamel licence suspended

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence of  Hamel Inc. of Lévis, Quebec.

It said the health of consumers was at risk and that the suspension will remain in effect until the company is in compliance with the Safe Canada Food Act and regulations.

The company makes frozen ready-to-eat food entrees, sauces, soups, dressings, quiches and pies for major supermarket chains and foodservice companies.

Hanover lifts boil water advisory

 

Hanover has lifted its boil water advisory after new testing has found the municipal water safe to drink.

 

A boil water advisory was issued Wednesday after six sample tests raised concerns.

The public health unit has not revealed what contaminant was found.

         

CNH to cut production

 

CNH said it plans to cut production and reduce heavy dealership inventories because of a 22 per cent reduction in sales for its third quarter that ended Sept. 30.

It said farm machinery and industrial equipment sales around the world declined because its customers are experiencing a profit squeeze.

CNH brands are Case IH, New Holland, Steyr, Raven, Flexi-Coil, Miller, Eurocomach and Hemisphere.

Hanover under boil water advisory

 

Grey Bruce Public Health Agency has advised Hanover residents to boil their water because test results identified contamination.

It did not identify the contaminant.

Mayor Sue Paterson said "the town’s first priority is ensuring the safety of our water supply.

“Our internal municipal water treatment systems are working as intended which prompted us to issue the precautionary boil water advisory for the safety of our residents, out of abundance of

caution.

“I know this causes concern for our residents. I kindly ask for your patience as we await the lab results."

In May, 2000, the water supply in nearby Walkerton was contaminated with E. coli 0157, sickening about 2,000 people and seven died.

The Hanover advice is to bring water to a rolling boil for at least a minute.

U.S. meat industry too concentrated

 

The United States Department of Agriculture has issued a report saying meat-industry concentration threatens those at both ends – farmers and ranchers and independent retailers – and should be regulated more vigorously.

That would include enhanced market surveillance, enforcing subpoenas and possibly updating the Packers & Stockyards Act policies.

The interim report is part of a U.S.D.A.-led investigation under the Packers and Stockyards Act and highlighted how concentrated control among large meat packers, distributors and retailers may stifle competition through pricing structures, fees and preferential treatment, ultimately affecting market access for smaller producers and independent retailers.

Noting the industry’s economic significance — beef alone comprises 17 per cent of U.S. agricultural revenue — the report said concentration in meat processing and retailing has escalated over the last 40 years, while smaller livestock operations have sharply declined. 

U.S. meat exports at record pace

 

Exports of beef and pork are aiming towards setting records this year.

Pork exports, led by Mexico, have Increased by eight per cent by volume and six per cent by revenue and beef exports, led by Asia, are up by five per cent by volume and six per cent by revenue.

Subway teams with egg farmers

 

Subway Canada is sporting the Egg Quality Assurance program logo in its stores in support of the Egg Farmers of Canada’s protocols for food safety and animal care.

Roger Pelissero, chairman of Egg Farmers of Canada, said the certification mark "represents our commitment to producing eggs to rigorous standards in the areas of animal care and food safety.” 

"Showcasing the EQA certification mark is a natural extension of our already strong commitment to supporting hard-working Canadian farmers," said Courtney Hindorff, managing director for Subway Canada.