AGRICULTURAL NEWS - Regulations on the brining of poultry products published by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) will make chicken unaffordable for the poor, shrink the local poultry sector, weaken the soya bean processing and maize production outlook, and increase unemployment.
South African Poultry Association CEO, Kevin Lovell says while many allegations and unsubstantiated statements were made around the issue of brining by competitive stakeholders, no checks were done at any time to test whether these points were valid.
“All the scientific, technical and economic information SAPA supplied on brining has essentially been ignored, with no impact assessments conducted by DAFF on the effects of the regulations on consumers, retailers or the local poultry industry,” says Lovell.
“All the scientific, technical and economic information SAPA supplied on brining has essentially been ignored, with no impact assessments conducted by DAFF on the effects of the regulations on consumers, retailers or the local poultry industry,” says Lovell.
“Besides the potentially devastating results on local poultry production and the jobs that depend on it, this constitutes an assault on the poor of South Africa who will now find the price of Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) chicken unaffordable.”
Contraction of poultry industry
In 2006, on behalf of the local industry, SAPA wrote to DAFF asking them to update the poultry regulations under the Agriculture Product Standards Act.
“For the last 10 years, we have fought to have these regulations updated in a way that benefits all parties in the poultry value chain, with the added assurance that South African consumers can be absolutely certain that what they believe they are buying is what they actually get,” says Lovell.
Contraction of poultry industry
In 2006, on behalf of the local industry, SAPA wrote to DAFF asking them to update the poultry regulations under the Agriculture Product Standards Act.
“For the last 10 years, we have fought to have these regulations updated in a way that benefits all parties in the poultry value chain, with the added assurance that South African consumers can be absolutely certain that what they believe they are buying is what they actually get,” says Lovell.
“But having refused to consider the true facts of brining, its purpose for improving meat quality, and most importantly the manner in which this practice actually improves the national diet by reducing the cost of South Africa’s favourite protein product, these regulations will reduce the size of the largest sector of local agricultural production and cause considerable job losses – all of this for no good reason.”
