IN THE NEWS: Poultry International February 2008

Correction to Poultry International 

A comment attributed to Mark Williams, Chief Executive of the British Egg Industry Council in the December issue was incorrect (Poultry International, December 2007, page 8, 2nd paragraph: ‘Worldwide – eggmen reluctant to move hens out of cages’).

Mr Williams has asked us to clarify his statement. What he said was, “We could have over-production post-2012 as birds still in conventional cages continue to produce eggs, which would result in very low prices. Or we could have an egg shortage if the 2012 ban on conventional cages were to be enforced without the EU industry having been able to move to either enriched cages or non-cage systems.”

We apologise to Mr Williams for the error, and thank him for giving us the opportunity to correct his statement. – Editor

USPoultry names Starkey new president

US Poultry & Egg Association board of directors has selected John Starkey to become the association’s new president. He will manage the business affairs of the association, in keeping with the policies of the board of directors. Mr Starkey joined USPoultry as vice-president of environmental programmes in 2000, and succeeds Don Dalton who retired recently.

Multivac and Ishida in strategic co-operation

Packaging industry leaders, Multivac and Ishida, have agreed a strategic co-operation to provide customers with top, fully integrated packaging line solutions. Multivac will distribute Ishida Quality Centre equipment, together with its own thermoformers, tray-sealers and labellers – under Multivac branding in all countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

GD develops new test for Marek’s vaccination

GD Animal Health Service Deventer in the Netherlands has developed new tests that use feather analysis to determine whether vaccination against Marek’s disease have been carried out correctly. They also show if the birds have caught an early field infection. GD has developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to determine the number of vaccine particles in the blood and feathers of vaccinated chicks.

Success for LTZ’s franchise hatchery meeting

More than 170 participants from 29 countries were warmly welcomed at Lohmann Tierzucht GmbH’s 45th Franchise Hatchery Meeting, which was held in Verona. In addition to the three-day symposium, the participants had the opportunity to explore Verona by participating in the supporting programme. The first day was dedicated to veterinary themes and the second to nutrition.

Requirements for transporting poultry

Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) has published a new technical note to provide guidance on the EU Council Regulation (1/2005) on the protection of animals during transport and related operations, and on the implementing legislation for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Regulation came into force in January 2007, with requirements for a certificate of competence on 5 January 2008, and satellite navigation systems for road vehicles on 1 January 2009.

The Regulation on the protection of animals during transport and related operations applies to all those who transport poultry as part of a business or trade. It sets out the general conditions for the transport of all vertebrate species, and outlines the specific provisions for the transport of poultry. The requirements also vary according to the length of journey (under 65km, over 65km and up to eight hours, and over eight hours) From 5 January 2008, drivers and attendants transporting poultry on journeys over 65km require a certificate of competence.

The technical note can be downloaded from the HSA web site, www.hsa.org.uk .

Tipper Tie netted by Conwed

Manufacturer of lightweight plastic netting, Conwed Global Netting Solutions, has acquired Tipper Tie Inc. of Chicago, USA. With this acquisition, Conwed strengthens its position as a leading supplier of plastic netting in meat and poultry packaging and processing and other applications.

Alltech opens new US office and QA lab

Alltech has officially opened its new state-of-the-art office and quality assurance laboratory in Thomasville, Georgia, USA.

“Alltech is proud to be a partner in the community of Thomasville,” said Alltech president Dr Pearse Lyons. “We’re looking forward to further establishing our roots here and becoming a part of the local economy.”

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The new facility in Thomasville brings Alltech’s number of North American offices to 19

Register now for World Poultry Congress!

Deadline for ‘early bird’ registration for the XXIII World’s Poultry Congress is 29 February. Organisers are encouraging participants to register early to save money and be sure to get their first choice of hotel accommodation. Standard registration rates will apply between 1 March and 29 May.

Hosted by WPSA, World’s Poultry Congress will be help in Brisbane, Australia from 30 June to 4 July 2008. The meeting incorporates PIX 2008 (Poultry Information Exchange), 6th Asian-Pacific Poultry Health Congress and 4th International Ratite Science Symposium, as well as satellite meetings of the Avian Immunology Research Group and 8th International Marek’s Disease Symposium. Full details and registration can be found at www.wpc2008.com .

BASF reorganises

BASF Aktiengesellschaft has reorganised its businesses with effect from January 2008 to better align itself with its customers. The company now consists of six segments: Chemicals, Plastics, Functional Solutions, Performance Products, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas.

