Multiple taxes uncalled for on packaged foods: Co-chair of PHD Chamber [ Transfreez mobile refrigeration-India's most effective cold plate reefers ]

Vijay Sardana, co–chairman, Agri-business Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, urged the state governments to stop levying multiple taxes (including hygiene tax) on packaged food products, including poultry products, to enable India to realise the real potential of the food processing industry.

Addressing a Roundtable on Poultry Marketing under the aegis of the chamber in New Delhi, Sardana said that nowhere in the world was hygiene tax imposed on packaged food products, barring India. This was leading to health and food safety issues and preventing investments in India’s infrastructure sector.

“In case it wants the food processing industry to grow to its real potential, such illogical measures need to be shunned, especially when unpackaged food products are allowed to be sold off without any taxes,” he cautioned, pointing out that food safety could not be compromised.

“Different states levy packaged food products with different slabs of hygiene tax, ranging between 10 per cent and over 25 per cent without consulting the industry. This does not just discourage the entrepreneurs, but also disconnects them from the consumers in the value chain of the industry,” pointed out Sardana.

He prescribed a multi-pronged strategy to market poultry products, which include a suitable connect between farmers, middlemen and retailers, so that each stakeholder’s share of profit is protected in an equitable manner. A cooperative market approach was also recommended by him to sell meat and poultry products.

The participants in the seminar includes Arabind Das, chief executive officer, Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd; Dinesh T Bhosale, chairman, Compound Feed Manufacturers Association of India (CLFMA), poultry expert S A Khan and Avian Consultants’ Shashi Kapur.

David Yiend, global chief executive officer, AB Agri, and Simon, who also represented the company, shared their global experience with the Indian poultry industry, and stressed that the time had come to look at livestock issues seriously in India.

Transfreez mobile refrigeration-India's most effective cold plate reefers

Source: fnbNews.com

Hyderabad to get four modern slaughterhouses [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's most effective cold plate reefers]

Four modern slaughterhouses will be opened next month at Amberpet, Ramnasthpur, Gowlipura and Chengicharla, while another one would be opened at New Boiguda by May, GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar said on Friday.

Addressing the two-day 7th Mayors Conference organized by the National Meat & Poultry Processing Board (NMPPB), which works under the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI), Somesh Kumar said 70 per cent of the city's population consumes meat sold through 960 licensed meat shops. Apart from these, there are 681 beef shops, 1,077 dressed chicken outlets and 241 outlets selling eggs, fish and pork in the city. The city's average consumption of chicken per day is three lakh while that of sheep and goat is around 8,000 each per day.

Mayor Mohammed Majid Hussain said there is a need to sensitize municipal officers, supervisors and workers to maintain clean supply of meat. "If we look at the current scenario of slaughtering, processing and sale of meat & poultry products in the country, the first thing that attracts our attention is hygiene. The other thing is to share guidelines on modern meat & poultry processing units," he said.

Joint secretary, MoFPI, Anuradha Prasad, said in her welcome address that India has emerged as one of the leading countries in meat export. India's exports of animal products was worth Rs 2,0778.39 crore in 2012-13, including buffalo meat, sheep and goat meat, poultry products and dairy products. In terms of export of poultry products and processed meat, the growth has increased up to 13 and 14 per cent respectively during the 2012-13 financial year over the same period last year.

Around 200 delegates, including mayors, deputy mayors, scientists and meat traders from all over the country were present at the event. The two-day conference will conclude on Saturday. The GHMC has also arranged a field visit of modern slaughterhouses at Amberpet and Ramnasthpur on Saturday.

Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's most effective cold plate reefers
Source: Times of India

Anglo-Indian Project Aims for Better Understand of Poultry Gut Pathogens [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

UK & INDIA - A research consortium led by Royal Veterinary College of the UK's Dr Damer Blake has recently been awarded £630,000 by BBSRC and the Indian Department of Biotechnology for a study entitled 'Controlling enteric pathogens of poultry: Host/microbiota interactions, risk assessment and effective management interventions'.

