Mixed fortunes for Europe’s poultry meat companies

Business conditions have been challenging for Europe’s poultry meat companies lately but several are pushing ahead with expansion plans.

Duc Group

France-based Duc Group, for example, has reported third-quarter revenue at EUR44.4 million (US$47.3 million), which is 4.88 percent down on the same period last year. This follows lower sales for the previous 2 quarters and brings the revenue for the first 9 months of the year to EUR135.7 million, down 2.49 percent from the 2014 figure.
In its latest announcement, Duc attributes the decline to a 1.1 percent reduction in poultry meat consumption since the beginning of the year, extreme summer temperatures and a price war at home and to competition over exports to South Africa. The company adds that the indications are satisfactory for the holiday period.

Moy Park

Moy Park reported good sales volume growth in both the U.K. and Ireland and Continental Europe business units for its third quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014. However, revenue was down 1 percent to GBP350.7 million (US$534.3 million). Foreign exchange movements, commodity price deflation and lower international sales were reported to have offset sales volume growth. Two months ago, JBS completed its acquisition of Moy Park, which has headquarters in Northern Ireland.

Cherkizovo

Quarterly revenue for Russia’s largest meat and feed producer, Cherkizovo Group, was RUB56.0 billion for the first 9 months of its 2015 fiscal year, 15 percent higher than the same period of last year. Gross profit, however, was up just 2 percent at RUB15.3 billion (US$865 million) and gross margin fell to 27 percent from 32 percent one year ago.
“In the past nine months, we began the construction of a poultry complex, consisting of a parent flock site and a replacement flock site. The only one in Russia, it will allow us to reduce our dependence on parent eggs grown abroad,” commented the Group’s CEO, Sergei Mikhailov. It has a capacity of 128 million eggs per year, with a further 240 million eggs per year from a new hatchery in Elets. The group has also invested in pork production and processing, a new feed mill and a large grain storage facility.

HKScan

Finland-based HKScan has announced it is to upgrade its poultry production - one of its strategic focus areas. It will upgrade and expand the DanHatch Finland hatchery in Mynämäki hatchery and build a new facility specializing exclusively in poultry products in Rauma.
In March of 2015, HKScan Finland Oy and Danish DanHatch AS agreed the sale of HKScan Finland’s hatchery business and real estate assets to their jointly owned associate company, DanHatch Finland Oy.
The company has recently signed an agreement with agricultural company, Hankkija, and Schothorst Feed Research for the joint development of poultry feed and feeding solutions.
“Developing and improving the efficiency of our poultry feed solutions is a major focus area since feed expenditure accounts for roughly 60 per cent of all broiler production costs,” said Ulf Jahnsson, VP Feeding Business at HKScan.

Organic poultry sector on the increase in Europe

In absolute terms, the greatest number of farm animals kept under organic conditions in the European Union are poultry, where the number totaled just under 28.5 million in 2014, 3.9 percent fewer than in the previous year, according to the EU statistics agency, Eurostat. Excluding incomplete datasets, however, there was a positive trend in organic poultry numbers in the EU of almost 6 percent.
Leading the league table for organic poultry in 2014 was France with more than 12.75 million birds, an increase of 8.9 percent from the previous year. Next came Germany with 4.93 million (unchanged) and then the U.K. and The Netherlands, each with more than 2.35 million organic poultry; while the latter registered an increase of 8.5 percent from 2013, the U.K. figure was 3.6 percent lower than the previous year.
Other countries registering increases in organic poultry numbers were:

• Belgium: 2.098 million; +10.5 percent
• Sweden: 929,601; +3.8 percent
• Spain: 391,217; +15.6 percent
• Poland: 257,515; +5.6 percent
• Finland: 188,203; +15.3 percent
• Hungary: 122,536; 27.1 percent
• Slovenia: 71,537; +30.6 percent
• Czech Republic: 39,330; +7.4 percent
• Croatia: 2,540; +24.8 percent

The largest percentage drop in organic poultry numbers was registered in Romania, where there was a fall of 22.1 percent between 2013 and 2014 to 57,797 birds. Latvia’s count declined 10.3 percent to 24,706; that of Cyprus by 9.8 percent to 8,616; Estonia’s by 6.0 percent to 21,020; the Slovakian figure was down 5.3 percent to 8,250; and the Lithuanian by 1.2 percent to 6,170. Bulgaria recorded an unchanged figure from the previous year of 500 birds.
Eurostat has only collected this data since 2013 and covers 27 of the 28 EU member states (excluding Luxemburg). Six countries have not yet reported data for both years. In 2013, there were more than 3.063 million organic poultry in Italy and 1.403 million in Austria. For 2014, Denmark registered 1.630 million birds and Greece 203,154.

