AsiaPacific | Japan schools still avoiding beef in meals due to mad cow fears...

AsiaPacific

Japan schools still avoiding beef in meals due to mad cow fears
Japanese public elementary and junior high schools with student lunch programs are still refusing to use beef because of worries about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, according to a recent government study.

China and Australia in Talks
China and Australiadiscuss boosting agricultural co-operation.

Trade talks marred by protestor’s death
The opening of the World Trade Organisation conference in Mexico has been marred by the sudden death of a South Korean farm leader protesting against moves to free-up trade in agriculture

Americas

Canada BSE Update: Finalizing Export Certs
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued the following update on the BSE situation:

Ontario's fines for tainted meat 'not a deterrent'
Industry representatives in Canada say penalties for Ontarioslaughterhouse operators who sell potentially tainted meat are too low and fail to deter health safety violations, the Toronto Star reported.

Is Mad Cow Lurking in Freezers?
Tons of Canadian beef brought into the United Statesbefore the border was closed to cattle importation in May due to a case of mad cow disease could still be sitting in freezers of meat distributing and processing companies, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official told United Press International.

USA

Moments of Silence to be Observed
It's been two years since that tragic day - but we have not forgotten the fallen. Join the trading exchanges in taking a moment today to honor those lost on 9/11/01. Pray for our troops who are still in harm's way. The exchanges will observe a minute of silence at 7:46, 8:03, 8:59 and 9:29 a.m., CT this morning. In addition, grain traders will delay the start of their session by one minute to 9:31 a.m. CT.

GAO Report Sees Opportunities, Problems with COOL
Accounting office investigates move to mandatory country-of-origin-labeling in the context of existing programs, trade issues and food security.

New test for BSE
Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco are evaluating a new test for detecting BSE. According to researchers, this new test, the conformation-dependent immunoassay, can detect prion proteins with perfect accuracy at much smaller levels than conventional tests and results are available within about five hours. In a field trial of the new test, it was 100 percent accurate in detecting prions in the brains of 11,000 slaughtered cows in Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany. This test also shows promise in being able to detect the prion proteins in the muscle tissue and even blood of living animals. Researchers hope to have the tests available within a year. The technology is licensed to InPro Biotechnology Inc. of San Francisco.

Bush signs trade agreement with Chile
Late last week, President Bush signed the first comprehensive trade agreement between the U.S. and Chile. The FTA offers expanded export markets for U.S. farmers and ranchers. U.S. trade officials say that about three-quarters of both U.S. and Chilean farm goods will be tariff-free within four years, with all tariffs and quotas phased out within 12 years. Without this agreement, U.S. Farmers faced higher tariffs than farmers from Canada or the European Union. Beef and beef products will gain duty-free treatment within four years. The administration sent this agreement, and one pending with Singapore, to Congress. Both were passed. The U.S.-Chile and the U.S.-Singapore FTAs are the first two agreements completed under Trade Promotion Authority. Both agreements take effect Jan. 1.

COOL Costs Over-Estimated
The U.S. government financial oversight agency says the cost of implementing COOL may be less than previously estimated.

Former Miss America touts food safety for USDA
Heather Whitestone McCallum, a former Miss America, will assist the Agriculture Department with a new public service announcement to help families understand the importance of safe food handling.

Farmers fear biotech treaty will hurt exports
The first international agreement for regulating genetically engineered crops takes effect today amid concerns that countries could impose special restrictions on trade in biotech corn and soybeans.

Remarks of United States Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman and United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick at WTO's 5th Ministerial
Secretary Ann M. Veneman: "The Cancun Ministerial is a mid-term stock-taking in the Doha Development Agenda. The negotiations won’t be concluded here. But we must have tangible progress. We must set the negotiations from this point on, on a path to be successfully concluded by the target date of January 2005. Agricultural trade is of course of major importance to the food importing countries and to the food exporting countries. But it has taken on even greater significance in these talks. It has become critical to progress in other
areas." 

