Department of Agriculture released findings from its 2007 prospective plantings survey this morning, which show growers' plans to plant more acres of corn this year -- more than 90 million -- than in any year since World War II. That is an increase of 15 percent from last year's 78 million acres planted. The prospective planting survey is a strong signal of how this year's corn crop and prices will turn out, which can also affect livestock feed and consumer prices at the supermarket.

The USDA report shows growers' intentions to reduce soybean acreage by 11 percent from last year, to 67 million acres, in efforts to capitalize on soaring corn prices caused at large part by demand for ethanol. As President Bush pushes for increased ethanol production and use, corn prices have jumped to $4 per bushel from around $2 just two years ago. co detector

High corn prices can spell trouble for livestock farmers, who need grains to feed their cattle, swine and poultry. The possibility of a rainy spring or a dry summer also has the market on edge, as either could drive demand and prices even higher. Eventually, high corn prices could lead to higher prices at the supermarket on meats and other corn-based foods. stainless steel wire "I want to emphasize that these are intentions of what people are going to look at planting. That can still change based on the weather situation as we move into the next two to three weeks," said Mark Schultz, vice president of Northstar Commodity, which provides commodity market analysis, trading and risk management services for growers, grain elevators, processors and investors around the world. "If it's ideal planting for corn, I expect those corn acres to go in. If it's not ideal planting, watch them switch back to soybeans." stainless steel strip

With talks over the standards set to begin in May, the denial is likely to prove a setback for organic federation of Australia (OFA), which called for the standards to be imposed in a bid to drive growth in organic food production.

Standards Australia told AP-Foodtechnology.com that contrary to claims made last week, it was still waiting to confirm representation from "a couple" of the 16 food organisations invited to make up the committee.

Organic food and beverage products are becoming an increasingly important stream of revenue for processors in the country, due to consumer concerns with the quality of non-organic and GM ingredients.

The OFA's Andre Leu, believes that the implementation of the national standards will ensure consumer faith in organic products, by acting as a basis for domestic regulation in the country.

A similar standard is already in place for the country's exports of organic food, and the OFA is keen that domestic market for organic foods is finally following suite.

"It was the Australian Government that proposed that an Australian Standard was the correct way to get domestic regulation," Leu told AP-Foodtechnology.com.

"It took a lot of consultation and investigation before we decided that this was the only option."

He added that the standards, which would be used by the industry to define organic production techniques, allowable inputs and prohibited practices, could conceivably be in place by the end of the year.

The OFA has already begun discussions with the government over the possibility of enforcing the standard to ensure organic food production is fully protected in the country.Steel Pipe

Australia is becoming an increasingly important player in the burgeoning global organic food market. The OFA estimates that Australia currently ranks behind only Japan and China in the Asia Pacific region for supply and demand of the goods.

In findings published last year by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the popularity of organic food was found to have increased significantly. Steel Pipe The research found organic food to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the global food industry, growing at double-digit rates compared to just 1-2 per cent on average in other foods.

The report added that Australia could have a strong role to play in meeting this growth.stainless steel pipe "Australia's competitiveness in cereals and pulses will allow it to be competitive in baked products, noodles and pasta," it stated.

Warm winter weather combined with the prolonged drought that has gripped a wide swathe of China has put crops at risk across the country, officials have said.

Unseasonably high temperatures last winter caused wheat, the country's second most important crop after rice, to grow extraordinarily fast in many areas, making it more vulnerable to drastic weather changes, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.

The average temperature during the past winter was minus 2.4 C, nearly 2 C higher than normal, official statistics showed.

The higher temperature has caused 3.1 million hectares of wheat, or 15 percent of the total area planted with winter wheat, to grow abnormally lushly, ministry official Wang Xiaobing said.

In addition the warm weather allowed insects and bacteria to survive the winter, meaning farms could expect to see more pests and diseases this year, he said.

For example, at least 840,000 hectares of wheat, mostly in Central China, are suffering from yellow rust disease, a kind of fungus that affects plants, according to ministry statistics.

"We must bring the infection under control or it could spread to other key grain producers, like Hebei Province in North China, Henan Province in Central China, or Shandong in East China," Wang told China Daily.

Wang said the ministry has urged local agricultural departments to prepare contingency plans for possible cold snaps and strong winds that may affect wheat seedlings.

Meanwhile, the drought that has stretched through the winter has adversely affected an even larger area.

At least 13.5 million hectares of farmland in China had been hit by drought by the end of last month, according to the latest statistics from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. Steel Pipe

The situation has aggravated water shortages in North China and could affect spring ploughing, a Xinhua report quoted Tian Yitang, deputy chief of the headquarters' general office, as saying.

