Argentine president: Eat pork, spice your sex life

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentina's president thinks eating pig meat is really sexy. Many people in this beef-loving nation reacted with surprise Thursday after Cristina Fernandez promoted pork in a speech during which she not only said pork is better than Viagra, but suggested she's personally proven it.

"I didn't know that eating pork improved sexual activity," Fernandez said in a meeting with representatives of the swine industry late Wednesday. "It is much more gratifying to eat some grilled pork than to take Viagra."

She even joked that "it was all good" after she enjoyed some pork with her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner.

"I think they might be right," Fernandez said to a laughing audience.

The president's half-joking speech in which she announced subsidies for the pork industry won prominent play on television and radio stations, prompting discussions on whether Argentines should add more pork to their diet.

Argentines are among the world's biggest consumers of red meat, and most people here stubbornly reject the idea of replacing beef with chicken, pork or other meats. Despite Argentina lying along rich South Atlantic fisheries, seafood is rarely seen on dinner tables.

Fernandez approved subsidies to keep the price of pork low despite inflation, and her government has also recently subsidized red meat producers after beef supplies sharply declined in the South American country.

The head of the association of pork producers, Juan Luis Uccelli, supported Fernandez's speech by saying that Denmark and Japan have a much more "harmonious" sexual life then the Argentines because they eat a lot of pig meat.

"In Osaka, Japan, there is a village in which the people who reached 105 years old and ate a lot of pork had a lot of sexual activity," he told radio Mitre.

Others were skeptical.

"There is no study showing that pork meat significantly improves sexual activity," Amado Bechara, a specialist in sexual disfunction, told the Web site of the newspaper La Nacion.

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FACTBOX-Flu triggers pig and pork import bans worldwide

May 4 (Reuters) - Twenty countries have banned imports of pigs, pork and other meat in response to the H1N1 flu strain that has infected both people and swine, according to the World Health Organisation.

Following is a list of the bans, as well as the measures taken by countries that have not blocked imports in response to the outbreak, which health and trade officials say is not food-borne and does not pose a danger to meat consumers:



RUSSIA

-- Pork banned from Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador.

-- All meat and meat products banned from Mexico and the U.S. states of California, Texas, and Kansas.

CHINA

-- Live pigs and pork products banned from Mexico and the U.S. states of California, Texas and Kansas.

SERBIA 

-- Pigs and pork banned from Mexico and the United States.

THAILAND

-- Live pigs banned from Mexico and the United States.

JORDAN 

-- All meat banned from countries with confirmed H1N1 cases.

PHILIPPINES

-- Pigs and pork products banned from Mexico and the United States.

UKRAINE

-- Pork banned from Mexico and the U.S. states of California, Texas and Kansas. 

INDONESIA

-- Pork banned. No details given, unclear if only from Mexico and the United States or from around the world.

LEBANON

-- Pigs and pork banned from affected countries. Measure orders destruction of cargo en route from affected countries, the closure of domestic pig farms, the prohibition of pig slaughter and the blood testing for all pigs.

AZERBAIJAN

-- Livestock products banned from North America.

BAHRAIN

-- Pork products banned from Mexico, the United States and any country with reported H1N1 cases.

CROATIA

-- Pork banned from North America, plus any country with confirmed cases.

ECUADOR

-- Pork banned from Mexico and the United States.

KAZAKHSTAN

-- Pork banned from Mexico and the United States.

MACEDONIA

-- Pork banned from North America and countries with confirmed cases.

MONTENEGRO 

-- Pork banned from North America and countries with confirmed cases.

SURINAM

-- Animals, raw pork and semen imports banned (no further details given)

SWITZERLAND

-- Pork from Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and United States

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

-- Pork banned for both import and sale (no details given)

BELARUS

-- Meat banned from seven countries (not specified)

-- Cattle, poultry and feed banned from Canada, Mexico, the United States, New Zealand, Spain, France, and Israel.

SOUTH KOREA

-- No ban imposed. Increased number of flu virus checks on pork products from Mexico and the United States.

EUROPEAN UNION

-- No ban imposed and no change to import policy, given "flu has nothing to do with food chain".

JAPAN

-- No ban imposed. Checks of live pig imports for infection. No checks on imported pork "as no risk when cooked".