Together with partners from the Roslin Research Institute, Anand Agricultural University and Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, the researchers aim to explore the value of indigenous Indian poultry to future poultry breed improvement and answer a series of four key questions:

1. What is the epidemiology of specific gastrointestinal pathogens, and co-infections, across UK and Indian poultry production systems?
2. Does host genotype exert an influence on

•  the prevalence, evolution and transmission of specified microbes and

•  the composition of flock-level enteric microbiota?

3. What is the level of genetic variation within specific microbial populations in Indian and UK poultry production?
4. What on-farm factors affect the risk of enteric colonisation and carriage of specifiedmicrobes and how can changes in poultry husbandry and management practices mitigate this risk?

The proposal brings together UK and Indian experts in poultry genetics, metagenomics, animal health, epidemiology, pathology and pathogen biology.

A multidisciplinary approach combining next-generation sequencing, high density SNP-based QTL mapping, bacteriology, parasitology, molecular epidemiology and mathematical modelling will be used to quantify and predict disease risks at farm and national levels and to inform the development of intervention and management strategies, including future breeding and husbandry planning.

Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers
Source: The Poultry Site

Indbro Research & Breeding Farms Pvt. Ltd [Transfreez mobile Refrigeration-India's Most effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Meat Industry of India: 

      India has acquired number one status in the world contributing around 15% of world’s milk production during
  2007-08, yet the meat production, which vibes well with dairy, is very low.

Meat production is around 2% of the world meat production.

The major key issues of concern in the meat sector of India is processing status. Quality and hygiene levels are very low along with tremendous waste of meat, contamination/deterioration of meat and also the avoidable cruelty to the animals. Poultry Industry : India: The Poultry Business in India is a very old practice and this food industry is one of the important contributors to the economy of rural and semi-urban India. India ranks seventeenth in the world poultry production index. Further, India is the fifth largest producer of eggs and ninth largest producer of poultry meat amongst all the countries. Indian Poultry Industry is 5,000 years old, since last 4 decades it began to witness remarkable growth from backyard to poultry industry. The organized sector of poultry industry is contributing nearly 70% of the total output and the rest 30% in the unorganized sector. The broiler industry is well dominated in southern states in our country with nearly 60-70% total output coming from these states. The layer industry once again is represented more in southern states especially, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra producing nearly 70% of the country's egg production. India's 75% of egg produce is consumed by the 25% population living in urban and semi-urban areas. Presently more than 800 hatcheries are operating in the country. India has emerged as the only country in the developing world a self-reliant, technology driven industry, with capability to produce every essential input for successful poultry farming including indigenous genetic resource and breeding, world class poultry vaccines and medicines, specific pathogen free eggs (SPF), farms and hatchery automation systems, pelleted feed, egg processing, poultry processing, nationwide network of disease diagnostic laboratories and facilities for entrepreneurial development and training in both private and public sectors. Rural Poultry: Rural poultry production constitutes important component of agricultural economy in India, small poultry holder are practically capable of more significant contribution to alleviate malnutrition, poverty and unemployment. A spectacular progress has been made from subsistence to sustainable production system. Indian backyard population increase is only by 16% in the last 30 years from 60 to 70 million. China's 76% of total egg comes from rural backyard production.India requires both mass production as well as production by masses. India produces 3.6% of global egg production, i.e., 61 million tonnes. The annual growth rate of egg is 5 to 8%. India has the lowest cost of egg production in the world at 2.55 US cents per egg. However, the poultry production and consumption in the domestic market is slated to grow. Indian poultry industry has been a major contributor to the food-processing sector in the country. From backyard activity to major commercial operation the poultry sector has undergone a paradigm shift. FDI in Meat & Poultry Industry: Presently 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permitted in the food processing sector. Also FDI in food retailing, covering dairy, poultry, marine, vegetables and fruits might help the entire food processing industry grow. Challenges Ahead & Future prospects: In last 4 decades, Poultry farming in India has transformed from a mere tool of supplementary income and nutritious food for the family to the major commercial activity generating the required revenue. The growth of the industry with steady production of 1,800 million kg of poultry meat, 40 billion egg per year and employment generation of about 3 million people indicates the future prospects for the industry. Changing food habits, rising income of the middle class Indian, presence of private players, rising market demand of the Indian poultry produce in the export market are some of the contributing factors to the growth of the industry. The biggest challenge is low availability of adequate infrastructural facilities, inadequately developed linkages between R&D; labs and industry and unawareness about hygienic practices the Indian Meat and Poultry Market stands at a low position in respect to the global markets. India is exploring the opportunities like setting of mega food parks, modern abattoirs, improvised processing units, providing added incentive to develop existing projects while taking care of the changing consumption patterns. The integration of development in contemporary technologies such as electronics, material science, bio-technology etc. offer vast scope for rapid improvement and progress and opening of the global markets National Meat and Poultry Processing Board National Meat and Poultry Processing Board is an autonomous body launched by Government of India on 19th Feb 2009. The Board would initially be funded by the Government of India for two years and would be managed by the industry itself. This apex body is launched to work as a National hub for addressing all key issues related to Meat and Poultry processing sector for the systematic and proper development of this sector. The Board would serve as a single window service provider for producers/manufacturers and exporters of meat and meat products, for promoting & regulating the meat industry, as a whole and it would result in large number of employment opportunities. It would also help the rural farmers for increasing their income. The Board will also help industry to utilize slaughterhouse waste materials, set up quality control laboratories for meat and meat products, promote meat manufacturers to adopt Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems, ISO-9001: 2000 standards, help industry to create and disseminate data, train workers and technicians and work as a central and National hub to address meat-related issues.