For example, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has 1.01 billion cubic meters of water reserves, less than half the total in normal years, the Beijing-based headquarters said in a release.

The Central Meteorological Station has forecast strong rainfals in South China, and relatively more precipitation for the eastern part of Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China inthe coming 10 days, which will help relieve the drought in those areas. Steel Pipe 

Ministry of Agriculture official Wang said he believed the current drought would not make a significant dent in the country's grain production.

Wheat accounts for nearly 90 percent of the crops harvested in summer. Summer grain, mainly wheat and early rice, which is sown in spring, contributes to a quarter of China's total grain production, according to Wang.

The ministry has asked local areas to do what they can to relieve drought.

By the end of March, Shanxi Province in North China had dug at least 25,000 wells to water 213,300 hectares of farmland, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. stainless steel pipe

Servings of breakfast foods are up 64% over the last five years, and a portion of the servings were ordered outside of normal breakfast hours, according to The NPD Group Inc., which provides consumer and retail information.

Forty-five percent of breakfast food servings at family-style restaurant chains were consumed outside of normal breakfast times, yet only 7% of breakfast foods at quick-service restaurants were ordered outside of normal breakfast hours.

Many full-service restaurant chains have offered breakfast foods throughout the day for a number of years, and some quick-service restaurants are also following in this pattern as well.co detector

"There has been much talk about several major quick-service chains extending breakfast," said Bonnie Riggs, restaurant analyst for The NPD Group. "The biggest question remains whether it¡¯s operationally feasible. It is still in an exploration phase as operators try to determine if it is feasible from an operational standpoint and if the consumer demand is great enough. Offering breakfast foods throughout the day could help increase visits from existing customers; it could also attract new customers."stainless steel wire According to The NPD Group, the breakfast sandwich is one item likely to have success outside of normal breakfast hours as 46% of all orders of breakfast food during other times of day include a breakfast sandwich. Quick-service restaurants are also likely to make offerings of pancakes, bacon and eggs available throughout the day.

"While consumers looking for a breakfast fix at quick-service restaurants after the morning mealtime have limited options, the NPD data reveal that, when breakfast items are available, consumers often order them, particularly during lunch," Ms. Riggs said.stainless steel strip

STREET vendors on Wujiang Road said they were disappointed that a crackdown to clean up the landmark street would force them to close or relocate their business.

Vendors on Sunday, the last day of business as usual, were offering bargains to sell off stock before the crackdown.

A stall owner, surnamed Li, who was making cell phone decorations for a customer on Sunday night, said he purchased a train ticket back to his hometown that night.

"As soon as I sell the last items, I'll start off to the railway station and go home," said Li, a native of Shandong Province in his 30s.

He opened a stall selling mobile phone ornaments on Wujiang Road two years ago. He said his profit was about 50 yuan (US$3.8) to 60 yuan each day.

"I definitely don't want the stalls on Wujiang Road to be cleared away since we have really good business here," Li said. "But I can understand why the government launched the crackdown. The noise, garbage and traffic jams are a nightmare for Shanghai's image."

Wujiang Road provides a tantalizingly tasty glimpse into the city's food culture and can easily overload the senses.

The smell of chicken wings, dumplings and barbecue smoke clash in the air. Street vendors shout to attract customers, horns blare and spicy meats sizzle on barbecues. People press together and hands dart about to secure prized little snacks. Garbage is everywhere and the road's surface is covered in sticky goo.

Still, a female jewelry seller said it was her last day of business. "We are not allowed to sell things here anymore," she said, selling a necklace for 20 yuan after originally asking for 35 yuan.

Some people said they were disappointed that the cheap eats would no longer be available.

"I like visiting street stalls and can afford the prices," said Li Ti, a 24-year-old student from Anhui Province. "I can buy eight chicken wings for only 10 yuan."

YesterdaySmooth First Day

Zhou Kuanwei and Chen Qian

WUJIANG Road was free of street vendors yesterday as officials began a crackdown that was reminiscent of the closure last summer of the beloved Xiangyang Fashion and Gift Market.

Nearly 200 officials including police officers, neighborhood committee representatives and urban management leaders joined the 10-day campaign.

"Since we put up notices in advance, street vendors didn't show up today," said Tang Hong, a campaign leader and vice director with the Nanjing Road W. Neighborhood Committee. "We will be here, as well as nearby areas, to monitor the situation for the next 10 days."

Tang said nearby residents support the crackdown.

At 10am yesterday, sanitation workers were using high-pressure water hoses to remove the sticky coating and blackness from the road.

