Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 16. 10. 2008

Scientists: Pilsen beer is after hundred years still the same

Swiss scientists found out that the most widely known Czech beer Pilsner Urquell has still the same taste and quality after 111 years despite the fact that some production procedures have been changed. Newly measured values were compared with measurements from 1897 recently found in a brewery archive. Employees of a laboratory Labor Veritas found out that divergences are only in a rank of hundredths to tenths percent. The tests were made by the same laboratory 111 years ago, however, at that time it was called St. Gallen.

Minister Gandalovič supported European Forest Week

The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič engaged in events in frame of European Forest Week. He planted a lime tree together with hetman of the region Ústí Jiří Šulc in premises of Střední škola technická (Technical High School) in Ústí nad Labem. European Forest Week takes place in the all Europe from the 20th to 24th of October. “Forests are a valuable natural resource and we have to take care of them; forests fulfill many functions, so, they are not only economic business as they are sometimes seen, unfortunately”, the minister Gandalovič said.

Containers for selected waste are already got in school

The Ministry of Environment started distribution of baskets and containers for selected wasted in schools in all the Czech Republic. Schools have a chance to get gathering containers for several waste commodities for free and to help to increase effectiveness of waste sorting in the Czech Republic. “Schools produce a big amount of waste – above all paper, but also bio-waste, plastics and glass. Nevertheless, schools do not have enough money to buy gathering containers and baskets for sorting for their pupils and students. The Ministry of Environment assists by this project a number of applications for help which we have got in recent years mainly from the own teachers”, the Minister of Environment Martin Bursík says.

EU cancels a ban of import of Chinese poultry

The European Commission issued a list of nine companies from East-Chinese province Shandong which are approved for export of heat-treated products from poultry meat in the EU. A ban of export from this area will be cancelled after four years of existence. A year export of these products in the EU is reckoned to c. 100 000 t in value of c. 1 bil. USA. A total import of poultry into the EU is annually c. 700 000 t. EU inspectors monitor the mentioned plants from 2004 from a view-point of inadmissible residues of substances, occurrence of bird flue and so on.