EU: 'Euroleaf' organic logo up and running for organic pig products

//29 Jun 2012
The new label is for all pre-packaged organic food products produced by EU member states. The logo becomes obligatory starting from 1 July 2012.
The logo will not replace other regional, national, or private logos, but will appear alongside them.

The "Euro-leaf" EU organic logo was introduced on 1 July 2010, but in order to help operators adapt to the new rules, and to avoid waste of existing packaging, a 2-year transition period was allowed before it was compulsory on all products. The visual field of the logo should also show the code number of the control body and the place of farming of the agricultural raw materials. A recent EuroBarometer report on "European Attitude towards Food Security, Food Quality and the Countryside', to be published shortly, includes information on the EU organic logo and provides the encouraging indication that, since its introduction in July 2010, the logo has already gained recognition among a quarter (24%) of EU citizens.

“Our hope is that the EU logo can further develop into a widely recognised symbol of organic food production across the EU, providing consumers with confidence that the goods are produced in-line with the strict EU organic farming standards”, according to EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Dacian Cioloş.

Background
The idea of fostering the organic farming sector by introducing a compulsory EU organic logo was backed by Member States in 2007. In order to find an original design for this logo, the Commission organised a competition in 2009 in which more than 3,400 Art and Design students took part, and a public vote on the best 3 designs in early 2010.

EU consumption of organic products has seen a steady rise in recent years and now accounts for roughly 2% of the EU market. Production has also increased considerably in the past decade – with roughly 5% of EU agricultural area and more than 2% of farms (more than 200,000 farms) now certified as organic.

In policy terms, this year has seen agreement on rules on organic wine, which enter into force on August 1 (IP/12/113). In February, the EU also signed an organic equivalence agreement with the USA, which will reduce bureaucracy for organic producers in the EU and the USA (IP/12/138). In May, the Commission presented a report on the existing organic farming regulation, aimed at opening an Inter-institutional debate with all stakeholders and thus creating the opportunity to explore new ways in which to further improve the EU organic policy framework.

For further information, photos and other material on the EU organic logo, please go to: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/home_en

FAO and OIE lay bare global FMD strategy

//28 Jun 2012
FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) are joining forces to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on a global scale, laying out a detailed strategy to control the notorious livestock disease.
The two organizations underlined, however, that only solid commitments from global partners will make the strategy possible, as they opened an international meeting in Bangkok supported by the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Chairing the opening session of the FAO/OIE global conference in Bangkok, Thai deputy prime minister Chumpol Silpa-archa, said: "Thailand is working for the further accomplishment of FMD freedom by 2015 in an eastern region pilot zone of the country as well as at ASEAN regional level by 2020."

FAO is emphasising the need for collective action to better control FMD where it is a high burden to millions of farmers, pastoralists and commercial operators.

"Recent FMD outbreaks around the globe demonstrate that animal diseases have no boundaries, can have a devastating impact and require a global response," said Hiroyuki Konuma, the FAO regional representative for Asia and the Pacific.

Foot-and-mouth disease is not a direct threat to human health. However, lost trade opportunities for affected countries are a global economic burden and a hindrance on human development.

Most importantly, for the poorest farmers who often depend on just a few animals, foot-and-mouth disease means hunger and economic ruin when it strikes and cuts off people's only source of income and protein.

More than 100 countries are attending the FAO/OIE meeting in Bangkok.

Global Strategy
"One main objective of the Global Strategy is to allow FMD control worldwide through the strengthening of veterinary services responsible for animal disease control," explained Bernard Vallat, OIE Director General.

"Positive effects of the strategy will extend far beyond the control of FMD because it represents an opportunity to initiate long-term actions which will enhance veterinary services' capacity to fight other high-impact diseases of livestock. At the regional level the South-East Asia and China FMD campaign (SEACFMD) programme managed by OIE/Bangkok is considered as a very efficient model," he added.

"The successful eradication of rinderpest, a joint effort by scientists, governments, donors, veterinarians and farmers, clearly shows that we can reduce and even eliminate the threat of major diseases," Juan Lubroth, FAO's chief veterinary officer.

"We could apply lessons learned and appropriate approaches when it comes to foot-and-mouth disease: better surveillance, coordination and control to reduce FMD outbreaks and finally eliminate the virus, to safeguard food security, animal health and human health," he said.

The Global Strategy combines two tools developed by FAO and the OIE. The OIE tool, called the Performance of Veterinary Services Pathway (PVS), evaluates national veterinary services with the aim of bringing them into compliance with OIE quality standards. Reliable veterinary services ensure the quality and safety of livestock production. In turn, strong veterinary systems protect the safety of food sources, trade and animal health, and as such, are a global public good.

