AnimalNet Jan. 30/07 -- II
Argentina on
alert over foot-and-mouth disease
Oviduct-specific
expression of two therapeutic proteins in transgenic hens
Projects
unveil customer perceptions to boost Canada's beef success
New consumer
research to be released at annual meat conference: Nearly 90 percent of shoppers
compare meat prices before purchasing
DNA
fingerprinting promotes health and safety
Kenya
seeking to save meat business from fever fears
how to subscribe
Argentina
on alert over foot-and-mouth disease
30.jan.07
Reuters
BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina, the world's third-biggest beef exporter, was cited as
saying on Tuesday it was stepping up existing measures to prevent foot-and-mouth
disease following an outbreak in neighboring Bolivia.
Senasa, Argentina's food and animal health inspection service, was quoted as
sayig in a statement that, "Due to the three outbreaks of foot-and-mouth
detected in the Santa Cruz province of Bolivia, the alert declared in October
2005 will remain in place and be strengthened."
The 2005 alert, imposed after an outbreak in neighboring Brazil -- the world's
top beef supplier -- steps up border controls and suspends certain imports in a
bid to stop the highly contagious virus from spreading.
Oviduct-specific
expression of two therapeutic proteins in transgenic hens
30.jan.07
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Recent advances in avian transgenesis have led to the possibility of utilizing
the laying hen as a production platform for the large-scale synthesis of
pharmaceutical proteins. Ovalbumin constitutes more than half of the protein in
the white of a laid egg, and expression of the ovalbumin gene is restricted to
the tubular gland cells of the oviduct. Here we describe the use of lentiviral
vectors to deliver transgene constructs comprising regulatory sequences from the
ovalbumin gene designed to direct synthesis of associated therapeutic proteins
to the oviduct. We report the generation of transgenic hens that synthesize
functional recombinant pharmaceutical protein in a tightly regulated
tissue-specific manner, without any evidence of transgene silencing after
germ-line transmission.
S. G. Lillico , A. Sherman , M. J. McGrew , C. D. Robertson {dagger}, J. Smith
{dagger}, C. Haslam {dagger}, P. Barnard {dagger}, P. A. Radcliffe {ddagger}, K.
A. Mitrophanous {ddagger}, E. A. Elliot {dagger}, and H. M. Sang {sect}
Roslin Institute, Roslin Biocentre, Midlothian EH25 9PS, United Kingdom; {dagger}Viragen
(Scotland) Ltd., Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26
0PZ, United Kingdom; and {ddagger}Oxford Biomedica Ltd., Medawar Centre, Oxford
Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GA, United Kingdom
Communicated by Ian Wilmut, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United
Kingdom, December 7, 2006 (received for review July 3, 2006)
Projects
unveil customer perceptions to boost Canada's beef success
30.jan.07
Canadian Cattlemen's Association
Calgary, AB -- A wealth of knowledge to drive marketing strategies for Canadian
beef has been unveiled by two international perception studies funded by the
National Beef Industry Development Fund (NBIDF).
"The task of knowing the customer has never been more complex or important
for Canada's beef industry," says Dave Plett, NBIDF Chair. "This is
particularly true with the changes we face in the post-BSE world."
To deliver this knowledge, NBIDF funded two major projects to audit the opinions
of influential global meat experts and consumers in top export markets for
Canadian beef.
In the first project, the Canada Beef Export Federation undertook a Beef Quality
Perception Audit (BQPA) in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong/Macau and
Mexico, to understand how the qualities of Canadian beef are regarded among
close to 1,000 meat experts in those markets. This project built on a similar
audit of U.S. meat experts conducted in 2004 by the Beef Information Centre.
The meat experts participating in the information audit included top meat
company directors, beef importers and distributors, and meat purveyors who have
the dollars and powerful market influence to drive demand.
"These people are the movers and shakers - collectively, they represent
millions of dollars in trade," says Michael Young, vice president of
international programs for Canada Beef Export Federation. "They are in the
business of buying what sells, and they can buy beef from anywhere in the world.
How they perceive beef quality and Canadian beef has a huge impact on our future
success and prosperity in the export marketplace."
The findings confirmed Canadian beef grading standards are doing a good job of
addressing the demands of these meat experts, since all the preferences
indicated are ones Canada already delivers as standards for its beef grades.
However more work is needed to help these experts identify Canada's association
with these advantages. "The results showed that Canadian beef has a strong
opportunity for success in these markets, as long as we continue to communicate
and reinforce our strengths," says Young.
At a consumer level, NBIDF also funded a consumer perception study, to gauge
attitudes related to beef food safety in four primary markets for Canadian beef.
This project was used as a basis to propose supply chain management strategies
to enhance beef demand.
