Feds support live animal exports
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
MPI MUST name the product responsible for severe gastroenteritis affecting people around the country, and the supermarket chain distributing it, Labour's Food Safety spokesperson Damien O'Connor says.
"The ministry seems to be more concerned about protecting the reputation supermarkets than the health of Kiwi consumers," he says.
"About 127 people have contracted yersinia pseudotuberculosis in the past month, including 38 who have become so unwell they had to be hospitalised.
"Canterbury medical officer of health Dr Alistair Humphrey today told media bagged lettuce and carrots from one particular supermarket chain was identified as the source of the bug in a report from Environmental Science and Research a week ago.
"MPI either lacks the resources or is incapable of dealing with what should be a relatively minor food safety issue. This will be a concern to our export sectors.
"It also reinforces Labour's call for New Zealand to return to a stand-alone food safety agency.
"MPI has a conflict of interest between promoting New Zealand products and protecting Kiwi consumers. This was identified in the Government's own 2013 investigation into the Fonterra botulism scare which found it needed to clarify its 'potentially conflicting roles... between enabler and enforcer'.
"It is time the Ministry put Kiwi consumers first and publicly released the cause of this nasty bug," O'Connor says.
Farmers appear to be backing the Government's recent Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms announcement.
For the first time, all the big names in agricultural drone technology are being brought together under one marquee at the National Fieldays.
Fonterra has announced an improved third quarter performance – with a profit after tax of $1.15 billion, up $119 million on the same period last year.
The Fieldays Innovation Awards competition has attracted a diverse and impressive array of innovations from across the primary industries, highlighting the growing importance of technology shaping the future of farming.
Coming to the fore following the carnage of Cyclone Gabrielle, Starlink became well known for providing internet access even in NZ's most inaccessible places.
From this winter farmers will have a greater choice of feed types and blend options than ever before, thanks to Farmlands' purchase of animal nutrition company SealesWinslow.
OPINION: Imagine if the Hound had called the Minister of Finance the 'c-word' and accused her of "girl math".
OPINION: It's good news that Finance Minister Nicola Willis has slashed $1.1 billion from new spending, citing "a seismic global…