Fire breaks out at Cargill Animal Nutrition plant in New York

A Cargill Animal Nutrition plant in Salem, New York, suffered a fire September 15. Officials say the fire was caused by combustion of dust in a grain bin.
The fire broke out in a silo just after midnight on September 15, according to reports. The fire was contained in the silo and did not spread anywhere else on the property.
The blaze broke out on the third floor of the silo, and firefighters had to drag hoses to the fifth floor to get to the fire. It took crews about two hours to get to the fire. In total, crews from seven fire departments fought the fire for more than four hours. Multiple fire departments were called to respond due to concern about a possible explosion.
"It was confined to the silo itself so we knew there was no structural damage. It took us a long time. We wanted to make sure we had our bases covered so we didn't have an explosion. We talked to the Cargill representatives and got their info on what to do and not to do and we proceeded forward,” said Salem Fire Chief Bob Graham.
Cargill makes animal feed and other products at that location. No injuries were reported.

AgFeed Industries to pay $18 million to settle fraud charges

AgFeed Industries, a bankrupt Tennessee-based animal feed company, has agreed to pay back $18 million in alleged illicit profits to settle civil accounting fraud charges, according to a Reuters report.
AgFeed was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March in connection with charges that it reported fake revenue from its China operations to help increase its stock price.
The SEC said AgFeed’s management in China kepts two sets of books – a real one and one it presented to investors.
According to the report, AgFeed inflated the company’s revenue by $239 million from 2008 through June 2011. The company used fake invoices for feed and hog sales and inflated hog weights in an attempt to sell them for higher prices. It later reported the made-up hogs had died.
In a rare move, the SEC also charged the company’s former U.S.-based independent audit committee chairman, K. Ivan Gothner. It alleges he and former U.S.-based Chief Financial Officer Edward Pazdro learned about the fraud in China after the company merged with the U.S.-based company but failed to conduct any meaningful investigation or properly disclose it. SEC also charged four Chinese company executives with fraud. This case is still ongoing. Attorneys for Gothner and Pazdro have denied the charges.
The settlement is subject to court approval. The company is settling without admitting or denying the charges. The SEC said the $18 million will be distributed to victims of the fraud.

Environmental conference for meat, poultry industry part of IPPE

The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) will host the AMIF Environmental Conference for the Meat and Poultry Industry on January 26-27, 2015 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will be held in collaboration with the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE).
The environmental conference, formerly held in conjunction with the AMIF's Conference on Worker Safety, Human Resources and the Environment, will address key environmental issues facing the industry, including resource conservation, greenhouse gas emissions and waste management. The conference will include the AMI Environmental Recognition and Achievement Awards, which will be presented at an evening reception on January 26.
Environmental Achievement Awards
The application for the 2015 Environmental Achievement Awards, which recognize companies that go beyond compliance in their sustainability and environmental efforts, is now open and will be accepted through COB on Wednesday, October 1. Applications for the awards can be downloaded.
Environmental Recognition Awards
Applications are also now being accepted for the 2015 Environmental Recognition Awards, which honors companies that have demonstrated a continuous dedication to environmental improvement. Submissions are due by COB on Wednesday. Applications can be downloaded.
Conference registration
Registration for the Environmental Conference for the Meat and Poultry Industry
 is $299 per person, and will include admission to IPPE. Registration can be done on the AMI website.

Case Farms safety record nets awards

Poultry processor Case Farms has earned the Award of Honor for worker safety and health performance from the Poultry Industry Safety and Health Council. This award distinguishes companies who demonstrate a strong commitment to implementing innovative and effective employee safety and health programs. The award was presented to the Goldsboro processing plant and hatchery during the 2014 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry.
In addition, Case Farms’ Winesburg, Ohio feed mill was presented the Award of Merit.
“We are proud of the quality safety programs that are implemented company-wide at Case Farms,” said Billy Holland, Case Farms’ safety director. “Throughout the year, our management team and staff come together regularly to find new ways to further strengthen our safety and health programs. With each innovation, we focus on our employees and what we can do to allow them to work more safely and more efficiently.”
The Poultry Industry Safety and Health Council consist of members from U.S. Poultry &Egg Association, National Chicken Council and National Turkey Federation. Collectively, the three organizations represent companies who produce 95 percent of the nation's poultry products and employ over 350,000 workers. Award consideration was based on injury statistics over a three-year period and an evaluation of written applications by three judges.
“This recognition, in addition to our recent American Meat Institute Safety Award and The National Provisioner 2014 Plant of the Year Award, confirms we are outrivaling the industry in our worker safety and health program initiatives. Now we are even more motivated to excel in these areas,” added Holland.
Adopting standards developed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program (OSHA VPP), Case Farms has designed reputable safety programs throughout its four complexes.