"The campaign has really brought much convenience to me," said Zhao Lin, a waste collector who has worked on Wujiang Road for five years. "I had to collect at least 20 buckets of rubbish everyday before, but four was enough today after the street vendors disappeared."

About 50 legal food stores along Wujiang Road will remain open as the campaign only targets illegal vendors.

Before the crackdown about 100 street vendors were operating during peak hours, causing traffic jams and noise pollution.

Campaign leader Tang said after the campaign ends some officials will still be sent to the area to prevent vendors from returning.

Jin Hui, who passes the area frequently, said: "The government is doing a good job. I feel happy when I walk past the narrow street. The air is so much fresher today."

Tang said the crackdown would extend to Nanjing Road.Steel Pipe

The city spearheaded the closure of Xiangyang Market last year to stop the sale of counterfeit goods and allow the land to be redeveloped into commercial and office space.

WUJIANG Road begins at Qinghai Road and ends at Maoming Road - a total of 562 meters - and runs parallel to Nanjing Road in Jing'an District. It's divided into three functional sections by Shimen No. 1 Road and Taixing Road.

The eastern section from Qinghai Road to Shimen No. 1 Road features street vendors and restaurants. The middle section from Shimen No. 1 Road to Taixing Road is a pedestrian road while the western section boasts an entrance to Metro Line 2 on Nanjing Road W..stainless steel wire The present setup began in 2000, previously the road was home to a wet market, after Metro Line 2 opened. It soon became famous for its snacks and attracted street food vendors to set up mobile stalls. Before the crackdown, chicken wings, milk and fruit drinks, kebabs, roasted squid, oysters, various dumplings and other items could be found.stainless steel strip Gradually, more illegal street vendors - mostly selling bags, umbrellas, jewelry, pirated DVDs and clothes - set up on Wujiang Road at night. They also set up during the day when urban management officials were not monitoring.

Tyson foodservice nears completion of trans-fat removal plan for foodservice breaded poultry products.
U.S. poultry and meat processing giant Tyson Foods is to convert to zero trans-fat oils in the production of virtually all of the company¡¯s foodservice breaded poultry products.

This means most Tyson foodservice breaded poultry products will contain zero grams of trans fat per serving.

Tyson said it is part of the Springdale, Arkansas-based company¡¯s strategic transition to zero trans fats, which began in 2004 with fully cooked breaded poultry retail products and ¡°child nutrition¡± school foodservice products. air jordan

Tyson Foods said it is making the move in response to consumer and operator interest in products with reduced trans-fat content.

Research conducted by Tyson revealed no taste, texture or visual differences between the newly-formulated products and the company¡¯s current product lines.

¡°We know today¡¯s consumers are more health-conscious than ever,¡± said Sylvia Wulf, Tyson vice president of foodservice marketing. stainless steel wire ¡°And that awareness applies whether eating at home or away from home. As America¡¯s leading protein manufacturer, we believe strongly in taking a leadership role to deliver consumer-driven product innovations that address the needs of today¡¯s foodservice industry.

¡°Our goal is to provide operators with a wide array of food options and the information needed to make relevant menu decisions.stainless steel strip

A small Vietnamese rice exporter raised $1.3 million on Wednesday from selling more than 1.6 million shares to outside investors, the first rice company in the country to go public, the stock market said. smoke detector
Vinh Long Import-Export Company, or Imexcuulong, sold 1,668,500 shares, or 37.08 percent of its total shares, at an average price of 12,122 dong (US 75 cents) each, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange said in a statement.

The company had expected to raise $1 million from the sale.

The state will retain a 51 percent stake while the remaining 11.92 percent would be sold to employees, Acting Director Le Tuan said earlier this month.

Imexcuulong, based in the Mekong delta province of Vinh Long, is valued at $3.4 million, based on the average price at the auction. The firm has not said when it plans to list its shares. Steel Pipe Vietnam is the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand.

Imexcuulong ships around 100,000 tonnes of rice annually to the Philippines, Indonesia, Africa and the Middle East. The volume is small when compared with 4.75 million tonnes Vietnam exported in 2006 and its target for 2007 of 5 million tonnes.

Imexcuulong has forecast it will nearly double its net profit to 4.32 billion dong ($268,000) this year from 2.3 billion dong ($143,000) in 2006 after running in the red in both 2004 and 2005. stainless steel pipe

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday urged countries to ban smoking at indoor workplaces and in public places in order to protect people from exposure to harmful second-hand tobacco smoke.
    "The evidence is clear, there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke," WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan said in a statement ahead of the 2007 World No Tobacco Day, which falls on Thursday.

