Often, new regulations are imposed upon an industry without careful consideration of how these regulations might affect other aspects of the business. As a result, new problems may be created - sometimes worse than the ones they were intended to correct. This is why it is so essential that industry persons, scientists, and others with broad experience are included in the original discussions and the formulation of new regulations. Subjects seem simple to outsiders, but become extremely complex when regulations start to be applied. Repeated amendments are often required to correct original concepts because the right people weren=t consulted earlier.

Today, we see multiple agencies working on the same problem - each claiming jurisdiction, each with a new set of forms which must be filled out, each with a different perspective about the problem.

New refrigeration regulations

An example of this is in the recent debate about optimum temperatures for egg storage. Many of the " officials " sitting around the committee tables were completely unaware of the existing refrigeration programs for eggs (ones that had been in existence for 50 years or more), the logistics of egg handling, or the labeling procedures being used. We still hear that "the industry is going to have to start refrigerating their eggs" or to code date their cartons - as if these were something new.

Changing the temperature requirements for egg storage would appear to be a simple procedure, but can it be totally effective when eggs move to market before they have time to cool down to the prescribed levels? Will the new low temperatures create new contamination problems due to the increased amount of " sweating " when eggs are moved out of storage? How do new regulations affect individual companies or regions disproportionately to their competitors?

Cages for chickens

Another example is occurring today in Europe relative to cages for laying hens. Regulations are being established for individual countries and for the European Economic Union (EEU) as a whole. Considerable disagreement is expressed about proposed regulations. At one moment, the discussion concerns increasing space allowances- the next moment, they are recommending complete abolishment of the cage system.

One country, Switzerland, abolished cages from a welfare standpoint and then allow eggs from caged layers into their country to supply their population - what happened to their concern for the birds welfare?

Sweden set a date to abolish the use of cages, but when suitable alternatives were not forthcoming, the effective date was extended. Aviary and other non-cage systems were recommended until the researchers found that such systems would not work with the added regulation - " beak trimming is not allowed."

Of particular interest is the ever-changing argument in Europe about bird welfare and cages. More attention is directed to the assumed behavioral needs of the birds than to the clearly proven advantages of cages for the health of the flock and human food safety. Retail interests push their own agendas as so-called spokespersons for the consumer. It's easy to insist that suppliers follow the retailer's guidelines with the current concentration of power which exists in the retail food industry. The misuse of this power has succeeded in dictating flock management systems for the future which will result in higher producer and consumer costs, greater wastes of resources, less sanitary production systems, and the possibility of greater food safety risks to the public.

Free-range and floor management systems

Finally, the abolishment of cages in favor of litter or free-range systems has been shown to increase the risk of Salmonella infection. The following comments were abstracted from an article by Anthony Phelps, a correspondent in England, in an article appearing in Feedstuffs in 1991.

"Free-range eggs and poultry are more likely to be infected with salmonella capable of causing food poisoning, a U.K. government veterinarian said at a conference here recently.

"While the public's concern for better animal welfare is to be applauded, the assumption that free-range birds and their eggs also improved human health is naive and wrong, he warned.

"Dr. Bill Reilly, a consultant in veterinary and public health to the Communicable Diseases Unit, said: 'Free-range birds are inevitably exposed to more external contamination than those in cages. They are, in fact, more susceptible to diseases caused by bacteria such as salmonella.'

"Reilly's remarks, made at the annual conference of the Institute of Environmental Health Officers, were reinforced by the Government's own statistics on outbreaks of Salmonella enteritidis.

"Public Health Laboratory Service figures for the year to June 1991 show 47 incidents of salmonella were detected in cage-housed layers, which account for 85% of all egg production in Britain. In comparison, in the same 12 month period, 33 outbreaks of salmonella were confirmed in free-range or deep litter flocks, which supply only 15% of the market."

Editor's comment: Free range or deep litter flocks represented 15% of the market, but represented 41% of the cases of salmonella - a 2.7 fold increase!

"Reilly said, 'Consumers want to believe free-range eggs and poultry are somehow cleaner and safer then the products of cage units, but this is sadly not true.'

"Reilly said that attempts to improve the welfare of livestock were laudable, 'but we must make sure that, in the process, we do not create a new set of health risks to the consumer."

Beak trimming

In many countries, beak trimming is not allowed. It is considered to be painful to the chickens and regulations attribute more importance to the welfare aspects of pain than they do to the life-saving effects which result from beak trimming.

The regulations in Sweden, for example, did not properly evaluate the effects of intact beaks in alternative housing systems before regulations were established. As a result, high levels of cannibalism occurred - as might be expected.

"An Egg Economics Update" and "A Summary of Current Egg Industry Statistics"are now available on the UC web site.

Our monthly newsletter "An Egg Economics Update" is now available in two forms:

1. Monthly mailed subscription - $12/year
2. On the UC web site - free

Web site address: http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/extension/avian

This letter is an update of seven topics of interest to the California and U.S. egg industry and five additional issues on current economic topics:

January - Previous year's farm egg prices.

February - Previous year's cost of production, income and profit estimates.

March - Previous years recapitulation of key industry statistics (hatch, egg production, layer numbers, molting, prices, etc.).

July - First 6 months (Cost of Production, Income, & Profits).

August - Previous year's California and U.S. poultry industry revenues.

September - Trends in Layer Performance (U.S.).

December - Next year's outlook (California).

Other topics in 1998 and 1999 included:

• Egg grade outs - changing patterns of sizes.
• The roller coaster of egg profits.
• Where are we heading?
• Lower feed prices - their effect on the cost of production.
• Lower feed prices - their effect on the cost of replacement pullets.
• The cholesterol controversy

Our second economics-oriented letter is "A Summary of Current Egg Industry Statistics". This letter summarizes current California and US egg industry statistics. It is derived from numerous industry reports from the California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, the USDA, and the University of California.

