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At best, average results at service check
International Service Check / Multisearch has tested ten discount stores of the chains Aldi, Lidl, Norma, Penny and Plus by anonymous service checkers according to the random selection principle.
All selected markets are located in North Rhine-Westphalia. The six main categories of order / care / overview, product presentation, price labeling, freshness / correct expiry date, product availability and employee behavior were tested. The maximum percentage to reach in each category was 100. The individual results of the main categories are used to calculate the respective overall result for a discount chain.
Submitted by Thomas Pröller, meat-n-more on , Published in Archive
National implementation of the EU agricultural reform
A quick agreement on the modalities of the national implementation of the Luxembourg decisions on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy calls Manfred Nüssel, President of the German Raiffeisen Association, from the Federal-State Agriculture Ministers Conference, at the 27. November is meeting.
The implementation of the reform, at the heart of which is the decoupling of direct payments, can have a significant impact on the meat and dairy sector in particular. Nüssel is committed to designing decoupling in such a way that abrupt collapses in the production structure are averted. Short-term distortions in the markets for animal production must be avoided.
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Current discussion on caging shows political dilemma
The caging of laying hens is banned throughout the European Union from 2012. In Germany, such a ban is due to the amendment of the Animal Welfare Ordinance of the 28. February 2002 already apply from the turn of the year 2006 / 2007. But now scientists, professionals and politicians - including the former Lower Saxony Minister of Agriculture Uwe Bartels, SPD, and the Animal Welfare Officer of the SPD, Dr. med. Wilhelm Priesmeier - mobile against this requirement. They thus reveal a dilemma in which Minister of Agriculture Renate Künast is stating that the desire for more animal welfare can obviously not be achieved with a single act by a national law.
The fact is that the soil and free-range of the animals, according to a study of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover1) does not bring the hoped-for improvements.
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Lower Saxony's Minister of Agriculture Ehlens with consumer protection tip
In order for the high-quality food smoked salmon, even as a vacuum-packed product, to be able to meet its justified requirements, Minister of Agriculture Hans-Heinrich Ehlen recommends paying special attention to three things. Firstly: Consume smoked fish in vacuum packaging as early as possible before expiry of the best before date or consumption date. Second, do not interrupt the "cold chain", preferably use coolers or coolers for the way from the retail to the domestic refrigerator. Third: freeze smoked salmon, which is not intended for immediate consumption, and thaw in the refrigerator before the planned consumption.
According to Ehlen, these tips are based on two different findings from the Veterinary Institute for Fish and Fish Products Cuxhaven, which is part of the State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety.
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From the point of view of the butcher trade, there is a positive interim report in the discussion on small business law and HWO amendment: The mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat has decided to participate in the 26. November to discuss both legislative proposals together. This was a core concern of the craft, no separation of individual regulatory items of the HWO make, but to lead an overall discussion, be realized after many intense and difficult rounds of discussions with the political parties.
Subsequently, at the 27. November the 2. and 3. Reading the HWO amendment in the Bundestag and already on 28. November, the deliberations in the Federal Council.
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In a letter to the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, the German Butchers' Association (DFV) has taken a position on the draft Commission directive on the indication of water in the sales description of certain foods.
The letter points out that no new legal regulations are required to enforce existing law. Because it is already illegal to add additives to unprocessed foods such as chicken or turkey breast. In addition, the well-established public opinion, not only in Germany, assumes that unprocessed foods should not contain any other foods, such as water. In the opinion of the DFV, it is impossible to want to compensate for the reduction in value caused by the addition of water by means of identification. Rather, existing regulations would have to be applied and adulterated products would have to be sanctioned.
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A number of new concepts have been developed for the upcoming IFFA, which will take place in Frankfurt am Main from May 15th to 20th, 2004, which will make a visit even more worthwhile, particularly for representatives of the butcher trade: As part of the IFFA Delicate, an "educational trail" will be set up, which describes the requirements for a butcher's shop from the consumer's point of view, understands what this means for the butcher's trade and offers appropriate solutions.
Together with important partners and Messe Frankfurt, a meeting point for the butcher's trade is offered, where people can meet, where experiences can be exchanged and deals can be concluded. A special information system in all halls leads to the partners of the butcher's trade, thus helping with orientation and signaling that owners of butcher's shops are particularly welcome here.
