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 A review done of agriculture research service facilities stated that the outdated facility’s limitations now prevent critical, cutting-edge research from being conducted, and that construction of a new facility would allow USDA scientists to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.

NCC: Reuters article about antibiotic use leaves out key details

The National Chicken Council (NCC) used a September 15 article by Reuters as an opportunity to reiterate the fact that the majority of antibiotics approved for use in raising chickens are not used in human medicine, and those that are will be phased out for growth promotion purposes by December, 2016.
"We understand the concern about the use of antibiotics in farm animals and recognize our responsibility to ensure they are properly used for the right reasons to protect the health of animals, humans and the food supply," said Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, in response today to a Reuters article about antibiotic use in the poultry industry.
"All antibiotics used to prevent and treat disease in chickens are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The majority of these antibiotics are never used in human medicine and therefore represent no threat of creating resistance in humans," Peterson said.
Only about 10 percent of the feed tickets reviewed by Reuters list antibiotics belonging to medically important drug classes – the exact ones that both the industry and FDA are currently phasing out for growth promotion purposes.
"While minimally used in raising chickens, by December 2016, these antibiotics that are important to human medicine will be labeled for use in food animals only to prevent and treat disease, under the supervision and care of a veterinarian," Peterson continued.  "The industry has fully cooperated with the FDA, and many poultry and pharmaceutical companies are moving far in advance of regulatory deadlines for compliance.
"There are responsible, approved standards of veterinary treatment that benefit animal welfare and human health by reducing the need for heavier doses of antibiotics in the event of widespread disease," Peterson explained. "Much like a companion animal veterinarian would use de-worming compounds to prevent illness in puppies and kittens, chicken producers and veterinarians use compounds to prevent and treat intestinal diseases in the birds they care for in the field.
"Since the article did not contain perspectives from animal scientists or poultry veterinarians, the reader is left without this context and unfortunately left with hypothetical comments from a few sources."
Antibiotics themselves and their dosage rates have been approved by the FDA. Any feed mill that makes feed which contains an FDA-approved and regulated product, like an antibiotic, is subject to FDA authority and inspection. Contrary to what Reuters reports, these mills keep records of antibiotic use and the information is available to FDA and regulators.
Peterson said that it is not surprising that a farm may have antibiotics listed on a feed ticket. The important answers, she added, are found in the detail behind the use of the antibiotic."Is the antibiotic made exclusively for animals? If it is an antibiotic used in human medicine, is it being used to treat or prevent a disease? Is a veterinarian involved in this treatment decision? Is it administered according to an approved label?"
Finally, Peterson took contention with the story's repeated use of the term "Superbugs." As the FDA has stated, "it is inaccurate and alarmist to define bacteria resistant to one, or even a few, antibiotics as 'Superbugs' if these same bacteria are still treatable by other commonly used antibiotics."
Reuters also failed to point out that according to the most recent FDA data, 85 percent of Salmonella collected from humans had no resistance to any of the antibiotics tested, and multi-drug resistance in Salmonella from humans and chickens is the lowest since FDA began testing.
For consumers with further questions, the National Chicken Council has put together a detailed list of questions and answers about how, why and which antibiotics are used, or not used, in raising chickens.  In addition, the U.S. Poultry& Egg Association recently released a new video series about antibiotic use in the poultry industry, featuring two animal science and veterinary experts:Dr. Randy Singer, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Medicine, University of Minnesota, and Dr. Charles Hofacre, Professor, Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, Department of Population Health, University of Georgia.

Cobb symposium: Breed flexibility key to universal popularity

Delegates from the 19 countries served by Cobb Germany got together with technical experts from Cobb Europe and the United States for a three-day symposium in the Dutch university city of Leiden.
Euan Meldrum, Cobb Europe marketing manager, presented the ‘Number One Campaign’ based on the global position of the Cobb500 as the world’s top selling broiler breeder.
Joining the update on the latest technical information was Dr. Steve Bolden, director of the World Technical Support Team, who said it was the breed’s flexibility to meet a variety of market needs that gave the Cobb500 its universal popularity.
Bolden explained how the broiler can cope with different feeding strategies to meet the lowest live broiler cost through low cost diets and also to achieve the lowest cost per kilogram of breast meat using higher amino acid diets.
He added: “This flexibility to perform economically on different density nutrition means that the Cobb500 can meet whatever drivers of profitability a customer may have.”
The guest speaker was Evelien Hangoor, Cargill Provimi, who discussed how nutrition affects the excreta composition of broilers.
The new research farm, Simmes in Holland was visited by group that was very impressed how the broiler trails were conducted under outstanding commercial conditions.

