European Hog News:

[mikey]

Thursday, January 29, 2009Print This Page
QSM Anniversary: Gordon Ramsey Quote
UK - The following is a quote by Gordon Ramsey to BPEX on the 10th Anniversary of the QSM (Quality Standard Mark).

 

It goes without saying that I'm committed to using the best quality ingredients in all of our restaurants for all of our menus.

It's also more straightforward for people in my position to be able to demand the best and know that our suppliers are equally committed to those standards. For the general public, though, quality marks play a vital role in guaranteeing the quality of the products concerned.

In the case of British pork and pork products, there is the added confidence of knowing that animal welfare, production methods and quality control are amongst the highest possible when you see the Quality Standard Mark.

Therefore, I'd like to add my congratulations to BPEX on the 10th Anniversary of the Quality Standard Mark. And I'm especially pleased to be able to do so following the industry's very successful campaign - Pigs Are Worth It. It's important that the standards embraced by British producers are universally embraced and all of us in the supply chain have an important role to play in that regard.

[mikey]

Thursday, January 29, 2009Print This Page
NFUS Praises Waitrose's 'Buy British' Plea
SCOTLAND - NFU Scotland has praised Waitrose for urging its shoppers to buy British pork, echoing the sentiment that buying British is the best way to ensure that animals are reared to high welfare standards.

 

Waitrose yesterday urged shoppers to buy British after new research has revealed that nearly three quarters of Scottish consumers are unaware of the poorer welfare conditions that the majority of imported pigs are reared in.

In addition, 82 per cent of consumers are unaware that well over half the pork consumed in the UK is imported from other European Countries. NFU Scotland has regularly highlighted the fact that the welfare standards that three quarters of these pigs are reared in would be illegal in the UK.

NFU Scotland, through it’s What’s On Your Plate? campaign for food and farming, has long been urging shoppers to buy Scottish – or British – food and drink in order to support local farmers, the high animal welfare standards that they adhere to and all of the other work they do to benefit the countryside and communities.

Anna Davies, NFU Scotland’s Public Relations Manager, said:

“We are fully in support of Waitrose and their buy British messages. Since 2007, our What’s On Your Plate? campaign has been promoting Scottish food and farming and it is really encouraging to see that the messages are reaching not only consumers but also retailers.

“The standards to which Scottish – and British – farmers produce to are superb and must not be undermined by cheap, poor quality imports which don’t meet the same strict standards. That is why we encourage shoppers to read labels and make sure that they are buying Scottish or British products, whether it’s milk, chicken, beef, lamb or bacon that they are putting into their trolleys.

“The labelling issue is therefore critical. All too often I see labels in supermarkets that don’t make it clear where food and drink has originated. Consumers want to know where the food that they are eating has come from and so it’s time that all retailers met this demand by providing clear and unequivocal labelling.

“Please ‘Back Scotland and Buy Scottish’!”

[mikey]

Thursday, January 29, 2009Print This Page
Jamie Saves Our Bacon
UK - Jamie Oliver's hour-and-a-half long programme Jamie Saves Our Bacon will be aired tonight on Channel 4, starting at 9 PM.


The programme will be wholly supportive of British pig production. It will have a significant, and enduring, impact on demand for British pigs.



Jamie Oliver (To continue reading this article please click here

Source:
Waitrose, which has a genuine British pork supply chain in place, is poised to reap the benefits. Tesco, with its Polish supply chain for value lines, is less well placed.

Pig producers will need to watch labelling carefully in the weeks ahead and blow the whistle on instances where imported pork is passed off as British.

A YouGov poll published today of 2,200 British adults, on behalf of Waitrose, shows 85 per cent of consumers want clear labels on pork to provide information on the conditions the pig was reared in and to identify the country of origin.

Waitrose is today calling on shoppers to support high welfare standards and buy British, after its research reveals 70 per cent of Brits are unaware of the poor conditions the majority of imported pigs are reared in.

82 per cent of consumers are unaware that well over half the pork consumed in the United Kingdom is imported from European countries with lower production standards.