    "Many countries have already taken action. I urge all countries that have not yet done so to take this immediate and important step to protect the health of all by passing laws requiring all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100 percent smoke-free," Chan said. gas detector

    There are about 4000 known chemicals in tobacco smoke, more than 50 of which are known to cause cancer, according to the WHO.

    Exposure to second-hand smoke can cause heart disease and many serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that can lead to premature death in adults. It can also worsen existing conditions and lead to diseases such as asthma in children.

    Exposure to second-hand smoke occurs anywhere smoking is permitted: homes, workplaces and other public places. stainless steel strip    

WHO estimates that some 200,000 workers die each year due to exposure to smoke at work. Around 700 million children, or almost half of the world's children, breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home.

    According to WHO, tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death globally, causing more than 5 million deaths a year. stainless steel wire     Tobacco use continues to expand most rapidly in the developing world, where currently half of tobacco-related deaths occur. By 2030, if current trends continue, eight out of every 10 tobacco-related deaths will be in the developing world.

Finance minister Sri Mulyani pledged Tuesday to stamp out the process, known as transhipments, to prevent damage to the country's domestic exports, according to Antara, the national news agency.

Growing concerns from both governments and consumers over some Asian goods, particularly foods and beverages, are putting pressure on regional manufacturers to ensure the safety of their products.welding wire

In a bid to to alleviate concerns from Europe and the US over Indonesia's safety measures, Malyani announced that the government would be stepping up precautions to prevent transhipments originating from markets like China.

"The directorate general of customs and excise is continuously increasing its monitoring," she stated.  "We have also coordinated with the trade ministry with regard to issuance of certificate of origin."stainless steel wire

In recent weeks, concerns have grown over the safety of some Chinese ingredients used within both the food and beverage industry, after the banned substance melamine was found in Chinese wheat proteins used in some US pet food.

This has opened the floodgates for a raft of both genuine and fictitious health scares regarding produce from the country entering the wider food chain. 

Though the Chinese government has shown itself to be actively reforming its own safety procedures, Mulyani is keen to distance Indonesian exports from the scandals.

"This is a serious problem in China and has become a sensitive issue now," she added. stainless steel strip

China's quality watchdog said on Tuesday that a sample survey shows 80.9 percent of products made in China for domestic consumption were up to quality and safety standards in the first half of 2007.

The survey covered 7,200 different products from 6,362 enterprises, with an emphasis on food, everyday commodities and farming machinery and fertilizers, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The administration found that 93.1 percent of products made by large enterprises are up to standards -- the figure was 84.2 percent for medium-sized enterprises and 72.9 percent for small enterprises.smoke detector

The survey revealed that 19.1 percent of products made in Chinafor domestic consumption are substandard in the first half of 2007,moving down from 21.6 percent from a year ago.

Tinned and preserved fruit and dried fish registered the lowestquality scores with key problems being excessive amounts of microorganisms or additives, the administration said.Steel Pipe

The quality watchdog cracked 23,000 cases of fake and low-quality food from December 2006 to May 2007 and a total of 180food manufacturers were shut down for making substandard food or using inedible materials for food production.

Meanwhile, "99 percent of food exported to the United States was up to safety standards over the past two years, which is a very high percentage," said Li Yuanping, a senior official in charge of imported and exported food safety in the GAQSIQ, in June. stainless steel pipe

When the State Council Information Office held a press conference recently to answer questions from the media on food and drug safety, it was a clear sign of the government's commitment to tackling the problems caused by some food and medicine exporters.

Following the conference, several government departments launched investigations into the guilty companies and suspended their export licenses in a bid to protect the country's reputation as a major exporter of agricultural products.

As a matter of fact, the government gives great importance to the matter of food safety.

Food products to be exported to Japan, for example, are closely monitored by Japanese experts based in China. This means they go through three "checkpoints" - on-site supervision by Japanese importers, examination by customs before it leaves Chinese soil, and examination by customs on its arrival in Japan.

As a result, the quality of the Chinese food exported to Japan is guaranteed and there should be no food-safety question.

However, Japanese authorities recently imposed very strict requirements on pesticide residues on farm produce and, as a result, some Chinese agricultural products, despite having only very low levels of residues, failed to meet the standards.

This new kind of trade barrier, erected by Japan and some other developed countries, poses a real test for Chinese food-checking technologies and those involved in the production of farm produce.

Naturally, some Chinese exporters have raised questions.

"Are the Japanese being too harsh on Chinese imports?" "Are they deliberately playing up the matter so as to protect Japanese farmers?"

Their need to know is understandable.

While some companies managed to export products that did not meet the food-safety standards of the importing countries, they did so without the knowledge of the Chinese government.