European poultry meat production, exports increasing

Poultry production in the European Union could grow by 2 percent, or 240,000 metric tons, to 13.8 million metric tons in 2015, and this increase could continue into 2016.
According to the European Commission, low feed prices and the impact of avian influenza in the U.S., have supported European chicken meat producers, and allowed the recovery in production that was witnessed last year to continue.
During the first quarter of 2015, net European broiler meat production increased by 4 percent, with the biggest rises being recorded in Poland and Spain.
After sharp prices increases last year, 2014 has seen chicken meat prices in Europe become relatively stable


Improving trade balance
The EU’s poultry meat exports rose by 5 percent over the first four months of 2015, with increased sales to Asia and the Africa more than making up for lost sales to Russia. By the year's end, the commission predicts, Europe’s exports could be 6 percent higher than those recorded for last year, and stand at 1.4 million metric tons. This growth, however, is expected to slow in 2016 as the U.S. starts to re-enter lost markets and Brazil continues to gain greater access to various overseas markets.
Europe’s poultry meat imports over the first four months of this year were 8 percent lower, with imports from Brazil declining by 20 percent. Imports from Thailand however, rose in comparison with last year. The return of Thai poultry meat to the European market may mean that the overall decline in Europe’s imports of poultry meat in 2015 is reduced to 3 percent. 

EU poultry production expected to increase in 2015-16

Poultry production in the European Union (EU) is expected to increase in 2015 and 2016, according to the European Commission Short Term Outlook report of EU arable crops, dairy and meat markets in 2015 and 2016.
The report calls for 13.5 million metric tons of poultry produced in EU nations by 2016, up from the 13.2 million metric tons produced in 2014. The report stated that goal should be met, provided that feed prices remain favorable and avian influenza outbreaks are kept under control.


EU poultry production in 2014
Four of the EU’s biggest producers of poultry increased production in 2014. Spain saw the biggest increase on a percentage basis, with a 10 percent increase when compared to 2013. Poultry production in Poland increased 9 percent, while production in Germany and the Netherlands was up 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
In contrast, poultry production in the United Kingdom and France remained relatively stable. The commission’s report stated that financial struggles with two major poultry companies likely prevented French poultry production from increasing.


EU poultry consumption rises
Per capita consumption of poultry in the EU during 2014 saw an increase of 2.5. The European Commission report stated that a weak economic recovery and the relative affordability of poultry products helped per capita consumption increase.

Verbeek and Novogen cooperate in European layer market

Groupe Grimaud, the main shareholder of layer breeding company Novogen, and AgruniekRijnvallei, main shareholder of Verbeek Hatchery, one of Europe’s leading commercial layer hatcheries, are strengthening their positions through a joint cooperation agreement in the European layer market.
On December 24, Groupe Grimaud has taken an important interest in Verbeek and have become shareholder in Verbeek together with AgruniekRijnvallei. This alliance strengthens the existing close business relationship between Novogen and Verbeek by positioning Verbeek as the spearhead of Novogen products in Europe, alongside the other European distributors such as Tom Barron in the U.K., NovoPonte in France and those coming soon in other countries.
Frédéric Grimaud, president of Groupe Grimaud, stated: “I am extremely pleased and proud of this agreement. Since Verbeek started the distribution of Novogen products we shared the same point of view. We have been working closely together in full confidence and this agreement is a perfect proof of that. It is also a good example of a transnational European project between a private and a cooperative operator. No doubt that this alliance will boost both companies businesses.”
Martin Grift, general manager of AgruniekRijnvallei, said: “The current market conditions require cooperation. We are very happy with this strategic development in the layer market. Through closer cooperation and short lines between breeding and market enables us to meet the requirements of the sector much better. The way of working of Groupe Grimaud fits the core values of AgruniekRijnvallei. The current market approach of Verbeek remains unchanged.”

