Industry News Update - March 5, 2008
Current Association Issues – March 5, 2008
New NRA Website
Please update your web browser bookmarks for the new NRA website:
http://www.nationalrenderers.org.
The new site is organized in a streamlined fashion with high definition photographs highlighting each page to draw attention and create an atmosphere of quality. Main topics are listed across the top of the page, and each topic has drop-down menu with related material. Each page has general information and links to more detailed information. The general information is new in some cases, revised from the old website in other cases, or information from other NRA publications. Many of the detailed information links offered have been available previously—but offered for the first time on our website—such as the “Blue Book” and North American Rendering. Many chapters of Essential Rendering are offered as stand-alone supporting information listed in the appropriate topic areas—this makes a particularly good “Nutrition” menu. We have Chinese and Vietnamese translations of Essential Rendering on the website in PDF files, and we will soon be adding a Spanish translation. The original NRA address, www.renderers.org, will lead to the new homepage for a period of time, but the new address takes you there directly. The APPI address, www.animalprotein.org , will lead to the Code of Practice page in the Biosecurity/APPI menu where we post the list of certified plants.
Rendering Code of Practice—Momentum Continues
Check out the list maintained on the APPI website:
http://nationalrenderers.org/biosecurity/code/certified_plants, we are very proud of these leading companies—make sure you get listed. We have 72 plants certified to date! REMEMBER—CERTIFICATIONS ARE GOOD FOR 2 YEARS—BE SURE TO SCHEDULE YOUR RENEWAL AUDIT ACCORDINGLY.
Regulation
Update on Proposed FDA Feed Rule Change
The Office of Management and Budget was due to return the proposed feed rule changes to FDA after having it for 90 days on February 1, 2008. At the end of January the Office of Management and Budget requested a 30 day extension to further review the proposed feed rule changes. We’ve just learned the OMB has again extended the time to return the proposed rule to FDA.
We do not have a specific time frame as to how long OMB will keep the proposed rule for further review. We were told it would be indefinite.
Background: The FDA Proposed Feed Rule (21 C.F.R. § 589.2000) was sent from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the White House Office of Management (OMB) in November. The OMB is the Executive Branch agency which applies benefit/cost evaluation to regulation. In December and January, NRA organized renderers visits to OMB, the US Trade representative (USTR), and USDA. OMB has now again extended its review of the final rule. In late January, NRA organized a meeting of 12 animal agriculture organizations and the group sent a letter to HHS, FDA and USDA urging the federal government not to finalize this rule. The proposed amendments to the 1997 feed rule are not needed since the BSE risk is miniscule, the changes would be unnecessarily expensive, enforcement strategies are not developed, it would ruin the dead stock pick up system, and it would create an animal health and environmental crisis.
The Ozone Final Rule has been Logged in at OMB.
According to OMB’s website, the agency has received EPA-AR RIN: 2060-AN24 entitled “Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone” for review as a Final Rule. It was received February 22, 2008.
Background: EPA is proposing to strengthen the nation’s air quality standards for ground-level ozone, revising the standards for the first time since 1997. Agriculture production and processing produces VOCs (including methane and ethanol) and NOx that would be regulated through monitoring and possibly via controls. Stringent control measures would be implemented that could curtail production activities, restrict pesticide applications, designate/limit pesticide application times, eliminate pesticide availability, restrict animal agricultural feeding operations (emissions from animal waste handling and storage), prescribe costly control measures for animal agriculture, and prescribe costly control measures for certain food and agricultural processing industries (including scaling factors for VOC measurements). NRA has joined a coalition of groups to comment that new standards are not needed and the science supporting stronger standards is slim. There have been economic analyses done on the effects of a tighter ozone standard. Here are some newspaper stories regarding the economic impacts as a result of a tighter ozone standard:
http://www.macon.com/198/story/253478.html
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/01/30/waterbill_0131.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/01/28/daily35.html
http://www.btobmagazine.com/
Reminder: OSHA—Rendering Related OSHA Actions
None of these are new, but they may bear taking another look:
Potential Ejection Hazard Associated with High Speed Separators in Rendering Operations
Examples of Permit-required Confined Space Programs
Fire and Explosion Hazards Associated with Dried Beef Blood
Confined Space Case
Ergonomics Program Management Guidelines For Meatpacking Plants
NIOSH Releases New AI Poultry Worker Protection Guide
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued a new guidance document “Protecting Poultry Workers from Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)” in the form of a NIOSH Alert. The alert begins with the following warning “During an outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu), poultry workers may become seriously ill or die after contact with infected poultry or contaminated materials.” The alert then discusses avian influenza in humans as well as AI outbreaks in chickens. The alert also provides a list of recommendations and steps to take prior to and during an avian influenza outbreak. A copy of the alert is available on the NIOSH Web site at www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2008-113.