In the run-up to the Jamie programme vegan groups have been hawking pig unit video footage around the Press but have found no serious takers as past investigations by independent auditors have discredited such footage, taken under cover of darkness.

Over the past few weeks and in the weeks ahead, British pig producers will see the not always edifying spectacle of a multitude of organisations attempting to use Jamie's campaign to attract attention to their own agendas.

Compassion in World Farming, which many producers consider to be habitually unhelpful to the British pig industry, has launched a campaign to ban farrowing crates. Sainsbury's has also highlighted farrowing crates in recent, carefully timed, publicity material.

Whilst tonight's Jamie programme will wrong-foot the Danes, another programme—to be shown on More4 on Tuesday February 3—will have a much more hard-line agenda, concentrating on Smithfield's production methods.

You can find out more about Jamie's programme by clicking here.

[mikey]

Saturday, January 31, 2009Print This Page
And Everyone Asked for More...
UK - The long awaited Jamie Oliver Channel 4 programme broadcast on Thursday evening proved to be every bit as much of a tonic for the British pig industry as we had dreamed for, says Peter Crichton in his Traffic Lights commentary.



His passionate belief in the much higher welfare levels associated with the domestic product backed up by a whole cross section of different clips, views and opinions from many well known faces served to underline just what a good product we are producing and how unfair it is for price comparisons to be made against low welfare imports.


Widespread confusion over labeling was underlined by the inability of many shoppers to work out if the pigmeat products they purchased were reared here, abroad or on the moon.

As a result retail customers, retailers and processors are all talking about the show and this had a direct effect on the spot market which staged significant price rises across the board despite the € losing almost 5 per cent in value over the past seven days.

Most spot bacon quotes opened in the 138–140p range, but premiums of 2-5p above this were available in some areas as the day wore on, but in some cases on a fairly tight spec. This compares with the DAPP which in horseracing terms seems to have been got at or nobbled.

Although the DAPP is designed to reflect and to some extent track market prices, many producers were puzzled (and some incensed) by the fact that during the first five weeks of the year the DAPP has only risen by 0.15 per cent from 131.23p to 131.38p, whereas spot prices which opened at 134p are now 140p plus, over 5 percent up.

The AHDB is reported to have received a number of calls from producers crying “foul” and currently it is difficult to see how such a minuscule rise can be justified in the face of the overwhelming evidence provided by the spot market.

Another grey cloud that is slightly overshadowing the market has been the recent fall in the value of the euro which has dropped from 94.4p last Friday to trade at 89.7p today.

This effectively takes 5 percent off the cost of imports posing more of a threat to the commodity end of the UK pigmeat prices, despite all the good work done by Jamie Oliver and Co.

Currency fluctuations have also impacted on the cull sow sector with some traders opening offers as low as 112p, but a shortage of numbers in the system meant that in many cases bids were only a couple of pence below last week’s levels with 116p (and more) available for larger loads.

There is no doubt that weaner supplies are continuing to tighten and this remains a seller’s market with the AHDB 30kg ex-farm weaner average creeping ever upwards and now standing at £46.48/head, but once again significant premiums out there from buyers looking to fill empty units.

The industry needs to continue to build on the publicity and general public interest stimulated by the Jamie Oliver programme in the weeks ahead, but as prices normally move up from February onwards this is certainly a case of “so far so good”.

A few “thank you” emails to Jamie from pig producers to show our appreciation would not be a bad idea.

[mikey]

Monday, February 02, 2009Print This Page
Old-Breed Pork Must Be the Real Thing
UK - In a decision that will have a major impact on both supermarkets and producer-retailers, Trading Standards officers have been told to clamp down on misleadingly labelled old-breed pork.

They have been that food labelled with a breed name must be derived from animals bred from pedigree parents of the same breed.

In future, if the label says 'Gloucester Old Spot' than both parents must be Gloucester Old Spot pigs. (Image source:NPA)
If only one of the parents is the named breed, then the product must be clearly labelled as being from a cross-breed. The advice comes from Lacors - the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services.