However, in a bid to stop such products getting through in future, the government should clearly define its area of responsibility and implement an effective supervision system to ensure food safety.

Exports can impact on the health of consumers overseas so their safety has to be guaranteed. Therefore all governments should take effective action to ensure only food that meets the standards of the destination country is allowed to leave.

As well as strengthening the management of food exports, the government should also reinforce the management of the food supply to the domestic market.

Only by doing so can it safeguard the credibility of both the food and tourism industries and put consumers at ease. stainless steel wire

The question now is, who should be held responsible for exporting products that did not meet Japan's food-safety requirements? How did it get through the "checkpoint" of the Chinese customs?

The answer is, the relevant Chinese department should graciously take responsibility.

Supervision and management in this regard should be strengthened to show China does not tolerate substandard products slipping through the net, if for no other reason than to protect the good name of its leading exporters. stainless steel strip It is only natural for people involved in the export business here to be resentful about foreign media attempts to exaggerate the situation: Some have even suggested there might be an economic or political motivation behind some news reports.

While it is impossible to dictate what the foreign media say, if a Chinese firm feels unfairly treated by a report it should supply the government with indisputable facts and conclusive data so that a legal case might be brought against the publisher. This would go a long way to protect the interests and credibility of exporters.

Local consumers have become increasingly concerned with the issue of food safety and TV stations such as China Central Television frequently report on the issue.

There is now an opportunity for the relevant authorities to turn the pressure on Chinese exporters into an opportunity to strengthen the supervision and management of the food supply for both the overseas and domestic markets. nike shoes

Foreign diplomats were given a tour of the city's port and a selection of local toy and garment factories Tuesday to witness stringent safety and security measures in operation.

The diplomats were shown quarantine inspectors opening export containers to inspect goods and then laboratories conducting quality tests on toys.

The tour at the booming southern city of Shenzhen in Guangdong, attracted 22 diplomats from the European Commission and 14 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and South Korea.

The diplomats were also shown officers conducting on-the-spot inspections of import/export products such as canned fruit, frozen meat, Christmas lights, furniture and flower seeds, at the Yantian Port, the country's largest container facility.

Officers opened each container and randomly took out samples to check their batch number, product category, and required certificates. Each inspection took about 15 minutes.

Qu Haifeng, deputy director of the Shenzhen entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau, said it was mandatory that every food shipment abroad must go through such an inspection. For other products that do not directly affect human health, random checks are conducted.

At China Silk Enterprise Ltd, which makes clothes for international brands such as Hugo Boss and Calvin Klein, and Early Light International Ltd, the world's largest original equipment manufacturer of toys, diplomats showed keen interest in the rigorous quality control and tests conducted in the laboratories of the companies.

"I'm very impressed by the quality and high technology involved in the production of the toys," Bart Pennewaert, first secretary at the Belgian Embassy in China, said.

Referring to recent reports of unsafe Chinese products, Pennewaert said it was easy to be "negatively effected as a manufacturing country", but what he saw made him confident of Chinese-made products.Steel Pipe

The Made in China label has suffered much damage since March when contaminated additives from the country tainted pet food in North America.

The recent three recalls of Chinese-made toys by Mattel, the world's largest toy-maker, have also caused concern ahead of the Christmas shopping period.

Guangdong has been most affected by the toy recall controversy.

It is home to 5,000 toy-making companies, and accounted for about 80 percent of the country's toy exports last year.Steel Pipe "That's why we have invited the diplomats here," Wei Chuanzhong, vice-minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said.

He said the tour offers diplomats a true picture of Chinese manufacturing and government supervision. It could be a regular event in the future.

William Westman, agricultural counselor at the US Embassy, said the tour was a valuable opportunity to know more about Chinese manufacturing.

"I believe such an exchange is necessary. It's been a nice, interesting tour," he said.

Many diplomats expressed their confidence in Chinese products and spoke highly of the recent moves taken by the government to improve quality.

"I've never had a problem with the Made in China label," Les Kumor, a counselor at the Canadian Embassy, said.stainless steel pipe "China views the issue very seriously and has been working quite aggressively to improve it. You're definitely moving in the right direction."

Maria Isabel Rendon, minister counselor at the Argentina Embassy, said the recent negative reports had not affected confidence in Chinese products in her country.

She said it was common for problems to emerge from time to time.

"But the most important thing is that you're trying to improve it," She said.

OUR plane flew over the North Pole on the 12-hour trek from Raleigh International Airport to Shanghai nearly four weeks ago.

We were met by students from Fudan University and shepherded to our guesthouse, located on the Fudan campus.

