Reading Time: 2 minutes State-of-the-art “furnished housing” for poultry has won the New York Hutterite Colony the inaugural Canadian Poultry Sustainability Award for both the table egg industry and the overall poultry industry honours. The Lethbridge-area colony was praised for being a progressive and forward-thinking egg farm, with a strong commitment to animal welfare and environmentally responsible farming practices. […] Read more

New York Colony’s ‘furnished’ poultry housing wins sustainability awards
Furnished housing provides a more natural open environment, with nesting areas, scratch pads, and perches
Britain confirms H5N8 in ducks on farm in north
London | Reuters — Bird flu on a duck farm in northern England is the highly contagious H5N8 strain, the same form of the virus already discovered in Germany and the Netherlands, Britain’s farm ministry confirmed on Tuesday. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that the risk to humans was minimal, […] Read more

The tale of how chickens got so big
Today’s strain of chickens are four times bigger than the broilers of 60 years ago, and they need only half the feed
Reading Time: 3 minutes A modern broiler chicken grows a whopping four times faster than one bred in the 1950s — and packs on those pounds with much less feed. “They’re much more efficient,” said Martin Zuidhof, associate professor poultry systems at the University of Alberta. “It takes half the feed to grow a bird.” Zuidhof has been getting […] Read more
Olymel plans major expansion at Que. chicken plant
Meat packing giant Olymel has announced plans for $10 million in expansions and upgrades at one of its poultry further-processing plants in Quebec’s Monteregie region. The company said Wednesday the planned expansions at its Ste-Rosalie facility will include 15,000 additional square feet of work space and storage, including a third cooking line, a spice warehouse, […] Read more
A+W tightens chicken supply requirements
Canada’s No. 2 burger chain, in the midst of a bid to carve out new market space for its beef and eggs, now plans to differentiate its chicken burgers and chicken strips in the same way. A+W Food Services on Monday announced the latest step in its “Our Ingredients Guarantee” campaign, pledging it will “only […] Read more

A+W pledges another ‘major ingredient change’ ahead
Canada’s second-biggest burger chain plans to follow up its new sourcing policies for beef and eggs with a third “major ingredient change,” due out next week. While releasing their results for the third quarter ending Sept. 7, A+W Revenue Royalties Income Fund and A+W Food Services of Canada said the ingredient change is set to […] Read more
St. John’s chicken packer back in business
Newfoundland chicken processor Country Ribbon Inc. has resumed operations after a brief suspension of its federal operating license. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Friday it had suspended the St. John’s company’s license over what the agency called failure to implement “corrective measures required by regulation” to ensure meat safety. [Related story] The company […] Read more

St. John’s chicken plant’s federal license pulled
A St. John’s, N.L. chicken slaughter and processing plant has been handed a suspension over the consistency of its food safety systems. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it has suspended the operating license for Country Ribbon Inc., which markets fresh and frozen chicken, chicken parts, appetizers and deli meats under the Country Ribbon, […] Read more
U.S. launches task force to tackle antibiotic-resistant bugs
Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. government will set up a task force and presidential advisory council to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance to national security, setting a Feb. 15 deadline for the outlining of specific steps to be taken, White House advisers said at a press conference Thursday. The White House announced […] Read more

U.S. lawmakers want to curb antibiotic use on farms
Reuters — Two U.S. lawmakers are calling for action to rein in antibiotic use in livestock in response to a Reuters investigation showing how top U.S. poultry firms have been administering drugs to their flocks. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said she plans to introduce new legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to collect […] Read more