Page 588 of articles about news in Swine news

This outbreak illustrates that good international communication channels, early alerting mechanisms, inter-sectoral collaboration between public health and food safety authorities and harmonised molecular typing tools are important for effective identification and management of cross-border outbreaks.

In a study described in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in Bronx, N.Y., are developing a new generation of antibiotic compounds that do not provoke bacterial resistance. The compounds work against two notorious microbes: Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera, and Escherichia coli O157:H7, the food contaminant that causes approximately 110,000 illnesses and 50 deaths each year in the U.S.

Castration of male piglets without anaesthesia will be banned in Switzerland by 2010. As alternative solutions there are the following methods: castration with Isoflurane narcosis and vaccination against boar taint. The vaccination against boar taint is favoured by veterinarians, animal welfare and consumer groups and represents an optimal solution for producers.

Danish Bacon and Meat Council will change the priorities in its new plan of action against salmonella called SH IV, representing the fourth plan in a row. The new plan is supposed to improve the struggle against salmonella without great additional cost for the industry.

In his weekly radio address Saturday morning, President Barack Obama announced the appointments of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration, and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as the principal deputy commissioner.

The European Commission publishes the summary of the 560 stakeholder opinions submitted in response to the Green Paper on agricultural product quality policy.

The House Committee on Agriculture adopted the budget views and estimates letter which outlines the Committee’s budget recommendations for the federal agencies and programs under its jurisdiction for fiscal year 2010.

The total European Union breeding herd fell by an unprecedented six percent compared with a year earlier, according to December census results. Slaughter pigs are down five percent.

According to EPA reports, the overall ammonia nitrogen tested at Kaoping river, a major water source of the island, decreased by 0.2 cc/liter in the past eight years, a significant number when considering the volume of the body of water. The EPA also succeeded in closing over 4,000 pig farms near the five major rivers of Taiwan over the past eight years, said Chang Ting-jing, director of the Bureau of Environmental Inspection of the EPA.

The private sector anticipates food exports will drop this year by 15% from last year's 778 billion baht. The National Food Institute (NFI), the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Thai Industries project Thai food shipments of 661.2 billion baht this year due to the global crisis. The groups projected commodity exports worth 156.4 billion baht, down by 31.4%, semi-processed foods 137.6 billion (-16.9%), beverages 12.1 billion (-15.2%), animal food 38.46 billion (-11.8%) and processed food 316.58 billion baht (-3%).

Fears have also been expressed that the sow herd will shrink when the European Union partial ban on stalls comes fully into effect in 2013. Producers in other countries may decide to quit also, rather than invest in new sow accommodation. This will lead to a significant shortage of pigs on the continent from 2013 onwards.

Total number of pigs in the United Kingdom fell 2.6 percent, from 4.7m in December 2007 to 4.6m in December 2008. The number of breeding pigs fell 2.8 percent, from 519,000 in December 2007 to 504,000 in December 2008.

Pork production is expected to increase 4 percent in 2009, due in most part to large investments in swine production in 2007-08, higher reproductive yields and government measures to curb imports.

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry held a hearing to review animal identification systems on Wednesday. The National Animal Identification System is a voluntary program that has been in place since 2004, but many are pushing for the program to become mandatory.

FAS Beijing forecasts China’s pork production will continue rising in 2009 to 48.8 million metric tons. Higher pork production and lower prices will reduce 2009 pork imports by nearly half to 300,000 metric tons.

During the meeting it was confirmed that prices have recovered in recent weeks, and that the performance of exports in 2008 was excellent, with a 20% increase on the previous year. The meeting also examined legislative projects which have recently, or will imminently, come into effect. (Original in Spanish. Read Google translation here).