Latest analyzes negative

As the Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs announced on Tuesday (December 16) in Stuttgart, residues of lasalocid in low concentrations of eight micrograms per kilogram (µg/kg) were found in chicken eggs from two laying hen farms in Baden-Württemberg. The farms affected keep 20.000 and 2.000 laying hens respectively. According to the status of the investigation, the residues in the eggs can be traced back to contaminated feed deliveries from Rhineland-Palatinate. Lasalocid levels of 86 µg/kg and 97 µg/kg were detected in feed samples from the two farms. The feed has now been retrieved and the authorities responsible for feed monitoring in Rhineland-Palatinate have been informed.

The Ministry points out that lasalocid does not pose a specific health risk to humans at the detected concentration. A recall has been initiated for the affected eggs, which is being monitored by the authorities. In addition, it was ensured that no further eggs from the two farms were placed on the market until there was a negative analysis result for the freshly produced goods. Further egg and feed samples were taken on site by the monitoring authorities to determine the extent of the contamination.

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As reported by the Federal Statistical Office, according to provisional results at the end of September 2003, 4,3% fewer people were employed in the skilled trades than in September 2002. At the same time, the sales of self-employed skilled trades companies in the third quarter of 2003 were 1,6% below those of the same quarter of the previous year.

There were fewer employees in all trade groups: With a minus of 2,7%, the trades for health and body care, chemical and cleaning trades recorded the smallest reduction in staff. In the clothing, textile and leather industry, employment fell the most, at 10,2%.

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New aid special published

Whether it's pasta days, getting fit for spring or healthy feasting - campaigns in community catering are all the rage and it's hard to imagine everyday life in canteen kitchens without them. They serve as a valuable tool to improve the attractiveness of the kitchen, to attract new diners and last but not least to increase sales.

But actions must be planned well and in good time. The aid special shows what kitchen managers should consider when preparing and carrying out campaigns. Numerous tips and checklists help with the implementation in everyday kitchen life.

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Good news for German gourmets: Overseas shrimp are among the most frequently examined foods. Harmful residues of the banned antibiotic chloramphenicol are not to be expected. Shrimps from Asian countries in particular have often fallen into disrepute in recent years due to inadmissible residues. The Federal Research Institute for Fisheries in Hamburg states: The European rapid warning system works well, exceeded maximum quantities and prohibited substances are reported to all member countries, the goods are confiscated, rejected or, if necessary, destroyed.

While European consumers are salivating, others are struggling to survive. A good 60% of the shrimp imported into Germany come from warm-water regions such as Thailand, Bangladesh, India or Vietnam. Production takes place in huge breeding farms in the coastal regions, with the result that more than 50% of the mangrove forests in these countries have already been destroyed. Mangrove forests are valuable biotopes for young fish and mussels and serve as coastal protection against hurricanes. Added to this is the high consumption of fresh water by the shrimp farms and the pollution of the soil and groundwater with antibiotics and other chemicals. But even wild-caught deep-sea shrimp are not necessarily an environmentally friendly alternative. About five to ten kilos of bycatch are produced per kilo of shrimp, including sharks and turtles.

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New methods of analysis for differentiation

Uncertainty as to whether what says organic is really organic has made many consumers who actually wanted to buy organic products hesitant. In the summer of this year, departmental research by the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture determined that the quality of food from various production processes could not yet be evaluated due to a lack of sufficiently reliable methods.
At a conference on more recent results in this sector, which took place in Berlin in November, new analysis methods were presented and their results discussed. Using image-creating, spectral-analytical and electro-chemical methods, a research group from various institutions was able to significantly differentiate between wheat and carrots from organic and conventional cultivation in blind tests. These methods are now going into practical projects for further testing. If the methods turn out to be practicable, a distinction will certainly be possible in the future. Further information:

www.oel.fal.de

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Butchers Association sees success for its efforts

After months of struggle to obtain the master's qualification, the German Butchers Association regards the compromise reached in the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat on the amendment to the craft regulations as a clear success. The agreement between the federal government and the opposition stipulates that the list of professions that will continue to be included in Appendix A of the Crafts and Trades Code, for which the master craftsman's obligation continues to apply, will be expanded from the originally planned 29 to 41. This also includes the butcher's trade and other food trades.

Manfred Rycken, President of the German Butchers' Association, sees this decision as a result of the committed and convincing lobbying work of the butcher's trade organizations. The numerous public statements, letters to members of the Bundestag and discussions with politicians from all parties in the past few months have finally paid off.

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Interactive note-taking project launched by CMA and Literature Café

Eating and drinking are essential for everyone. We need food not only to maintain our bodily functions. Food also satisfies our emotional hunger - for enjoyment, company, security, culture and much more. Even for Friedrich Nietzsche, menus were "revelations" about cultures, as they reveal a lot about the eating habits of a country, a specific region and cultural peculiarities. So it's no wonder that poets and thinkers have repeatedly taken up the subject of food.