The new Care Chemicals division will combine the activities of the former Fine Chemicals division – for example, products for the pharmaceutical industry and for food and feed, as well as aroma chemicals – with the Performance Chemicals division’s detergents and cleaners business. The group will be headed by Gabriel Tanbourgi.

Hubbard: one new phone number

To improve customer service, Hubbard SAS has introduced one new telephone number for its sites in France: +33 (0)296.79.63.70. All direct telephone numbers and fax numbers remain valid.

Study shows disinfectant effective against ND

Researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Centres for Epidemiology and Animal Health have confirmed the excellent on-farm efficacy of DuPont Virkon S in eradicating exotic Newcastle disease virus in a recent paper published in Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigations. The study was devised to cover over 50 infected non-commercial poultry farms after the disastrous South Californian END virus outbreaks of 2002-3. The authors showed that 1% Virkon S was 100% effective in eradicating the virus, and they concluded that the need for costly sentinel bird placement was eliminated.

Novus news

Novus International Inc. was joined by business leaders, political representatives and associations in a groundbreaking ceremony for its new global headquarters at Missouri Research Park in Saint Charles, Missouri, USA.

“Since our departure from Monsanto and founding in 1991, Novus believes in creating environmentally sound, sustainable programmes that enable health through nutrition for people and animals.” explained Thad Simons, president and chief executive officer of Novus International Inc., pictured at the ceremony. “The Novus global headquarters will be our symbol to the world and an expression of our sustainable efforts.”

Novus has also announced that the Quinguard feed preservative line of antioxidants will be consolidated under the global Santoquin feed preservative brand family. Santoquin brand products contain the same active component levels, usage rates and quality ingredients as their Quinguard predecessor.

“In order to better serve our customers, we want to use our premier global brand. For the last 30 plus years the Santoquin brand has provided consistent quality, safe and reliable antioxidant solutions for the preservation of fish meal, protein meal, animal fat and fish oil,” explained Wendell Knehans, Director of Feed Quality.

It is expected that Novus will continue to develop and market antioxidants under the Santoquin brand.

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Following Kiotech International’s acquisition of Agil in 2006, the company has re-branded to become Kiotechagil with a new logo.

“Our aim is for Kiotechagil to become recognised as the leading player in supplying high performance natural feed additives which enhance health, growth and sustainability in aquaculture and agriculture,” commented chief executive officer, Richard Edwards.

The new company has also strengthened its management team by recruiting Ian Cockshott as technical sales manager and David Bullen as business development director.

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Biomin celebrates and adds new web site

Biomin is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Founded by Erich Erber on 1 January 1983 with just one product, that company is now one of three divisions within the Erber AG group, which operates in 100 countries.

Biomin has launched a new web site on its global research and innovation network. Scientists and researches in the field of animal nutrition can now log on to Biomin´s Research and Innovation network (BRAIN), which supports studies ranging from mycotoxin control to natural growth promotion.

BRAIN was created to support young and highly skilled scientists. Its aim is to fund interesting research projects in the area of animal nutrition, animal health, natural growth promotion, feed-microbiology and biotechnology, mycotoxins, feed hygiene and preservation as well as undesirable substances.

The programme is divided into two parts: BRAIN 1 and BRAIN 2. In BRAIN 1, a jury continuously evaluates the submitted project proposals of students and research teams and decides upon funding for the most promising ones. BRAIN 2 is devoted to awarding excellent scientific work from all over the world. Abstracts for papers referring to one of the company’s research fields will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary jury.

Full information can be found www.brain.biomin.net .

CTB acquires Uniqfill

CTB Inc. has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Uniqfill International B.V. Located in Meijel in the Netherlands, Uniqfill is a designer and marketer of chemical and combination chemical/biological air scrubbers for animal livestock and other applications. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Air scrubbers are used to remove ammonia, undesirable odours and particulate matter from the air before it exits animal houses. Uniqfill's air scrubbers are certified for use in both the Netherlands and in Germany, and have also been sold in other countries.

Aova’s distribution agreement with Imgen

Aova Technologies Inc. and Imgen Inc. have entered into an exclusive distribution contract for the Japanese market of AovaTech’s micro feed ingredients, which include Big Bird, naturally produced dietary additives for enhanced nutritional performance.

Management team changes at Roxell

Frank Hartmann has succeeded Koen De Wit as head of the Marketing department of Roxell. Mr De Wit will be responsible for Roxell’s Innovations department, succeeding Filip Cauwels who assumes the position of Manager Operations.