Category: Meat, Poultry & Fish

Canada to invest US$550m in country’s poultry industry to drive efficiency, sustainability

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CANADA – The government of Canada has committed to investing a total of US$550 million over the next ten years to support the country’s poultry industry into becoming more efficient and sustainable. According to a FoodBev report, the funds will be channeled into two new programs designed to help drive innovation and market development for Canada’s 4,800 chicken, turkey, and egg farmers. About US$502 million will be injected into the first program known as the Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program which aims to support poultry and egg farmers through…

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South Africa confirms avian flu outbreak, cases reported in commercial poultry farm

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SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s multi-billion-dollar poultry industry is on high alert and implementing contingency plans after an announcement of an outbreak of avian flu on a farm in South Africa’s central province of Gauteng. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development confirmed the outbreak announcing that about 300 birds died of avian flu at the commercial chicken-layer farm in Ekurhuleni. Samples from the farm were taken for laboratory testing which turned positive for the H5 strain of AI. Upon confirmation that it was H5, the birds in…

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USAID partners with industry players led by Cargill to launch US$33m livestock management initiative

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AFRICA – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a five-year US$33 million Transformational Strategies for Farm Output Risk Mitigation (TRANSFORM) initiative, aimed to improve livestock management and combat the threat of zoonotic diseases to both human and animal health in the region. USAID has tapped on the expertise of a consortium of industry players led by Cargill and including Ausvet, Heifer International, and the International Poultry Council (IPC). The initiative will harness innovation to sustainably improve animal health, strengthen animal agriculture production systems in Africa and…

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Cultured Decadence secures funding to accelerate development of cell-cultured lobster meat

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US – Alternative proteins startup Cultured Decadence has closed a US$1.6 million pre-seed financing round to accelerate the development of cell-cultured lobster meat. Investors in the oversubscribed round include Bluestein Ventures, Joyance Partners, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Gener8tor, GlassWall Syndicate, Bascom Ventures, and China-based Dao Foods. The company also received a grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation administered by the Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC), reportedly marking the first-ever state government funding for cellular agriculture. Cultured Decadence has developed a technology that utilises the cells of…

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Solar Foods secures funding to accelerating production of air-based protein

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FINLAND – The alternative meat protein industry is bursting with novel and at times unimaginable ideas on how to create food products that mimic the taste and feel of animal protein without input from actual animals. Alternative proteins from plants and those cultured in the lab have been a mainstay in the alternative protein industry and are no longer surprising. According to the SPINS data, plant-based food retail sales jumped 27% in 2020 to record sales worth US$7 billion, a testament their popularity among consumers. Finnish food tech company Solar…

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Kenya Defence Forces rallies for exemption of state-owned meat processor KMC from privatization list

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KENYA – The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) through the Ministry of Defence has written to the Privatisation Commission to exempt the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) from the list of State-owned enterprises that Cabinet has approved for sale. According to reports by The East Africa, the Privatisation Commission which was brought into being by the Privatisation Act (2005) was mandated to sell of 26 poorly performing parastatals to strategic investors to reduce their reliance on the exchequer. The sale of state-owned enterprises was also expected to mobilise resources and support the…

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Tyson Foods opens new US$425m Tennessee poultry complex amid unending price-fixing allegations

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US – Tyson Foods, the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, has officially inaugurated its new poultry complex in Humboldt, Tennessee, following a total investment of US$425 million. Located within the Gibson County Industrial Park , the site consists of a processing plant, feed mill and hatchery, and represents Tyson Foods’ biggest investment in Tennessee. The plant is expected to start production later this month and will produce pre-packaged trays of fresh chicken for retail grocery stores nationwide. According to Tyson Foods, several hundred workers have…

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Avian flu spreads across Nigeria causing US$1.3m worth of poultry loss in Kano State

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NIGERIA – The highly pathogenic Avian Influenza has wreaked havoc in Nigeria with cases of rampant out-breaks reported in Kano State, registering a loss of over N500 million (US$1.3m) worth of poultry. According to the Kano State branch of the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, 223,695 chicken have been confirmed affected and depopulated, noting that each of the chicken costs not less than N1,800, and the amount of the loss is over N402 million (US$1.05m). The Chairman of the association, Mr. Umar Kibiya Usman, highlighted that there are thousands of…

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UAE manufacturing giant Agthia Group to acquire majority stake in Egyptian meat processor Atyab

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EGYPT – Abu Dhabi-listed food and beverage company Agthia Group has announced that its Board of Directors has approved a strategic acquisition of a majority stake in Ismailia Investments (Atyab), Egyptian producer of frozen processed chicken and beef products. The acquisition would see Agthia acquiring 75.02% in Ismailia Investments, giving it an enterprise value of 3.22 billion Egyptian pounds (US$205.6 million). Ismailia Investments has a portfolio of four brands – Atyab, Meatland, Shiketita and Furat – catering to the value, economy and premium segments of the Egyptian market, Agthia noted…

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World Animal Protection raises alarm on superbug contamination on meat sold in Kenya’s retail stores

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KENYA – Nearly two years after an expose by a Kenyan media outlet on the rampant use of chemicals and preservatives by some butcheries and retailers to extend the shelf life of meat products, UK-based World Animal Protection has revealed that, a significant portion of chicken and pork meat sold in supermarkets is contaminated with bacteria or superbugs. Superbugs according to WHO are strains of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi resistant to most antibiotics and other medications commonly used treat the infections they cause. The World Animal Protection conducted a…

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