The meat and poultry industry are actively being encouraged to enrol engineers at the UK’s first CO2 training academy.

The Lord Mayor of the City of London has made his annual visit to Smithfield this week, taking a tour of the world-famous meat market.

A meat wholesaler has been left in shock after a haul of illegal drugs was discovered in a delivery sent back from Spain.

Botswana meat subsidiary Allied Meat Importers has announced the redundancies of several senior managers, following a major restructuring to secure the firm’s future.

Beef and lamb bosses are hoping for success with the relaunch of a website aimed at becoming an essential tool for industry.

Meat from slaughter without stunning will now be labelled as such following a vote in the European Parliament.

Poultry delegates from far afield as Kenya, Israel, Finland and Turkey, descended in Paris on 16-17 June to take part in packaging firm Sealed Air Cryovac’s Packforum.

Key changes which now affect whether overseas butchers and meat processors can work in the UK have been implemented.

Meat wholesaler and butcher Dicksons has been crowned UK Family Business of the Year by banking giant Coutts.

South Shields butchery chain Dicksons is gearing up for the Coutts UK Family Business of the Year awards in London tomorrow (Tuesday), having beaten off hundreds of other family businesses to reach the final.

Beef and sheep producers are hoping for a repeat of England's last World Cup performance – but not on the pitch.

Meat Trades Journal would like to say thank you to its readers for ensuring it remains the highest* ABC audited circulated title for news and information on the UK meat market.

A central halal hub supplying the demand for meat in the UK is now in full trading, with further expansion plans to supply the European mainland.

Foodservice supplier Brakes Group has bought out catering butcher Browns Food Service to increase its customer base and strengthen specialist meat availability.

As many as four in 10 consumers worry about animal welfare as their number one food concern, due to campaigns by celebrity chefs, research from Mintel has revealed.

Animal Health has warned that it has received several reports of heavily pregnant livestock being transported in 2009 and 2010.

Farming leaders have defended the high prices of lamb, describing it as a "high-value product delivering excellent value for money for the consumer". However, retailers and processors are calling for them to be "realistic".

Turkey bosses have announced the 14th annual British Turkey Awards are now open for entries. With 10 categories available, the event, organised by the British Turkey Federation (BTF), will give manufacturers a chance to showcase the way they are responding to ever-changing retailer demands and consumer needs.

Reform of the EU common agricultural policy (CAP) continues to pose one of the biggest threats to the Scottish meat processing industry, leaders have warned.

Change is needed with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) over meat hygiene systems, following a breakdown in trust, according to Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) president Alan Craig, who accused the organisation of having an “obesity” problem when it came to costs.

The often claimed need to double food production by 2050 has been branded a "big fat lie" by organic bosses. The Soil Association has accused government scientists, UN leaders, Monsanto and the National Farmers' Union of misleading consumers with the claims for the need to increase food production.

Biltong laced with chilli has been crowned overall winner in a competition to find the best British version of the South African meat snack, organised by The South African newspaper.

A sausage producer is hoping to tap into the ethnic market with the launch of a new brand of unique sausages - Mr Singh's Bangras.

This year’s Langford Food Industry Conference is aiming to tackle the two main issues facing the UK meat industry - nutrition and climate change.

Poultry supplier Rectory Foods has announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Acura Foods, which will extend Rectory’s fresh and frozen pork and beef range.

Edinburgh restaurant L’Escargot Bleu has started to serve horse meat on its menu, supplied by Campbell’s Prime Meats, according to a report in the Scottish media.

Butchers will be able to place their meat orders online with the launch of a new online service from Weddel Swift.

French guinea fowl producers are hoping to take the UK market by storm with the launch of their latest marketing campaign, which will see them team up with the Craft Guild of Chefs, as well as offer culinary workshops.

Awards body Food & Drink Qualifications (FDQ) has launched a new HACCP awareness award, designed to help food handlers new to the industry.

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).

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.

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).

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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