Now the people are asked to speak up as poets and thinkers! The CMA Centrale Marketing-Gesellschaft der Deutschen Agrarwirtschaft mbH has set up a writing workshop together with the renowned literaturcafe.de. Under the motto "Germany writes GesCMAck", young and old can write poems, stories and small contributions on the subject of food and enjoyment every day. The note-taking project started on December 15th on the websites of the two partners CMA (www.cma.de) and Literatur-Café (www.literaturcafe.de). Authors are invited to take notes from home until January 22nd. On the occasion of the International Green Week in Berlin (January 16 to 25, 2004), the visitors to the fair also have the opportunity to take notes. All published contributions will be summarized in a book that will be presented on January 24th at the Green Week with prominent participation. Of course, every author of a published article will receive his personal copy.

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Smaller offer than last year

The mostly sufficient supply of lambs for slaughter in the course of November met with a mostly calm demand; only at the beginning of the month had interest in lamb temporarily increased. The prices rose significantly at the beginning of the month, fell again in the middle of the month and strengthened again in the last week of November.

For lambs billed at a flat rate, suppliers received an average of 3,60 euros per kilogram of slaughter weight in November, which was two cents more than in October. However, the revenues of the same month last year were missed by 19 cents. The companies subject to reporting billed around 1.580 lambs and sheep per week, partly on a flat-rate basis, partly according to trade classes. The offer was thus a good six percent larger than in the previous month, but the figure for the previous year was at least twelve percent lower.

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The focus is on oysters and mussels

Fish production in aquaculture farms has changed little in the European Union since the mid-90s. For years now, it has hovered around 1,3 million tons, which corresponds to a 17 percent share of total fisheries production.

According to the data available for 2001, the most important producing countries for fish and molluscs and shellfish from aquaculture are Spain with 313.000 tons, France with 252.000 tons and Italy with 221.000 tons. Oysters and mussels formed the main focus of aquaculture production in these three countries with a share of 76 percent.

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Livestock and Meat

The wholesale meat markets were plentifully supplied with beef. However, demand has not yet shown any lively impulses. Only fillets were in great demand and could be marketed with a surcharge. Most of the other parts could be bought cheaper. At the slaughterhouse level, the supply of cattle was no longer as urgent as before. The prices paid by the slaughterhouses for young bulls therefore only fell slightly regionally, but mostly remained unchanged. Slaughter cows were usually only just available, so that the quotations remained unchanged across the board. The federal funds for young bulls in class R3 fell by one cent to 2,18 euros per kilogram slaughter weight. As in the previous week, cows O3 cost 1,43 euros per kilogram. The low point has probably also been reached on the foreign markets, and in some cases the demand for fine cuts has picked up slightly. Business with Russia continues at a comparatively low level. – In the coming week, the beef trade will not be disrupted by missing slaughter days. The payout prices for young bulls and cows for slaughter are therefore unlikely to change much. – The scarce availability of veal was in high demand on the wholesale markets, and the prices for prime cuts continued to rise. The supply of slaughter calves remained limited in the reporting week. The payment prices for animals billed at a flat rate ranged between EUR 4,90 and EUR 5,00 per kilogram, the provisional federal average was unchanged at EUR 4,79 per kilogram slaughter weight. – On the veal market, prices tend to be weaker with subdued demand.

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Plenty of beef and pork

Suppliers of cattle for slaughter often had to settle for lower revenues in the month under review. Above all, slaughter cows and pigs usually brought less than before, young bulls slightly more on average. Chicken and turkey meat was mostly marketed at stable prices. The range of seasonal poultry competed with the standard range. On the egg market, the supply normalized, there were hardly any bottlenecks. The price level of the previous year was again clearly exceeded. Milk deliveries reached their seasonal low. Butter and cheese markets developed stably. Milk powder was traded at stable, sometimes fixed prices. Beef prices developed unevenly

Slaughter cattle were mostly available in sufficient quantities in the EU in November. Almost ten percent more animals were slaughtered in Germany and around five percent more in Denmark than in October. In Belgium, slaughterings were only slightly below the level of the previous month. Prices for slaughter cows fell more or less significantly across the EU. In Germany and France, providers of O3 cows achieved around ten cents per kilogram slaughter weight less than a month before, in Italy and the Netherlands around five cents less. On average across the EU, cows in trade class O3 brought in 176 euros per 100 kilograms slaughter weight in November, almost five percent less than in October, but three percent more than a year ago. The payout prices for young bulls developed more firmly in most EU countries. Bulls for slaughter cost more money than before in the Netherlands, France, Italy, Denmark, Ireland and Great Britain. On the other hand, producers in Germany and Belgium had to accept price losses. On average in the EU, the price paid for young bulls in the R3 class was EUR 264 per 100 kilograms slaughter weight, a good EUR 13 higher than in October, but EUR XNUMX lower than a year ago.

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