The World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 28, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Ban on food aid restrictions blocked at WTO

WTO says outcome 'disappointing' in difficult year

Geneva | Reuters — World Trade Organization members were at odds on Friday over a proposal that would ban countries from restricting food aid deliveries, potentially complicating the response to a feared COVID-fuelled humanitarian catastrophe next year. The proposal was one of two related to the pandemic that failed to make headway at a three-day


(Dave Bedard photo)

Guelph beef plant idled against COVID-19 outbreak

Cattle set-aside plan en route, BFO says

Agrifood giant Cargill is temporarily halting production at its beef processing plant at Guelph, Ont. in the wake of a significant COVID-19 outbreak among employees. The company announced it would “begin the process to temporarily idle” the Dunlop Drive plant effective Thursday (Dec. 17). “This was a difficult decision for our team who are operating

(TysonFoods.com)

Tyson fires seven managers after probe into COVID-19 wagering

Employees had been suspended following lawsuit

Reuters — Tyson Foods said Wednesday it had fired seven managers at an Iowa pork plant after investigating allegations that they took bets on how many employees would catch COVID-19. The independent investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the son of a worker at


File photo of uncooked chicken wings. (Mimadeo/iStock/Getty Images)

COVID outbreak shuts Nova Scotia poultry plant

Province closes Eden Valley for at least two weeks

Provincial officials have temporarily shut a chicken and turkey slaughter and processing plant in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, citing recent cases of COVID-19 among employees. Eden Valley Poultry’s processing plant at Berwick will be closed “for at least two weeks,” the provincial health department said in a release Friday. “We know this will be a

An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

U.S. pork packer Smithfield offers ultra-cold vaccine storage

COVID-19 vaccines need storage at -20 C, -70 C

Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said on Thursday it had offered to help U.S. health officials distribute COVID-19 vaccines and store them in ultra-cold freezers that are in high demand to support a public vaccination campaign. U.S. states, cities and hospitals are scrambling to buy freezers that can safely


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference on COVID-19 response on Nov. 6, 2020 in Ottawa. (File photo: Reuters/Patrick Doyle)

U.S. border restrictions to last a long time yet, Trudeau says

COVID would need to be 'significantly more under control'

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will not agree to lifting a ban on non-essential travel with the United States until the coronavirus outbreak is significantly under control around the world, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. Trudeau’s comments were a clear indication that the border restrictions will last well into 2021. The two neighbours



Beef is on display at a Walmart in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

China’s coronavirus testing chokes beef trade

Additional inspections, disinfections costly for importers

Beijing | Reuters — In a supermarket in downtown Beijing, refrigerator shelves normally filled with steak from around the world sit empty as tougher testing for the novel coronavirus creates supply bottlenecks and raises prices for importers. Fresh supplies of beef won’t arrive for days, a salesman at the Suning.com-owned Carrefour outlet told Reuters —

File photo of a farmed mink. (Konstantin Sokolov/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada’s mink farms brace for COVID

Producers have had time to increase biosecurity efforts at the farm level

Canada’s 40 mink farms are operating under heightened biosecurity requirements after reports of COVID-19 jumping from humans to mink in Europe. Alan Herscovici, an industry spokesperson who operates the website Truthaboutfur.com, said early reports out of Denmark and other European countries gave Canadian producers some time to prepare. “These farms have always had a certain