Ag Headlines, Monday October 26, 2015

China Lifts Import Restriction On U.S. Pork Processors

USDA announced last week that China has agreed to lift import restrictions on six pork processing factories and eight cold-storage facilities. Bloomberg reports China had banned pork exported from the plants and warehouses after some cases where meat was found to have traces of ractopamine. However, the facilities approved for import by China are not users of products containing ractopamine. Plants representing as much as half of U.S. pork processing capacity were ineligible to ship to China at one point, according to Rabobank. Chinese pork demand has been booming and exporters from the European Union have boosted shipments amid the restrictions on some U.S. suppliers.

Sixth Circuit to consider Clean Water Rule on December 8th

The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will consider the Clean Water rule December 8th. The court will hear oral arguments over whether it has the authority to hear a challenge from industry groups and states to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Rule, or ‘Waters of the U.S.’ rule, according to the Hagstrom Report. The same court earlier this month placed a nationwide injunction on the rule until the court can decide whether or not it has jurisdiction to hear the case.

Subway Quietly Makes Change to Antibiotics Announcement

Following last week’s announcement that Subway would eliminate products exposed to antibiotics, the company quietly made a change to its animal welfare policy online. The change clarifies that antibiotics are allowed for use by farmers “for keeping animals healthy and that they should be used responsibly to preserve their effectiveness in veterinary and human medicine.” In the subtle change, Subway said “we recognize that antibiotics are critical tools. The goal still aims to reduce and eliminate the use of antibiotics in food a served by the restaurant chain.

NAFB News