This means that if a piece of meat is, for instance, labelled ‘Gloucestershire Old Spot’ or ‘Berkshire’ consumers will know they are buying pork from pure-bred animals.

'This is a huge breakthrough in protecting the integrity of meat from Gloucestershire Old Spots pigs,' said Andrew Robinson, chairman of the Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders’ Club.

'From a situation 30 years ago when they were close to extinction, numbers have built on their reputation for producing delicious pork and bacon and it is only right that demand should not be met from cross-bred stock with lesser eating qualities.'

[mikey]

Tuesday, February 03, 2009Print This Page
Britain Sees Improvement in Pig Incomes
UK - Average farm business income is forecast to increase substantially in 2008-09 on specialist pig farms, according to the latest government national statistics report for the United Kingdom.


This reflects in part the low incomes seen in 2007-08 but also higher pigmeat prices throughout 2008 caused by tighter supplies and weaker sterling against the euro.

Although input costs are also forecast to increase, particularly for fuel and feed, these are expected to be more than offset by increased output from pig enterprises, says the report.

  03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 (prov) Annual change
08-09/07-08
At current prices 36,900 25,900 30,300 24,500 6,300 71,300 1032%
In real terms at 2008/09 prices 43,600 29,700 33,800 26,400 6,500 71,300 997%

[mikey]

Wednesday, February 04, 2009Print This Page
EU Welfare Labelling: Good, Bad or a Waste of Time?
UK - Can Britain’s high-welfare pig producers expect help from Brussels... or must they rely on Jamie Oliver to help them recoup their extra costs of production?


It is expected we will know the answer to this question by summer, because the European Commission’s directorate general for Health and Consumer Affairs is currently preparing a communication on animal welfare labelling.

At this stage, it is unclear whether Brussels will come up with a basic scheme that merely indicates European minimum standards, or something more grandiose involving higher welfare standards — as applies in British pig production for example.

Perhaps producers should not expect too much, because the Commission’s over-arching aim will be to give European producers an advantage over third country producers.

Brussels might not wish to be the architect of a scheme that gives one European country — such as Britain — an immediate marketing advantage over another European country—such as Denmark.

Here are some of the ideas that have been floated so far and that might be included in the Brussels communication.

A mandatory labelling scheme showing that products meet the European Union’s minimum welfare standards.


And/or a higher, voluntary scheme for producers who exceed minimum European standards.


And/or a grading system for higher welfare production, where stars are used to indicate the level of welfare.
This latter idea was well received when it was proposed at a conference on the subject March 2007. It was at the same conference that former Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou suggested a two-tier labelling scheme—standard and higher.

One fear is that Brussels will propose a compulsory logo denoting minimum European welfare standards, and retailers could use this to push other, more deserving logos off packs of meat. If this happened, far from improving animal welfare, the Commission could reduce it.

If that happened, it would not be the first time Brussels law-makers have fallen foul of Hutber's Law ("Improvement means deterioration").

[mikey]

Thursday, February 05, 2009Print This Page
Parliament Promises to Look at Pig Industry Again
SCOTLAND - The Rural Affairs and the Environment Committee in the Scottish Parliament has decided to give further attention to Scotland’s pig industry, following yesterday’s discussion on the sector, to which NFU Scotland submitted evidence.

 

The gesture follows a concerted effort by the industry to get the Scottish Government to re-consider its unsatisfactory ‘pigs package’, which was produced following a report by the Scottish Pig Industry Taskforce in the summer of 2008. The Taskforce’s recommendations were largely ignored, much to the chagrin of the Taskforce’s committee members and the wider industry.

NFU Scotland is committed to working with the Scottish Government on the alternative package of measures that it subsequently announced.

Peter Loggie, NFU Scotland’s Pigs Policy Manager said, "The Rural Affairs Committee expressed its intentions today to hold an evidence-taking session with representatives of the pig industry and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead."

