World Poultry News

Maybe we need a thread to post CURRENT poultry news- with DATE of article: Sept 14, 2014. (The internet does not filter articles by date)





Nestlé bans layer cage use in its supply chain

5 2193 Layers
Nestlé has announced a major pledge to improve the welfare of the farm animals in its supply chain, following the signature of a partnership agreement with NGO World Animal Protection.

The agreement means that the hundreds of thousands of farms that supply Nestlé with its dairy, meat, poultry and eggs will have to comply with tighter animal welfare standards. Nestlé, with its global purchasing footprint, also becomes the first major food company to form an international partnership with an animal welfare NGO.
The new program will eliminate standard practices from Nestle's supply chain that are controversial, including:

• Confinement of sows in gestation crates
• Confinement of calves in veal crates
• Confinement of layers in cages
• Forced rapid growth of chickens used for meat products
• Cutting of horns, tails and genitals of farm animals without painkillers

Nestlé has some 7,300 suppliers from whom it buys animal-derived products directly - everything from milk for its range of yoghurts and ice-creams, to meat for its chilled foods and eggs for its fresh pastry and pasta.
Each of these suppliers, in turn, buys from others, meaning that Nestlé's Responsible Sourcing Guidelines apply to literally hundreds of thousands of farms around the world.
"We know that our consumers care about the welfare of farm animals and we, as a company, are committed to ensuring the highest possible levels of farm animal welfare across our global supply chain," said Benjamin Ware, the company's Manager of Responsible Sourcing.
World Animal Protection has been working with Nestlé on how to specifically tighten and improve the Nestlé Responsible Sourcing Guideline (pdf, 2 Mb), which all suppliers must adhere to as part of the Nestlé Supplier Code (pdf, 2 Mb). Both of these build upon the Nestlé Commitment on Farm Animal Welfare (pdf, 2 Mb).
Nestlé has commissioned an independent auditor, SGS, to carry out checks to ensure the new standards of animal welfare are met on its supplying farms. In 2014, several hundred farm assessments have already been carried out worldwide. Some of these checks are also attended, unannounced, by World Animal Protection representatives whose role is to verify the auditors.
When a violation is identified, Nestlé will work with the supplier to improve the treatment of farm animals to ensure they meet the required standards. If, despite engagement and guidance from Nestlé, the company is unable or unwilling to show improvement, it will no longer supply Nestlé.
Nestlé's multiple commitments, include, for example, a pledge that by the end of next year, 40% of the company's key commodities - including meat, poultry, eggs and dairy will be fully traceable.
by World Poultry Sep 1, 2014

 

Study: "No harm in feeding livestock GMO feed"

0 353 Broilers
According to a study of over 100 billion animals, including nine billion broilers annually, genetically engineered (GE) crops were found to be safe to feed to livestock.

The scientific review from the University of California, Davis, reports that the performance and health of food-producing animals consuming genetically engineered feed, first introduced 18 years ago, has been comparable to that of animals consuming non-GE feed.
The study also found that scientific studies have detected no differences in the nutritional makeup of the meat, milk or other food products derived from animals that ate genetically engineered feed.
Food-producing animals such as cows, pigs, goats, chickens and other poultry species now consume 70-90% of all genetically engineered crops, according to the study. In the United States, alone, 9 billion food-producing animals are produced annually, with 95% of them consuming feed that contains genetically engineered ingredients.
The review, titled "Prevalence and Impacts of Genetically Engineered Feedstuffs on Livestock Populations," was led by UC Davis animal scientist Alison Van Eenennaam.
"Studies have continually shown that the milk, meat and eggs derived from animals that have consumed GE feed are indistinguishable from the products derived from animals fed a non-GE diet," Van Eenennaam said. "Therefore, proposed labeling of animal products from livestock and poultry that have eaten GE feed would require supply-chain segregation and traceability, as the products themselves would not differ in any way that could be detected."
Now that a second generation of genetically engineered crops that have been optimized for livestock feed is on the horizon, there is a pressing need to internationally harmonize the regulatory framework for these products, she said.
"To avoid international trade disruptions, it is critical that the regulatory approval process for genetically engineered products be established in countries importing these feeds at the same time that regulatory approvals are passed in the countries that are major exporters of animal feed," Van Eenennaam said.
Source: National Chicken Council / Science Daily
by World Poultry Oct 9, 2014