Exhausted, we crashed in our twin beds and awoke to the smells of Chinese breakfast wafting up from downstairs. Chopsticks, warm soy milk and dumplings acted as our first introduction to the foreign culture we would be fostered into over the next three months.

The University of North Carolina was contracted to provide live coverage for the Special Olympic Games nearly two years ago.

Students at my university worked last year preparing the Website, shooting documentaries on the athletes and preparing for coverage of the Games.

My team, consisting of 15 students from UNC, has come to China to supervise nearly 300 Chinese university students from four separate campuses.

The coverage from our work will be broadcast and distributed throughout the world and seen by millions of people.ëÔó¶«

Clips will be picked up by ESPN, ABC, Disney and countless other networks globally. Our team is extremely excited.

To introduce ourselves to our new home we have taken Chinese language and history classes, climbed to the top of the Yellow Mountains and explored downtown Shanghai.Steel Pipe Assisted at every step by our friends from Fudan campus, we are beginning to adjust to the extreme cultural differences.

Soon our teams will be split up and I will travel to Shanghai International Studies University where nearly 60 Chinese and American students will work 10- to 15-hour days to provide content from six different sports.stainless steel pipe The work will be hard and the hours long but I feel optimistic that our time will be well spent and all involved will be richer for the experience.

International retail giants Wal-mart, Carrefour and Metro have told China's Ministry of Commerce that they are satisfied with the quality of Chinese products, more than 99 percent of which meet standards, ministry spokesman Wang Xinpei said on Thursday.co detector

The qualification rate reached 100 percent of export Chinese products purchased by US firm Wal-Mart, 99.5 percent by France's Carrefour, and 99 percent by Germany's Metro. The products mainly include cleaners, hardware and household appliances, textiles, toys and food, retailer representatives said in a meeting with the ministry.stainless steel wire The Carrefour representative acknowledged the efforts made by Chinese government to guarantee product quality and food safety, and said it increased confidence in Chinese products.

Carrefour purchased 59 billion yuan worth of products in China last year, and planned to buy more. It spent 36.2 billion yuan in the first half.

Metro's purchase, though smaller in value, grew significantly to 11.8 billion yuan in the first half, only 2.4 billion short of the amount in the entire 2006.

"We have been purchasing from China for nearly 26 years," said the Wal-Mart representative, "Chinese products are economic in price and guaranteed in quality."

Wal-mart has located its global purchasing office in China.stainless steel strip

Around half of the purchased products would be exported, said the representatives.

Singapore-listed bakery China Angel Food is in talks to acquire other bakeries in China and sees higher earnings on the back of strong mooncake sales, its chairman told Reuters on Friday.

The firm said the acquisition of other bakeries would allow it to expand its production and retail facilities, increasing profitability in the long run.

"The acquisitions are part of our five-year plan. We will be able to expand out of the southeast of China," China Angel chairman Patrick Liang said in an interview in Singapore. smoke detector

He declined to say when the acquisitions would be completed but said the company was in talks with "5 to 6 companies".

China Angel, which has a market cap of $140 million, has 23 cake shops as well as over 3,000 points of sales in China. "We are very confident that we will beat the revenue growth figure set in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2006," said Liang.

The company also sees increased revenue growth and net profit for 2007 from the previous year. Steel Pipe

China Angel, which was listed in July, said in its prospectus that the firm had revenue of 106 million yuan in 2006, from 79 million yuan in 2005 and 33 million yuan in 2004. Over the same period, profit soared from just 5.5 million in 2004 to 20 million in 2005 and 38 million yuan ($5.06 million) in 2006.stainless steel pipe

For several years Western economies have regarded China as a source of cheap materials, labour and inexpensive food imports. However, food companies around the world now have to deal with the effects that Westernised eating habits, a booming population and higher consumer prices in China are having on the rest of the world.

The country's booming population is currently gobbling up massive amounts of the world's food supply, and the country's grain demand will rise to 550m tonnes by 2010, compared to an output of 490m tonnes in 2006, according to the White Book of China's Grain Issues, released by the State Council.

China will therefore have to increase its annual grain output by at least 2.5m tonnes every year until 2010 to cope with the growing population, or try to import it from elsewhere.

In an article written for the Financial Times, Dow Jones financial expert Tracy Zheng said that the government has already started selling off its limited reserves.

"It sold 200,000 tons of vegetable oil offered at an auction. The oil went at the high end of market prices, indicating that there is a strong domestic demand," she said. "What's more, China will hold auctions to sell imported wheat from reserves once or twice a month."

To compound matters, drought weather conditions, attributed to global warming are currently affecting several grain growing nations, reducing the amount of available imports.

