"We have the responsibility to make food safe," said Dr. Daniel McChesney, director of surveillance and compliance for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine, during his presentation at the "Meeting the World Food Challenge: Outlook for Doubling Global Egg Production by the Year 2050" program held at the 2014 International Production & Processing Expo. The program was sponsored by the United Egg Producers and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.
McChesney reviewed information related to the Food Safety Modernization Act, remarking that the "food supply needs to be more high tech and complex, considering there is more food in the marketplace and new hazards in food not previously seen." McChesney also discussed the new Current Good Manufacturing Practices regulations for animal feed and reviewed the supplier verification program.
"Egg production in the U.S. has advanced dramatically over the past 50 years," said Dr. Hongwei Xin, Iowa Egg Council endowed professor and director of the Egg Industry Center for Iowa State University. Xin reviewed findings from a landmark study he led that shows a significant environmental footprint decrease in U.S. egg production over the last 50 years. His research found that all aspects of the egg production process, from cultivating feed to the raising of laying hens, have led to a decreased environmental footprint.
While table egg production was 30 percent higher in 2010 than 50 years ago, the study found the same environmental impact factors were still lower in 2010. Particularly, the U.S. egg industry in 2010, as compared with 1960, had a total environmental footprint that was 63 percent lower in greenhouse gas emissions, 63 percent lower in eutrophying emissions and 54 percent lower in acidifying emissions. The study determined that improvement in three key areas - feed efficiency, feed composition and manure management - was attributable to the reductions.