Meetings
APPI Seminar 2008—Dallas, TX, May 14-15, 2008
Don’t miss this members-only meeting. It will be our best seminar to date, and will help position renderers to respond to the challenges of the day including traceability demands, compliance expectations, product safety and quality issues, recall responsibilities, HACCP, and plant security issues, among others. Please click on this link to register on-line for the APPI Seminar: http://appi-seminar.nationalrenderers.org/
The seminar will be $300 for early registration, and room costs are a group rate of $219.00 per night (plus tax). You should only need one night because we’ll start at 12:30 pm May 14th and end at 12:30 pm May 15th, 2008.
AFIA’s Feed Industry Institute
This meeting is held every two years, and will take place on June 16-19, 2008 in Chicago at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare-Airport Hotel. This short-course is geared for feed and feed ingredient professionals interested in expanding their knowledge of the industry. The conference features representatives of all segments of the feed industry addressing timely issues and providing insight to a variety of course material. For more information, contact Jarrod Kersey at jkersey@afia.org or call the American Feed Industry Association office at (703)524-0810.
Symposium on “Non-Food Utilization of Animal Protein Byproducts” for the 2008 American Oil Chemist’s Society meeting May 18–21, 2008.
Dr. Rafael A. Garcia, Lead Scientist at the USDA-ARS Eastern Regional Research Center has helped organize this symposium at the 99th AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle, WA. Here is the “Protein and Co-Products” agenda:
8:20 AM
“Industrial Protein Utilization: The Multifunctioning By-Product”
J. Schmitz, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
8:40 AM
“Novel Peptide-Based Materials from Re-structured Agricultural Proteins”
J. Barone, A. Athamneh, N. Budhavaram, and Z. Li, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
9:00 AM
“Biodegradable Plastics from Animal Protein Co-Products”
S. Sharma, J.N. Hodges, and I. Luzinov, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
9:20 AM
“Production of Peptones from Animal Protein By-Products for Use in Industrial Fermentation”
R.A. Garcia, D. Pyle, G.J. Piazza, and Z. Wen, 1Fats Oils and Animal Coproducts Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Wyndmoor, PA, USA, 2Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
9:40 AM
“Meat & Bone Meal Extract and Gelatin as Renewable Flocculants”
G.J. Piazza* and R.A. Garcia, Eastern Regional Research Center, ARS, USDA, Wyndmoor, PA, USA.
10:20 AM
“Potential Uses of a Novel Mucin Extracted From Jellyfish”
K. Ushida1, T. Baba1, M. Urai1, K. Taniguchi1, J. Uzawa1, K. Kihira1, A. Masuda2, N. Dohmae2, M. Yamamura3, and H. Wada3, 1Eco- Soft Materials Reseaech Unit, Riken, Wako, Saitama, Japan, 2Biomolecular Characterization Team, Riken, Wako, Saitama, Japan, 3Shinwa Chemical Industries, Ltd., Kyoto, Japan.
10:40 AM
“Investigating Protein Hydrolysates for Use as Herbivore Repellents”
B.A. Kimball1,2, 1USDA, APHIS, National Wildlife Research Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
11:00 AM
“Gasification of Salmon Processing Waste”
C. DeWitt1, S. Rowland1, K. Patil1, and C. Bower2, 1Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA, 2USDA, ARS, Fairbanks, AK, USA.
11:20 AM
“Preserving High-Protein Fish By-Products through Silages and Fermentates”
C.K. Bower and K.A. Hietala, USDA , ARS, Fairbanks, AK, USA.
Information on the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo can be found here:
http://www.aocs.org/meetings/annual_mtg/
Other Issues
In Hungry Zimbabwe, Pet Food as a Priority
The shift away from making food for humans – or for pigs, chickens and other animals that humans might eat – is just one of the more striking distortions in an economy ravaged by government price controls, hyperinflation and a severe food crisis. The World Food Program estimates that 4.1 million Zimbabweans, about one-third of the population, will need food aid this year. Yet, the Zimbabwean government grain mill is churning out a new product: Doggy’s Delight. Announced by its creators in January, the high-protein pet food is aimed at the lucrative export market, one of the dwindling sources of foreign exchange in a collapsing economy.
The Washington Post story is here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/02/AR2008030202530.html?hpid=sec-world
Bacteria at the Core of Snowflakes
One would assume that few things would be less contaminated than a newly minted snowflake.
A study last week in the journal Science described in the Washington Post found that a fair number of snowflakes appear to form around bacterial cells. It may be part of a bacterium’s life plan. A news story is here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-bacteria1mar01,0,1359144.story
Record Poultry and Red Meat Production Pressuring Profits
Record meat production and a low dollar will result in a record quantity of poultry and red meat sold in domestic and international markets this year. However, this will be accompanied by rising feed prices and lower producer returns, according to Joel L. Greene, Livestock Analyst for USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board. Greene spoke at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum last week. He said the 93 million pounds of poultry and red meat expected to be produced in 2008 will result in per capita poultry and red meat consumption in this country of 223 pounds, a record high. A weak U.S. dollar will continue to be favorable for U.S. poultry and red meat exports with the total expected to top 12 billion pounds this year. Broiler production in 2008 will reach almost 37 billion pounds, about 3 percent more than last year. Higher feed costs and weaker broiler prices will cause broiler production to slow considerably by the fourth quarter of 2008, but U.S. broiler exports will increase 2 percent to a record 5.9 billion pounds this year. Beef production in 2008 is forecast to decline slightly to 26.3 billion pounds, and there is little indication of expansion in the cow heard this year, as the economics and pasture conditions work against rebuilding the breeding herds. Pork production in 2008 is forecast at a record 23 billion pounds, 5 percent higher than 2007. Last year pork marketings were up 4 percent, the 7th year of expanded output. Easing some of the market pressure is another expected increase in pork exports this year. Exports should be a record 3.7 billion pounds, almost 17 percent higher than the 3.1 billion pounds in 2007, and the 18th consecutive year of pork export increases.
