Meat

Australian meat firm redesigns organic labelling

15-Mar-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Australian clean meat company Cleaver’s has redesigned its meat packaging to help consumers easily identify the ethical and humane way the company believes meat should be produced.

Soapbox

Six-legged livestock: The next ‘bug’ thing

11-Mar-2016 By Massimo Reverberi, founder of Bugsolutely

There is only one obstacle between insect-based foods and supermarket shelves: western people don’t like to think of eating them.

Mumbai meat traders angry with airport sales restrictions

09-Mar-2016 By Raghavendra Verma, in New Delhi

Meat traders in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai are concerned about a potentially precedent-setting tightening of restrictions on sales within a 10-kilometre radius of the city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

This week Down Under

Where do sausages come from? Parents prefer to tell kids the facts

09-Mar-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Knowing a cow died to make the sausage may trigger endless questions. It’s something many parents avoid—or so one might assume (writes Sarah Keenihan).

China celebrates International Women’s Day with meat snacks

08-Mar-2016 By Mark Godfrey

China's Sentai Foods is celebrating International Women’s Day by selling a gift box of its new range of pre-cooked meat snacks.

China direct

Food safety chief: FDA struggling to cope with scale of adulteration

07-Mar-2016 By RJ Whitehead

China’s food authorities are unable to keep up with cases of chemical and drug adulteration, according to the head of its Food and Drug Administration.

App helps Aussie farmers improve standards

04-Mar-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

A newly-launched app for beef farmers has been developed to help the meat and livestock industry set up a forage budget and improve best practices among producers.

Meat demand bolsters New Zealand export growth

03-Mar-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

New Zealand meat exports have been one of the key performers of 2015, helping the country earn NZ$2.5 billion more than the amount it spent on imported goods last year.

Kyrgyzstan poultry farms on the verge of extinction

01-Mar-2016 By Vladislav Vorotnikov

Common customs space with Russia and Kazakhstan has almost killed off poultry farming in Kyrgyzstan, according to a report from the chairman of the country’s Union of Poultry Farmers, Rustam Osmonaliev.

Pakistan experiences strong growth in the meat export sector

29-Feb-2016 By Aaron McDonald

Pakistan’s meat export industry is growing at a rate of 30% every year, head of meat and nutrition at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Dr Muhammad Hayat Jaspal.

Chinese authorities split over antibiotic overuse

26-Feb-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

China’s top regulator for food safety has said overuse of antibiotics is a “prominent problem” for the country’s meat industry and has called for agriculture and meat processors to do more to reduce traces of antibiotics.

Huge shipment of rotting pork found in Manila

25-Feb-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

A total of 165 containers of rotting meat is sitting at a shipping port in the Philippines – and nobody has claimed responsibility for it.

Hong Kong gets a taste of Northern Ireland

25-Feb-2016 By Aaron McDonald

Hong Kong and Macau are the latest destinations to have been added to Hannan Meats’ growing portfolio of international markets.

Fall in meat-eaters prompts decline of the specialist Aussie butcher

25-Feb-2016 By RJ Whitehead

A survey has outlined the decline of the traditional butcher against against a fall in the number of meat-eaters, with the proportion of Australians buying their fresh meat from a specialist dropping by almost 5% in just three years.

Thailand tipped as key market for Australian beef

23-Feb-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Thailand has been earmarked as a potential processing and distribution hub for Western Australian live cattle exports, according to a government report on trade opportunities in south-east Asia.

TasFood eyes Nichols Poultry acquisition

22-Feb-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Australian agrifood business TasFood Limited is planning a takeover of the family-owned, Tasmanian chicken producer Nichols Poultry.

China’s meat firms invest in pig herd growth

22-Feb-2016 By Mark Godfrey

Nearly 25 million pigs will be added to China’s herd between 2015 and 2018 by a handful of leading companies in investments worth RMB70 billion ($10.74bn).

Russia creates pork hub to target China

17-Feb-2016 By Vladislav Vorotnikov

Two Russian companies plan to create a pig breeding cluster in the far east of the country within the next five years, designed to have a capacity for 1.2 million head of pigs, with an investment of RUB72 billion (US$954m).

Kiwi meat-free movement sees 27% growth in four years

17-Feb-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Vegetarianism is growing in popularity in New Zealand, where the proportion of Kiwis who say the food they eat is completely, or almost all, vegetarian has grown by 27% since 2011, a survey has found.

FAO member countries urged to lobby over edible insects

16-Feb-2016 By Kizzi Nkwocha

Member countries of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are being urged to lobby the UN body to clarify its position on edible insects.

Meat firms should target China’s tourists

15-Feb-2016 By Mark Godfrey

Hotel chains like Hilton, InterContinental and Sheraton and airlines like Air Asia, Air China and Cathay Pacific have been busy expanding their operations in China to capture the rise in outbound tourist numbers due to stronger incomes and a stronger...

China’s first welfare code for feed lots, slaughterhouses due in June

10-Feb-2016 By Mark Godfrey

China will have its first draft animal husbandry and slaughtering standards code by June, according to the Chinese Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), which is working with 30 domestic livestock breeding and slaughtering enterprises to draft the standards.

Japan lifts ban on Danish beef imports

09-Feb-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Japan has ended its 15-year ban on the imports of Danish beef after long-running mad cow disease fears were addressed by European politicians.

China's slowdown hits second-biggest pork company

03-Feb-2016 By Mark Godfrey

Yurun Food, China’s number-two pork player, continues to go through turbulent times, with some industry watchers forecasting a sell-off of company assets this year to get the firm back on track, after a massive investment in real estate has exposed the...