Chile poultry and pork discussed in trade mission to Russia

Rogrigo Castanion, general manager of the Chilean Pork Producers Association and Chilean Poultry Producers Association, made an official visit to the Russian Federation. The visit, conducted on September 11, was aimed at holding discussions on assuring the safety of animal products intended for export to Russia.
Russia has recently expanded its talks with Latin American nations, after imposing a ban on food products from the United States, Canada, European Union, Australia and Norway.
The Russian-Chilean negotiations were held at the Leningrad Interoblast Veterinary Laboratory (FGBI) and subordinated to the Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian federal service for veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance.
Julia Shvabauskene, head of the Rosselkhoznadzor Territorial Administration for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, and  Antonina Brovkina, director of the FGBI. During the meeting, leading experts of the Rosselkhoznadzor FGBI and members of the Chilean delegation discussed the structural features of the veterinary surveillance system in the Russian Federation and rules of regulated consignment electronic certification. In addition, the possible increase in export of Chilean food products to the Russian Federation was discussed. The Rosselkhoznadzor and FGBI experts informed foreign guests about the procedure for federal monitoring laboratory testing of imported products and answered numerous questions on sampling procedure, quality standards and indicators for imported products laid down in the Russian Federation legislation.
At the Shushary Veterinary Inspection Post, located in the temporary storage warehouse near St. Petersburg, experts of the  Rosselkhoznadzor territorial administration explained to the Chilean colleagues the procedures for physical and documentary checks of imported consignments and described animal health requirements for products imported to Russia from third countries as well as demonstrated step- by-step an operation of Argus and Mercury electronic certification systems for regulated consignments.
At the end of his visit to St Petersburg, Castanion thanked the Russian party representatives for hosting and marked their high professional levels and expressed his hope for further mutually beneficial cooperation.

McDonald’s Australia moving to cage-free eggs

McDonald’s is moving toward using cage-free eggs at its Australian restaurants. The company announced its move on its Facebook page on September 12 with the following statement: “We’d like to let our fans know first and announce that we’re working towards a move to cage-free eggs with our suppliers by the end of 2017. This is part of a broader animal welfare initiative, which we will share more details on in the coming weeks.”
The decision to switch to cage-free eggs is in response to campaigns from animal rights groups and consumers who have been calling for what they view as a more humane approach and higher welfare standards.
McDonald’s Australia spokeswoman told news.com that the company will ensure that Australian farmers will be able to continue to supply eggs to McDonald’s for the long-term, and that customers have a clear understanding of where McDonald’s eggs come from.
The announcement made on Facebook as of mid-morning on September 15 had already gathered 990 comments, with the majority of those commenting on the topic showing support for the McDonald’s decision. That post also gathered 4,677 “likes” and was shared by 197 people.
This will not be the first time McDonald’s phased out eggs from caged hens. In 2010, McDonald’s stopped using them at its European locations in 2010.

Nuscience Group becomes sole owner of Novi Mix

Nuscience Group, a manufacturer of animal feed solutions in Europe, has become the sole owner of the Serbian company Novi Mix. Nuscience Group acquired a 51 percent interest in the company last year, and has now decided to acquire the rest of the shared ownership.
“In the last year we have seen that the Serbian market is changing rapidly and feed suppliers more and more want to buy high-quality premixes instead of producing them,” said Patrick Keereman, CEO of Nuscience Group. “Midterm, the access to the European market will further support this tendency.”
Nuscience Group is a global player in premixes, concentrates, mineral feed, young animal nutrition and feed additives for the animal nutrition industry. After the acquisition of the majority package of Novi Mix d.o.o., the Serbian company changed its name to Nuscience Premix International d.o.o. “In the modern Velika Plana plant we are able to produce high-quality vitamin and mineral premixes for the needs in the Serbian market.”
With the state-of-the-art factory for the production of premixes in Velika Plana, Nuscience Premix International (NPI) is able to offer its customers tailored nutritional feed concepts in addition to its standard product portfolio. A well-educated team of collaborators with extensive knowledge in the field of nutrition and health-safe feed production is able to produce more than 35,000 tons of premixes per year.
To achieve the expected growth of 25 to 40 percent in 2014 and 50 percent in 2015, NPI’s sales and technical staff will be trained thoroughly in feed formulation and farm management. They will also introduce Aromabiotic, a patented solution of medium chain fatty acids, and Young Animal Nutrition to the Serbian Market.

Evonik breaks ground on AQUAVI Met-Met production plant

Evonik Industries held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the on-schedule start of construction on the first plant for the production of AQUAVI Met-Met in Antwerp, Belgium. The product, a dipeptide made up of two methionine molecules, is a feed additive specially developed for shrimp and other crustaceans in aquacultures. The investment volume is in the lower double-digit-million-euro range.
Commercial quantities of the product will be available when the new plant commences operation in the second half of 2015. Customers can now request samples from Evonik to carry out joint feed studies. Feed studies on quantities from pilot plants are already underway worldwide.
“Adding a highly effective methionine source to the feed is just as profitable for shrimp and crustaceans as for fish. We now can offer our customers also for this species a tailor-made solution,” said Dr. Emmanuel Auer, head of the Animal Nutrition Business Line at Evonik in Antwerp.
AQUAVI Met-Met significantly reduces the consumption of fish meal in shrimp aquaculture. It therefore lowers feed costs, reduces the strain on fishing grounds worldwide, and helps water purity by reducing the amount of waste produced by the animals and nitrogen output into the environment through an optimal supply of methionine. With optimal nutrition, the shrimp stay healthier and the environment is less polluted.