A 33-year-old woman from the governorate of Qalyubia, north of Cairo, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday after showing symptoms of the avian flu, a statement by Egypt's Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The woman's condition is serious, the statement added without elaboration.

Egypt is the most affected country by the virus outside Asia, which reported its first H5N1 virus in dead poultry in February 2006 and the first human case in March of the same year.

Egypt's Agriculture Minister Amin Abbaza said in July that his country has prepared a national strategy to eradicate bird flu in five years.

 

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The new design will include environmentally responsible design, feature open spaces to encourage collaboration, and provide the technological infrastructure to support a more productive work environment.

While incorporating building practices to reduce its impact on the environment, Perdue is pursuing LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building certification for the renovation project with hopes of obtaining a Gold status.

“We have the opportunity as part of our remodel to look into new technologies and methodologies that can help us have a smaller environmental footprint, in addition to saving money," said Steve Schwalb, Vice President of Environmental Sustainability. "The certification helps guide us through the renovation process. It isn't only about efficiency, but the whole package of responsible environmental design, including associate comfort."

LEED® is an internationally recognised green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to environmental impacts.

The steps toward gaining LEED® certification support Perdue's environmental sustainability initiative.

By using less energy, LEED-certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

Perdue will install a new HVAC system within the renovated space, which will reduce energy costs by 25 per cent and create a more comfortable workspace. The parking lot was recently repaved and spaces will be designated for high efficiency vehicles.

“The $12.8 million remodel represents the most cost-effective way to provide the office space needed to support our company's strategic and growth plans," said Eileen Burza, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "By implementing alternative workspace solutions for selected jobs, we were able to renovate the existing space to meet our needs and reduce our environmental impact, with significantly less capital investment than either expanding the existing structure or building new office space."

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Mr Khursand said the exact losses could not be summed up at this time, but feared 5 to 7 per cent increase in the prices of chicken and eggs in the near future.

He said the industry incurred huge losses in Nowshera, Charsadda, interior Sindh and Multan in Punjab.

“Exact estimates of losses will be possible only after the clearance of water because many areas of the country are still inaccessible. Tentatively, the industry has suffered a loss of Rs 7 to 8 billion besides bringing the production process to a complete halt in the affected areas for the next six months,” he said. After the clearance of water, rebuilding of infrastructure would take at least six months, he said.

“The consumption of poultry, especially chicken has been also decreased in the flood-hit areas because focus is on basic foods items,” he said, adding that 5 to 7 percent increase in poultry items due to the flood factor,” Khursand said.

PakTribune reports that earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Poultry Association presented a cheque of Rs 10 million to the Punjab chief minister with a promise to extend further cooperation for the rehabilitation of flood affectees.

 

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Ross customers from Ethiopia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and others attended the training held at Cairo’s Safir Hotel.
 
This is the second time Ross has been involved with the event, which was organised by Lohmann Tierzucht and shows the scale of knowledge which Ross customers can call on as part of the Wesjohann Group. A number of equipment and veterinary suppliers also sponsored and attended the event.
 
Ross Technical Managers, Waleed El Deeb and Hosam Amro gave presentations on Ross brooding and critical age management and the event was also attended by Michael Garden Business Manager, Middle East, Turkey and Africa and John Maguire, International Business Manager. Feedback from attendees has been very positive. Other presentations included; incubation and hatching egg management, hatchery management and eggshell quality.
 
Poultry industry must-do
John Maguire said: “This event is quickly becoming a ‘must do’ for the poultry industry in this area. Not only is it a great place to learn about the latest developments and techniques but the activities in the evening give everyone a chance to meet new people and talk about the industry with like-minded people. Having a forum to share ideas and experience is invaluable.
 
“For that reason we’d like to pass our thanks to Lohmann Tierzucht for inviting us to be part of this meeting again and we are glad that everyone was able to take away a positive experience from this.”
 
As always, a number of social events also took place which gave everyone a chance to make new friends and catch up with old ones while sharing advice and insight into the poultry industry. Social events included a Nile cruise and a light show at Egypt’s famous pyramids.


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The researchers, with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), used technology called hyperspectral imaging, which combines digital imaging with spectroscopy, to provide hundreds of individual wavelength measurements for each image pixel.
 
Micro-organisms grown on solid media carry unique spectral fingerprints in the specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. A hyperspectral imager identifies these fingerprints by measuring light waves that bounce off or through these objects.
 
Almost 100% accurate - Salmonella and Campylobacter
This “sensing” technology, which was nearly 100 percent accurate with pure cultures of the micro-organisms, could be used for early detection of presumptive Campylobacter colonies in mixed cultures. The researchers are working toward developing a presumptive screening technique to detect Salmonella and Campylobacter in food samples.


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“Exact estimates of losses will be possible only after the clearance of water because many areas of the country are still inaccessible. Tentatively, the industry has suffered a loss of Rs 7 to 8 billion besides bringing the production process to a complete halt in the affected areas for the next six months,” he said according to a report by Daily Times.
 
Decrease in chicken consumption
Khursand  further added that “The consumption of poultry, especially chicken has been also decreased in the flood-hit areas because focus is on basic foods items.”


