VACCINATION rather than mass culling of livestock should be Australia’s response to foot and mouth disease (FMD), according to livestock biosecurity experts.

Addressing an MLA biosecurity breakfast in Brisbane on Tuesday, the three speakers endorsed vaccination over the ‘triple D’ response – “destroy, dispose and decontamination”.

One exception, however, could be small localised outbreak, said Dr Peter Dagg: “If we have a very localised, a very small outbreak – if that happens – then we might not use vaccine. Slaughter will be a component in the hot spots where the disease is actually identified on an infected premises.”

Animal Health Australia’s head of AUSVETPLAN continued: “The strategy is more about movement controls because FMD is a contagious disease, so it’s all about movement controls and restricting the  potential spread of the virus.”

He stressed the availability of vaccine for Australian livestock producers. “We have a vaccine bank held over in the UK and they will make up vaccine and move it to Australia within seven days of us requesting it, if we have an outbreak,” he said.

MLA’s program manager of animal wellbeing, Dr Michael Laurence said: “I don’t believe culling animals would be the way to control foot and mouth, should it come into Australia. Vaccine will be the first line of defence.”

 

Sue Webster / Beef Central  

Farming Minister Mark Spencer has said he will push for small abattoirs to be able to benefit from earned recognition in order to reduce veterinary presence.

His comments came shortly after John Mettrick, owner of the multi-award winning Glossop-based butchers J W Mettrick, closed his abattoir because the staff walked out on account of the ‘constant scrutiny’ they faced.

The workers left after trading figures meant the business moved from requiring part-time to full on-site official veterinarians (OVs).

Mr Spencer told attendees of the NFU fringe event at Conservative Party conference in Birmingham: “I have already met with the Food Standards Agency. I think what we need is a risk-based approach.

“In my retail business, the environmental health officer inspects every two years. As long as when they do inspect, they find a premises which is clean, tidy, well-documented and abiding by all the rules, they come back on a less regular basis.

“If I have made a mistake, they will come back more often. I think we need to apply a risk-based system to our abattoirs so it does not require a veterinary surgeon to be there 24-7.”

 

by Abi Kay / Farmers Guardian

Abu Dhabi: Provacuno, a Spanish beef interprofessional association, organised a delegation of top UAE beef importers to visit several Spanish plants and farms as part of its Wonderful Beef 2.0 campaign as a trade mission.

Participants learned about the safety and quality of EU/Spanish beef, which follows a strict and safe European production model.

Five UAE Beef importers – namely Excellence Meats LLC, Hope Gourmet, Parker Migliorini International Food Trading LLC, Sunlife General Trading LLC and Unique Seven Star General Trading LLC – participated in a 4-day trade mission which was conducted in Spain.

On the first day, the group of UAE importers travelled to a renowned cattle farm, which stands out at the national level for being one of the largest producers of calves born and raised on its own farms through the development of homogeneous lines in breeds, sexes, conformations, and fat.

The participants learned about Spanish Beef, which emphasized productive capacity and extensive control from the source to create a recognized quality meat. This farm also selects specimens with exceptional characteristics from the “Aquitaine Blonda cattle breed” and are given special care in the breeding process.

On the second day, the UAE participants travelled to Buñol, Valencia and toured a massive 55,000 square meter Slaughterhouse facility in Buñol (Valencia). This facility has a slaughter line for up to 100 animals per hour, a cutting plant and veal with a capacity of 130 tons per day, a chamber of meat products to produce snacks, minced meat, and burgers. They also have a massive cool storage center of fresh and frozen beef products, at a capacity of forty thousand cubic meters.

The third day of the mission involved a trip to Barcelona, where the participants were treated to a tour of one of Spain’s most long-standing beef production organizations in Barcelona, with a history dating back over 100 years. The UAE vendors witnessed the superlative practice of extensive product traceability. The last day of the trip concluded at Mercamadrid, where the UAE team visited a state-of-the-art beef processing plant and headquarters in Mercamadrid.

 

Zawya.com

The UK beef sector needs to chase better eating quality rather than yield, because consumer satisfaction is everything.

According to influential US Stabiliser breeder Lee Leachman: “You should be worried you are not producing lovely steaks. As a beef consumer I would say that would be my concern in the UK. I am not saying it tongue and cheek. The UK should put a quality grid in place.”

