Consumer publication Which? has given the Food Standards Agency (FSA) an overall positive review to celebrate the Agency’s 10th anniversary.

Climate change continues to dominate the headlines and will be the main topic of conversation at the annual Outlook Conference in London in April.

Increased demand for alternative steak cuts is paying off for wholesalers, processors and catering butchers with benefits including improved beef carcase balance and increasing prices of under-used primals, Eblex has claimed.

Pork rose in a declining market for both lamb and beef last year, up 3% compared to lamb, which was down 9%. Beef sales were cut by 3%. As a result, pork grew its share of the meat market by 10% in December on the previous year.

Supermarkets today face the implementation of new regulations monitoring their dealings with suppliers, known as the Grocery Supplier Code of Practice (GSCOP).

The number of food and drink sector deals involving UK firms fell by 30% to just 70 last year, comapred with 132 in 2007.

Demand for Welsh Lamb remains buoyant despite the recession, leading to increased sales overseas and improved prices for producers at home, claimed bosses this week.
“It’s been an encouraging year for farmers and prices have held up well,” said Rees Roberts, chairman of Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales.

Hospitality and retail businesses keen to source local food and drink from the South Downs area are being invited to a Meet the Producer day in Petersfield.

The government has announced it is to begin consulting on the creation of a body to oversee supermarkets’ relationships with suppliers.

Kevin Brennan, consumer minister with the department for business, innovation and skills, has accepted the Competition Commission's recommendation for an ombudsman to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, and will launch a consultation on the issue next month.

Scottish food companies are being encouraged to recycle their waste and help power the region.

With landfill tax set to rise by £8 per tonne each year until at least 2013, Scottish Water Horizons - the commercial arm of Scottish Water - is keen to hear from businesses that have solid and liquid waste that could be turned into electricity.

High-quality halal meat will be on the menu for Olympic athletes after Games officials approved The European Halal Development Agency’s Standard for all halal products.

Meat wholesaler Tadmarton Products has helped save 2,000 Christmas dinners by donating turkey joints to Crisis.

Meat wholesaler Clifton Quality Meats has announced it has opened a brand new cutting plant in Yorkshire to ensure it can meet demand that has been building across the region.

Eblex has unveiled an ambitious export marketing programme for winter 2010, which includes exhibitions and roadshows in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Dubai and Cyprus, while breeding stock exports will be promoted in the Ukraine and France.

Scottish meat businesses are celebrating after getting big cash hand-outs from the Scottish government.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has called on the European Parliament to make country-of-origin labelling mandatory on processed meats.

All meat served at the 2012 London Olympics will be UK farm-assured after organisers vowed to hold the most sustainable Games in history.

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) will procure UK Red Tractor Assured food wherever seasonally possible; meat at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be fully traceable and will have been produced to strict standards from farm to venue.

Scotland Food & Drink has unveiled new growth targets of £12.5bn for the Scottish food and drink industry, after urging further collaboration at its AGM last week.

Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb will feature among some of Britain’s most cherished produce at an upcoming Christmas Market in London this week.

The managing director of Leamington Spa butcher Aubrey Allen has been appointed the new chairman of the National Association of Catering Butchers (NACB).

People don’t have to ditch meat to save the planet, but they will have to eat less and switch to non-intensive produce, a new report has found.

The report, released by Friends of the Earth (FOE) and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), models future food production against different diets. It concludes that by limiting consumption to three times a week, people could make a big difference to the planet.

Unite has hailed a Budgens boss a “local hero” for supporting sacked 2 Sisters workers by removing the processor’s products from his shelves.

Caterers, butchers, hoteliers and retailers are being invited to stand and bid for some of the country’s top livestock at the ringside of a premier winter livestock show.

People will have to consider giving up meat in order to halt climate change, an influential authority on global warming has warned.

Lord Stern, the author of the 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming, said that “a vegetarian diet is better” and predicted that eating meat could one day become as socially unacceptable as drink-driving.

Meat has helped drive a recession-defying increase in UK food exports so far this year, latest figures show.

According to new research commissioned by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), exports of food and non-alcoholic have drinks bucked the recessionary trend and were up 10.2% to £4.82bn in the first six months of the year.