New hatchery, poultry breeder trade group to be formed in Europe

A new industry association representing European hatcheries and poultry breeders is expected to come into operation on January 1, 2015. 
The Association of European Hatcheries (AEH), the Association for European Hatching Eggs (EPEXA) and the European Poultry Breeders Association (EPB) have been working to create the new and larger association, which will be known as the Association of European Hatching Eggs, One-Day Olds and Pullet Exporters in the EU Countries (ELPHA). The association members have approved the merger, and the joint association will come into being on in January 2015.
The decision to merge was announced at the EPEXA general assembly, held in June. President Jacque de Lange highlighted several challenges facing the region’s poultry industry, and called for more cooperation among the various industry players. Among challenges could be possible competition on the home market for hatching eggs and chicks from third countries as a result of bilateral trade agreements. 
In 2013, the European Union exported more than 920 million hatching eggs to third countries, of which 5 million were from turkeys. About 170 million one-day-olds were also exported, including 24 million layers and 14 million turkeys. 
Trade in hatching eggs, including the 1.1 billion hatching eggs traded within the EU, is worth more than EURO560 million (US$763.2 million). 

Human infections of Campylobacter, Salmonella decreased in EU in 2012

Human cases of Campylobacteriosis and Salmonellosis both decreased in the EU in 2012, the annual report on zoonoses and foodborne outbreaks in the European Union for 2012 revealed. While human Salmonella cases have continued to drop over the past seven years, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said it is premature to suggest that Campylobacter is on a downward trend.
Campylobacteriosis is still the most reported disease in the UK, accounting for 214,000 cases of infections. Typical symptoms include diarrhea, fever and headache. The bacterium that causes Campylobacter is mostly found in chicken meat.
"It is encouraging to see that cases of Campylobacteriosis have gone down in 2012. But more investigation and monitoring is needed to see if this is the beginning of a trend," said Marta Hugas, acting head of EFSA's Risk Assessment and Scientific Assistance Department.
Over the years, Salmonellosis has been decreasing, with 91,034 reported cases in 2012. This is mainly due to the successful Salmonella control programs put in place by EU member states and the European Commission in poultry, the report stated. Most member states met their Salmonella reduction target for poultry flocks. Salmonella, which typically causes fever, abdominal cramps and vomiting, was most often found in poultry meat.
Johan Giesecke, chief scientist at European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), added: "The decreasing trend of Salmonellosis is very encouraging. However our evidence shows that any Salmonella serovar can cause human illness which requires continued surveillance and vigilance."
The report on zoonoses and foodbourne outbreaks is produced jointly by the EFSA and the ECDC every year, using data collected by EU member states.

Ross 400 Club continues to grow

Jonathan Waring is one of three farmers to reach the Ross 400 club this year.

Since its inception in 2009, poultry breeder Aviagen has seen its Ross 400 Club grow across the United Kingdom, with new members joining as well as existing farmers repeating earlier success. The Ross 400 Club, set up to recognize farmers who achieve exceptional broiler performance, now has 15 farmers who have reached a European Production Efficiency Factor of 400 or more with their Ross flocks.
Jonathan Waring, who achieved 413 in 2011, has now surpassed his own record by gaining the highest factor of the 400 Club to date with an efficiency factor of 433. The European Production Efficiency Factor takes into account feed conversion ratio, livability, live weight and age of the bird.
"I am delighted to have achieved such a high European Production Efficiency Factor," Waring said. "I'm sure it won't be the highest total for long, as standards continue to improve with such dedicated and talented farmers out there. It's great to see the Ross 400 Club growing in popularity, and I am sure there will be even more members and 400s reached in the near future."
"It is very pleasing to see the hard work that is put in be rewarded through the Ross 400 Club. It's a great initiative, and I look forward to achieving more 400s in the future," said Toni Fuller, a new member.
Glenn Bushell, UK technical service manager for Aviagen, said, "It is a great achievement to have three farmers surpass 400 European Production Efficiency Factor already in 2013, when you consider we had a total of four for the whole of last year. With plenty of the year left to go, we'd love to see some more farmers added to the list.
"In all seriousness, it is no easy feat and there is no set-formula for success. Achieving a European Production Efficiency Factor of 400 is something to be celebrated, and the results we're seeing are well surpassing this mark now. It is testament to the hard work and dedication of the farmers involved," he added.
All club members receive an award, certificate, annual newsletter, branded merchandise and have their name added to a role of honor on the Aviagen website. Any UK broiler farmer who reaches an efficiency factor of 400 or more with their Ross flock is eligible for membership of the club.
The 400 Club is also growing outside the UK. A recent Ross 400 Club winner, David Speller, traveled to the Czech Republic to talk to Aviagen customers in Eastern Europe. Speller spoke to the attendees at the broiler seminar with the focus on the performance of the Ross broiler. He also shared information and advice on how to achieve a 400 efficiency factor. Denmark is also in the process of establishing its own Ross 400 Club.

