Meat & Poultry

The U.S. government has a statutory obligation to provide meat and poultry inspection services, AMI President J. Patrick Boyle told President Barack Obama in a letter sent to The White House today as discussions about the potential impact of sequestration and possible furloughs of meat and poultry inspectors made headlines.  Without inspection, meat and poultry processing plants are prohibited by law from operating. …

Portland meat distributor Nicky USA Inc. recently announced plans to raise its own meat after acquiring a 31-acre farm in Aurora. …

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has suspended the operating license of Establishment 287, St. Ann's Foods Inc., a beef slaughter plant located in St. Ann's, Ontario, effective February 7, 2013. …

"Our government supports this independent review process. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that Canadians continue to have one of the safest food safety systems in the world. We take the safety of Canada's food supply very seriously, and we remain committed to the continuous improvement of Canada's strong food safety systems that allow Canadian consumers to shop with confidence." …

During its final meeting at the 2013 Cattle Industry Convention in Tampa Feb. 9, the Beef Board unanimously elected Weldon Wynn of Star City, Arkansas to serve as CBB chairman for the coming year; Kim Brackett of Buhl, Idaho to serve as vice chairman; and Jimmy Maxey of Fresno, California to fill the position of Beef Board secretary/treasurer for 2013. …