COOPERATIVE EXTENSIONUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA POULTRY LETTEROctober/November 1997In This IssueMeeting Notice - California Egg Industry Outlook 1998 New Egg Refrigeration Laws Effective January 1 Hopes for a National Title are Growing New Area Code for Davis (530) 1998 International Poultry Waste Management Symposium California Egg Quality Assurance Plan Update Poultry Information from the Internet Internet Sites for Poultry Production & Processing Coming Events Meeting Notice
California Egg Industry Outlook - 1998
When: Wednesday, December 17, 1997 (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon) Where: Room 200 Highlander Hall, University of California, Riverside This year's outlook meeting will include two topics.
We hope you will be able to attend this meeting. There will be a $3.00 fee for parking. Please pay the attendant on entering the University Extension complex parking area. The meeting will be held in Building A (facing University Avenue) in Room 200 upstairs. New Area Code for Davis (530) The Davis area code changed to 530 on November 1, 1997. The 916 area code will continue to work during the transition period which ends in about six months. The area code for Sacramento will remain 916. 1998 International Poultry Waste Management Symposium Plans are underway for an international symposium on poultry waste. The symposium will be held at the Holiday Inn in Springdale, Arkansas October 19-21, 1998. The program will feature the latest research and regulatory information on management, handling, composting and recycling of poultry manure, farm mortality and processing plant wastes. Tours of waste management facilities will be offered. If you have suggestions for the program contact Ralph Ernst at 530/752-3513. California Egg Quality Assurance Plan (CEQAP) Update The list of persons who have completed CEQAP training continues to grow and now numbers 237. Our congratulations to several companies who have recently completed plans and joined the program. New members range from very large (over 1 million hens) to small (less than 50,000 hens).Research While research is not officially part of the Quality Assurance program it has been a useful means of assessing the prevalence of houses and eggs which are Salmonella enteritidis (SE) culture positive. A new field survey is being planned which would look at environmental samples from laying houses. Present plans would expand the number of houses sampled. All samples would again be handled in a double blind manner to avoid any possibility of associating positive samples with the ranch of origin. We urge all ranches to cooperate in this study if you are contacted. There will be no risk to your ranch and the data are important to develop a better understanding of SE in California egg production facilities. CEQAP Plan Development Workshops These workshops are sponsored by PePa, CDFA and University of California. This will be an excellent opportunity for ranches or egg processors who would like more information about plan development. David Goldenberg, CEQAP facilitator, will lead the discussion and present examples of how to write a flock or packing plant plan. It is recommended that you bring your CEQAP resource book to the meeting. Representatives from UC Cooperative Extension and California Department of Food and Agriculture will also participate in these workshops. Following the general discussion staff will provide individual plan writing assistance. We will have several portable computers and hope to help people finish their plans that day. The CDFA district veterinarian is planning to attend and will accept plans or participation forms. Tuesday, December 2 - 10:00 a.m. - Modesto Plan Development Workshop, Stanislaus County Cooperative Extension Office, 733 County Center III Court (corner Oakdale Road and Scenic Blvd.) For information or reservations contact Ralph Ernst at 530/752-3513 or PePa at 916/441-0801. Wednesday, December 3 - 10:00 a.m. - Riverside Plan Development Workshop, Riverside County Cooperative Extension Bldg., 21150 Box Springs Road, Moreno Valley. For information or reservations contact Doug Kuney at 909/683-6491 or PePa at 916/441-0801. These workshops are approved as continuing education training for the CEQAP. Future CEQAP Training We are currently planning to offer any of five training sessions requested somewhere in the Modesto area early in 1998. If you want to complete specific sections please telephone Ralph Ernst at 530/752-3513. Poultry Information from the InternetIf you have a computer which provides you with access to the Internet there are a variety of web sites where you can find poultry information. A number of these addresses are included in the list which follows this article. Electronic mail or e-mail is another valuable tool for Internet