USDA Sees an Additional 7.4 Million Acres Planted This Year
Total planted acres for the three major crops of corn, soybeans, and wheat are expected to be 225 million acres this year, according to USDA’s chief economist Joe Glauber, who also spoke at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum last week. The expected 225 million acres to be planted this year is 7.4 million acres more than 217.6 million acres planted last year to these three crops.
Corn acreage is expected to decrease from 93.6 million acres last year to 90.0 million this year (-3.6 million acres), while soybeans will increase from 63.6 million acres to 71.0 million acres in 2008 (+7.4 million acres). Wheat will increase from 60.4 million acres to 64.0 million acres this year (+3.6 million acres). Glauber said that record grain and oilseed prices are driving the combined acreage to the highest level since the mid-1980s. The additional 7.4 million acres for soybeans this year will be from lower cotton plantings, increased soybean double cropping, and land not renewal for the Conservation Reserve Program last October, and some acreage will also be shifted from minor crops, hay, and summer fallow. Using trend yields for the three major crops, the forecasted acreage should produce 12.890 billion bushels of corn, 2.987 billion bushels of soybeans, and 2.312 billion bushels of wheat for 2008. Corn used for ethanol is expected to increase by 900 million (2.4 billion gallons of ethanol) bushels to 4.100 billion bushels for 2008-09 accounting for 31 percent of total corn usage. USDA foresees the farm price for 2008-09 for corn at $4.60 per bushel, soybeans $11.50 per bushel, and wheat $7.00 per bushel. The USDA forecast for major crops in 2008-09 assumes normal weather conditions and crop development. USDA’s first official supply-use projection for 2008-09 will be published May 9.
USDA Raises Agricultural Exports Forecast to Record $101 Billion for 2008
The USDA has announced that U.S. agricultural exports are forecast to reach a record $101 billion for fiscal year 2008, up $10 billion from November’s forecast and an unprecedented $19 billion above 2007. This latest forecast builds off of unprecedented consecutive year to year record exports since 2004. Higher wheat, coarse grain, and soybean prices account for just over half of the revision since November. The report is posted here:
http://blogs.officialexportguide.com/news/?p=546
Interim Animal Welfare Verification Actions Implemented by USDA
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is implementing a series of interim actions to verify and thoroughly analyze humane handling activities in all federally inspected meat and poultry establishments in response to its investigation of the recent Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company incident. These actions include:
- Increasing the amount of time allocated per shift by inspection program personnel to verify humane handling activities and to verify humane handling in the ante-mortem areas;
- Conducting surveillance activities to observe handling of animals outside the approved hours of operation from vantage points within and adjacent to the official premises; and
- Issue a notice to FSIS inspection personnel to reinforce the work methods for conducting humane verification activities at all levels and to ensure the greatest utility of the Humane Activities Tracking System program.
Canadian Government Funds Program to Reduce Hog Breeding Herd 10 Percent
The Canadian government has announced a cull program designed to reduce the hog breeding herd by 10 percent. The initiative aims to remove 150,000 sows from Canada’s breeding herd and reduce annual production by about 3 million pigs. Eligible producers will receive payment per sow or boar slaughtered, but must agree to empty at least one barn without restocking it for at least three years. A story is here:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/international_Content.asp?ContentID=201544
USDA Sued over ‘Downer’ Cow Rules
The Humane Society sued the federal government Wednesday over what it said is a legal loophole that allows sick or crippled cattle into the food supply. A USDA rule change made in July allows some downer cows into the food supply, the Humane Society of the United States alleges in its lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC. A story is here:
feedstuffsfoodlink@feedstuffsfoodlink.com
Canada Finds Case of BSE
Canadian officials confirmed finding another case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Tuesday. It’s the twelfth such case found on Canadian soil since May of 2003. According to a press release from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the latest case involves a six year-old dairy cow in Alberta. The cow in question was, therefore, born well after Canada implemented its initial ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban in August of 1997. The news release is here:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/bseesb/ab2008/12notavie.shtml
Bangladesh’s Poultry Industry Losses Over $580 Million Due to Bird Flu
Bangladesh’s poultry industry has counted a loss of more than 41 billion taka (about 586 million U.S. dollars) in the last one year due to the outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu, leading newspaper The Daily Star reported Sunday. Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee submitted a study to the government last week, the newspaper said, adding that the study covered the period between February 2007 and January 2008. A news story can be found here:
http://www.allvoices.com/newsevents/92195-bangladesh-bird/images