FAO developed the Progressive Control Pathway for Foot-and-Mouth Disease, the PCP-FMD, which guides countries through a series of incremental steps to better manage FMD risks, beginning with active surveillance to establish what types of FMD virus strains are circulating in the country and neighbouring areas.

The process moves countries continuously towards improved levels of FMD control and thus an eventual opening to trade and international markets. A key pillar of the PCP-FMD involves coordinating efforts with countries in the same region in order to control the disease systematically across porous national boundaries.

The aim of the FMD Global Strategy is to decrease the impact of FMD worldwide by reducing the number of disease outbreaks in infected countries until they ultimately attain FMD-free status, as well as by maintaining the official FMD-free status of countries that are already free.

With many countries in the earliest stages of FMD control, the PCP-FMD benchmarks progress with the aim of eventually applying to the OIE for official recognition of their national control programmes and of their FMD-free status, with or without vaccination.

The FMD Global Strategy has been prepared by FAO and OIE under the umbrella of their Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs), in consultation with selected experts, countries and donors, as well as with regional and international organizations. Particular emphasis is put on regions of the world where the disease is endemic, including most of sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

The strategy contributes considerably to poverty reduction by increasing trade opportunities and contributing to and protecting the daily incomes of the 1 billion poor farmers worldwide who depend on livestock.

Losses in the billions
While FMD is seldom fatal, the disease can cause high mortality in newborn and young animals, weight loss, reduced milk yields and lower fertility. The global annual cost of FMD in terms of production losses and the need for prevention by vaccination has been estimated to be approximately $5 billion.

In a severe event in 2001 in the United Kingdom, the direct and indirect impacts are estimated to have cost as much as $30 billion.

Earlier outbreaks had similar tolls: in the Chinese province of Taiwan in 1997, a major epidemic cost the economy $15 billion, while Italy in 1993 suffered economic damages of $130 million.

For more information click on to OIE/FAO FMD reference laboratories network

Natural compounds may be alternative to antibiotics in young animals

//02 Jul 2012

Natural compounds may offer an alternative to certain antibiotics in the future for treating young animals that are susceptible to bacterial infections, thanks to work by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Food and Feed Safety Research Unit in College Station, Texas, have invented a new method that involves using chlorate (sodium or salt) and nitro compounds to significantly reduce or eliminate intestinal bacterial pathogens in animals such as piglets and calves. Nitro compounds are organic substances that contain one or more nitro groups, which consist of three atoms—one of nitrogen and two of oxygen—that act as one.
ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
Chlorate and nitro compounds have proven to be effective against the foodborne pathogens Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Salmonella alone causes more than 1.3 million cases of human foodborne disease each year, at a cost of $2.4 billion. Salmonella and certain E. coli strains also cause considerable losses to the swine and cattle industries due to enteric or intestinal diseases of newborns.
Microbiologist Robin Anderson and his colleagues at the College Station unit demonstrated the effectiveness of a chlorate-based compound in earlier research by mixing it into water or feed and giving it to cattle. The compound, which was highly effective in reducing E. coli., has been licensed by a private company. Chlorate also reduced Salmonella in turkeys and broiler chickens.
In addition, scientists looked at using certain nitro compounds as a method to control foodborne bacteria. Salmonella or E. coli bacteria were treated with or without chlorate and with or without nitro compounds. Chlorate was found to have significant bacteria-killing activity against E. coli and Salmonella. However, chlorate has not been approved for commercial use in food animals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When the nitro compound was added, the activity was enhanced 10- to 100-fold. Nitro compounds alone had significant bacteria-killing activity, which was more persistent than that of chlorate.
Anderson and his team concluded that nitro and chlorate compounds together were the best treatment—a combination that could offer an alternative to certain antibiotics that are commonly used to treat diarrheal infections in young animals.
Read more about this research in the May/June 2012 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

Source: ARS

Exploring antibiotic alternatives: farm animals’ natural defences

//02 Jul 2012

The exclusive research collaboration program, the ASIA Research Consortium, is between, among others, Pfizer Animal Health, the University of Utrecht and Immuno Valley. The consortium will be set in the Netherlands with the aim of exploring the potential for exploiting farm animals’ natural defences to infectious diseases.