Call for entries to Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards

Compassion in World Farming is calling on food producers across Europe to enter its sixth Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards.
The Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards recognize companies that demonstrate their commitment to meeting a set of species-specific welfare criteria, and Compassion in World Farming is still welcoming entries for the Good Egg, Good Chicken, Good Dairy and Good Pig awards.
2013 will see the animal welfare organization hold one combined awards event in Paris - rather than the usual two, one in London and one in Paris - as part of its initiative to drive farm animal welfare up the agenda across Europe. "By working with the largest food manufacturers, food service businesses and retail chains, we can achieve the greatest impact on farm animal welfare by raising baseline standards," said Director of food business at Compassion in World Farming Dr. Tracey Jones. "These companies make, serve and sell the vast majority of the food we consume and have it in their power to make a real difference to the lives of millions of animals reared for food each year."
Willem-Jan Laan, director global external affairs for Unilver, which has won the Good Chicken and Good Egg Awards amongst others, said that farm animal welfare has been one of Unilever's sustainable agriculture indicators since 2005. "We recognize that many consumers do have concerns about animal welfare and we take these concerns seriously," said Laan. "We have several ongoing initiatives which include free-range eggs in Hellman's mayonnaise."

National Farmers' Union, ABN partner on poultry training program

The National Farmers' Union and ABN have partnered to create the Poultry Industry Programme, a training program designed to give young people insight into market influences that impact British poultry meat and egg production, and create new industry leaders for British poultry.
As part of the seven-month initiative, twenty participants will learn about the importance of lobbying and policy development, managing and mitigating risks in feed raw materials, and how planning and bank lending can influence business expansion. They’ll also receive training in media, social media, negotiation skills and a look at market demands from supermarkets and the British consumer.

“I want those involved to take away skills that will add real value to their business and importantly an understanding of what the NFU does for them as poultry producers in the UK and Europe," said National Farmers' Union poultry board member Kinsey Hern. “I hope that some of them will remain involved with the NFU at some level, whether nationally, locally or regionally. You never know we may even produce a future president of the NFU.”
In the long term, it is hoped the program will create a communication network between young producers and the poultry board, to help the National Farmers' Union put in place a succession plan for its poultry board, said organizers.

EU recommends poultry meat inspection improvements

The European Food Safety Authority has published a scientific opinion suggesting that traditional poultry meat inspection may not suffice to fully address the most relevant biological hazards to public health: Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp. and ESBL/AmpC gene-carrying bacteria.
The opinion provides a scientific basis for the modernization of poultry meat inspection and proposes that risk-based interventions coupled with the improved use of information shared between farms and abattoirs, known as Food Chain Information, would be more effective. Such information would also play an important role in identifying animal health and welfare issues.
Finally, the authority concludes that chemical substances found in poultry meat are unlikely to pose an immediate or acute health threat to consumers.
In addition to identifying and ranking the main risks for public health from the current poultry meat inspection system, the authority was asked to: assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current inspection methodology; recommend methods that take into account the hazards not addressed by current meat inspection; and recommend adaptations of methods and/or frequency of inspections based on the hazard rankings and harmonized epidemiological indicators.
Biological hazards
Regarding biological hazards, the European Food Safety Authority’s main recommendations are to:

• Introduce a comprehensive food safety assurance system, including clear targets for what should be achieved in poultry carcasses and, where appropriate, with respect to a particular hazard for poultry flocks;
• Utilize a variety of control options available for the main hazards, at both farm and abattoir level, in order to meet these targets; and
• Collect and analyze Food Chain Information at farm and abattoir levels to enable risk categorization of flocks and classification of abattoirs according to their capacity to reduce carcass contamination.
Animal health and welfare
The authority has noted that meat inspection is a valuable tool for surveillance and monitoring of specific animal health and welfare conditions. If, as according to its recommendations, visual post-mortem inspection is removed, other approaches should be applied to compensate for the associated loss of information with regard to animal disease and welfare conditions.
Extended use of Food Chain Information has the potential to compensate for some, but not all, of the information on animal health and welfare that would be lost if visual post-mortem inspection is removed.
Contaminants
Dioxins, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, the antibiotics chloramphenicol, nitrofurans and nitromidazoles were identified as chemical substances of high potential concern in poultry meat, based on pre-defined criteria.
However, the authority concluded that chemical substances in poultry meat are unlikely to pose an immediate or acute health risk for consumers. As the risk of occurrence of chemical substance for individual farms and poultry species varies due to the diversity of poultry farming in the EU, the experts recommend that:

• Sampling of poultry carcasses should be based on the available Food Chain Information, including the results from feed controls and the frequency of sampling for farms should be adjusted accordingly;
• Control programs for residues and contaminants should include new and emerging substances and should be regularly updated.
The European Food Safety Authority also proposes harmonized epidemiological indicators for the food-borne biological hazards highlighted by the opinion. The indicators would be particularly useful in the context of the proposed comprehensive food safety assurance system, enabling the categorization of farms, flocks and abattoirs according to risk as well as the setting of targets for final chilled carcasses.

EU poultry produced locally, reaching organic standards must carry logo

The two-year transition period for the European Union's organic food sector to comply with new EU labeling rules ended on June 30.
On July 1, the EU organic logo became obligatory on all pre-packed organic food products produced in EU Member States which meet the necessary standards. The logo is optional for non-packed and imported organic products. Other private, regional logos will continue to be allowed to appear alongside the EU label.
The logo not only contains an image of a leaf, but must also show the code number of the control body and the place of farming or agricultural raw materials of the goods. “Our hope is that the EU logo can further develop into a widely recognized 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,” said EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos.
The “Euro-leaf” logo was introduced on July 1, 2010, but in order to help operators adapt to the new rules, and to avoid waste of existing packaging, a two-year transition period was allowed before it became compulsory on all products.

EU poultry outlook strong for exports, demand through 2012

The European Union's poultry industry should be able to benefit from relatively strong market fundamentals throughout 2012, according to Rabobank International's Poultry Quarterly report, with high beef prices and strong poultry demand combining with a potential modest downturn in feed costs during the year.
Poultry exports should expand through 2012, according to Rabobank, with increases to Asia, Africa and the Middle East leading the trend. European exporters are benefitting from a more structured approach to open markets and from a more competitive position compared to Brazil due to the Euro/Real exchange rate. In terms of imports, the EU has re-approved Thailand as an exporter to the EU poultry market beginning in the third quarter of 2012. Thailand is expected to use its 92,000-metric-ton quota, but the impact on local players should be negligible, as marketing standards should prohibit products from moving into the EU's fresh chicken market segment, said Rabobank. However, competition with other suppliers in the EU for processed products, especially from Brazil, Argentina and Chile, will intensify.
The biggest concern, according to Rabobank, is the current economic situation in Europe, especially in southern and eastern Europe. A weaker economy may lead consumers to trade down to chicken as the cheapest protein, or it may lead to reduced demand as consumers consume less protein overall.

Salmonella down, Campylobacter up in Europe poultry-related food poisoning

Salmonella cases in humans in the European Union fell by almost 9 percent in 2010, marking a decrease for the sixth consecutive year, while Campylobacter remains the most reported zoonotic infection in humans since 2005, according to the annual report on zoonoses and foodborne outbreaks released by the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.


Salmonella prevalence in poultry is also declining at the EU level, but the number of Campylobacter cases has been increasing over the last five years.