This report is usually published monthly and can be obtained at the same web site address or by subscription (also $12/year).

This report is a compilation of 30 tables of data comparing California and U.S. egg statistics for the current year with the previous year. Subjects included are:

• Chick hatch and incubation
• Layer counts - US, CA, & major states
• Table egg and all egg counts - US & CA
• Flock molt status - US & CA
• Rate of lay - US
• Quarterly COP - US & CA
• Various farm egg prices
  - US and CA mid month
  - CA monthly large egg price
  - CA monthly blend price
  - 8 state comparison of prices
  
• Shell egg imports into CA (volume and state of origin)
• Monthly hen slaughter and projected pullet placements
• Shell eggs broken for products
• Per capita egg consumption by quarter
• Current projection of US flock size
• Comparison of UEP, UC flock size projections with actual USDA counts
• Comparison of previous year and projected egg prices for the current year
• Current estimated monthly egg income, feed price, cost of production and profits for California with totals to date

Call Don Bell (909) 787-4555 for additional information.

Economic Implications of Controversial Layer Management Programs

Economics plays an essential role in the choice of management programs in the poultry industry as well as in most other businesses. Economics drives the selection of systems, products, and procedures among a long list of alternative options. Costs, values, profit margins, competition, overhead, performance, efficiencies, etc. are all economic subjects and are of vital importance in their effect on the management of today's modern agricultural enterprises.

Management programs are chosen only after careful consideration of their relative worth compared to alternative programs. Managers are charged with choosing sound programs, enacting them in detail, monitoring their applications and continuing their evaluation when new alternatives come along or when price/cost conditions change.

This topic with emphasis on caging, beak trimming and induced molting will be presented at our University of California Poultry Symposium to be held in Riverside and Modesto on November 9 & 10, 1999.

Egg Consumption Patterns of Men and Women Health Professionals

The recent report, "A Prospective Study of Egg Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Men and Women", by Dr. F.B Hu and co-workers showed a very interesting pattern of egg consumption for men and women professionals. The study included 37,851 men aged 40 to 75 and 80,082 women aged 34 to 59 years at the outset of the study. The men were health professionals (dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, podiatrists, and veterinarians). The women were all registered nurses. The time period for the two studies was: men - 1986-94, women - 1980-94.  Egg consumption habits of the two groups is shown in Table 1, below.

Table 1. Egg consumption frequency by gender (% of participants).

By the way, the researchers found no evidence of an overall significant association between egg consumption and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke in either men or women.

Today, food safety of our agricultural products is uppermost in all of our minds. Quality assurance programs must recognize the multitude of critical control points where systems can break down and the safety of our eggs is jeopardized.

In order to assure that eggs are handled by the most sanitary methods, attention must be given to numerous details at the production site, in the processing plant, during transportation, in the warehouse and at the marketplace.  Table 2 below lists many of the areas where food safety problems may originate. Standards are listed with problem ranges described.

Table 2. Food safety problem areas - recommendations and problem extremes.

Legal problems regarding temperatures actually exist at any temperature above the 45⁰ F. temperatures required by law. The numbers listed are considered to be threshold temperatures for serious quality problems.

Well-operated systems require continuous monitoring of all the items listed above.

Sanitation programs must be regularly scheduled with "sign-offs" when completed. Egg processing plants are particularly vulnerable to break-downs in quality assurance programs. Plant managers must learn to think of their operation as they would for any food preparation establishment.

Don Bell, Poultry Specialist

At the recently held "Symposium of Poultry Management and Production" held by the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) in New Orleans, Dr Henry Classen, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Canada reviewed several important issues relating to the welfare of broiler chickens. This particular subject should be of interest to any handlers of birds - pullets, broilers or fowl.

"The last day of a broiler's life represents an important time from both economical and animal welfare standpoints. Mortality, trimming and other losses at this time are very costly and can be associated with mishandling, poor environmental control on transport vehicles, and/or rough-handling at the processing plant prior to slaughter."

Potential animal welfare concerns associated with pre-slaughter management include: 1) catching and crating, 2) transportation, 3) trailer storage, 4) shackling.

"The majority of broilers are still caught and crated by hand with most companies now using systems where the drawer or crate units are taken into the house to the crating locations. These systems are a major improvement over systems that used hand catching and where birds were carried to transport trailers outside of the house. Despite these improvements, the catching and crating process is still one of the most undesirable jobs in the poultry industry. Some of the characteristics associated with this process are: large numbers of broilers to be caught in a relatively short catching time, repetitive, boring work, and frequently a poor house environment. Catchers with very good intentions may become bored, indifferent or fatigued and as a result handle broilers in a way that compromise the bird's welfare. Automated catching systems are now on the market and offer considerable potential to improve the catching process and the welfare of broiler chickens.

"Research in the United Kingdom has demonstrated that the welfare of broilers can also be negatively affected during transportation. Temperature and relative humidity are two important factors that can affect death loss (DOAs). Use of power ventilation and/or better trailer design can overcome these problems and would appear to hold promise for broiler transportation. Broilers are frequently kept in crates on trailers at the processing plant for extended periods of time. Again the need for environmental control is emphasized to reduce welfare issues.

"Shackling broilers has many of the work characteristics that were mentioned before for the catching process. Although birds will die relatively quickly after this point as a result of electrocution, mishandling can cause bruising, condemnations and/or down grading. As a result, it can also be a welfare issue. Use of gas stunning prior to shackling would eliminate the animal welfare implications of this process."

Calendar