EU Collaborates on Modern Farming Project
EU - Nofima Marked is representing Norway in a two-year European Commission-funded project (BrightAnimal) to study the use of modern technology in the farming of cattle, pigs, chicken and salmon.

Perdigão and Sadia Merger Cleared
EU - The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger Regulation to the proposed merger between Perdigão S.A. and Sadia S.A.

EU Ministers Agree Not to Extend Pollution Directive
EU - At the end of the first stage of negotiations, Environment Ministers have agreed not to extend the scope of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC) to cover smaller pig and poultry farms.

EU Ministers Agree To New Slaughterhouse Rules
EU - Conditions for animals at the time of killing will improve considerably from 1 January 2013, when a regulation, agreed by the European Council and providing for a series of practical measures to ensure animals are humanely treated, comes into fo...

New EU Feed Rules Will Improve Food Safety
EU - The European Commission has welcomed the adoption of new feed regulation that will further strengthen food safety in the EU. They will simplify and modernise procedures for labelling and marketing animal feed and pet food.

McDonalds Launches Flagship Farms Programme
EU - Fast food restaurant chain McDonald's Europe has launched a new Flagship Farms programme, designed to promote and share the benefits of sustainable agricultural practices via real case studies from real farms in our supply chain.

MRSA Found in Animals but No Threat in Food
EU - The European public health agencies have evaluated methicillin resistance of Staphylococcus aureus. They conclude that food-producing animals such as pigs, veal calves and broiler chickens often carry a specific strain of MRSA called CC398,...

Pace Set on EU Poultry Slaughter Policy
EU - The Farm Animal Welfare Council's (FAWC) Report on the Welfare of Farmed Animals at Slaughter or Killing – Part Two: White Meat Animals, published late last month (28 May) focuses on the welfare of poultry, apart from other white meat ...

EFSA Evaluates Bacteriophages
EU - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reports that bacteriophages, viruses that attack bacteria, are effective against specific food-borne pathogens. However, it was unable to state that they can protect against re-contamination, and it recommends...

2009 General Assembly of a.v.e.c. Announced
EU - The 52nd General Assembly of a.v.e.c., the European association of poultry meat producers and processors, will take place on 25 to 28 September 2009 at the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

MEPs Call for Improved Poultry Meat Labelling
EU - Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have agreed that the definition of 'fresh' poultry meat should apply to product that has never been frozen and also to maintain the current ban on the use of antimicrobial chemicals in the processing plant....

Salmonella: Commonest Cause of Food-Borne Outbreaks
EU - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have published their Community Summary Report on Food-borne Outbreaks in the EU in 2007.

Measures to Cut Risk of Importing Animal Diseases
EU - A regulation on the introduction into the European Union of small quantities of animal products intended for personal consumption – a measure that will help reduce the risks of importing serious animal diseases into the EU – enters into force today,...

Completion of Animal Feed Assessment by EFSA
EU - EFSA’s Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) has just completed the final opinion in a series of 30 risks assessments undertaken over the last 5 years looking at undesirable substances in animal feed. These opinions were delivered following...

Aviagen Holds Seminars in Slovakia, Czech Republic
EU - Over 150 Aviagen customers and suppliers came together in Slovakia and the Czech Republic last week for two separate seminars held by Aviagen.

EFSA Studies MRSA Link of Humans and Livestock
EU - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published an opinion on the public health significance of metnicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in animals and foods.

EC Ups Budget for Animal Disease Control
EU - Commission Decision 2008/897/EC is providing a budget of €223 million to eradicate, control and monitor animal diseases in in the EU-27 in 2009, according to a new GAIN Livestock and Products Report from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service entitled...

Agreement Boosts EU-Canada Live Animal Trade
EU - The veterinary agreement between EU and Canada, celebrating its 10^th anniversary this month, is mainly to be credited for the substantial increase of trade of live animals and animal products.

Council Makes Progress on Animal Welfare
EU - At the 2934th Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels on 23 March 2009, support was given for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW).

VION Restructures
EU - Europe's largest meat processing company, VION, is to restructure to a business model with regional control for two core activities Food and Ingredients.

Help for Smaller Abattoirs Proposed
EU - The European Commission should ensure that meat imported from non-European Union countries meets European standards, said MEPs at a meeting of the European Parliament agriculture committee.

EU Considers Regulations to Stop Slaughter Suffering
EU - All forms of unnecessary suffering by animals must be avoided, but religious freedom must be respected, says the Agriculture Committee, which voted on Monday on plans to tighten up the rules on animal welfare at the time of slaughter.

Annual Meeting of EU Poultry Association Set
EU - The 52nd General Assembly of a.v.e.c. will take place on 25 to 28 September 2009 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ross 708 in Focus in Europe
EU - Aviagen, the world’s leading poultry breeding company, recently held a seminar in Amsterdam for their Ross 708 customers. The focus of the seminar was managing the Ross 708 in Europe and the event was attended by delegates from 15 countries across...

Ministers Reject Industrial Pollution 'Safety Net'
EU - A proposal, backed by Germany and Austria, to place a cap on noxious emissions spewed out by a wide range of industries, including steel, chemicals and processed food plants, is set to be voted down by EU environment ministers over concerns that...