Commodity situation
The commodity price in the year 2006 started on a high note, with barley prices in the market yard touching a high of Rs.9200 ($204) per ton. The delivered price worked out to about Rs.10575 ($235) per ton. By mid week the prices had slid to Rs.8900 ($198) per ton at the market yard on quality concerns, but by the end of the week the market had again risen to Rs.9200 ($204) per ton.
Maize also started on a high note with the red and the hybrid yellow varieties touching Rs.6400 ($142) at the market yard. The delivered prices worked out to be Rs.7500 ($166) in the northern belts. The prices remained high even in mid week. The spot prices in Nizamabad and Davangere were Rs.5540 ($123) and Rs.5290 ($118) per ton respectively. What was more surprising this week was a price of Rs.5895 ($135) per MT in Bihar. Prices in Andhra Pradesh also touched an all time high of Rs.6840 ($152) and this could be an anomaly and will need to be watched. The average price for corn this week was Rs.5850 ($130) per ton, which in the first week of Jan 2005 was Rs.5200 ($115), an increase of 13.5% over last year.
The prices in US slipped down a wee bit from $85 per ton at CBOT on Dec 30, 2005 to $84.41 per ton on Jan 06, 2006. The FOB price for corn (US gulf) was $104 per ton.
Going by the world situation, one needs to look at only two countries – India and China collectively having 38% of the world’s population (17.46% in India and 20.63% in China). The two countries have a growing middle class, whose demand for not only food including milk, meat and eggs, but also gold etc is increasing. The two countries with growing economies are creating a huge demand for raw materials including agriculture commodities and this demand is capable of influencing prices not only the in local markets, but also the international markets.
Reports available for Rabi plantings till Dec 30, 2005 show that the land under wheat and barley is up from last year by 0.86% and 6.36% respectively, Land under Maize (Corn) and Jowar (Sorghum) is down from last year by 2.77% and 2.55% respectively.
New year ushers new food safety rules
The New Year ushered new food safety rules all over the world. In EU it is the Food Hygiene Regulations, in US it is the labelling requirements, while in United Kingdom, it is the labelling of use of water retention agents in chilled or frozen poultry. The food companies will be under tougher regulatory regime and scrutiny, which will ensure better compliance on one hand, but also is better for the consumer.
The EU Food Hygiene Regulation will apply at every point in the food chain, in line with the EU's “farm to fork” approach to regulation. The new legislation puts the primary responsibility on all food and feed operators, from farmers and processors to retailers and caterers, to ensure that food on the market meets the required safety standards. Consumers benefit and can be confident that the best possible food safety practices have been applied and scrutinized at every step in the production chain.
Under the food hygiene legislation, the onus is placed on food operators to ensure that food reaching consumers is safe and they will need to apply compulsory self-checking programmes and follow the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles in all sectors of the food industry, other than at the farm level.
All food operators will have to be registered and will need to follow the new rules for microbiological criteria, which is aimed at reducing food-borne diseases. Microbiological criteria are set for certain bacteria, such as salmonella and listeria in the main food categories. The categories include meat and meat products, fish, milk and dairy products, ready-to-eat foods, along with fruit and vegetables.
Food operators will be responsible for ensuring that the criteria are met at a specific point of the food chain determined in the regulation. National authorities must verify that food companies are complying with the rules.
Feed businesses will have a primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of products put on the market. They will also have to apply the HACCP self-assessment principles, keep records of production and marketing, be registered with the national authorities and undergo mandatory training.
In the US a new federal law, which went into effect on January 1, requires U.S. food processors to list the amount of trans-fatty acids contained in their products.
Trans-fatty acids, a synthetic fat, enhance the flavor and extend shelf-life of certain foods. Medical experts believe that trans-fatty acids contribute to cardiovascular disease in humans by raising blood concentrations of cholesterol-containing low-density lipoproteins.
The biggest regulatory change for the processors in 2006 will be the move by some companies provide nutrition labels on their meat products. The labels would contain basic nutritional information about fresh meat, including protein, carbohydrates, and the various fat contents, and will demonstrate to consumers that consuming meat is an important part of a balanced diet.
Although the labels were not mandatory until 2008, many companies will start labelling on a voluntary basis in US.
In United Kingdom the Food Standards Agency is stepping up enforcement actions against domestic poultry processors who fail to follow the labelling rules on use of water-retention agents in chilled and frozen poultry. US already has a law, wherein water retained by the chilled or frozen poultry has to be mentioned on the label.
All these laws help in making the consumers aware about what they consume and if the same is safe for consumption.
Bio-security and Avian Influenza
As two more deaths are reported due to AI in the world and that too outside Asia (in Turkey), the concerns on the spread of the virus are rising. But the question still remains if the world will face an AI pandemic or we will have to live in the fear. Most believe that Avian Influenza virus is only causing a fear psychosis and creating panic amongst the consumers. The AI virus can be dealt with proper bio-security & safe handling of meat products.
Bio-security embodies all the cumulative measures that can or should be taken to keep disease (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites), from a farm and to prevent the transmission of disease (by humans, insects, rodents, and wild birds/animals) within an infected farm to neighbouring farms.
Bio-security should be considered as an investment and not an expense and
• Bio-security is a team effort and a shared responsibility
• Bio-security should be an ongoing process and must be followed at all times
• Each step should be carried out judiciously to effectively reduced disease contamination
• Optimum bio-security measures need to be developed and implemented to help both disease prevention and control
• The mark of a good bio-security program is to maximize the health of a flock and minimize the risk of disease spread
• Insure the production of a clean product
As per Centre for Disease Control, “There is no evidence that any human cases of avian influenza have been acquired by eating poultry products.”
As per World Health Organization (WHO), “To date there is no epidemiological information to suggest that the disease can be transmitted through contaminated food or that products shipped from affected areas have been the source of infection in humans.”
As per Swayneet, al, JAVMA in 2003 “The virulence of H5 and H7 viruses in chickens does not correlate with their ability to infect and cause disease in humans.
The major sources for any disease are
• Humans – Hands, hair, clothing, footwear
• Contaminated equipment
• Wild birds – crow, duck, sparrow, goose etc
• Pets – Cats and dogs
• Improperly disposed carcasses
• Backyard flocks and live markets
And the same is true for the spread of Avian Influenza virus. Proper bio-security components must be taken into consideration
• Isolation
• Traffic Control
• Sanitation – Cleaning & Disinfection (C&D)
• Rodent & Insect Control
The barriers to AI in food manufacture are
• Anti Mortem / Post Mortem inspection at the plant
• Zero tolerance for faeces on the carcasses
• Discarding of head, trachea, lungs & intestines
• Antimicrobial carcass wash
• Refrigeration/freezing has little effect
• Cooking – ready-to-eat products
As per WHO, “…good hygiene practices during handling of raw poultry meat and usual recommended cooking practices for poultry products would lower any potential risk to insignificant levels.”
Proper systems at farms, processing plants and proper regulation must be adhered to. The consumers must be made aware should be able to make informed decisions regarding purchase of meat and meat products. It will make the consumers confident that what they are getting from the companies is safe for consumption. It could be a self regulated, voluntary system, which will benefit the consumer and the processor.
In the US there is a move to voluntarily test commercial flocks for Avian Influenza. There are an estimated 150,000 flocks in the US and 11 birds from each flock will be tested, making a total of 1.6 million birds to be tested. US in the year 2005 produced 9.5 billion birds. The move will create confidence among the consumers of processed poultry meat.
Amit Sachdev
Representative
U S Grains Council, India
bluecross303@gmail.com
Jan 07, 2006
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