KOSOVO

-- No ban imposed. Increased import monitoring (no details). (For related story, please see: [L4584168]) (For more Reuters swine flu coverage, please click here:here )

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

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Pork Safe To Eat, Pig Farmers Say

Monday, 27 April, 2009 - 20:13

Wellington, April 27 NZPA - Consumers should not be put off eating pork because swine flu is not spread through food, the pork industry said today.

Pork New Zealand said that though the H1N1 influenza A virus, called swine flu, may have originated in pigs, it was a human health risk because it was being transmitted from human to human.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had confirmed that it was safe to eat all pork products, the industry said in a statement.

"Swine influenza has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork," the WHO said.

"Swine influenza virus is killed by cooking temperatures of 70degC."

Though New Zealand has never recorded a case of swine flu in farmed pigs, the pork industry said today it was reminding farmers to be vigilant around disinfecting and cleaning, visitor access to farms and to "ensure staff do not work with pigs if they have flu-like symptoms".

Any unusual pig health issues should be discussed with a veterinarian, a spokesman for Pork NZ said.

Symptoms of swine flu in pigs included sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, eye redness or inflammation, and loss of appetite.

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Philippine authorities assure public it is safe to eat pork

By Channel NewsAsia's Philippine Correspondent Christine Ong | Posted: 27 January 2009 0035 hrs MANILA : The Philippine Health Department is assuring the public that it is safe to eat pork.  This is even though it recently confirmed that a farm worker had been infected with the Ebola virus, from contact with pigs.  Business used to be brisk in the district of La Loma in Quezon City, which is known as the Lechon Capital of the Philippines.  Nena Cesario, Lechon Maker, said: "Business is slow. Not too many people are buying lechon, maybe because of the hard times and they think there is a problem with the pigs."  The Health Department recently announced that a farm worker has been infected with Ebola-Reston antibodies.  It is the first known case of the virus jumping between pigs and humans.  But health officials said there is little immediate health risk.  They also said the farm worker is healthy and has had no serious illness in the past 12 months.  According to the Department of Health, eating pork remains safe, and so most Filipinos still continue to savour the delicious taste of the lechon, especially its crispy and crunchy skin.  Some regular patrons said they cannot resist pigging out.  One of them said: "A lot of people are eating lechon and they are still alive, so I am not afraid to eat it because it is really delicious."  Another added: "As long as there are people selling lechon and eating lechon, I will continue to eat it because it is my favourite."  But authorities are reminding the public to take general precautions in handling and cooking meat.  They also advise them to buy meat only from stalls certified by the National Meat Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture.  Dr Enrique Tayag, National Epidemiology Center, said: "Do not undercook the meat, you have to cook it adequately so that you kill any viruses or any other bacteria."  The government ban on pork exports is still in effect, while more tests are being done on the other farm workers that may have been exposed to the virus. - CNA/ms Source

MRSA in pigs and pig farmers

http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/01/mrsa_in_pigs_and_pig_farmers.php

Pork/ham eaters, homosexuals are both unclean

Published on: 1/6/09.

GREETINGS THROUGH our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

What is the difference between pork/ham eaters and homosexuals?

We read in Leviticus 11-7: The swine though he divide the hoof and be clove-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud: he is unclean. What I am saying is that pork/ham eaters are disobeying God.

Romans 1 26-27 says for this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: Verse 27, And likewise also the men, having the natural use of the woman, burned into their lust, one toward another: men working that which is unseemly: God is looking on, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was met. I am inviting my readers to read the remaining verses.

Quite recently I read in THE NATION newspaper, "Gays to mark seven years". It said members of the United Gays and Lesbians Association of Barbados would mark the seventh anniversary of the group on Sunday with a service at the Church of the Glorious Christ, River Road, St Michael, starting time is 5 p.m.

I am wondering how that service was conducted. Did they sing hymns? How did they pray? Did they have a sermon and where was it taken from? Did they pray and thank our Almighty God for the seven years as a group? And did they ask him to bless them to see many more? I would like that church to read Verse 32 . . . "who knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them".

Do you see the difference between the pork/ham eaters and the homosexuals, both are disobeying God.