The Argentine beef industry is set to double exports this year, bosses revealed at Anuga. Exports are set to rise from 300,000t last year to more than 600,000t, according to the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA).

Meat importer Heritage Foods has announced that a partnership with Clydesdale Bank could boost its existing £24m turnover to a new substantial level.

The meat processing industry is stuck in a “high-cost regulatory time-warp”, according to the new president of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW).

EBLEX has moved quickly to reassure the independent retail trade and small and medium-sized abattoir sector that its Quality Standard scheme for beef and lamb will continue to operate and be supported.

Livestock organisations have reacted angrily to a WWF report which calls on the government to take action over meat consumption.

WWF says that debate over meat consumption has reached a “deadlock” due to the complex environmental and nutritional issues surrounding meat. The charity wants to kick start a debate on consumption and has released a report written by the Food Ethics Council (FEC) outlining a range of possible government interventions.

Morrisons, KellyBronze and a Warrington butcher’s shop have been celebrating success in the 2009 British Turkey Awards.

Oxfordshire-based wholesale meat supplier Tadmarton Products has expanded its sales team with the appointment of David Willington.

HRH The Princess Royal has been elected as one of 15 assistants to the Court of the Worshipful Company of Butchers. She has agreed to serve as renter assistant this year and will become master next year.

Jeffrey Davies, who trades at Smithfield Market and has a factory in Gillingham, Kent, succeeds Brian Wheatley as master for the coming year.

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has written to the EU Commission calling for an immediate and complete halt on Brazilian beef imports.

IFA president Padriag Walshe wrote to EU Commissioner for Health & Consumer Protection, Androulla Vassiliou, asking her to take action to halt what he described as the “failed Brazilian process” of clearing farms for export to the EU.

National advertisements for halal ready-meals were broadcast in France this week, in what is thought to be a first for mainstream European television.

The final cheques are in and the cash all counted – the Butchers on Bike charity ride from London to Paris raised a grand total of around £50,000.

The chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has written an open letter emphasising the organisation’s backing of the recent report on organic food.

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has responded to the Brazilian beef industry’s dismissal of attacks on Brazilian beef as protectionism and jealousy.

Butchers, supermarkets and sausage manufacturers are being urged to pull their best pork sausages out of the hat in the hunt for the country's most “magical” banger.

The BPEX competition marks the return of British Sausage Week, which will take place from from 2-8 November 2009.

BBC Three’s Kill It, Cook It, Eat It is to return for another series, this time exploring the ethics of meat consumption.

Northern Ireland has announced a new two-year campaign to accelerate its red meat sales to Europe.

A cancer charity has urged parents to stop putting ham and other processed meat in their children’s packed lunches.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has warned that if children are fed sandwich fillers such as ham and salami, they could develop a taste for processed meats, which would “increase their risk of developing cancer later in life”.

A second Brazilian beef exporter has agreed to stop sourcing cattle from farms involved in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

The Brazilian beef industry has accused UK and Irish farming associations of resorting to “misinformation and bullying” to “impose themselves on the global market".

The Brazilian Embassy has denied claims that eating Brazilian meat will fuel the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

The National Beef Association (NBA) has warned that the “most dominant” factor shaping the UK slaughter cattle market is short supplies.

A Scottish meat wholesaler has resumed trading just months after fire devastated its meat processing plant.

Campbells Prime Meat was forced to cancel meat orders after a fire ripped through its Broxburn cutting plant in May, but the company has now relocated to a £6m new facility near Falkirk.

The UK needs to radically rethink the way in which food is produced and processed if we are to enjoy food security in the future, Hilary Benn said today.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs secretary was talking at the launch of the country’s first food security assessment, which analyses the current state of the UK’s food supply and highlights the key challenges to a sustainable future.

Stonleigh Park is to host a new technical business event, designed for producers, processors and retailers in the red meat supply chain.

Leading haggis producer Macsween has pointed out it was Scotland's greatest writer, not England's, who wrote in praise of the sheep innards delicacy, after recent research uncovered the fact that the haggis might be an English invention.

The concept of food miles can have little benefit on the environment and local production is not the answer to global warming, a Defra study has claimed.