"Members of the Committee pointed to a number of difficulties which the industry is currently facing, namely volatile returns; declining sow numbers; animal welfare legislation which puts British producers at a disadvantage with their European counterparts; the prospect of expensive investments to meet Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) legislation and the difficulty of applying for schemes under the Scotland Rural Development Plan (SRDP). NFU Scotland would welcome discussions on all these issues," Mr Loggie said.

He said the Committee also acknowledged the findings of a recent House of Commons report on the English Pig Industry, which recommended that Defra and the Scottish Government engage in discussions on issues facing producers in England and Scotland. "The Scottish Government’s Pigs Package allotted funding to study labelling and this is an issue on which there is certainly scope for movement by the UK and the EU as retailers are still labelling pigmeat which has been reared in the EU as British, simply because the meat has been processed on UK soil," Mr Loggie added.

"We congratulate the Committee for standing up for Scottish pig producers as they are confident of little else at the moment. We look forward to working constructively with MSPs and the Scottish Government to restore faith and viability to Scotland’s pig industry," he concluded.

[mikey]

Thursday, February 05, 2009Print This Page
BPEX: Healthy Pork Message Gets Through
UK - The message that pork is a healthy option is increasingly getting through to consumers, according to a new report from BPEX.

 

The ‘Pork and Healthy Eating’ report, highlights that more than 4.3 million people everyday eat pork and they are increasingly doing so within a balanced diet.

When fresh pork is considered, consumers instinctively regard it as ‘good’ food.

BPEX Research and Insight manager, Richard Cullen, said, "This is a huge positive for pork and is particularly encouraging at a time when health remains high on the agenda for so many consumers.

"It is important the industry continues to drive home the healthy attributes of pork through packaging and promotions."

The report also makes it clear that red meat including processed products such as bacon and sausages are actually a low overall contributor to fat in the diet.

While households purchase on average 71.7kg of fat a year only 2.7kg – less than 4 per cent – of that comes from fresh meat (much less than comes from yellow fats or savoury home cooking products).

When it comes to saturated fats, slightly more than 4 per cent is accounted for by fresh meat but less than 2.5 per cent by sausages.

Mr Cullen said, "Meat is usually eaten as the main part of a main meal, the contribution it makes to our total intake of salt and fat is much less than many would imagine.

"Overall pork is perceived as healthy and this is a great platform for the industry to capitalise on."

[mikey]

Friday, February 06, 2009Print This Page
A Double First for Roundhouse Building
SCOTLAND, UK - Roundhouse Buildings Solutions Ltd (RBSL), the makers of the innovative, award winning Roundhouse livestock building, has recently completed its first dual installation site for Strathmore Farming Company at Glamis, Angus, Scotland.


 

It is also the first major Roundhouse installation on a conventional pig farm, although there is also a building at the well known organic farm at Sheepdrove, in Berkshire, which houses finishing pigs from time to time.

Each of Strathmore’s Roundhouses will house around 260 of the farm’s dry sows, with the building chosen because of its ease of stock management, excellent visibility and welfare friendly nature, says Strathmore’s Farm Director David Soutar. The animals quickly adapted to the new environment and are extremely happy and contented, he reports.

“As soon as we saw the Roundhouse we realised that it would be ideal for housing dry sows. They would still be on deep straw with plenty of ventilation, but compared with moveable housing outdoors in paddocks the management and staff welfare would be much improved without compromising our Freedom Foods accreditation,” he adds. “Tangible benefits such as feed savings, easier handling and improved breeding performance are expected to make the investment sound.”

The building has a 30.25m diameter, a 95m circumference, and normally a combined area of 720m2, which can be split into as many as eight segments. However Strathmore has “stretched” the area available by utilizing the space to the outside of the roofed area, which wouldn’t normally be done for cattle, and which gives an area of 900m2. At Freedom Foods stocking densities this allows for 250 sows, although the stocking rate for “conventional” sows could be more.