Biomin’s FUMzyme to become authorized for use in EU

Biomin’s FUMzyme is slated to become the first-ever purified enzyme authorized by the EU as substances with proven mycotoxin counteracting properties. FUMzyme is the first purified enzyme that biotransforms fumonisins into non-toxic metabolites, thereby marking a momentous development for mycotoxin risk management.
Following the positive Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) votes, the publication of the respective EU regulations would be the next and final stage toward confirming the efficacy of FUMzyme as a mycotoxin-deactivating product.
FUMzyme was originally isolated from the fumonisin degrading soil bacteria Sphingopyxis sp. MTA 144 and identified as fumonisin esterase by the Biomin Research Center. The product's efficacy in degrading fumonisins to compounds of significantly lower toxicity was proven by the sphinganine/sphingosine ratio in several short- and long-term feeding studies conducted with pigs. The sphinganine/sphingosine ratio is considered the most sensitive biomarker for fumonisin toxicosis.
The trials consistently demonstrated that the addition of FUMzyme significantly reduced the sphinganine/sphingosine ratio of pigs fed fumonisin-contaminated diets with levels above and below EU guidance limits. EFSA concluded in the Scientific Opinion published in May 2014, that FUMzyme is safe not only for animals, humans and the environment, but also demonstrably efficacious in pigs.
In 2013, Biomin became the first company to receive the European Commission authorization for feed additives with mycotoxin-counteracting properties. The authorizations were for the deoxynivalenol-biotransforming product Biomin BBSH 797 and the aflatoxin-binding bentonite Mycofix Secure.

English pig industry introduces confidential reporting service

To help maintain high standards of animal welfare on British pig farms, the National Pig Association (NPA) is introducing a confidential reporting service. The service will also protect pig-keepers from bogus claims by animal rights activists who periodically attempt to gain unauthorized entry to pig buildings.
The service places an obligation on everyone employed on, or visiting, a participating pig unit to immediately report any concern they may have about any aspect of animal welfare, either directly to a senior member of staff, or using a confidential hotline.
The service is operated independently by a specialist provider and is free to farm assured pig-keepers. It will be funded from the statutory pig levy, which is administered by the British Pig Executive (BPEX), a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
“The British pig industry is globally renowned for its high animal welfare standards and this new service will help us demonstrate to consumers that our reputation is well-deserved,” said NPA chief executive Dr. Zoe Davies.
“Many of our members will want to sign up for the service because they, more than anyone, want to know if any aspect of their husbandry is falling below acceptable standards.
“Importantly, it will help us deal quickly and responsibly with the claims of animal rights activists who from time to time trespass on livestock farms. In [the] future, if they see anything wrong they will be under a moral and contractual obligation to report it immediately, so that appropriate measures can be taken.”
The service guarantees caller confidentiality, and can provide translation services for Eastern European workers on British pig farms. It will also filter out vexatious calls (if any).
A poster will be prominently displayed on all participating pig units, giving the hotline number and advising all employees and visitors: “Whether you are an employee or a visitor, by entering this site you accept that everything you see is confidential, except that if you observe any aspect of animal welfare that causes you concern you must report it immediately to the unit owner or a senior member of staff or to the confidential reporting service Safecall (where there is no need to give your name).”
In the event of being notified of any concerns about a pig unit, NPA will work with BPEX to determine a proportionate response, which may include asking Assured Food Standards to carry out a spot check using an independent auditor.
Confidential reporting services are an accepted part of the landscape of commercial, construction, and industrial sectors these days. It is likely such services will increasingly be used in primary food production, as a way of ensuring high standards.

USDA poultry lab upgrade unlikely in 2014

A $1.55 million upgrade to the USDA’s Southeast Poultry Disease Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia, that was part of the Obama administration’s budget for 2014 appears unlikely to happen soon as a result of congressional gridlock, according to sources.
In April 2013, federal officials proposed a budget that included updating the laboratory, which had facilities built on 1964 and 1976. A review done of agriculture research service facilities stated that the outdated facility’s limitations now prevent critical, cutting-edge research from being conducted, and that construction of a new facility would allow USDA scientists to more adequately address emerging or exotic poultry diseases that threaten not only the nation’s poultry industry, but also the health of American consumers.
The poultry lab upgrade project is in the House agriculture appropriations bill, but not in the Senate’s version. According to a report from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, neither the House nor the Senate bill has passed its respective chamber, and congressional leaders plan to extend spending at the same levels for at least a few months, which would likely doom the project in 2014.
The laboratory project was included in Obama’s $56 billion “Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative,” which would be paid for in part by tax increases that are unlikely to be passed, so the projects have been largely ignored, analysts say.
One of the poultry lab project’s biggest supporters, Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Georgia, is a high ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, but Kingston gave up his House seat to pursue a bid for a U.S. Senate seat. That election attempt was unsuccessful.