Denmark organic egg, pork purchases surge

Eggs and meat have led a surge in purchases of organic foods in Denmark during 2013, says the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, Landbrug & Fødevarer. According to 2013 data from Statistics Denmark, there was a 6 percent annual increase in sales by Danish supermarkets of organically produced food, due principally to rises in demand of 24 percent for organic eggs and 17 percent for organic meat.
In 2012, total sales of all organic foods in Denmark had risen by only 0.5 percent.
In value, the 2013 sales of such products through supermarkets and other multiple retailers amounted to DKK5.8 billion (US$1.08 billion). Organics accounted for 8 percent of this total, compared with a 7.6 percent market share in 2012.
Kirsten Lund Jensen, head of the organic section at Danish Agriculture & Food, noted how the decision by more consumers to buy organic eggs in Denmark agreed with the conclusions of a council-sponsored study completed earlier this year. The study had examined attitudes towards the purchase and consumption of eggs. It found that Danes were starting to put other factors above price when they went shopping for eggs and indicated that they would be prepared to pay a small extra premium for organic foods.
A similar trend has been seen in the purchasing of pork, with increased numbers of Danish shoppers actively choosing organic pork. Previously, she added, only a small core of specific consumers chose to buy organic pork.
Lund Jensen also described signs that a downward national trend in sales of organic milk over recent years had been reversed in 2013.

USDA to pursue organic standards violations

The USDA Agriculture and Marketing Service’s National Organic Program announced it will be more aggressive with respect to deviation from standards and regulations relating to organic certification.
Although the National Organic Program does not have the resources to ensure compliance, it is expected that it will rely on certifying agencies. There is an obvious conflict of interest inherent in a situation where producers remunerate certifying agencies to conduct audits and at the same time the agencies are beholden to the NOP.
If the USDA is to fulfill its function of “allowing us to perform our jobs of persuading consumers they can trust the USDA organic label” as stated by Miles McEvoy, Deputy Administrator of the NOP, the agency itself must be responsible for investigating violations and taking appropriate action.

Survey: deli meat labels misunderstood

A survey by Impulse Research revealed that 45% of moms surveyed would buy more organic deli meats for children if they understood them better. According to the survey, conducted for natural and organic meat producer Applegate Farms, 49% don’t buy these products because of price while another 26% said they’re not available in their grocery store.
Saying people are confused about terms like organic, natural and conventional, researchers said the survey showed 36% believed or were unsure that deli meat labeled organic and natural offered the same thing. The random survey sampled 1,052 women age 25 to 45 in June 2010 who purchase deli meat for children 5- to 12-years-old.

Groups join to produce organic bio poultry

A group of firms and organizations have agreed to produce Organic SuperBio poultry to sell in Europe and China. The Baader Group, the Pourkian Group, the Fraunhofer Institut, San’an Technology Group and Hebei Luanping Huado Food Co. Ltd. joined to produce the bio product.
The partnership will involve development of a complete Organic SuperBio process chain, with products marked by its own seal. This poultry will be exported form China to Europe with the goal of exceeding EU bio standards, as well as others.

UK’s organic poultry sector needs help with 2012 rule change

Organic certifiers in the UK are being urged to take the lead in preparing the sector for 2012-regulations requiring pullets to be fully organic.
The call has come from Hi Peak Peak Organic Feeds, whose feed advisor Mike Burrows says: “Organic poultry producers need guidance on the issue of pullet supply for 2012 as a matter of urgency. Under the new measures, pullets will have to have access to outdoor ranging, and many established organic pullet-rearing units will not have the facility to accommodate this.”
Rearers will need to be compliant by the second week of August 2012.

Synthetic methionine request for organic feed

Paul H. Patterson of Pennsylvania State University has requested an amendment to the relevant provision in the National Organic Program Rule {7 CFR #205.603 (d) (1)} on behalf of the organic program’s Methionine Task Force. The submission requests continuation for inclusion of the amino acids DL-methionine and DL-methionine hydroxy analog in diets fed to laying hens at a level of 0.2%.
Some farmers affiliated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program maintain that inclusion of synthetic methionine is contrary to the spirit of organic production, even though commercially available methionine supplements are biochemically identical to the natural counterpart and are metabolized in the same way.
Incorporating non-genetically engineered corn cultivars with high lysine and methionine content into organic feed is considered a non-viable option, based on the practical difficulties of segregating these products through the production chain. Even if achievable, the cost of segregation would inflate the cost of organic-certified eggs.
There are concerns that failure to allow incorporation of synthetic methionine in diets could seriously depress efficiency of production and indirectly lead to higher mortality. Synthetic vitamins produced commercially by fermentation are allowed under current organic rules, while synthetic lysine produced by fermentation is disallowed.