Reuters — U.S. sandwich chain Subway Restaurants said on Thursday it shut 359 restaurants in the U.S. last year, amid stiff competition in a highly fragmented fast-food industry. Subway, owned by Doctor’s Associates, is the world’s largest fast-food chain by number of restaurants. It had 26,744 locations operating in the U.S. at the end of […] Read more
Subway says it shut hundreds of U.S. restaurants last year
Heritage chicks available now
Reading Time: < 1 minute University of Alberta’s hugely popular heritage chicken distribution program is now on — but hurry before they’re all gone. “This year, we’re offering Plymouth barred rock, brown leghorn, random bred broiler 1978, light Sussex and Rhode Island Red chicks,” said Jesse Hunter, program co-ordinator. “We hatch a certain number of each breed every year, so […] Read more
New egg layers code wins praise
Reading Time: < 1 minute The revised Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Layers is a “tremendous achievement,” says the Egg Farmers of Alberta. The code is the foundation for the egg industry’s animal welfare standards, and informs enhancements to the national Animal Care Program. The new Code of Practice is the result of “a rigorous and […] Read more
Bird flu redirects trade flow of U.S. chicken, eggs, grains
Chicago | Reuters –– Global outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have altered the flow of U.S. chicken meat, eggs and grain around the world, adding to challenges faced by domestic exporters and giving a leg up to Brazil, which has so far escaped the disease. Different strains of avian flu have been detected across […] Read more
KFC to curb antibiotic use in U.S. chickens it buys
Los Angeles | Reuters — Yum Brands’ U.S. KFC chain plans to curb the use of antibiotics in its chicken supply, making it the last of the big three chicken restaurants to join the fight against the rise of dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs. KFC, the second-biggest U.S. chicken chain by sales after privately […] Read more
Top U.S. chicken-producing state sees first case of bird flu
Chicago | Reuters — Georgia has confirmed its first-ever case of bird flu in commercial poultry, its agriculture department said on Monday, widening an outbreak of the disease into the United States’ biggest chicken meat-producing state. A flock of 18,000 chickens used for breeding was culled after testing positive for H7 bird flu, according to […] Read more
Brazil fears lost market share for meat industry
Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil’s meatpacking industry has been badly damaged by a police investigation into alleged unsanitary and corrupt practices, and could lose upward of 10 per cent of its global market share, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said Wednesday. Maggi told a Senate committee that the main concern was with the China and Hong […] Read more
Tim’s, Burger King to tighten broiler welfare standards
The owner of the Tim Hortons and Burger King fast food chains plans to have the broiler chicken producers supplying its Canadian and U.S. outlets meet a tighter set of welfare standards within the next seven years. Restaurant Brands International (RBI) announced on its website it will be “pursuing alignment” with Global Animal Partnership (GAP) […] Read more
Canada blocks poultry, eggs from Tennessee, Alabama
Cross-border travellers coming into Canada from the U.S. are being warned not to bring in raw poultry or eggs from Tennessee or Alabama following outbreaks of avian flu in those states. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday announced restrictions on imports of uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from those two states until […] Read more
A+W tightens standards for broiler suppliers’ barns
Canadian burger and root beer chain A+W has set up additional standards for broiler barns supplying chicken meat to its restaurants. On top of its existing requirements for raising birds on grain-based diets without the use of antibiotics, the company on Friday announced it would require a new maximum stocking density for birds in its […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