Transfreez mobile Refrigeration-India's Most effective Cold Plate Reefers

Source: www.gktoday.in

Animal Rights Campaigners Highlight Welfare Issues in Indian Egg Industry [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Refrigerated Trucks]

INDIA - The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) has responded to a news item on ThePoultrySite a month ago, stressing the need for greater attention to animal welfare in the Indian poultry industry.

In a letter to ThePoultrySite, FIAPO describes itself as a collective of animal protection organisations in India. It represents and advocate for NGOs and activists in the Indian animal
protection sector; and also independently conduct research about and advocate for the rights of animals.

Puja Mitra, FIAPO Campaign Manager writes: "We would like to bring to your notice an article published on your web site, thepoultrysite.com on 20 January 2014, titled 'Overview of India’s Diverse Egg Sector' by Dr T. Kotaiah, Managing Director of Indbro Research & Breeding Farms Pvt. Ltd of Hyderabad.

"While we understand the aim of your publication is to raise awareness about developments in the global poultry industry; we are disappointed that the important issue of animal welfare has been neglected while promoting stories of growth in this sector.

"The article by Dr Kotaiah that has been promoted by your site states 'With high egg production with minimum nutritional inputs, today's layer bird is becoming a sensitive machine'. We strongly object to this statement as it depicts the Hen as an inanimate object that is to be used as a product without any consideration for its physiological and psychological welfare.

"In India, almost 100 per cent of commercially produced eggs come from hens living in 'battery cages' on factory farms. Several hens are kept in each small cage, and the cages are stacked on top of each other. Thousands of cages are kept in a single shed. No thought is given to the hens’ welfare. Each hen has less space than an A4 size sheet of paper. The hens are prevented from engaging in important natural behaviors, such as walking, perching, dust bathing, nesting, or even fully stretching their wings. They suffer psychological stress as well as numerous physical harms, including bone weakness and breakage, feather loss, and diseases.