Farming leaders have called on the government to act in full on the Competition Commission’s (CC) recommendation for a supermarket ombudsman.

The NFU said that the new Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), published by the CC yesterday (4 August), will only work if it has the backing of an ombudsman.

The Organic Trade Board (OTB) is fighting back against the bad press that organics faced last week, claiming that growth in the sector is still possible.

The Competition Commission (CC) has called on the government to establish an ombudsman to oversee disputes between retailers and their suppliers.

The CC has been trying to convince retailers to sign up to the arbitration scheme voluntarily, but the majority have failed to comply. The CC does not have the power to establish an ombudsman itself, so it has made a formal recommendation to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) that it should establish one.

Meat traders in Cumbria are being warned about the risk of buying contaminated meat after a number of sheep were stolen from a field.

Scottish red meat promotion and development body Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) will be joining British food producers to take part in the inaugural Defra EU Protected Food Names Roadshow.

Two biodynamic farmers have waded into the organic argument, claiming that organic standards “don’t go far enough”.

Butchers, meat suppliers and chefs are reporting an increasing demand for the range of economy speciality steaks developed by EBLEX.

Organic meat has no nutritional benefits over conventional meat, according to a report by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The study was led by a team of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who reviewed all papers published over the past 50 years relating to the nutrient content and health differences between organic and conventional food.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has revealed the final shortlist for its annual Community Partnership Awards.

The government has announced it will spend over £100m redeveloping the laboratory blamed for the 2007 foot and mouth outbreak.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills decided to invest in the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) at Pirbright, Surrey, following "extensive reviews of the UK’s needs for animal health research".

Meat suppliers looking to expand into the export market will be able to seek advice from a new, but familiar source.

A growing farming movement claims to produce better meat by bringing together the power of the moon and planets.

A pie-maker in South Lanarkshire has been shortlisted for a British food competition with his Honeyed Venison Pie.

Lamb sales are on the increase as recession-hit consumers ditch restaurants and ready meals for home-cooked fare.

Results based on the shopping habits of 1.4m Tesco Clubcard customers shows that sales of fresh lamb have gone up 15% in volume during the last 12 months.

Consumers need more information about the impact of water-intensive foods such as meat, says a new report.

The report, produced by the Food Ethics Council (FEC) for Sustain to identify the best way to ‘score’ products on water issues, warned that “water scarcity will be one of the most pressing environmental, social and economic challenges of the coming decades”.

A Sourced market is to open at St Pancras Station, offering a range of fresh produce, including sustainably sourced meat.

Scottish farming leaders have welcomed the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s vision for securing future food security.

The Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee has published a report on UK food security, concluding that the UK has a “moral obligation” to contribute to global food production.

A leading Halal meat supplier has hit out at the appointment of Lord Rooker to the chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as “jobs for the boys”, and called for Muslim representation within quangos.

Naved Syed, MD of Janan Meats, said he was encouraged to apply for the role of chairman of the FSA and has been left disappointed by the Rooker appointment.

Extremist groups are using climate change as a “stick to beat the livestock industry”, the Welsh meat promotion board has warned.

Rees Roberts, chairman of Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales, has accused anti-meat organisations of “hijacking” the climate change agenda for their own purposes and making false claims about the impact of livestock production on the environment.

A non-pathogenic strain of the Ebola virus has been discovered in pigs in the Philippines.

Researchers found pigs infected with the Ebola-Reston (REBOV) virus while testing to find a cause for the severe respiratory infections that have plagued the country's swine herds.

Bishops Castle Meat, a Shropshire abattoir which has lain empty for two years, is set to re-open by the autumn.

Meat bosses have warned against over-simplistic labelling when it comes to environmental messages on meat products.

Cash-strapped consumers are increasingly turning to pork, while health has slipped down the agenda in the face of the economic downturn.

The meat industry has welcomed the Food Standard Agency's (FSA) U-turn on increasing meat hygiene charging as a "pleasant surprise".

Lord Rooker has been approved by the Health Select Committee (HSC) to become the new chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) by a narrow majority of just three to two.

The Food and Drink Qualifications (FDQ), a subsidiary company of the Meat Training Council (MTC), has recruited a new quality and accreditation manager to join its team.

