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Pork has been the pacesetter for U.S. red meat exports, achieving a 17th consecutive record-setting year of increased export numbers in 2008.

Following a request from the Spanish Competent Authority, the Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the Project to study alternatives to carcass destruction systems using the bunker system. The application concerns an on-farm combination of several steps. The first of these is represented by the hydrolysis process or, alternatively, the crushing and pasteurization of pig carcasses and other pig by-products (placentas and embryos) using a bunker system.

Last year pig meat exports from the United States to Mexico increased by 47%. (Original in Spanish. Read Google translation here).

The Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank, a food-safety program that has been facing closure due to lack of funding, has gotten a temporary reprieve. A $17,000 donation from 12 groups and several private citizens within the animal health and food-safety sectors is expected to keep the program from completely closing while appeals for appropriations are made before the 111th Congress and Obama Administration.

The State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Farm Bureau have partnered for a three-year pilot RFID program designed to promote food safety by enabling product visibility throughout the supply chain. The initiative, the first of its kind in the U.S., offers a win-win situation for consumers and participating growers. When a food safety issue arises, product recalls can be enacted within an hour. With traceability down to the field level, growers can localize the impact of a recall to the relevant area, minimizing losses.

An outbreak of cholera killed at least 240 pigs in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato, a health official reported yesterday.

The export of pork on the EU market might be resumed as of 2009 if the plan of ceasing vaccination against swine fever is approved by the European Commission (EC). Romania has asked the EC for permission to resume trade with pork within the EU as of this May.

USDA announced today the appointment of 153 pork producers and 8 importers to the 2009 National Pork Producers Delegate Body. All appointees will serve a one-year term. The appointees were selected from nominees submitted by state pork producer association and importer groups. These appointments were made by former Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer.

All pork products from Philippine already at Chinese ports should be turned back or destroyed, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) said in anon-line announcement here on Wednesday.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued three new directives related to verification of Listeria monocytogenes control.

Domestic retail sales of meat declined 2% - 3% in 2008 and the consumption fell by 1.5% - 2% compared to 2007.

Fresh and frozen meat imports to Russia grew by 14.2% to 1.6 million tons in 2008 from 1.4 million tons in 2007, and up 43.4% to $4.9 billion from $3.4 billion in money terms, as Federal Customs Service reports.

Representatives of the American Feed Industry Association and FEFANA, the Feed Additives and Premixtures Association of the European Union, recently signed an agreement that will permit auditors of AFIA's third-party certification program, Safe Feed/Safe Food, to inspect U.S. manufacturers for compliance with European feed hygiene and ingredient standards. The agreement will facilitate U.S. trade with European feed and ingredient customers.