News Update
July 14, 2010

Stakeholders Unite To Build Consumer’s Trust and Confidence

Consumers Today: “Can We Trust Our Food?” is the theme for the 5th annual Food System Summit scheduled for October 5-6 in Chicago, Ill. The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) is co-sponsoring the event with the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) and the International Food Information Council (IFIC).

The Summit, taking place at the InterContinental O’Hare Hotel, is designed to promote an informative dialogue on current and emerging issues in the contemporary U.S. food system and on ways to build consumer trust and confidence in our safe, nutritious, abundant and affordable food supply.

Summit speakers will discuss key industry issues in the areas of Animal Well-Being, Technology and Innovation, Food Safety and Nutrition and Health. Facilitated case study breakout sessions will highlight issues within retail grocery, animal production, processing and food service.

As in past years, a focal point of the Summit will be a discussion of results from CFI’s annual Consumer Trust Survey. This year’s research will address messages and programs that will build trust and confidence in the segment of society most capable of generating change in public opinion.

Decision makers from all segments of the food production chain will be present to take part in the discussions. Additional information, including how to register, is now available at www.foodintegrity.org.

The Center for Food Integrity’s vision is to build public understanding that the ethical choice for people, animals and the planet is to produce the food that is necessary to meet the needs of a growing population, using fewer natural resources through responsible, efficient production, processing and distribution.

Media are invited to attend the event. Detailed speaker and agenda information will be provided at www.foodintegrity.org as plans are finalized.

— Release by the Center for Food Integrity.

More Voices Join Antibiotics Debate

As the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health prepared for the Tuesday, July 20 hearing on the subject of non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock, more groups are voicing their opinions on the subject. The debate follows draft guidance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released last month.

The Animal Health Institute (AHI), which represents companies that make animal healthcare products, has scheduled a briefing in the Capitol Visitor Center for July 20 to examine existing measures aimed at preventing the development of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Speakers will include Scott Brown, senior director of metabolism and safety at Pfizer Animal Health, and Tom Shryock, senior microbiology research advisor for Elanco Animal Health.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 doctors and other clinical care providers have signed requests for Congress to pass legislation reducing non-therapeutic antibiotics use in animals raised for food, according to a statement released by international coalition Health Care Without Harm. Additionally, the group said 300 hospitals have signed pledges to purchase only meat raised without antibiotics for their foodservice programs.

Separately, Stuart Levy, a professor of molecular biology and microbiology and of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine and the president of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) based at Tufts University, suggested the FDA classify antibiotics as “societal drugs” and impose stricter limits, similar to those in place for narcotics and psychoactive substances.

— by Dani Friedland for Meatingplace.com.

Mycotoxins a Hot Topic in 2010

In the past two and a half years, the first mycotoxin information website, www.knowmycotoxins.com/, has gone online in six languages (English, Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and Hungarian) and established itself as a reliable educational source of information about mycotoxins.

This week, the website has also launched a new page featuring a Mycotoxin Short Course with video lectures addressing key challenges related to identifying and dealing with mycotoxins: regulations, sampling, the most simple and sophisticated ways of testing, and the difficulties that come with them.

A major focus on mycotoxins has taken place in 2010 in the face of the poor quality of the 2009 US corn crop, which impacted not only the domestic market, but also countries that import American grain in Latin America.

Last December, Trevor Smith, University of Guelph, emphasized “This fall has all the ingredients for a mess of molds and mycotoxins. A late harvest, wet weather and high moisture corn have all contributed to the recent reports of moldy corn across the Midwest.” There are currently indications that the 2010 wheat crop will be affected with fusarium mycotoxins due to the weather patterns.”

In addition to its educational content that includes the impact of mycotoxins on different animal species, mycotoxin regulations and mycotoxin levels around the world, www.knowmycotoxins.com also features an interactive series of videos where specialists from around the world show the different mycotoxins hotspots at the farm level. These videos are also available on the “KnowMycotoxins Videos” channel on YouTube.com.

The website, first launched in English in July 2007, was developed in conjunction with global animal health and nutrition company, Alltech, with a goal to educate the various market segments in the animal feed industry which are continuously challenged on how to overcome the repercussions of mycotoxins in animal feed.

The website targets all levels in the industry to ensure that they are adequately equipped to identify and deal with the growing mycotoxin issue.

For further information please log on to www.knowmycotoxins.com.

— Adapted from an Alltech release.

— Compiled by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.