Beef, dairy, pig and deer farmers are all becoming increasingly attracted to the building, says RBSL’s managing director Geoff Simpson. This is because of its stock friendly environment, and because the ease of management of the buildings allows more animals to be managed without a significant increase in labour. Its round shape allows a stockman to walk into the centre of the building, where he will then have a 360 degree view of the stock. An integral, but optional, handling system in the centre of the building also simplifies management.

[mikey]

Saturday, February 07, 2009Print This Page
A Look at Life's Brighter Side
UK - Demand proved to be warmer than the weather with prices anywhere between a universal stand on and in some cases an extra penny or two was available from some buyers still short of pigs, writes Peter Crichton in this week's Traffic Lights commentary.



But much will depend on the spec (not just the price) with 140p to 90kg on a 14 probe in some cases better than 143p to 78kg on a 12 probe… i.e. “less is more”.


Evidence continues to emerge over further pig shortages in the pipeline indicated by sharply rising weaner values (see below) as well as virtually every United Kingdom abattoir operating at under capacity with hardly any cases of pigs being rolled, except in those parts of the country where killing throughputs have been affected by the awful weather.

The previously static DAPP is now a better reflection of the spot market by moving up from 131.38p to 133.34p, but is still an estimated 7p behind the equivalent spot quotes which were generally in the 140–143p region with lighter weights worth 4–6p above this.

The DAPP recalculation followed major concerns expressed by several producers, further details of which were printed on the NPA News page yesterday.

It is a point worth remembering that an incorrect DAPP does much more than just affect finished pig returns because virtually every weaner contract is also traded on a DAPP linked basis. The same also applies to some pig unit rents, bonus payments and the like.

Although European Union cull sow prices have held at roughly similar levels, the weakening € has taken 2–4p off quotes with export abattoirs opening their bidding at circa 112–114p/kg, but premiums are still available for larger loads more due to a shortage of numbers than any particular improvement in value.

The weaner market remains a reliable indicator of future pig supplies and although the AHDB 30kg ex farm average quote has now risen to £46.90/head, this is still some £2-£4 behind recent spot prices.

Just to cheer up the “glass half empty merchants” out there, this time last year the DAPP was 110.5p, spot bacon quotes were circa 100p, sows were worth 72p and the € was only worth 74p at a time when feed wheat was trading on an ex-farm basis at £176/tonne, so in the words of the Monty Python song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”!


 

[mikey]

Tuesday, February 10, 2009Print This Page
Regional Disease Eradication Gains Momentum
UK - Pig producers and vets are increasingly lending their support to the idea of regional disease eradication, and are offering their own ideas into the mix.


Already, a producer-driven initiative is under way in East Anglia to control and then, maybe, to eradicate swine dysentery. And there should soon be an announcement that phase one of a Yorkshire and Humberside plan is to be rolled out, with help from public funds.

In due course the Yorkshire model may be adopted by other regions. The next bid for regional development funds is likely to be in East Anglia.

Even if in some areas funding is available only for phase one of the plan—the-mapping of disease status on pig units—it will be of immense value to producers, said BPEX and NPA chairman Stewart Houston.

Just by knowing the health status of your neighbours’ units helps with biosecurity, he said. “Currently there are some producers who would like to destock and repopulate but they are reluctant to proceed because they don’t know what is around them.”

Interestingly producers and vets have become more supportive of regional eradication plans now it is known there will be a gently-gently approach.

“I think initially we frightened people a bit by talking straight away about the end game," said Stewart Houston. "Everyone seems to be much happier with the idea that disease reduction and elimination is something that will have to take place in stages, and will take several years to accomplish.”

Producer Richard Lister made a similar point at the last meeting of NPA Producer Group when he said, “The likely outcome is that eradication will work in small circles and ripple out from there.”

Last week a meeting of the big players in East Anglia—David Black and Son, BQP, Bowes and M. J. and J. A. Easey—was universally supportive of BPEX’s disease eradication initiative.

Some useful points emerged. For instance, disease control is not just about stopping disease coming onto a unit. “We all think about disease coming in but in future we are going to need to look at producers also taking responsibility for not letting disease out,” said Stewart Houston.