For example, grain value is expected to undergo about a 21 per cent rise over the year to AUS$273 (€166) due to drought conditions brought on by global warming, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE).

In the EU's 27 member countries, a lower than expected harvest in 2006 of 265.5m tonnes has led to tightening supplies at the end of the growing season in 2007.

Another factor putting pressure on China's food supply is increasingly Westernised eating habits.

In the past, a large part of the Chinese diet was based on fish, rice and vegetables, all available in large supplies in and around the region, whereas now the Chinese have acquired a taste for meat, eggs and dairy products.

While no-one could begrudge any nation the right to decide whatever they so choose to put on their plates, certain sectors are feeling their supplies are starting to dwindle.

In the dairy sector, for example, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) last month reported that the price of milk is up 98 per cent from last year, setting the highest price on record at $21 per 100 pounds of farm milk.

The US is not the only country having to pay for China's demand for dairy products, as the price of cream in the UK has jumped by 23 per cent this year, and in Australia consumers are paying 60 per cent more for skimmed milk than they did six months ago.

We live in an increasingly globalised economy, and we are certainly fed thanks to a globalised food chain, (and) so no-one could pretend that these events in China will not have an effect on the rest of the world.

Consumers in China are now experiencing some of the highest food prices in years, prompting fears these higher costs will now spread to the rest of the world.

 According to Philip Bowring writing for the Asia Sentinel, in August consumer price inflation hit a 10 year high of 5.6 per cent.

"This comes on the feels of declining imports from China," he said. "It can not be regarded as a one-off event, as it is likely to be the beginning of a sustained rise fuelled by several factors."

Bowring argues that the Westernisation of China, resulting in a demand for higher wages, consumer spending power and richer diets, will result in food companies paying the price in the future.

"Taking all factors into account it seems very likely that the China effect will contribute significantly to keeping prices, and inflation, high," he said.

Bowring and thousand of other experts who predict "agri-flation" have had their opinions validated by the financial statements of many companies all over the world.

Only last week, New Zealand Woolworth's boss Michael Luscombe warned that the company's target will be a 40 per cent reduction by 2015 against business as usual performance because of the crushing combination of export demand from China and India as well as drought weather conditions.

While company bosses such as Luscombe do try to keep prices low, many companies have admitted in recent months that consumers will have to pay more.

US dairy giant Dean Foods have this month been forced to up the price of milk, cream and yoghurts, "as a result of this extreme commodity environment," while ingredients company Purac has announced it is increasing its prices increases for lactic acid, lactates, gluconic acid and gluconates because of the higher commodity prices.

In the wealthier West, no-one envisages riots breaking out just yet, as almost happened in China last year when the price of noodles went up, but with the threat of high inflation hanging over the US and the UK, companies are certainly fearing a consumer backlash over extra costs.

All is not doom and gloom, however, as some companies are still managing to make a healthy profit despite the global repercussions that China is having on the food industry.Steel Pipe

Many companies have diversified operations in recent years, turning from traditionally popular products towards processed or easily exportable brands.

Russian dairy producer Will-Bill-Dann has been particularly profitable this year, with shares rocketing 132 per cent in 2007. The company's success could be due diversifying into areas such as the beauty food market, with its antioxidant drink, or the functional dairy foods arena.

Many experts also believe that another way to survive is indeed to market products specifically made for Asian consumers, such as dried milk powder hot chocolate mix and certain brands of processed cheese.Steel Pipe

Mergers and acquisitions have also been popular this year, as companies reposition themselves in a complex market, either to enter into growth areas such as health and nutritional products, or to have a stronger food hold in the high growth regions of Asia and Eastern Europe.

This year Nestl¨¦, Cadbury, Diageo, Heineken, Intersnack in Germany, Unilever and Frutarom have all been in M&A deals in recent months, or are thought to be on the prowl for suitable investments. stainless steel pipe

The studies pull together data from New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Norway, and all suggest significant benefits of fish consumption, specifically the omega-3 fatty acid content, and cognitive health.

The majority of science for the health benefits of fish and omega-3 consumption has focused on cardiovascular health, but the science for cognitive benefits is growing and almost as compelling as the heart health data.

Moreover, the number of studies reporting potential risk reduction of certain cancers, improved development of a baby during pregnancy, joint health, and improved behaviour and mood, are also growing.

Published in the November 2007 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the studies have been commended by an independent expert.

"These recent reports are novel in that they address the association of n-3 fatty acid intake and cognitive function in non-demented individuals and, thus, present a shift in the attention to earlier stages of cognitive decline with the hope of preventing progression to states of dementia and disability before they become irreversible," wrote Irwin Rosenberg from Tufts University.

