Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 2.1.2012

German poultry farms show still less and less salmonellas

A contamination rate of poultry with salmonellas in German has decreased on as a national report on state over 2010 prepared by the Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (BfR) showed. It considered results of monitoring in more than 10 000 poultry farms in Germany. From the report it resulted that 0.3 % of farms of breeding poultry and 0.2 % of fattening poultry stations were contaminated with salmonellas. In the foregoing year it was still 0.9 % of breeding farms and 0.4 % of fattening stations. A president of BfR, Professor Andreas Hensel, evaluates these results as a continual positive trend of continuous decrease in numbers of poultry farms contaminated with salmonellas, which already started several years ago.

Minister Bendl: Amount of food is sufficient. Don´t be afraid of price growth

The Minister of Agriculture Petr Bendl from ODS expects that there will be skirmishes in the government also in the new year, but he believes that the coalition will settle them in interest of the country. He also thinks that VAT increase should not have so big impact on food prices because last year brought an over-crop. It always pulls prices down. He plans further savings at the Ministry, but not at the expense of Czech farmers.

Butter quality according to d-test investigation

Butters on our market are quality and less quality. Plant fat is not added; sometimes it contains an increased water amount; rarely rancidity or fustiness is recorded. Butter is defined by the regulation 1234/2007/EC; it has to be produced only from milk fat content of which is at least 80 % (and maximally 16 % of water quantity c. 18 % of weight). Additives (E) and addition of other fats are inadmissible. If plant oils are added, the marking butter must not be used. Butter with three-quarter fat content can have lower content of fat (60 - 62 %) or half-fat butter (39 - 41 %, “light”, “with reduced fat content”) which has to be presented on the package. Earlier in the Czech Republic at least 82 % of fat used to be required which most of Czech producers still keeps.

Discussion about future of ecological agriculture in CR

According to the Agrarian Chamber, national rules for ecological agriculture insufficiently stimulate bio-food production. PRO-BIO Union of Ecological farmers has a different opinion. An amendment of act on ecological agriculture passed by the Senate last week and now waiting to be signed by the president´s signature is insufficient, the president of Agrarian Chamber Jan Veleba stated today. According to him, the new legal regulation motivates eco-farmers insufficiently not only to take subsidies but to produce foods. The entire EU endowment system leads European farmers to a stagnation of production while agrarian production on other continents grows quickly, Veleba told.