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Opening of an art exhibition of patients with eating disorders
This year the Berlin Eating Disorders Forum is taking place for the 13th time. The main topic this time is "Interaction and nutritional disorders in early childhood and their impact on later life". ##|n##
At the same time, the Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy on the Benjamin Franklin Campus of the Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin is celebrating its 25th anniversary. This time, there will also be a reception with the opening of an impressive art exhibition by Munich patients with eating disorders in the west hall of the clinic:
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EU Commission proposes aid program
The European Commission has today presented a proposal for a two-year assistance program to help national authorities fund inspection and control activities under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). For the period 2004-2005, the EU will provide a total of EUR 70 million. The new Member States can also use the program from the time they join the EU to quickly modernize their control structures and ensure proper implementation of the CFP measures. Funds will continue to be made available for the acquisition of equipment, in particular for electronic data transmission and remote sensing by satellite, as well as for basic and advanced training of surveillance personnel. In the future, new projects such as campaigns to raise awareness among fishermen, inspectors, prosecutors and judges and the public can be funded; they all need to understand the conservation importance of compliance with control regulations. The current support scheme, which has been in force since 1 January 2001, will end on 31 December 2003. The proposed aid program will run from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2005, when the EU-level Common Fisheries Inspectorate will become operational.
"According to current knowledge, the means of control provided by Member States remain insufficient. The ever-growing list of fish stocks at risk clearly shows that weaknesses in controls make it possible to identify illegal practices that endanger the sustainability of fisheries , to continue. With this support programme, the EU underlines its determination to help the Member States to eliminate such weaknesses," said Franz Fischler, who is responsible for agriculture, rural development and fisheries in the European Commission.
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No health risk to consumers - Minister Backhaus: Investigations are taking place on high-ways
For eggs from seven laying hens from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, residues of the active substance Lasalocid-Na were found. Lasalocid-Na may be used in poultry farming against coccidia (parasites). However, this preparation is not permitted in laying hens. The companies were then prohibited from continuing to market eggs. This measure is monitored by the competent veterinary authorities. The Ministry of Agriculture set up a working staff. A comprehensive risk assessment is currently under preparation by the Federal Office for Risk Assessment. According to the available information, the health risks to consumers are excluded from the values found.
Although a health hazard can not be assumed at present, it is forbidden to put lasalocid-containing eggs on the market for precautionary reasons. Minister of Agriculture Dr. Till Backhaus (SPD): "We take these findings very seriously and investigate with extreme pressure whether other farms are affected and how this active substance could get into the eggs." Nor is known about the possible causes of the load. The competent monitoring authorities of the affected counties and the state will investigate whether other establishments are affected and what causes the positive findings can have.
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DBV supports signature action
The German Farmers' Union (DBV) has once again voted for the preservation of existing hunting rights. It supports the reconnaissance and signing campaign of the Federal Working Community of Hunting Associations and owners of the hunt for the preservation of the existing hunting rights system. The aim of this campaign is to demonstrate to politicians and the public in the forthcoming debate on the amendment of the Federal Hunting Law that the current hunting law with its personal responsibility for hunts for the area in the sense of a sustainable use of the game stock has proved its worth. Reform, on the other hand, would tend to worsen and be rejected by large sections of the population.
According to the coalition agreement, the federal government intends to amend the Federal Hunting Law in this legislative period. Various hunting and critically adjusted animal and environmental associations are calling for massive restrictions to the complete abolition of hunting. Since 1948, hunting law has been inseparable from property ownership and is under the special protection of the Basic Law. The four million landowners in Germany are directly involved in hunting in their area through the hunting cooperatives. The federal working group of the hunting cooperatives and owners of the hunting lodge and the DBV and want to draw attention to the fact that the Federal Hunting Act represents a tried and tested, modern and modern regulation taking into account animal welfare and the near-natural forestry. For example, the hunt law in Germany is anchored as well as the action on the principle of sustainability, the hunting system and the obligatory membership in the hunting cooperatives. This creates the conditions for the hunter to be given a balanced system of rights and duties. A reform which only takes individual points out of balance will put the entire system out of balance and endanger the sustainable use of wild animal populations as well as the great diversity of species in the forests, fears the DBV.
