Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
CO2 BURIAL
BY MONICA DOBIE
CANADA’S Petroleum Technology Research Center has concluded that empty wells in the Weyburn oil field, Saskatchewan, can hold an estimated 21 million tons of carbon dioxide. In an experiment to determine whether the greenhouse gas can safely be buried under land, researchers have been checking well vapours, groundwater and conducting seismic tests.…
QUEEN CHARLOTTE
BY MONICA DOBIE
THE BAN on offshore drilling near the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia could be safely lifted according to a Canadian government scientific panel. Its report says environmental precautions would have to be taken, such as creating marine-protected areas and restricting drilling close to land.…
BEEF TONGUE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority scientific panel on biological hazards has called for additional research into the risk to consumers posed by BSE-linked prion proteins in beef tongues. The panel has advised there is insufficient data to draw firm conclusions.…
GOUT STUDY
BY KEITH NUTHALL
SCIENTISTS have for the first time scientifically confirmed that eating a diet rich in red meat causes gout. According to a study published in the USA’s New England Journal of Medicine, gout is 41 per cent more likely to be suffered by consumers with the highest consumption of beef, pork and lamb, compared with those with the lowest consumption.…
AUSTRALIA - ATKINS
BY MONICA DOBIE
THE AUSTRALIAN Medical Association is supporting a state government-run campaign warning local citizens off the high-protein and low-carb Atkins Diet. It is backing a Victoria government taxpayer-funded campaign opposing Atkins and other “fad diets” by distributing posters and information booklets at gyms, doctors’ waiting rooms and universities.…
BRAZIL/CYPRUS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE OFFICE International des Épizooties (OIE), the world animal health organisation, has reported outbreaks of blue tongue disease amongst sheep in Cyprus and scrapie in Brazilian flocks. The Cypriot outbreak has hit six flocks and involved 71 cases, almost entirely amongst females.…
PORK REFUNDS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has brought forward lifting emergency export refunds for pigmeat, because of an unexpectedly strong recovery in the sector, said its officials. Price falls sparked the introduction of refunds of Euro 40 per 100 kilogrammes non-EU exports in January, to expire in April.…
USA-AUSTRALIA FTA
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A SPECIALIST United States government committee has criticised the USA-Australia free trade agreement. The agricultural technical advisory committee for trade in animal and animal products said the deal failed to remove “unscientific” sanitary regulations restricting US pork and poultry exports, and noted opposition from American cattle producers to widening import quotas for Australian beef.…
EU FOOD/FEED CONTROLS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s proposed regulation reforming European Union (EU) food and feed controls is close to final approval, with the acceptance of the reform package by the European Parliament. Crucially, MEPs agreed amendments that had been informally approved in advance with the EU Council of Ministers, so a swift final rubber-stamping is now anticipated, clearing the way for the regulation to come into force on January 1, 2006.…
POLAND DELAYS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
POLAND is pressing the European Commission for at least three months grace in implementing European Union (EU) food hygiene standards after joining the EU in May. Agriculture minister Wojciech Olejniczak has asked EU health commissioner David Byrne to allow around 300 food processing plants – many handling meat – to continue operating while implementing health reforms.…