People had tended to lose faith in biosecurity measures during the peak of PMWS but as a result of the success of BPEX’s PCV2 project they were now seeing big improvements in health and were beginning to think about biosecurity measures again, he said.

Another point raised was the need to look harder, as an industry, at properly washing down wagons between batches of pigs.

“This was a compulsory measure during foot and mouth and classical swine fever, but for it to become vigorously and uniformly practiced during normal times we will need to persuade the abattoirs to invest in better facilities.

“We can’t expect a lorry driver who is trying to earn a crust to use washing facilities that are inadequate and time-consuming.”

Stewart pointed out that improved health status would help abattoirs as well as producers, with more clean plucks and fewer offline carcases caused by pleurisy and mange. And in due course a reduction in the use of medicines on farms would be attractive to retailers.

Once regional disease eradication plans are in place and mapping of pig units has taken place it will become necessary to decide which diseases to target.

This will be a fairly complex procedure which will involve identifying the diseases to be considered and then to ask how economically damaging they are, whether they would be easy or difficult to eradicate, and whether eradication would prove costly or not.

[mikey]

Tuesday, February 10, 2009Print This Page
Atypical Case of PCV2 Reported
UK - The December 2008 Monthly Disease Surveillance Report from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency includes an unusual case of porcine circovirus disease (PCV2), which had affected the liver and caused jaundice in a single pig six months old.

 

Alimentary Tract Diseases
Brachyspira pilosicoli
The problem of a low grade scour spreading through a group of approximately 300, 14-week-old growing pigs was investigated by Langford. It was reported that at least 40 were affected. Brachyspira pilosicoli was isolated from a typical faecal sample.

On another unit, swine dysentery was confirmed following the isolation of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae from a faecal sample collected from 16-week old pigs with diarrhoea. Twelve out of 50, 16-week-old pigs were said to be affected.

Colibacillosis
Enteric colibacillosis exacerbated by environmental factors was suspected to be the cause of wasting and scour affecting 200 of 1,600 six-week-old pigs in outdoor tents in groups of 90, the scour was seen from four and a half weeks of age and ten deaths occurred. Four live and two dead pigs were submitted to Bury; all were hairy and dehydrated and in poor or very poor body condition. Three of the pigs had gross evidence of enteric disease and profuse growths of a variety of enteropathogenic E.coli were isolated. The body condition of the pigs suggested that problems began soon after weaning and environmental factors such as chilling may have played a role in predisposing to, or exacerbating, disease. No involvement of PRRSV or PCV-2 was identified.

Porcine proliferative enteropathy
Bury diagnosed porcine proliferative enteropathy as the cause of wasting from 17 weeks old onwards in a 550-sow indoor breeder finisher unit. Approximately eight pigs were affected in each batch of 400, and about half of these died. Post-mortem examination of six affected pigs revealed thickening, reddening and corrugation of the distal third of the small intestine of varying severity and intracellular acid-fast curved rods were visible in MZN-stained smears from the small intestinal mucosa, consistent with PPE. No evidence of PCV2-associated disease was found.

Atypical PCV-2 associated disease
An unusual manifestation of PCV-2 infection was described by Winchester affecting a single six-month-old pig on an outdoor unit. It was profoundly jaundiced with an enlarged orange-coloured liver. Immunohistochemistry confirmed severe and widespread PCV-2 infection of hepatocytes, the jaundice thought to be due to hepatocyte swelling and necrosis with mechanical obstruction of normal bile flow.

Respiratory Diseases
Haemophilus parasuis and PRRS
A single fresh pluck was submitted to investigate coughing in growers arriving on a rearing unit two to three weeks earlier; 10 had died from a group of 200. The submitted pluck showed a lobar pneumonia with generalised fibrinous pleurisy and pericarditis suggestive of Glasser’s disease, which was confirmed by the isolation of Haemophilus parasuis. In addition, PRRS virus was detected by PCR in lung tissue and histopathology revealed a subacute severe diffuse bronchointerstitial pneumonia with alveolar necrosis and type 2-pneumocyte hyperplasia suggesting that the PRRSV was significant in the respiratory disease.