Australia

Company case study: Closed supply chain key to clean, green exports

03-Feb-2016 By Andrew Spence

A closed-loop supply chain and a strong contact network in Asia are behind the success of an emerging premium food company from South Australia.

Australian pork a ‘force to be reckoned with’

02-Feb-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Dr Roger Campbell, CEO of Pork CRC, is expected to celebrate the competitiveness of Australian pork in a speech he will make later this month.

OSI slams Chinese court’s judgement on expired meat scandal

02-Feb-2016 By RJ Whitehead

The American parent of the Chinese company found by a Shanghai court this week to have sold out-of-date meat to international burger chains has reacted angrily to the jailing of 10 of its workers.

Indian black chicken producers seek geographical indication to boost trade

01-Feb-2016 By Raghavendra Verma, in New Delhi

Authorities in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are trying to acquire national geographical indication (GI) protection for a nutritious variety of ‘black chicken’ called ‘Kadaknath’, to promote national and maybe overseas sales.

EU pig market propped up by China

27-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Europe’s beleaguered pig meat market has seen prices fall to its lowest level in a decade, but the sector has capitalised on exports to China, claims AHDB Pork’s market trends report.

Australia’s #GoodMeat campaign returns

27-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) has kick-started its popular #GoodMeat social media campaign to educate consumers on traceability, biodiversity, animal welfare and climate change.

Chinese state aid helps poultry firm expansion, despite pollution concern

26-Jan-2016 By Mark Godfrey

Chinese poultry giant Henan Huaying Agricultural Development Co has aggressively expanded its duck and chicken processing capacity with a package of government subsidies totalling over RMB40 million for several new plants.

Largest halal beef farm to be built in Kazakhstan

22-Jan-2016 By Vladislav Vorotnikov

Dubai-based company AMK Metal Fzco is to construct a livestock farm for 20,000 head of cattle and a meat processing plant for the production of 5,000 tonnes (t) of high-quality beef in Kazakhstan, following an agreement concluded between the company and...

Mongolia pumps money into meat export development

21-Jan-2016 By Vladislav Vorotnikov

Mongolia intends to increase the volume of meat exports to Russia, Vietnam, South Korea and China in the next few years, according to a recent statement from the country’s Agricultural Minister Radnaa Burmaa.

Dateline Southeast Asia

Mamma mia! Thai insect company puts s-bug-hetti on the pasta menu

21-Jan-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Thai edible insect processor Bugsolutely is taking on the pasta market with a product made with flour from ground crickets.

Thai Union finds work for 1,000 axed staff

19-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

International seafood processor Thai Union has given jobs to more than 1,000 workers who were made redundant in a restructuring of its external supply chain.

China's options to tackle stock shortages caused by bird flu in Europe

18-Jan-2016 By RJ Whitehead

Trade bans following recent bird flu outbreaks in France will not just affect China’s white bird breeding stock imports over the coming months, but also the global market structure.

US cattlemen: TPP vital to reach world’s middle class

18-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has said the swift implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is crucial to help American beef reach the world’s growing middle class.

HKScan plans growth in Asia

15-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

Meat manufacturer HKScan is seeking to boost exports to high-growth countries like China and Japan and hopes the launch of its Hong Kong office will be a springboard for a full-scale assault on the Asian market.

Chinese beef firm seeks RMB180m for overseas expansion, despite turmoil

13-Jan-2016 By Mark Godfrey

A leading Chinese beef firm is seeking to raise significant funds to help it expand overseas.

China eyes Ireland’s beef exports

12-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

China is among a host of countries planning a visit to inspect Ireland’s meat processing plants in 2016, with a view to boosting exports of a range of products, including its famed Irish beef.

Bird flu virus claims Chinese woman's life

07-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

A woman from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has died after she became infected with the deadly H5N6 bird flu strain, Hong Kong’s Health Department has said.

Philippines Pekin duck producer unlocks Dubai

04-Jan-2016 By Oscar Rousseau

The only Pekin duck producer in the Philippines has secured halal accreditation, opening up a number of markets in the Middle East.

Aus' and Brazil the beef exporters ‘to watch’ in 2016

15-Dec-2015 By Oscar Rousseau

Beef exporters tipped for success in 2016 include Australia, Brazil, India and the US, according to Rabobank’s global quarterly review on the beef industry.

Northern Ireland pork gets China export approval

30-Nov-2015 By Michael Stones

Northern Ireland pork has won provisional approval for export to China in a deal, said to be worth up to £10M a year to the economy.

China direct

Up to 1m cattle to be cloned a year at new Tianjin facility

30-Nov-2015 By RJ Whitehead

China will establish a commercial animal cloning centre in Tianjin, while state media has set out to soothe consumers who are concerned by the development.

AFIA, ASA among groups to support proposed US trade deal

20-Nov-2015 By Aerin Einstein-Curtis

Several US feed and grain organizations have come out in support of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Chinese lysine producers still applying the brakes but prices starting to rebound: analyst

16-Nov-2015 By Jane Byrne

Most of China’s nine major lysine manufacturers, which between them account for over 61% of the global market, are back up and running, but nearly all of them are still on a go slow, said Chinese based analyst firm CCM.

Processed meat and cancer: Let's cut the nonsense

27-Oct-2015 By Nathan Gray

After reviewing years of research that had suggested a link, yesterday the WHO classified processed meat as carcinogenic. Cue sensationalist headlines and huge industry backlash against these ‘obviously biased claims’. Can both sides please cut the nonsense?