According to the report, the likely main reasons for the decrease in human salmonellosis cases are the successful EU Salmonella control programs for reducing the prevalence of the bacteria in poultry populations, particularly in laying hens. Salmonella accounted for 99,020 reported human cases of foodborne illnesses in 2010, compared to 108,618 in 2009. It was found most often in chicken and turkey meat. “The positive progress in the reduction of Salmonella cases in humans and poultry is continuing and the majority of Member States met the targets set for the reduction of Salmonella in different poultry flocks in 2010,” said the European Food Safety Authority’s acting director of risk assessment and scientific assistance, Claudia Heppner.

In 2010, a total of 212,064 Campylobacter cases in humans were reported, an increase for the fifth consecutive year with 7 percent more cases compared to 2009. In foodstuffs, Campylobacter was mostly found in raw poultry meat. “The increasing trends in human cases of Campylobacter highlight the need of further joint efforts," said Johan Giesecke, chief scientist at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control notes. "For this, the [European Food Safety Authority] and [European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control] will continue to strengthen their links with all important partners and foster collaboration in order to decrease the occurrence of these two diseases in the EU.” In order to combat Campylobacter, the European Commission is currently carrying out a cost-benefit analysis of the control measures for the bacteria at different stages of the food chain.  

Poland poultry producer expanding into Asia

Polish poultry producer Konspol is expanding into the Asian poultry market, having already invested in China and Indonesia and recently begun collaborations with companies in Japan, according to reports. Konspol has opened poultry factories in the Chinese and Indonesian markets as well as Argentina, according to the company. It is now working with Japanese firms that wish to break into the European market. 

Fourteen EU countries miss laying hens welfare deadline

Fourteen of the 27 EU Member States, representing 14% of EU's overall egg production, failed to meet the deadline when the ban on conventional battery cages came into force on January 1, according to NFU Scotland.
According to the European Commission’s latest figures, more than 46 million hens are still in illegal conventional cages across Europe. “Despite having almost a decade to prepare, no fewer than 14 of our fellow Member States have failed to fully enforce the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive and will face legal proceedings in the coming weeks, according to the European Commission,” said NFUS pigs and poultry chairman Phil Sleigh. "Warnings and threats of fines from the Commission about the consequences of non-compliance have been largely ineffectual in encouraging many countries to convert conventional battery cages into enriched welfare-friendly cages on time." Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain have all failed to meet the conversion requirements.

Europe organic poultry producers gain feed sourcing flexibility

The European Commission has altered its proposals on animal feed ingredients for organic productions that would have hit organic poultry producers particularly hard.
The Commission had intended to require the organic poultry industry to grow particularly high levels of feed on farm; however, following lobbying, the Commission will allow producers to source feed without geographical restrictions. “The NFU has always been against these proposals as we knew they would have had a detrimental effect on the organic poultry sector, so we are delighted that the Commission has seen sense to make these essential changes," said Martin Humphrey, NFU poultry board and organic feed representative. “However, we are still concerned over proposed changes to the composition of organic feeds for mono-gastic animals and the timescales involved in the implementation of the changes to legislation. It is essential that any changes to organic feed do not jeopardize the welfare standards of organic poultry.”
Watch a video on organic egg production in France: Why produce organic eggs? 

Austria, Hungary poultry industries focus of EU education project

The poultry industries of Austria and Hungary are the focus of the EU-funded Centre of Excellence for Poultry, a three-year education project in the areas of animal nutrition, animal breeding and food safety.
The aim of the Centre, which received €820,000 from the European Regional Development Fund, is to improve the efficiency and production of the border region's poultry industry. The research institutions involved, the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, in Austria, and the University of Pannonia, in Hungary, said they plan to establish a knowledge base covering several areas of poultry nutrition and health that they hope will provide scientific results for practical use.
An interactive website, annual poultry nutrition workshops and various seminars are all planned for the length of the project.

EU Commission to review poultry water content levels

The European Union Commission has announced its intent to review the water content levels in poultry meat to ensure that consumers are being properly charged for product.
The presence of some water in frozen poultry meat is accepted — the exact amount allowed is regulated by the EU. According to Mairead McGuinness, Ireland East Fine Gael MEP, poultry meats are often priced according to weight, and excess water could lead to higher prices for consumers. The review, she said, is important to ensure that the poultry industry is being fairly represented and consumer information is updated.