A team led by Dr. Ted Schroeder, an agricultural economist at Kansas State
University, conducted extensive surveys focusing on consumer perceptions and
attitudes about beef food safety. Surveys were conducted during 2006, with
approximately 1,000 consumers in each of the primary markets of Canada, the
U.S., Japan, and Mexico.
Combined results of the surveys showed that 80 percent or more of consumers in
Canada and the U.S. considered beef a safe product, whereas only 48 percent of
Japanese and 60 percent of Mexican respondents felt beef is a safe product.
Compared to four years ago, consumers in all four countries indicated they had
reduced their beef consumption because of food safety concerns. Canadians and
Americans reduced beef consumption by 20 percent, Mexicans by 30 percent and
Japanese by 55 percent.
"This finding is particularly challenging for Canada as a beef exporter,
because lost consumer confidence in beef can occur regardless of what the
Canadian beef industry alone does to ensure food safety," says Schroeder.
"It's clear that beef food safety is a global issue."
More information on results of the two projects is available in two new feature
articles, available on the NBIDF Web site, www.cattle.ca/NBIDF
New
consumer research to be released at annual meat conference: Nearly 90 percent of
shoppers compare meat prices before purchasing
30.jan.07
American Meat Institute
Washington, D.C. -- New research highlighting consumer meat product and
promotion preferences, shopping behavior and the growth of the natural and
organic market will all be presented at the 2007 Annual Meat Conference, Feb.
18-20, 2007 at the Caribe Royale Orlando All-Suites Resort and Convention Center
in Orlando, Fla.
Information presented at the session is based on a joint consumer study by the
American Meat Institute (AMI) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and will be
presented by Anne-Marie Roerink, director of research at FMI.
Highlights from the study include:
· In-store sales promotions and signs have the highest impact on the quantity
of meat purchased.
· Over one-third of shoppers compare meat prices at different stories before
shopping and half compare prices of different meat and poultry products within
the store.
· Over half of shoppers keep ready-to-heat products in stock at home.
· One-fifth of shoppers stated that better customer assistance would prompt
increased meat purchases.
Results from the study will be released during the session and presented in an
actionable format for immediate applicability within any organization.
Co-sponsored by AMI and FMI, the conference has become the industry’s premier
meat marketing and operations educational program, designed to bring together
every segment of the retail meat and poultry supply chain. Associate sponsors
include the American Lamb Board, Canadian Meat Council, National Chicken
Council, National Pork Board, The Beef Checkoff and National Turkey Federation.
www.meatconference.com.
DNA
fingerprinting promotes health and safety
30.jan.07
ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Identifying individual animals is essential to controlling diseases and
monitoring international imports and exports.
To find out who's who in a herd, scientists and cattle industry professionals
rely on DNA--especially when traditional animal identification has been lost or
damaged. Highly specialized genetic markers, developed by Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) scientists at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center,
Neb., are helping to improve animal identification and parentage testing.
The most common type of genetic marker present in U.S. beef and dairy cattle is
the "single nucleotide polymorphism" or SNP. The scientists have
already identified 122 specialized parentage SNPs and annotated more than 1,600
neighboring SNPs. This knowledge has increased the accuracy of parentage and
identification tests.
Using genetic markers, scientists can generate molecular fingerprints to match
multiple samples from one animal. DNA-based technology is an effective
complement to physical markers--such as brands, tattoos, tags and implants--and
can clearly identify animals in situations in which physical markers cannot. DNA
can be obtained and analyzed from cattle at any stage of life, as well as from
fresh, frozen or cooked products. It's stable and completely unique to each
animal.
Since 2003, USMARC researchers have identified over 7,000 bovine SNPs and placed
them in the public domain where they can be accessed by researchers around the
world.
Over the last decade, technological advances have made SNP identification easier
and cheaper. Today the testing procedure typically costs about 2 to 20 cents per
SNP, but it could eventually decrease to less than 1 cent. Lower costs could
enhance animal health and food safety by promoting widespread use of SNP
genotyping in cattle.
Read more about this research in the January 2007 issue of Agricultural Research
magazine, available online at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jan07/dna0107.htm
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency
Kenya
seeking to save meat business from fever fears
30.jan.07
Reuters
Jeremy Clarke
NAIROBI -- Kenya on Tuesday was cited as saying it would spend $2.41 million
(170 million shillings) on livestock vaccinations and quarantines to save its
meat industry, which is in the grips of a deadly Rift Valley Fever outbreak.
The highly contagious disease mainly affects livestock but can be spread to
humans through contact with infected fluids. About 150 people have died since
the disease broke out in Kenya in December.
The virus that causes the fever, which is also mosquito-borne, causes those
infected to vomit blood or bleed to death.
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