Do we know that it is only one sin in this world and that is disobeying God? But there are many, many, many ways to disobey Him which we call sin. 

Pork/ham eaters say it is sweet, and I believe homosexuals will say it is sweet also. But thank God I know that both are, as the Bible puts it, unclean.

– MERTON KINCH

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Swine industry hopes 2009 brings positive change

By Blair Koch, Ag Weekly correspondent

The pork budget for 2009 was set with zero expectation for growth, said Independent Meat Company CEO Patrick Florence.

In fact, Florence said the nation, Independent Meat included, will probably process less pork than last year. The move comes as customers bypass pork products for cheaper meat as they cut back spending.

“For 2009, we’re looking forward to lower production. It looks like we are going to see, nationally, processing levels at 96 percent of 2008,” he said.

Like every other sector in the nations economy, the swine industry is holding its breath to see if 2009 will turn around the recession or if things get worse.

While emerging markets are there to capitalize on, from Asia to Mexico, the big question is what will happen over the next three or four quarters.

“Price expectations have altered because we’ve had significant economic changes. For six to eight months out, there is some question on the demand side,” Florence said.

Kuna Hog Farmer Brad Thornton doesn’t expect a turnaround soon and slashed his herd size drastically, taking losses now before they get worse, he said.

“Things are changing, around the world, so rapidly, but I don’t think it’s going to get much better until the end of 2010,” Thornton said.

In the meantime, industry officials are trying to promote pork with the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service’s Pork Checkoff Program.

The national pork checkoff, implemented in 1986, was designed to strengthen the position of pork and pork products in the marketplace. It is funded by U.S. pork producers and importers who pay 40 cents per $100 of value when swine are sold and when swine or pork products are brought into the United States. Funds collected are used for promotion, research and consumer information programs.

According to information at the National Pork Board Web site www.pork.org, funded by the checkoff, the program has helped increase domestic demand and has introduced pork abroad.

The USDA AMS recently conducted a request for referendum on the program. USDA Conservation Specialist Glenn Patrick explained the referendum will address whether or not producers and importers want the program to continue.

“The Request for Referendum is to see if producers want to continue with the marketing program,” Florence said.

AMS will conduct a referendum on the order if at least 15 percent of the total number of eligible pork producers and importers request it.

Source

Some Austin pork plant workers struggle with disease and its aftermath

by Sea Stachura, Minnesota Public Radio

December 18, 2008

A year after a neurological disease surfaced among workers at a pork plant in Austin, some workers still can't get worker's compensation for their illness. Doctors traced the disease to a mist of pig brains at Quality Pork Processing.

Austin, Minn. — Felicitas can't do much now besides watch TV. She'd rather be working, but the disease doctors say she developed at Quality Pork Processing--or QPP-- makes everything a struggle. Even walking from the living room where her daughter's toys are piled in the corner and to the kitchen where her mother is cooking dinner.

"Now, nothing is the same," she says in Spanish. MPR news translated her comments into English.

Felicitas is in the country illegally, so we've agreed to only use her first name.

The disease originated at the "head table", where workers would stick hoses with compressed air into pigs' skulls to blast out the brains. Felicitas worked on the head table for only a week, but she walked through the area half a dozen times a day for three years.

The pressurized air created an aerosol mist of pig brains. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic and the Health Department found that breathing in the brain matter prompted an auto-immune response in workers' bodies. That means their bodies began to attack the nerves in the arms and legs, and sometimes even the central nervous system. For Felicitas, at first her hands and feet started to go numb.

"I felt horrible. I couldn't walk. If I sat down I had to help myself up with my hands. In order to climb stairs I had to pull myself with both hands," she says.

Felicitas's claim for worker's comp was denied by QPP's insurance company. As a result she can't afford to buy the steroids she needs to manage the disease. Shortly after she renewed her request for worker's compensation, QPP fired her.

She was told the company discovered she was working illegally. QPP confirms that. Courts have ruled that workers can receive workers' compensation regardless of their immigration status.

"Who determines whether or not an individual is a case and who's not from a worker's compensation perspective is completely out of my hands," says Mayo Clinic neurologist Dan Lachance, one of two doctors treating all of the QPP workers.

