Washington | Reuters –– Food safety regulators in both Canada and the U.S. are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak potentially linked to tainted organic strawberries that has sickened 17 people in the U.S. and 10 in Canada, the agencies said. Fifteen illnesses were reported in California, and one each in Minnesota and North Dakota, the […] Read more
Hepatitis A outbreak linked to organic strawberries
Cases reported in two provinces, three states
U.S. seeks another CUSMA dispute panel on Canadian dairy quotas
Canada announced revised policies last week
Ottawa | Reuters — The Biden administration is requesting that a second dispute settlement panel be formed under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to review a trade dispute with Canada over dairy import quotas, it said on Wednesday. The U.S. alleges that Canada’s dairy tariff-rate quota allocations deny eligible U.S. applicants, including retailers, access to Canadian […] Read more
Italy to hold boar cull around Rome to stem swine fever
Rome | Reuters — Italy will launch a cull of wild boars around Rome after African swine fever was found in one of the thousands that live in the Italian capital and the surrounding countryside, local authorities said on Monday. An isolated outbreak of the deadly hog disease was reported in northwest Italy at the […] Read more
Major U.S. retailers limit infant formula purchases on shortage
Reuters — U.S. retailers including Target, CVS and Walgreens Boots Alliance said on Tuesday they have limited purchases of infant formula due to a supply shortage. The limits come after top supplier Abbott Laboratories in February recalled some baby formula including Similac made at its plant in Michigan over complaints of bacterial infections in infants […] Read more
CF Industries profit soars as sanctions raise fertilizer prices
Chicago | Reuters — CF Industries on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings climbed 485 per cent as the fertilizer maker ramped up U.S. shipments after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine catapulted prices for crop nutrients. Top fertilizer producers including CF, Nutrien and Mosaic Co. have benefited as sanctions on exporters Russia and ally Belarus limited global supplies […] Read more
Pot producer Canopy Growth to cut 250 jobs in profitability bid
Reuters — Canopy Growth Corp. said it would lay off about 250 employees as part of a cost-cutting plan as the Canadian pot producer tries to achieve long-elusive profitability. Most Canadian marijuana companies have struggled to turn a profit despite more than three years of cannabis legalization due to fewer-than-expected retail stores, cheaper rates on […] Read more
China reports first human case of H3N8 bird flu
Beijing | Reuters — China has recorded the first human infection with the H3N8 strain of bird flu, the country’s health authority said on Tuesday, but said the risk of it spreading among people was low. A four-year-old boy from central Henan province was found to have been infected with the variant after developing a […] Read more
H7N3 avian flu found in chickens in Mexico, near Texas border
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico’s agriculture ministry on Saturday reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic H7N3 bird flu virus in two hatching egg production barns in the northern state of Coahuila, which borders on Texas. The strain in question has existed in some regions of the country since 2012, the ministry said in a statement. […] Read more
U.S. says sanctions on Russia don’t affect humanitarian aid, ag exports
Washington | Reuters — The United States on Tuesday took steps to make clear that U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine do not stand in the way of humanitarian assistance and agricultural and medical exports, among other support. The U.S. Treasury Department in a fact sheet outlined that Americans can engage […] Read more
Ukraine grain storage shortage adds to farmers’ woes
Zurich | Reuters — Ukraine has insufficient storage capacity even for its reduced 2022 grain harvest, the United Nations’ World Food Programme said Tuesday, with the country struggling to export existing stocks during the invasion by Russia. Jakob Kern, the World Food Programme’s emergency co-ordinator in Ukraine, cited estimates that 20 per cent of planted […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
