News

Scientists from the Danish Technical University have developed vegetable yoghurt made from only three ingredients - soy drink, brewing malt and lactic acid bacteria from plant materials. Malt gives the plant yogurt a texture similar to classic yogurt, and also increases the fibre content. Up to now, plant-based yoghurts have been produced using starter cultures developed for use in dairy products, and it has been necessary to use other ingredients in addition to sugar to enhance the taste and consistency of the yogurt. The animal milk substitute sector continues to grow and is largely made up of products made from soy, coconut, rice, and oats, but the categories of cheese, ice cream and yogurt substitutes are also increasing. In 2016, the analytics industry was valued at $ 7.15 billion, and by 2025 the value is expected to increase to $ 18.89 billion.
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Quorn, the world's largest brand producing vegetable substitutes for meat and meat products, plans to introduce carbon footprint information for 60% of its production. Last week, the company prepared a Carbon Trust certified carbon footprint, applicable to the top 30 products sold. Information will be available on the company's website. Information directly on the packaging will be provided later in 2020.
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As part of the International Green Week, a conference was held on 17/01/2020 on the issue of African swine fever in the EU. The aim of the conference was to strengthen coordinated global activities to mitigate the impact of African swine fever on pork production and international trade. A total of 25 EU agriculture and non-EU agriculture ministers underlined the high standards of pork production in the EU, in particular biosecurity measures. Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides called for a global and joint action to eradicate African swine fever, stressing that the spread of the disease has major negative impacts on the environment, ecosystems, agriculture and trade. The conference included support for shared initiatives on the development of the disease vaccine, the development of a strong and effective policy for the management of feral pigs, tighter border controls and increased awareness among tourists. In Poland, 55 new cases were confirmed only during December 2019, some of which were only 30 kilometres from the German border.
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Avian influenza virus is spreading in the European Union. Almost 12,000 poultry have died in Romania following the spread of the disease. The outbreak is also present in the area near Hungary and Ukraine. The occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza was also confirmed in the Czech Republic after three years. Last week, Member States unanimously supported the Commission proposal consolidating safeguard measures against outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza of subtype H5N8 in the four Member States concerned (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania). The virus was first recorded in Poland on 31 December 2019, since then it has been confirmed in 16 outbreaks on poultry farms with different types of poultry (ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens).
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The Ministers of Agriculture of Germany and France announced on 13/01/2020 that by 2022 they would work together to put an end to the practice of killing chickens for commercially unusable cocks. It is estimated that 90 million chickens are killed each year in DE and FR because they don’t lay eggs and are not suitable for meat. DE also approved the use of devices for desensitizing male piglets prior to castration. The German Ministry of Agriculture has earmarked € 28 million for the purchase of anaesthesia equipment. Since 2019, Germany has made mandatory the use of anaesthetics in castration of pigs.
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