Lachance says he does not work with QPP's insurance company.

"I have no idea what criteria the people deciding are using even though we are the ones who are defining the disease," he says.

Lachance, along with scientists from the Center for Disease Control and the Minnesota Department of Health recently submitted scientific articles on the disease to a major medical journal. QPP has hired a neurologist from Johns Hopkins University to decide whether a patient qualifies for worker's comp. But Lachance says that neurologist has not been privy to any of the research on the disease or to the patients.

MPR news has spoken with two diagnosed workers who have been unable to get worker's compensation. A worker's compensation lawyer tells MPR, he represents two other workers who have also been denied coverage.

Quality Pork Processing has been open about this disease and fully responsible for its workers, according to company president Kelly Wadding.

"We said anybody has any symptoms or problems even family members, come up tell us about it. We drove people to the doctor's," he says.

Each worker's comp cases is thoroughly reviewed, Wadding says. But the process has taken longer than usual because this is a new disease.

"I think 95 percent of the people who have been diagnosed are covered under worker's comp," he says.

Wadding can't discuss specific cases, and won't go into detail on the criteria for worker's comp. But he will say that Felicitas's case is being re-examined.

That's news to her, and in the meantime she's making do without her medicine.

"There's no point to my life anymore. I feel like a burden to my family. It's not fair to them and it's not fair to me," she says. "It's really hard. The truth is it's really hard to live with this disease. But what can I do?"

Source

Can You Identify these Pig-Stabbing Suspects?

CONVERSE, Texas - The search is on for the teens that went into a Judson ISD school barn and stabbed a pig to death.

It was all caught on surveillance video at Judson High School.

Seen on the video are two people, with their faces covered, who enter the barn.Police say they appear to be teens and are familiar with the area. The pig that was killed was a project of one of the high school students.

School officials hope the surveillance tape will help catch the criminals.

A Judson ISD spokesperson says it is offering a cash reward for the apprehension and conviction of the people involved. 

If you have any information call the Judson ISD Police Department at 210-659-7867.

Source

1,000 kilos of double dead meat seized

By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:24:00 12/13/2008
Filed Under: Local authorities, Food, Health

MANILA, Philippines – A few days after the Ebola-Reston virus hit hog farms in Luzon, health officials in Quezon City seized over 1,000 kilos of double dead meat at the Balintawak market before dawn Friday.

City veterinarian Dr. Ana Marie Cabel said they confiscated the spoiling pork after a routine nighttime inspection of markets for illegally slaughtered meat, as well as pork unfit for consumption.

“It is part of our regular inspection. We know that Balintawak is a dumping ground of double dead meat,” she told the Inquirer.

In a phone interview, she described the spoiling pork as foul smelling, very pale, and cold from being stored in blocks of ice.

She added that since the double dead meat came from a sick hog that died and was cut up for sale, its skin hair tended to stick to the fat even if it is dipped in boiling water.

“Maitim na rin ang balat ng double dead meat (even its hide is dark),” Cabel noted.

Meanwhile, she defined hot meat as illegally slaughtered meat which did not pass sanitary standards but can still be fit for human consumption.

Cabel’s team stumbled upon the meat, worth around P100,000, at around 1 a.m. Friday. They were however unable to arrest the vendor of the merchandise.

“We suspect this is coming from hog farms in Bulacan. But we have not yet identified the financier of this operation,” she added.

Cabel said they are upping their monitoring and inspection of markets after reports that the Ebola-Reston virus infected pigs in four hog farms in Luzon.

“We are always for the protection of the consuming public against this virus strain, thus we are doubling our inspections of meat vendors,” she explained.

The health official noted that there is a need to ensure that pork products to be consumed for the holidays are safe for eating.

“We are going after these vendors of hot meat and double dead pork to make sure that the pork we buy for Noche Buena are fresh and fit to eat,” Cabel added.

The pork was buried at the Payatas dump Friday morning to prevent unscrupulous residents from making use of the spoiled meat.

Source

No Ebola found at pig farms

MANILA - PHILIPPINE health officials have found no cases of the Ebola-Reston virus in two pig farms and slaughterhouses despite earlier reports that the disease had been discovered, an agricultural official said on Friday.