Other Diseases
Erysipelas
Three lactating gilts in a batch of 120 on an outdoor breeding herd showed malaise and diamond-like skin lesions which responded well to antibiotic treatment. Most of the piglets in two of these litters died rapidly and one two-week-old pig was submitted to Bury for post-mortem. The necropsy revealed marked purpling of the skin of the snout and ear extremities, subtle multifocal pinpoint haemorrhages in the subcutis of the abdomen, a mottled slightly enlarged liver and fibrin stranding in the peritoneal cavity. Pure growths of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae were isolated from the liver and spleen consistent with swine erysipelas.

Streptococcus dysgalactiae equisimilis
Swollen joints and fading pigs at 17 to 20-days-old was described in an unspecified number of litters on an outdoor breeding unit. Three dead pigs were submitted to Bury and post mortem revealed all to have arthritis with excess turbid synovial fluid. One pig also had omphalitis and vegetative endocarditis affecting the left atrioventricular valve. Streptococcus dysgalactiae equisimilis was isolated in pure and profuse growth from lesions and internal sites.

[mikey]

Wednesday, February 11, 2009Print This Page
The Jamie Effect Kicks in with a Vengeance
UK - The Jamie Oliver effect has kicked in with a vengeance after he urged everybody to buy higher welfare pork.

 

He spotlighted lesser known cuts on his programme Jamie Saves Our Bacon and afterwards TNS data showed consumer purchases of pork shoulder roasting joints were up by 75.3 per cent last week compared to the previous week.

This equates to an extra 100,000 roasting joints and, in total, pork sales were up by 15.8 per cent in volume - an additional 500 tonnes.

BPEX Chairman Stewart Houston said: “This is fantastic and more than we could have hoped for.

“Jamie has achieved a great deal for our high welfare pig industry and this is a solid platform on which we plan to build.”

Future plans include

Continuing the campaign for clear and unambiguous labelling, a point highlighted by Jamie
Working with public procurement to increase their use of high welfare pork, bacon and ham
Moving forward on the recommendation made in the EFRA Committee to set up a pig industry task force
The programme highlighted the fact that around two thirds of imports do not conform to UK minimum welfare standards and would be illegal to produce here. Shoppers who want to support higher welfare production should look for the QSM.


 

[mikey]

British pig organisations focusing at Asia 12 Feb 2009
The British Pig Executive (BPEX) and the British Pig Association (BPA) have teamed up in efforts to get breeding pigs and pork into Far Eastern markets.
They will have a major presence at six international shows as part of joint marketing programme, supported by UK Trade and Investment.


Thailand

Both organisations together with major British pig breeding companies will attend the VIV Asia exhibition in Bangkok in March. At the event, delegations from six Far Eastern countries have been invited for presentations and discussions on British breeding pigs.


Hong Kong
In May, a strong British representation will attend the exhibition of China Animal Agriculture Association in Chengdu and a forum on British breeding stock and in June pork will be will be presented at the Hofex exhibition in Hong Kong conference.


China
The World Pork and Meat Congresses and an exhibition organised by China's Meat Association in Qindao in early September will be attended by delegations from BPEX, BPA and the British pork sector. Here a British pavilion and a specialist seminar is aimed at enticing Chinese buyers.


Malaysia
Finally, the sector will be represented in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October.


Vibrant
BPEX head of exports J.P. Garnier, said: “China and the Far East are the most vibrant regions for the trade of pork and pig genetics at the moment. We already are the undisputed market leaders with pig genetics on these markets and have recently won some major contracts in the region. Exports of pork to Hong Kong have more than tripled in 2008."


“The UK has a very good image with local buyers that we want to build on the high reputation for the quality of our products. We are also planning buyers' visits from Taiwan to England in the autumn. I can happily say: success breeds success."