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Mr Kim made the request during a visit to the 927 Chicken Farm, a model farm whose location was not disclosed, the official Rodong Sinmun reported.

The leader expressed his satisfaction with the farm's rapid increase in production and praised the workers for their success in "developing Korean-style stock-breeding based on modern science and technology," the report said.

Mr Kim urged poultry farms across the country to establish a scientific management system based on modern technology and steadily raise the technical level and skill to boost production.

 

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The feet, claws and all, as a gastronomical delight might sound comical to Indians who relish chicken legs but definitely nothing below. But hatcheries in Mangalore have found a thriving market for it in places like China, Hong Kong and Viet Nam. A prominent hatchery in this coastal town in Karnataka exports 25 tons of chicken feet to the Far East every month.

In China, chicken feet are popularly known as phoenix talons. Chicken feet is sold as street food, often deep fried, in other parts of Asia. Chicken feet is considered a culinary delicacy in some regions of the world, most notably in China and South Africa where every part of the bird is utilised to its fullest potential.

Lester DSouza, managing partner of Souza Hatcheries, told The Times of India that they had started the exports last year, though inquiries were made four years back. “Last year, a person came here, looked at the hatchery and gave us the specifications for the product to be exported," he said. Basically, the feet have to be cut properly without breakage, cleaned without using detergent or chemicals and quality should be maintained, DSouza said.

He uses freezer units available with fish export companies and sends the consignment once in a month to China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Chinese restaurants in India don't use chicken feet simply because the concept of eating them doesn't exist here. When asked, they said they never used feet for stock and they get their chicken meat without feet.

 

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Net sales for the period were $489.1 million, a drop of 3.1% from $504.8 million for the same period a year ago. Net income for the quarter was $36.1 million, or $1.55 per share, down 16% from $43.0 million, or $2.06 per share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2009.
 
For the year to date: Net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2010 were $1.4 billion, up slightly from $1.3 billion for the first nine months of fiscal 2009. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2010 were $87.0 million, or $3.96 per share, compared with $62.5 million, or $3.00 per share, for the first nine months of last year.
 
"Sanderson Farms' financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 reflect favorable market conditions and solid execution in our operations, offset by the effect of the extremely hot weather on our live operations," said CEO Joe F. Sanderson Jr. "Market prices for poultry products were lower than last year's third quarter. Retail grocery store demand has remained strong, although food service demand has remained sluggish, and will likely remain that way until the employment market gains traction and more consumers return to restaurants.”
 
Sanderson Jr explained that heat negatively effects bird performance reduces live weights and less favorable feed conversions, which in turn mean fewer pounds processed and sold. In fact, the company sold 33 million fewer pounds in the quarter than expected, due to pounds lost due to the heat. Management noted 20 million fewer pounds of export products sold due to timing, out of a total of 6.2 billion pounds sold overall in the period.
 
Meanwhile, overall market prices for poultry products also were down slightly in the quarter, driven primarily by lower dark meat prices.
 
Although Sanderson executives praised its team for its execution during a difficult period, analysts indicated they were caught off-guard by the shortfall in results.


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Jointly hosted by AB Vista, Massey University, The University of Maryland and The University of Sydney, the ‘International Phytase Summit’ will be an interactive technical symposium of invited scientific delegates discussing a ‘phytate-free’ paradigm.
 
The inaugural summit will facilitate and encourage the exploration of a number of phytase-related issues ranging from the strengths and weaknesses of phytases, to implications for their future use.  Divided into five different discussions, each chaired by an eminent academic, the three-day debate will address key issues relating to phytase biochemistry.  Discussions will range from the analysis of phytate and phytase, to skeletal integrity and the future of phytase use in animal nutrition.  Delegates will also have the opportunity to network and set collaborative research goals.
 
Commenting on the summit, Dr. Roselina Angel from the University of Maryland said: “We are thrilled to be a part of this International Phytase Summit.  Given the importance of phytate in nutrition, the research focus on this area in the last 15 years, and the extensive use of phytase in animal diets, a meeting such as this one is long overdue.  Positive response and interest has been shown from the leaders in the field, enabling us to bring together the world’s experts to share and discuss current knowledge on phytate and phytase.
 
The interactive meeting format will encourage discussion and should result in new ideas.  Our goal of producing a landmark publication containing the papers from the keynote speakers as well as papers resulting from the discussion will, I have no doubt, be at the highest standard of any scientist working in this field.”
 
Top academic authorities
Also commenting on the summit, Associate Professor Aaron Cowieson from The University of Sydney, said: “We are really excited to be co-hosting the ‘International Phytase Summit’.  This is a landmark event, the outcomes of which will radically change the way phytase and phytate are viewed.  It is very rare that we are able to gather the world’s top academic authorities in one room and I’m certain that the keynote addresses and subsequent discussion sessions will be dynamic and energetic.  It will not only be a uniquely valuable event, but a lot of fun too.” 
 
Following the International Phytase Summit in September, AB Vista will be organising a series of regional seminars, presenting the findings and regional commercial implications direct to the market.  Further information on these regional meetings will be released in due course.

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