The search has been narrowed to two farms and a quarantine was still being maintained until all animals had been tested and the source of the suspected outbreak found, said Dave Catbagan, head of the Bureau of Animal Industries.

All farmworkers and slaughterhouse employees who handled the pigs from the two farms in Pandi town, Bulacan province, and Manaoag town, Pangasinan province, had tested negative for Ebola-Reston, Mr Catbagan told AFP.

Mr Catbagan said none of the animals tested thus far had the virus.

Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said Ebola-Reston, a strain of the Ebola virus, had been found at three pig farms north of the Philippine capital, forcing the government to order a temporary ban on pork exports.

The Ebola-Reston strain was accidentally discovered when the government, starting in late August, sent samples of pig blood to US authorities to find a vaccine for another disease killing local pigs.

Six of 24 samples sent to the US tested positive for Ebola-Reston.

Despite the US findings, no new animals have been found with the virus.

'No sick pigs, no sign of critical illnesses of pigs or the human caretakers of these pigs,' said Mr Catbagan.

While the four strains of the Ebola virus found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ivory Coast and recently Uganda are known to be deadly to humans, the Ebola-Reston virus is not, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Although the Ebola-Reston virus has previously been found in monkeys in the Philippines there were no signs that the pigs at the quarantined farms had contact with monkeys.

Health Department programme manager for Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases Lyndon Leesuy said that, while it was possible for the Ebola-Reston virus to be transferred from pigs to humans, there were no recorded cases in the current suspected outbreak. -- AFP

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Ireland strikes deal to restart pig slaughtering

DUBLIN, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Ireland's government and pig processors said on Thursday they had agreed a deal that would allow the resumption of pig slaughtering, halted after Saturday's recall of pork products due to dioxin contamination.

"I want to share with the (prime minister) in welcoming the agreement that will see full-scale slaughtering resumed very quickly and I hope that the thousands of jobs compromised in recent days can now be secured," said Agriculture Minister Brendan Smithd.

(Reporting by Andras Gergely)

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Waste oil from Northern Ireland may be source of dioxin scare

Gardai and the PSNI are reportedly investigating if waste oil that should have been stored or incinerated in Northern Ireland is the source of the pig-meat contamination scare in the Republic.

Reports this morning say the Co Carlow plant that supplied contaminated feed to several pig farmers was using waste oil from electricity transformers in the drying process.

The oil has reportedly been traced to a business in Co Tyrone, where this morning's reports say it should have been stored or incinerated under licence.

The Gardai are investigating how the oil ended up being used at the Carlow plant, where it transferred poisonous dioxins into the feed supplied to pig farmers.

The plant owners have reportedly told detectives that they bought the oil legally and believed it was suitable for processing animal feed.

Source

Protest demands reopening of pig plants

STEVEN CARROLL

More than 100 members and representatives of the Irish pig industry gathered in Dublin this afternoon to demand that processing plants be reopened.

Members of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) congregated at the Department of Agriculture on Kildare Street to say it was unacceptable that the closure of 10 farms, following the discovery contaminants, should shut down business for 450 others.

Discussions aimed at reopening processing plants, involving Taoiseach Brian Cowen, the Minister of Agriculture Brendan Smith and pigmeat processors, remained deadlocked last night and the talks continued in the Department of Agriculture as the as the demonstrators gathered today.

Tim Cullinan of the IFA national pigs committee said farmers are losing €1 million for every day and that their livelihoods are being put in "jeopardy".

"Pig producers whose herds are clear of any contamination have been unable to move their perfectly healthy animals to processors," he said.

"We are suffering severe losses every day while supermarket shelf space is being lost to imports."

The protesters said a backlog of 60,000 pigs that are ready to be slaughtered has developed since the processing plants closed their doors and that this figure was increasing rapidly every day.

Mairead O'Brien, a pig farmer from Mitchelstown in Co Cork, said it was imperative the processors and the Government come up with a solution that got the pigmeat market moving again.

"It's like the tap is on and the sink is filling and the water has nowhere to go. I've had pigs ready for sale since last Monday and I have banamhs being born every minute," she said.

Fine Gael agriculture spokesman Michael Creed and party colleagues Shane McEntee, Seymour Crawford and Charlie Flanagan joined the protesters.