"Common industry practices, such as slicing off parts of beaks without painkillers and controlling the hens’ laying cycles by starving them, cause intense suffering. Male chicks have no use in the egg industry, so newly hatched male chicks are killed by grinding them up. Animal scientists have selectively bred hens to continue producing eggs even when they are kept in horrible conditions.

"The article goes on to state, 'The larger layer farms are not expanding further because of disease threat, labour costs, environmental concerns and local issues'. What perhaps your publication has neglected to mention, is that there are no regulations to combat these threats of disease and environmental pollution, as the industry is driven by a desire to obtain maximum profit without any consideration for the welfare of the animals or the environment, or even the staff who work in poultry farms. Non-therapeutic and indiscriminate use of antibiotics in chicken feed only increases the risk of disease to the animal, handlers and consumers. Untreated wastes from these mega poultry factory farms pollute the ground water and soil of the surrounding areas.

"Articles such as these only highlight the production values of the poultry industry without providing any guidelines on the welfare of the unfortunate animals, who are raised as commodities and not as sentient beings deserving of care and the right to live a natural and cruelty-free life.

"We urge you to publish balanced articles that also highlight the danger of expanding the poultry industry in India including genetically modifying an intelligent and sensitive animal as the hen, without making any provisions for animal welfare.

"This mindless rush for profit at the cost of the welfare of the poultry bird highlighted through this article by Dr Kotaiah promoted by your site; violates the fundamental duty of every Indian citizen as stated in the Constitution of India, Article 51 A (g) which is “to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures”.

"We hope that you will take cognizance of the terrible conditions that prevail in poultry farms in India, which compromise the health and rights of these animals, and we urge you to provide information that helps your audience to improve animal welfare standards in this industry," concludes Puja Mitra.

[Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Refrigerated Trucks]

Source: The Poultry Site

Egg powder from India to enter Russian market soon as demand increases [Transfreez Mobile refrigeration-India's most effective Refrigerated Trucks]

Russia would commence the import of egg powder from India about a month from now (or perhaps sooner), owing to the increase in the demand for it. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s agricultural watchdog, confirmed the development. 

India, the world’s third largest producer of eggs, currently exports table eggs, egg white powder and egg yolk powder to about 30 countries, and had been in talks with the government of Russia to facilitate their export.

However, Russia’s strict animal health norms became a stumbling block for the export of egg powder (which is used by Russian food manufacturers as an ingredient in confectionery, semi-finished meat products and mayonnaise) by India.

Indian products cheaper 
Indian egg powder is comparatively cheaper than the product made in Russia - where the rising costs of poultry feed are having an adverse impact on its economy - or imported from countries like Argentina. 

The Russian media has, in fact, criticised the decision to open the market to Indian imports, stating that the local makers wouldn’t be able to compete with Indian prices and could be wiped out. Nevertheless, Rosselkhoznador has decided to go ahead with it.

Indian poultry body confident
A K Sharma, a Poultry Federation of India member, stated that India could export high-quality egg powder to Russia, but to do so consistently, they would have to maintain the price line.

“We are confident about exporting our products to any country in the world, as they are of a high quality. We would not only fetch the best price, but also be able to contribute significantly to the growth of the Indian economy,” he added. 

[Transfreez Mobile refrigeration-India's most effective Refrigerated Trucks]

Source: FnBnews

India’s poultry feed demand to rise in 2014

India’s rising appetite for poultry products will boost domestic demand for corn and soy meal this year by about 9% to 12 million tonnes (combined), traders said. The higher local feed demand could further reduce overseas sales that are already under pressure from cheaper grains from Latin America. Corn will make up most of the feed demand growth because supplies are ample and prices cheaper. Demand for soy meal, meanwhile, may not rise as prices surged after late rains hit the soybean crop. “Consumption of feeds, mainly corn is expected to increase because demand for poultry products are likely to rise by at least 6% this year,” said Sanjeev Chintawar, Business Manager of the National Egg Coordination Committee.