Company recalls meat due to breach of BSE safety rules
NORTHERN IRELAND - A Northern Ireland company is recalling thousands of cuts of meat sold in the UK, France, Italy and Spain after a breach of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) safety procedures allowed an untested cow into the food chain. The...

Japan finds fresh violation of US beef import rules
JAPAN - Japan has said it will ban imports of beef from one US factory for violating safety guidelines against madcow disease reached after a bitter bilateral feud. Faced with threats of sanctions, Japan in July agreed to resume US beef imports on condition...

US Pushing Japan to Change Beef Rules
US - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said the United States will press Japan to remove the age limit on imports of U.S. beef, hardening its demand from an earlier call for raising the limit to 30 months from the current 20 months. Source:...

Creekstone answers USDA in court over mad cow testing
US - Creekstone Farms Premium Beef has answered the U.S. Department of Agriculture's court documents opposing the company's motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit againstUSDA. Creekstone sued the USDA in March for refusing to allow the Arkansas...

BSE testing: What does the customer want?
US - Last week we looked at the arguments that have been put forward by the USDA, the National Cattleman's Beef Association, and others in support of the USDA action denying Creekstone Farms the right to conduct BSE tests on all of the cattle that are...

Feeders bring U.S. Consolidated sell to Canada
CANADA - For more than a decade now, feedlots have seen their bargaining power chipped away by the growing market power of large packers and retailers. One symptom of this trend has been a declining trend in the number of cattle being sold on the cash...

BSE scare has forced meat industry to look at how it polices itself
UK - The perceived threat to human health from BSE, or mad cow disease, has all but faded into the science fiction of white-coated scientists' fantasies of some sort of Armageddon. It never happened but the meat and livestock industry is still faced...

South Korea to resume US beef imports
UK - South Korea is to resume imports of US beef this week, ending a ban imposed nearly three years ago over mad cow disease. Nine tons of beef from a Kansas-based slaughterhouse will arrive at Incheon International Airport on Monday and will go on...

Finnie in Paris to promote 'rebirth' of Scotch beef
UK - Ross Finnie, Scotland's food minister, is continuing his efforts - "A tough job but someone has to do it," he said recently - to promote red meat exports by attending an international food and drink exhibition in Paris. Speaking yesterday...

Scotch beef 'back at top table'
UK - Almost £3 million of Scotch beef has been exported since the export ban was lifted in May, according to latest figures. And Scottish food minister Ross Finnie said on a trip to Paris that exports to markets worldwide will continue to rise....

End of cheap corn? Sharpen your pencils
US - Dan Childs, ag economist with the Noble Foundation at Ardmore, Okla., says stocker operators have to look harder at supplemental feeding strategies and put a pencil to cost of gains in light of rising corn prices. Childs said United States has...

Vegetables of Mass Destruction - No Chicken Left Behind
US - The government recognizes the need to keep bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as Mad Cow, out of the food chain, and we all expect it to. This involves (among other things) testing animals to make sure none of them carry BSE -...

Irish fly in to raid Perth cattle sales
UK - An Irish airline boss and former Ireland rugby player yesterday capitalised on the recently reopened export market for live cattle from the UK. The international interest helped lift averages by £1,066 to £4,398 for 36 sold, a 72 per...

Farmers still sending OTM cattle to slaughter despite ban
UK - UK farmers have sent over 180 older cattle to slaughter for human consumption since last November, despite a ban on cattle born before 1 August 1996 entering the food chain because of the increased risk of BSE. But the Department of Agriculture...

US Loses Steam In Regaining Asian Beef Markets
US - The latest deal struck by U.S. negotiators to resume beef exports to Asia has so far yielded no new business, and trade has even taken a small step backward, with new restrictions now that more mad-cow concerns have surfaced regarding neighboring...

Despite easing of beef bans, restrictions still hamper U.S. exports
US - From Taiwan stopping importing Canadian beef products from the United States to South Korea's strict rules about bone fragments, it continues to be a rough ride for the U.S. beef industry even though more countries have begun lifting their bans...

USDA rule change speaks to need for COOL
USDA - On October 3rd, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service changed the rules governing U.S. beef exports to Taiwan, prohibiting shipment to Taiwan of beef derived from Canadian slaughter cattle. USDA opened the U.S. border to Canadian slaughter...

Mexico Opens Markets to U.S. Dairy Heifers
US - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that Mexico will resume trade in U.S. dairy heifers under 24 months of age. "I am pleased with this first step in reestablishing cattle trade with Mexico, but I remain committed to a broader...

Taiwan to Stop Importing Canadian Beef Products from U.S.
US - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued on Tuesday updated export requirements for Taiwan regarding fresh/frozen boneless beef derived from Canadian cattle under 30 months of age....

Poll: Japanese Consumers Warming To U.S. Beef
JAPAN - A national study of Japanese consumers by Tokyo-based Macromill for the U.S. Meat Export Federation showed that 52 percent agree with the government's decision to resume imports of U.S. beef, and roughly the same number were either positive...

Japan is fertile ground for Sask. products
CANADA - More than $500 million in Saskatchewan exports already annually flow to Japan, but there are also new opportunities to explore, Japan's ambassador to Canada said Thursday. Ambassador Sadaaki Numata met with the head of Saskatchewan Trade and...

Canada Issues New BSE Reporting Protocol
CANADA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is implementing a revised protocol for the ongoing reporting of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada as BSE is eradicated from the national cattle herd. All new BSE detections will be reported...

Japanese Authorities Confirm 29th Case of BSE
JAPAN - The authorities in Japan have confirmed the country's 29th case of mad cow disease. The Agriculture Ministry said tests had confirmed that a 75-month-old Holstein cow from a farm on the northern island of Hokkaido had been infected with mad...

29th suspected case of mad cow in Japan
JAPAN - A cow in northern Japan is suspected of having the country's 29th case of mad cow disease, an official said Tuesday. Preliminary tests on the animal at the Ishikari Livestock Hygiene Service Center in Hokkaido prefecture on Japan's northernmost...

Japan accepts US beef imports
US - The California Cattlemen’s Association has announced that Japan will be once again accepting imports of U.S. beef. The opening of the Japanese market came after a month-long audit of 35 meat processing facilities in the U.S. to ensure that...

Now premium quality beef costs more than foie gras
UK - Farmers now get an average of £2.10 per kg, though the highest quality beef is almost £2.40 per kg. The price rise has been triggered by a shortage of beef supplies around the world. British beef prices have mainly been boosted after...

Reception In Japan To U.S. Beef Pleases USMEF Leaders
US - Although there is still a lot of work to do, leaders of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) say they are “extremely pleased by the reception” to the reintroduction of U.S. beef in Japan. In a telephone press conference from Osaka...

S. Korea Keeps Option To Destroy US Beef Shipments
SOUTH KOREA - South Korea is maintaining its option to destroy or send back shipments of U.S. boneless beef and temporarily suspend exports from a U.S. production facility if a shipment is found to contain small bone fragments or other problems, a U.S....