Pfizer has announced the launch of a new Public-Private partnership research program, ALTANT - ASIA in collaboration with prominent Dutch researchers, seeking to develop alternative strategies to protect farm animals from infectious disease, by minimising the likelihood of encouraging antibiotic resistance. The programme's acronyms ALTANT stands for ALTnernatives to ANTibiotics, and Animal Specific Immunomodulatory Antimicrobials (ASIA).
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation in collaboration with Immuno Valley and Utrecht University are financing the research programme, to the tune of US$10 million (€7.95 million). The sum is one of the largest ever granted for this type of therapeutic research, and attests to the growing importance of the sector.
All partners will collaborate closely to develop anti-infectives based on newly identified small peptides, seeking alternatives to antibiotics. They will contribute to the research programme by sharing knowledge, equipment and financial resources.
The overall project represents a new era in the co-funding schemes. The project is very much focused on delivering a platform of new anti-infective products for livestock with antimicrobial and immune-modulatory properties.
About ALTANT
ALTANT stands for ALTernatives to ANTibiotics, and aims to develop solutions to replace the use of antibiotics in livestock farming. The program is a collaborative effort by Utrecht University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the University Medical Centre Utrecht, Pfizer Animal Health and MSD Animal Health, coordinated by the Immuno Valley foundation and financed partly by the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. The total project budget amounts to approximately €18 million, of which half is provided by the industry partners.

• To learn more, visit Pfizer Animal Health
• For more on Immuno Valley

Decline in antibiotic use in Dutch livestock

//02 Jul 2012

Antibiotic use in the Dutch agriculture sector has declined sharply in recent years, exceeding the objectives set by the government. Sales have shown a drop of 32% from 2009 to 2011.

The total sales of antibiotics in the Netherlands dropped nearly 32%, from 495 tonnes to 338 tonnes during the period 2009-2011, according to new data relating to the veterinary use of antibiotics published by LEI Wageningen UR. 
This far exceeds the policy objective for 2011 set by the Dutch government, which was set at a 20% reduction in antibiotic use compared with 2009. Survey data on antibiotic use per animal species indicate a decrease in all five livestock sectors examined in 2011.
Trends in use per speciesIn 2011, all animal production sectors in the Netherlands showed a decrease in antibiotic use:

1. sow/piglet farms: annual variation, decrease in 2010 and 2011;
2. fattening pig farms: increase until 2008, decrease from 2009 to 2011;
3. broiler farms: increase until 2009, decrease in 2010 and 2011;
4. veal calf farms: decrease from 2007 to 2011;
5. dairy farms: annual variation, decrease in 2011.

The full report can be viewed here.

Russia: Structure of poultry imports is changing

//29 Jun 2012
The key importers of poultry meat to Russia will remain the same in 2012, but their share in the Russian market will change significantly, according to analytical agency estimates.
In particular the share of imported poultry from Brazil and Germany will decrease in return for an the increase of the supply from the United States and France, according analytical center Furazh. US and French producers have tended to keep their export prices to attract Russian importers.

According to expert forecasts, the share of European and North American poultry imports to Russia will reach 45% in 2012 vs. 34% in 2010, while the Brazilian share may remain at 35%, although some experts predict that it will fall to 25 -27%. The rest will be imported from Eastern Europe and other countries of the former USSR.

Russian federal static service (Rosstat) has reported that Russia can not increase exports of poultry meat, despite the plans of the government. The volume of poultry exports in January-April of this year amounted only to 5,900 tonnes. Last year during the same period, Russia had exported 9% more poultry abroad. The predicted rapid growth of exports did not eventuate. The main export destinations remained Hong Kong with 3,600 tonnes, Vietnam, 1,900 tonnes and Kyrgyzstan, 770 tonnes.

At the beginning of the year Russian Government announced plans to export 100,000 tonnes of poultry meat by mid-year. In the most pessimistic forecasts this figure should be 50 thousand tonnes. However, according to Russian first deputy prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, Russia should export 250,000 tonnes of poultry in 2012.

Antibiotic use declines in Dutch poultry production

//28 Jun 2012
Antibiotic use in the Dutch agriculture sector has declined sharply in recent years, exceeding the objectives set by the government.
The total sales of antibiotics in the Netherlands dropped nearly 32%, from 495 tonnes to 338 tonnes during the period 2009-2011, according to new data relating to the veterinary use of antibiotics published by LEI Wageningen UR.

This far exceeds the policy objective for 2011 set by the Dutch government, which was set at a 20% reduction in antibiotic use compared with 2009. Survey data on antibiotic use per animal species indicate a decrease in all five livestock sectors examined in 2011.

The average use in broilers is estimated to be 16 daily dosages per year in 2011, administered orally, mainly through the drinking water (95% Confidence Interval: 12-21 dd/ay). This means that an individual broiler is treated with antibiotics during 2 days (= 16 x 42/365) in the 42 days from day one to slaughter. In 2009 the use was 37 daily dosages per year (CI: 24-49 dd/ay).

Data on the time of prescription reveal that the average weight on which broilers receive treatment equals the average live weight of 1.0 kg.

The full report can be viewed here.