"We're here to support these people who's livelihood is under threat but we're also here to support people who's jobs have been lost and are under threat in the processing sector," Mr Creed said.

He added that it was very important that the ongoing discussions over a plan to assist farmers and processors be concluded as soon as possible.

Source

€125m of pork to be destroyed in biggest food scare since BSE

AN ESTIMATED 100,000 pigs will have to be destroyed because of the pigmeat crisis which has led to the recall of all Irish pork products in Ireland's largest food scare since BSE.

The public have been told to dump or return all pork products which they purchased since September 1st last because of the risk of dioxin contamination.

It is estimated that €125 million worth of food products in home and in export markets - up to 25 countries - will have to be destroyed.

The recall followed the discovery of potentially dangerous dioxins, known as PCBs, in pigmeat. They were initially traced in an un-named meat plant in the Republic. The dioxins were contained in feed supplied from a Co Carlow food recycling plant, it emerged yesterday.

As the Government moved to ease the fears of consumers, investigations were continuing at 10 pig farms and 38 beef farms in the Republic. The contamination is likely to have a severe impact on the €7 billion Irish food industry.

It emerged yesterday contaminated feed from the Co Carlow facility, Millstream Recycling in Clohamon Mills, had also been supplied to nine farms in Northern Ireland which now have been restricted.

The investigation has found contaminated pork with dioxin levels of 80 to 200 times above the safety limits. It is being led by the Departments of Agriculture and Health, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The Garda Síochána are also involved.

The dramatic food recall was announced on Saturday night as the investigation into the source of the contamination, understood to be oil, was stepped up after tests at a UK laboratory in York confirmed the presence of dioxins in the pigmeat.

The crisis began, however, last month when a routine sample was taken from the meat plant. Results of further tests from cattle farms will be known later today.

Other examination of Irish products in the Netherlands, France and Belgium prompted the action by the Government in an attempt to protect consumer confidence at home and abroad.

The European Commission has called a meeting of food safety experts from Ireland and other affected EU states tomorrow to co-ordinate a Europe-wide response to the contamination of Irish pork products.

Millstream Recycling has confirmed it has been working with Department of Agriculture officials to identify the source of PCBs found in pig meal used in a number of farms in Ireland. Accepting the need for a recall, Millstream Recycling said it would be carrying out "a full investigation to establish how the company's strict health and safety procedures and the high quality standards could possibly have been breached".

Last night the FSAI repeated its advice to consumers not to eat any pork products. But it said people should not be alarmed or concerned in relation to the potential risks from short-term exposure to dioxins found in pork products.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, said a number of health studies conducted in Belgium since the dioxin scare in 1999 had not found any negative effects on the population. "From the experience in Belgium we don't anticipate any health effects and on that basis we are reassuring people."

Prof James Heffron, a specialist on the biochemistry of detoxification at UCC's biochemical toxicology lab, told The Irish Times, however, the Government in his view needed to do more to reassure the public. Prof Heffron said information on the amount of dioxin found in affected meat should be released in addition to further details on the duration of exposure. "When we have this information we can relate it to World Health Organisation guidelines on acceptable levels of dioxin," he added.

The recall led to almost 2,000 calls to the FSAI helpline yesterday. Queues formed at supermarkets as shoppers returned products for which the Government said they should receive a refund. The National Consumer Agency (NCA) said consumers were entitled to be refunded. NCA chief executive Anne Fitzgerald said: "Under legislation consumers are entitled to repair, replacement or refund of a faulty product. In the case of pork meat or other food products containing pork, consumers are entitled to a refund as a repair or replacement does not apply in this instant.

The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association called on the Government to provide an emergency compensation package so that retailers and suppliers would not be left out of pocket.

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Plenty pork left despite piglet theft

Despite the theft of hundreds of piglets from major pig farms in Trinidad, the owners have bounced back and are in a position to supply enough hams and pork products for Christmas.

Three months ago a ring of pig thieves entered several farms and stole the piglets which were being culled for the Christmas season.

