Asia Pacific | One year after mad cow,Japan courts nervous publicTOKYO, Sept ...

Asia Pacific

 

One year after mad cow,Japan courts nervous public
TOKYO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A man in a white laboratory coat handed out chopsticks as crowds stepped up to the sizzling hotplates; on the anniversary of Japan's first case of mad cow disease, they'd come in their hundreds for a free taste of beef.

 

Gov't to file fraud charge against Nippon Food office heads
TOKYO, Sept. 10 Kyodo - The farm ministry on Tuesday decided to file charges later this week against the chiefs of three sales offices of a Nippon Meat Packers Inc. subsidiary on suspicion they defrauded the state of subsidies by having employees disguise imported beef as domestic, ministry officials said Tuesday.

 

America

 

Brazil to benefit from import restrictions on French meat
Brazil will benefit from the imports restrictions imposed on the French poultry meat by the Middle East.

 

Inflation slows after July "peak," Ortiz says

Consumer prices rose slower in August than a year earlier, ending a rise in inflation caused by a weaker currency and higher electricity prices, Mexican central bank Governor Guillermo Ortiz said.
 

USA

 

Lowes Foods to sell irradiated ground beef
Winston-Salem-based Lowes Foods announced that, starting Tuesday, it will begin selling irradiated ground beef at 48 of its 105 stores.

 

US govt buys $30 mln of pork to lift market
The U.S. government said on Monday it will buy $30 million worth of ham, pork patties, sausage, and ground pork for the federal school lunch program to help hog farmers hit by mounting inventories and sliding prices.

 

Cattle Branding Chaps More Than Just PETA's Hide
The time-honored tradition of branding livestock is under fire by animal rights advocates, making Texas cattle ranchers who depend on the method to protect their property as uneasy as a herd of cows in a thunderstorm.

 

USA: USDA creates non-allergic GM soybean 
Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service have created a genetically modified soybean that could greatly reduce allergic reactions to soy-based foods.

 

Congress may take action on WTO trade sanctions
Congress is preparing to act on the Foreign Sales Corporation program that triggered a trade dispute between the United States and the European Union and which may result in as much as $4 billion worth of sanctions, according to a news release.

 

Prelude to a Pork Industry Panic?
Higher than expected pig slaughter combined with drought and economic woes are causing confusion and fears in the pork industry.