 

By John Sleigh /  The Scottish Farmer 

The closure of an independent abattoir that has been in business for more than a hundred years over five generations will spark anxiety amongst farmers who rely on such operations for their own livelihoods.

Mettrick’s abattoir in Glossop on the South Yorkshire border closed on Wednesday with the butcher, who ironically champions the fight to save small abattoirs in his other roles, saying increasing regulations and red-tape and inexperienced vets have created conflict causing staff to become demoralised and leave.

It is an industry that is already suffering labour shortages and, in John Mettrick’s case, has seen his fully qualified slaughterman along with two fully qualified butchers leave the industry giving him no choice but to close the abattoir.

 

By Emma Ryan / Yorkshire Post

Mettrick’s abattoir in Glossop, Derbyshire will close after over 100 years, with campaigners calling the news ‘extremely worrying’ for local farmers.

The abattoir is run by brothers John and Steven Mettrick, the fifth generation since the business was founded. Around 200 farmers rely on it for slaughtering.

The numbers of small abattoirs in the UK has declined dramatically in recent decades and continues to shrink by about 10% each year, according to Food Standards Agency (FSA) figures.

Campaigners say small abattoirs, essential for economic and practical reasons to supply locally-produced meat, are facing a wide range of challenges and extra costs.

The Mettrick’s cutting and packaging facility will remain open, but local farmers wishing to continue using their services will incur the additional costs of longer journeys and transporting carcases from a larger abattoir to the Glossop facility.

John Mettrick said the refusal from the UK government to utilise existing legislation to support small abattoirs meant that the business had no choice but to close.

 

 

Farming UK

AHDB will be in Singapore next week at a major international food and drink showcasing red meat and dairy to buyers from around the world.

The export team will be attending Food and Hotel Asia (FHA), which runs from Monday to Thursday, and attracts more than 40,000 trade delegates looking to supply restaurants, hotels, and the food service sector. The high-profile event is one of the largest and most important shows for exporters from the UK to showcase their products to buyers in the Southeast Asia region.

AHDB will be joined by five red meat and five dairy exporters from the UK, who are there to promote high quality beef, lamb and pork as well as a selection of cheese and baby formula.

Singapore is a significant high-end market for red meat exports, with shipments of pork, beef and lamb from the UK worth almost £2 million last year. It is also proving a valuable market for dairy, with £9.6 million worth of products from the UK exported to the country in 2021 – up 43 per cent on the previous year.

Susan Stewart, AHDB’s Senior Export Manager, said: “With its high gross domestic product and consumers who appreciate quality, Singapore is a hugely important market for our red meat exports.

“We are delighted to be returning to FHA for the first time since 2018, due to the pandemic. The show will provide an ideal platform for us to showcase pork, beef and lamb from the UK to potential buyers across Asia.”

 

by Alistair Driver / Pig World

Australia’s key food industry bodies have calculated the food supply chain is currently short at least 172,000 workers from paddock to plate.

This massive labour shortage will have significant long-term impacts on price and the availability of food for the consumer unless solutions are found quickly, the group said.

According to the peak bodies, which have recently collaborated to form the Food Supply Chain Alliance, this is one of the few ‘cost of living’ pressures the Government can influence.

The Alliance believes the food sector, given it provides an essential service to the community, must be a priority at the Federal Government’s upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit, which must deliver viable solutions to be considered a success.

The ‘Food Supply Chain Alliance’ represents 160,000 businesses with a revenue of more than $200 billion. It includes the National Farmers Federation, the Australian Meat Industry Council, Seafood Industry Australia, Independent Food Distributors Australia, AUSVEG, Master Grocers Australia, Restaurant and Catering Industry Association and the Australian Association of Convenience Stores.

In a joint statement, the Alliance said there were steps the government can take now to relieve the pressure on food industries and consumers.

The food supply chain urgently requires a suite of tools, including suitable visa pathways to welcome overseas workers, as well as measures to facilitate people in the country to take up the work (ie lifting restrictions on work rights for temporary migrants and seniors, and support to enable relocation to do the work).

 

Beef Central

BERLIN — Germany’s highest court said Wednesday it has thrown out complaints against a ban on the use of subcontractors in slaughterhouses that was prompted by coronavirus outbreaks early in the pandemic.

By Associated Press / ABC News