Police in the affected areas went into action, and although they did not arrest anyone they were able to suppress the attacks, the owners said

Ian Leong Poi, President of the Pork and Pork Producers Association said recently: "Pig farmers were hit with severe losses and apart from the vigilance of the police the large farms were forced to spend thousands of dollars fencing their properties and setting bright lights throughout the farms."

He added: "We have recovered from the losses but now we are faced with labour shortages. CEPEP is now controlling the labour market and workers are not prepared to work for less than $200 a day." CEPEP is the State-run Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme, responsible mainly for maintaining verges.

Leong Poi said several farmers went out of the pig business last year because of the steep increase in the price of pig feed. "When the price went from $80 for a 100 -pound bag to $140, many farmers found it uneconomical to rear pigs for sale."

He said pig production in Trinidad had increased slightly.

"We are now producing about four million pounds of pork a year, that represents an increase of five per cent." Leong Poi said farmers in Trinidad were enjoying the benefit of exporting meat to Guyana and Suriname. He said the sale of hams had already shown an increase over last year's sales.

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Feral pig aerial shooting

Aerial shooting of feral pigs in the Bogan, Culgoa, Barwon, Cuttaburra and Warrego Rivers is planned for last week of November.

The Brewarrina, Bourke and Wanaaring Rural Lands Protection Boards (RLPB), the Department of Primary Industries, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Australian Government and the Western Catchment Management Authority are working together to undertake the aerial shoot as part of a $150,000 coordinated feral pig control program.

This is the second phase of the successful program conducted during the 2007-2008 financial year, which involved 200 landholders responsible for 98 individual properties.

Aerial shooting resulted in 584 pigs being shot, 45 traps were built and distributed and 150 tins of poison were distributed to landholders.

The aerial shoot will be held from November 22 to 31 and will start at the Culgoa National Park before heading south along the Darling River and finishing with the Cuttaburra and Warrego River Systems.

Brewarrina RLPB Ranger, Colin Betts, said the shoot will revisit old ground as well as some new areas.

“The Cuttaburra and Warrego River systems are being included this time because the rains earlier in the year resulted in flooding throughout that country has provided ideal breeding conditions for feral pigs,” Mr Betts said.

“We will also revisit some areas that had significant pig populations such as along the Culgoa and some individual hotspots along the Bogan and Barwon Rivers.”

Chair of the Western Catchment Management Authority, Rory Treweeke, said feral pig control improved land condition and water quality.

“Feral pigs can cause significant damage and foul waterways, particularly in fragile areas such as wetlands,” Mr Treweeke said.

“Aerial shooting is an effective method of controlling isolated pockets of pigs, which will prevent reinfestation if landholders are conscientious about follow-up control with baits and/or traps.”

Source

Ukraine: ban on russian pork

The outbreak of swine fever in Russia last week, that caused 600 pigs to be destroyed, has led to the government of Ukraine imposing a ban on Russian pork from the region. 

The State Committee on Veterinary Medicine spokesman, said “ It is prohibited to bring animals susceptible to African swine fever, as well as the products and raw materials from them into Ukraine territory”.

Source

Spicy pork sausage found in 'soiled diapers'

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Customs inspectors scored the makings of a barbecue when a 21-year-old South Texas woman declared several soiled baby diapers at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing.

Suspicious of the chunky diapers, inspectors with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the international bridge in Hidalgo found several links of spicy pork sausage, or chorizo, inside. The diapers had been folded to look soiled, according to a customs agency statement.

The Mission resident, who was not identified after the Friday night incident, was fined $300 and her chorizo was seized.

Source

Three tons of double dead pork seized in Balintawak Market

Three tons of double dead pork were seized by Quezon City health officials several meat stalls in Balintawak Market, Thursday night.

Councilor Allan Francisco said a tip from market goers prompted the raid conducted by the Quezon City Health Division at the market.

Francisco said the spoiled pork came from Bulacan province. The names of the spoiled meat's owners have been withheld, but the city government assured that charges will be filed against them.

The councilor said more raids will be conducted by the city health division because they expect more double dead pork to be delivered in other public markets in the city as the Christmas season nears.

Francisco said that aside from the three tons of double dead pork, they also recovered 500 kilograms of processed meat product, including tocino and smoke, that could have been made of spoiled meat. -- DOLAND CASTRO, ABS-CBN News

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