ISRAEL - Aleph Farms, Israeli food technology start-up company, has called on the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote clean meat for its compelling safety advantages, such as being antibiotic free and pathogen free. Alepha Farms made the request in response to the US Cattlemen's Association's (USCA) petition to the USDA to restrict the…
USA - The US government in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched the USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices Audit Program (USDA H-GAP) as part of their strategy to strengthen food safety. The announcement made by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb,…
ASIA - The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has partnered with the UK based multinational inspection, product testing and certification company, Intertek to enhance sustainable rice production and global food security. The collaboration will see Intertek use rice DNA markers developed by IRRI in a joint initiative geared at equitable sharing of knowledge and provision…
UKRAINE - Ukraine’s soybean production is set to fall 14% to 3.3 million tonnes despite higher expected yields than the five-year average, according to USDA’s Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) May 16 report. Soybean planted area for the coming crop year is forecast at around 1.5 million hectares, a 23% decline from 2017-18. While Sunflower…
USA - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced the appointment of Carmen Rottenberg and Paul Kiecker to the positions of administrator and deputy administrator respectively within USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). “Providing all Americans access to a safe and secure food supply is one of USDA’s critical missions,” said Secretary Perdue.…
USA - US sugar production for 2018-19 is forecast at 8,981,000 short tons, raw value, 2.9% down from record high 9,252,000 tons forecast for 2017-18, according to USDA’s May 10 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. For the next year, cane sugar production was forecast at 3,945,000 tons, down 2.1% while beet sugar production was…
USA - Pinnacle Foods Inc., the New Jersey packaged foods company has recalled about 32,479 pounds of dried beef for possible toxin contamination that may be as a result of a processing deviation. The recall, announced by USDA said that the heat-treated, shelf-stable beef products could be possibly contaminated with staphylococcal enterotoxin and clostridial toxin.…
NIGERIA - Flour Mills of Nigeria has announced that it is undertaking a wheat seeds multiplication initiative by cultivating 75 hectares of wheat farms in Nigeria, according to the newspaper PM News. The company has made the program possible by providing farmers with certified and high-quality wheat seeds and fertilizers. In addition, through a collaboration…
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa’s wheat imports tariff has declined by 45% to US$32.78 per tonne following a drop in international wheat prices, based on a report by the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz). The reduction is a reprieve for millers such as Pioneer Foods, Godrich Flour Mills, Premier Foods Ltd and others who have been…
USA - The U.S. federal executive department, USDA has ruled that the use of carrageenan as an emulsifier in organic foods like ice cream and high protein drinks is acceptable despite recommendation from the National Organic Standards Board's (NOSB), its advisory arm to withdraw the approval. Carrageenan is used in high-protein beverages to keep the…