AsiaPacific

Japan schools still avoiding beef in meals due to mad cow fears
Japanese public elementary and junior high schools with student lunch programs are still refusing to use beef because of worries about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, according to a recent government study.

China and Australia in Talks
China and Australiadiscuss boosting agricultural co-operation.

Trade talks marred by protestor’s death
The opening of the World Trade Organisation conference in Mexico has been marred by the sudden death of a South Korean farm leader protesting against moves to free-up trade in agriculture

Americas

Canada BSE Update: Finalizing Export Certs
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued the following update on the BSE situation:

Ontario's fines for tainted meat 'not a deterrent'
Industry representatives in Canada say penalties for Ontarioslaughterhouse operators who sell potentially tainted meat are too low and fail to deter health safety violations, the Toronto Star reported.

Is Mad Cow Lurking in Freezers?
Tons of Canadian beef brought into the United Statesbefore the border was closed to cattle importation in May due to a case of mad cow disease could still be sitting in freezers of meat distributing and processing companies, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official told United Press International.

USA

Moments of Silence to be Observed
It's been two years since that tragic day - but we have not forgotten the fallen. Join the trading exchanges in taking a moment today to honor those lost on 9/11/01. Pray for our troops who are still in harm's way. The exchanges will observe a minute of silence at 7:46, 8:03, 8:59 and 9:29 a.m., CT this morning. In addition, grain traders will delay the start of their session by one minute to 9:31 a.m. CT.

GAO Report Sees Opportunities, Problems with COOL
Accounting office investigates move to mandatory country-of-origin-labeling in the context of existing programs, trade issues and food security.

New test for BSE
Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco are evaluating a new test for detecting BSE. According to researchers, this new test, the conformation-dependent immunoassay, can detect prion proteins with perfect accuracy at much smaller levels than conventional tests and results are available within about five hours. In a field trial of the new test, it was 100 percent accurate in detecting prions in the brains of 11,000 slaughtered cows in Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany. This test also shows promise in being able to detect the prion proteins in the muscle tissue and even blood of living animals. Researchers hope to have the tests available within a year. The technology is licensed to InPro Biotechnology Inc. of San Francisco.

Bush signs trade agreement with Chile
Late last week, President Bush signed the first comprehensive trade agreement between the U.S. and Chile. The FTA offers expanded export markets for U.S. farmers and ranchers. U.S. trade officials say that about three-quarters of both U.S. and Chilean farm goods will be tariff-free within four years, with all tariffs and quotas phased out within 12 years. Without this agreement, U.S. Farmers faced higher tariffs than farmers from Canada or the European Union. Beef and beef products will gain duty-free treatment within four years. The administration sent this agreement, and one pending with Singapore, to Congress. Both were passed. The U.S.-Chile and the U.S.-Singapore FTAs are the first two agreements completed under Trade Promotion Authority. Both agreements take effect Jan. 1.

COOL Costs Over-Estimated
The U.S. government financial oversight agency says the cost of implementing COOL may be less than previously estimated.

Former Miss America touts food safety for USDA
Heather Whitestone McCallum, a former Miss America, will assist the Agriculture Department with a new public service announcement to help families understand the importance of safe food handling.

Farmers fear biotech treaty will hurt exports
The first international agreement for regulating genetically engineered crops takes effect today amid concerns that countries could impose special restrictions on trade in biotech corn and soybeans.

Remarks of United States Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman and United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick at WTO's 5th Ministerial
Secretary Ann M. Veneman: "The Cancun Ministerial is a mid-term stock-taking in the Doha Development Agenda. The negotiations won’t be concluded here. But we must have tangible progress. We must set the negotiations from this point on, on a path to be successfully concluded by the target date of January 2005. Agricultural trade is of course of major importance to the food importing countries and to the food exporting countries. But it has taken on even greater significance in these talks. It has become critical to progress in other
areas."