Consumers have become hyper-sensitive to any potential evidence suggesting abuse of market power and grocers will need to navigate the coming months with extreme caution. Showing more public empathy would be a good start.

Comment: A look behind the optics on food prices

Lessons from a frivolous picture of overpriced chicken breasts

It all started with one reporter taking a picture of an overpriced pack of five boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The cost was $26.87 a kilogram, a world-class sticker shocker and at least double what one would expect to pay for chicken breasts. Within hours, the picture became the lightning rod for frustrated consumers on social

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. avian flu outbreak of 2022 wipes out record number of birds

Vast majority of caseload originated with wild birds: USDA

Chicago | Reuters — Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed Thursday. The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the worst U.S. animal-health disaster to date, topping the previous record of 50.5


File photo of Upside Foods’ chicken product. (Upsidefoods.com)

Lab-grown meat cleared for human consumption by U.S. regulator

FDA's review not technically approval

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time cleared a meat product grown from animal cells for human consumption, the agency announced on Wednesday. Upside Foods, a company that makes cell-cultured chicken by harvesting cells from live animals and using the cells to grow meat in stainless-steel tanks,

(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Pork packer Olymel laying off dozens of managers

Market unpredictability, 'growth challenges' cited

Major Canadian pork and poultry packer Olymel has laid off 57 people from its management ranks and eliminated another 120 administrative positions, citing the company’s current “market context and growth challenges.” Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Cooperative Group, said Tuesday its affected employees were notified Monday and have received their layoff notices.


Ukrainian chicken imports into the European Union have jumped 54 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter.

EU imports of Ukrainian chicken soar after quota lifted

The lifting of European Union customs duties on Ukrainian goods led to a jump in poultry imports that has benefited a single company rather than Ukrainian farmers, French poultry makers said Sept. 7. They asked that the temporary move not be renewed. The EU in June temporarily lifted tariffs to help the war-torn country and

File photo of a plate of tandoori chicken legs. (Paul_Brighton/iStock/Getty Images)

Ontario halal processor to buy poultry packing capacity

Amir Quality Meats taking up Wellington Poultry

An Ontario meat processor specializing in the halal market has a deal in place to boost its capacity by buying a nearby chicken and specialty fowl packer. Amir Quality Meats, which operates a federally registered HACCP-certified boning and cutting plant at Brampton, has an agreement in place to buy the processing plant and “associated supply”


U.S. chicken company Mountaire asks contractors to oppose transparency rule

Reuters — Mountaire Farms, a top U.S. chicken company, is pressuring its contract farmers to oppose a Biden administration proposal aimed at improving their conditions because the company says it would ultimately reduce farmer pay, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with farmer advocates. The privately owned chicken company, said to be the

A plate of honey dijon glazed chicken wings. (SandersonFarms.com)

Cargill, Continental close U.S. chicken deal

Washington | Reuters — Cargill and Continental Grain said on Friday that they had closed their deal to buy Sanderson Farms, the third largest chicken producer, in a deal worth some US$4.53 billion. Under the deal, which was announced last August, Sanderson is being combined with Continental Grain subsidiary Wayne Farms. Sanderson will cease trading


Singapore feels Malaysian chicken export ban

Reuters – Singapore is bracing for a shortage of its de facto national dish, chicken rice, after major supplier Malaysia halted all chicken exports as of June 1. Malaysian chicken production has been disrupted by a global feed shortage. The export ban is the latest sign of growing food shortages as countries — reeling from

File photo of a bald eagle at Churchill on Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba. (Enrico Pescantini/iStock/Getty Images)

High-path bird flu reaches Manitoba airspace

H5N1 confirmed in wild birds found last week in province's west

Manitoba’s feather sectors and backyard flock owners are being reminded to take the necessary precautions now that highly pathogenic avian flu has been confirmed in wild birds found last week. The province’s natural resources department reported Wednesday that the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) has confirmed the presence of high-path H5N1 avian flu in two