For the first study, Dutch researchers, led by Carla Dullemeijer from Wageningen University, used data from the FACIT trial, involving 807 men and women (average age 60 at baseline) assigned to receive folic acid or placebo capsules for three years. A cross-sectional analysis studied all 807 participants, while a longitudinal analysis only focused on the 404 participants in the placebo group.

The researchers report that increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the plasma were associated with a 69 per cent lower decline in sensorimotor speed and a 60 per cent lower decline in complex speed over three years. gas detector

No effects were observed on memory, the speed at which the participants processed information, or their word fluency.

"In this population, plasma n_3 PUFA proportions were associated with less decline in the speed-related cognitive domains over 3 y. These results need to be confirmed in randomized controlled trials," concluded Dullemeijer and co-workers.

Researchers in New Zealand investigated if a relationship existed between the fatty acid composition of serum lipids and the mental and physical well-being of 2416 people participating in the 1997 National Nutrition Survey.

Using data from a short-form 36 health questionnaire and blood samples, lead author Francesca Crowe from the University of Otago reports that the proportion of EPA in the blood, and the ratio of EPA to arachidonic acid (AA) was positively associated with physical well-being, and the EPA to AA ratio for mental well-being.

"The association between [EPA levels], the ratio of EPA to AA, and better self-reported physical well-being is biologically plausible," state the researchers.

"The synthesis of the inflammatory series-2 prostaglandins and series-4 leukotrienes from AA would be reduced in favour of the less inflammatory series-3 prostaglandins and series-5 leukotrienes synthesized from EPA."

"The association has strong biological plausibility and warrants further investigation," they concluded.

The final study, led by Eha Nurk from the University of Oxford, examined the relation between consumption of seafood products and cognitive performance in 2031 elderly Norwegians. stainless steel wire The researchers report that consumption of at least 10 grams of fish a day performed significantly better in tests for cognitive performance than people who ate less than 10 grams of fish and fish products.

Moreover, the effect was dose dependent, with the best test scores occurring in individuals consuming about 75 grams per day.

Interestingly, there was no significant difference between the consumption of lean of fatty fish, suggesting that the effects were due to something other than omega-3 fatty acids.

"Because this and earlier studies have shown that fish intake is associated with better cognition, the next question is what component of fish makes it good for the brain?" asked Nurk and co-workers.stainless steel strip "Studies of n 3 fatty acids, niacin, and any other factor known to be enriched in fish are needed to answer this question," they concluded.

In the accompanying editorial, Rosenberg commended the research groups for addressing the association of fish and n-3 fatty acid intake with cognitive function in individuals not yet showing signs of impaired cognitive function.

"These studies of nutritional associations with brain function during the elongated prodromal period of age-related neurodegeneration and decline offer an opportunity for early intervention to maintain brain function and slow progression to dementia, which is costly economically and in terms of quality of life," concluded Rosenberg.

The steep rise in the price of Basmati rice, a major part of staple food here, has hit Kuwaiti families.

Rice importers attribute the spiralling price to increased demand for the foodgrain in India from where most of the rice is imported. gas detector

"With the increase in demand for rice around the world, companies have increased prices. As a result, a tonne of rice that cost $700 earlier is now priced at $1,000. There has been an increase of 40% in price over the last one year," Mohammad Al-Hamid, a rice importer, told a Kuwaiti news agency.

The price rise was less severe in Kuwait as compared to the neighbouring Gulf states, he added.stainless steel wire Being one of the most contentious issues, a special parliamentary session was held last week to take stock of the situation. It recommended raising subsidy of foodgrains and setting up of a committee to supervise the performance of co-operative societies.

To make things worse, there are reports indicating that Iran has imported a large quantity of rice after its own produce this year was affected by unfavourable weather conditions.stainless steel strip India is a favoured destination for the import of rice among Gulf nations.

More than 100 tourists were stranded in a county of southwest China's Yunnan Province by heavy snow as traffic had not resumed, local government said Saturday.

The stranded tourists were in the Deqin county seat and some remote villages of the county where traffic was still cut off, said Adain, Deqin Tourism Bureau director.

They were safe and had no problems with food, clothing and accommodation, said Adain.Steel Pipe

Heavy snow 40 centimeters deep hit the tourist county Wednesday to Friday, causing a cutoff of power, communications and roads in certain areas.

Roads linking Deqin to the outside may be reopened by Sunday, according to the official.jordan shoes

The county's diesel oil supply was tight, hindering efforts to clear snow and repair roads, the official said. In some areas the work has to rely all on hands due to lack of the fuel oil.stainless steel pipe