Former farming minister Lord Rooker could possibly be making a return to front-line food policy as the chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) it has emerged.

Meat eaters have a higher risk blood, bladder and stomach cancers, but not bowel cancer, a major new study has found.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, found that meat-eaters had a significantly higher risk of stomach cancer than those who do not eat meat, confirming earlier studies.

Are you the meat industry's answer to Jenson Button? The race is on for the inaugural BDCI Karting competition, in a bid to boost funds for the industry’s leading charity.

Lamb producers must be paid a stable and sustainable price to secure the long-term future of the sector, according to farming leaders.

Meat manufacturers could be missing out on cost savings by not maximising the potential of water efficiency, a sustainable business expert has warned.

The Soil Association has welcomed a report from the University of Reading which said that organic farming is perhaps "mainstream agriculture in waiting.”

Animal rights campaigners have erected poster with the slogan “meat kills” outside the hospital which treated the only person to die of swine flu in the UK.

Turtons of Devon has opened a new cutting plant in Willand to process locally produced meat for the catering trade.

Scottish farmers have started to cross Aberdeen Angus cattle with Japanese Wagyu cattle in the hope of creating some of the world’s most expensive beef.

Birmingham City Council has agreed a plan that will allow the city's giant wholesale market in Digbeth to move to a new site nearer the edge of the city at Witton.

An animal rights group has re-erected a controversial billboard proclaiming that “feeding kids meat is child abuse.”

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has unveiled the inflammatory poster in Coventry, the home of Leanne Salt - a the 30-stone woman dubbed “Britain’s fattest mother”, who has admitted feeding her kids nuggets and burgers since they were six months old.

A government advisor has slammed the meat industry for its lack of action over climate change, warning that it is “miles behind” other food sectors.

The media has gone "beserk" over the so-called swine flu outbreak, according to the UK marketing director for Danish Bacon.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted that global import demand for meat will fall for the first time in over a decade this year.

Alan Craig has now taken over as chief executive of the ANM Group, replacing Brian Pack OBE, who retired from his post after almost 19 years in charge of the Thainstone-based farmer-owned co-operative.

Food manufacturers have expressed relief over the news that UK workers will retain the right to work for more than 48-hours a week.

EBLEX has launched an online tool to help abattoir owners, butchers and meat buyers correctly price products and maintain margins.

Bangor-based wholesaler Hughes Meats Company Limited has announced the launch of a brand new home delivery service, which will enable consumers to buy meat at wholesale prices and get it delivered to their door.

Scottish ministers could throw Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) charging proposals into chaos if plan to go through with a veto on charging rises goes ahead.

MTJ is now posting daily news and views on Twitter, the micro-blogging service taking the internet by storm.

More than £172,000 has been raised for meat industry charities in the last year, it was announced this week. The total was declared by the outgoing Festival Chairman of the Butchers’ and Drovers’ Charitable Institution, Graham Roach, in his final act before handing over to his successor, Bernard Hoggarth, at the charity’s annual lunch at Butchers’ Hall, London

The sum of money raised over the past year by the Butchers' and Drovers' Charitable Institution (BDCI) will be announced at a lunch at Butcher's Hall in London on Monday (30 March).

A nutritionist has cast doubt over the findings of a study that linked the consumption of fresh and processed red meat to increased risk of blindness.

Butchers, chefs, farms and mutton enthusiasts gathered at Lucknam Park Hotel in Chippenham for the last of this season's Mutton Renaissance Club open events.

Around 70 people have fallen ill in China after eating pork contaminated with a banned food additive.

The Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) has agreed to allow Alan Craig to delay the start of his presidency by up to six months.

Delegates at the 12th annual Langford Food Industry Conference will discuss the implications of global trends on meat production in the UK, it has been announced.

Bacon importers and UK processors were among guests at the glittering Provision Trade Federation (PTF) dinner in London last night.

Irish meat bosses are working hard to restore markets, following the recent dioxin scare.

Alan Craig is to take over as chief executive of the ANM Group.

Higher welfare chickens sales have soared in the past year despite desperate economic conditions, claimed Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) in a new commissioned survey.