users. There are several poultry discussion groups or newslines which you can join. Two of these which I find useful are calpoultrylist and PLTRYNWS. The calpoultrylist was developed by Ralph Ernst at UC Davis to provide information exchange primarily of local interest. You can subscribe at no charge by sending an email message to "listproc@ucdavis.edu". In the body of your message (no subject is needed) put "sub calpoultrylist yourfirstname yourlastname". For example: sub calpoultrylist Ralph Ernst. You can leave this list at any time by changing the message to "unsub calpoultrylist". Subscribers can send information or questions to this list or just listen to what others contribute. Any subscriber can send a message to "calpoultrylist@ucdavis.edu" and everyone who is subscribed will receive the message. When you subscribe you will receive instructions for using the list. PLTRYNWS "Poultry health, production and management news" is located on "listserv@sdsuvm.sdstate.edu". PLTRYNWS is a newsgroup for those with interest in commercial poultry production, including (but not limited to) broiler chickens, laying chickens, breeding birds, turkeys, game birds and waterfowl. Open forum discussions pertaining to issues related to health, management and production of commercial poultry are encouraged. To subscribe send an e-mail message to "listserv@sdsuvm.sdstate.edu". In the body of the message put "subscribe PLTRYNWS yourfirstname yourlastname". For example: subscribe PLTRYNWS Ralph Ernst. This list has many subscribers from all over the world. Discussion is often lively and you should expect to receive about 15 messages a day. Internet Sites for Poultry Production & Processing
(NOVEMBER 1997) The following information was adapted from a publication by Dr. Pat Curtis from North Carolina State University. Some corrections were made and several new sites were added. At the time of the preparation of this list (November 1997) all sites were found to be active. Donald Bell, Poultry Specialist, University of California, Riverside. *Poultry Food Safety Web site: Individuals at North Carolina State University have developed a food safety information retrieval system on the Internet. One of the modules is a section devoted to Poultry. In this section you will find links to consumer and industry publications from government agencies, universities and organizations. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/agentinfo/poultry *Poultry Science Virtual Library: Texas A & M University has developed a web site with extensive resources for poultry researchers, processors and producers. http://gallus.tamu.edu/library/dother.html University Departments and Research Centers
Government Agencies
Organizations & Associations
Poultry Producers
Other Resources
New Egg Refrigeration Laws Effective January 1A new egg refrigeration bill recently signed into law by the governor will officially take effect January 1, 1998. This law will add two new sections to the California Food and Agricultural Code which apply to "handlers". An "egg handler" is defined as a person engaged in the business of producing, candling, grading, packing, or otherwise preparing shell eggs for market or who engages in the operation of selling or marketing eggs that he has produced, purchased, or acquired. A retailer is not a handler unless they also warehouse and distribute eggs (as some do). The change will make it unlawful for an egg handler to hold, store, transport, or display eggs that are packed or graded for human consumption unless the eggs are held, stored, transported, or displayed at an average temperature of 45oF or lower or at a temperature equal to or less than that established by regulations of the USDA. The law also requires that egg handlers label cases and cartons with a "Keep Refrigerated" label, sell-by date and identification of the plant of origin. In lieu of the "Keep Refrigerated" label a conspicuous sign may be posted at point of sale advising consumers that eggs are to be refrigerated as soon as practical after purchase. Questions may be directed to Jerry Porter 209/445-5190 in Northern California or to Carolyn Smith 909/923-5512 in Southern California. California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law (CURFFL)A change has also been made in the CURFFL law to add a section pertaining to refrigeration of shell eggs at retail. The new law specifies that commencing January 1, 1998, and until January 1, 2000, raw shell eggs shall be stored and displayed at an ambient temperature of (45oF) or below. An exemption is included for sale of eggs which have never been refrigerated after packaging. Non-refrigerated eggs can be held at temperatures no greater than 90oF for up to 4 days after date of pack. Following this period un-refrigerated eggs must be either refrigerated at 45oF, diverted to pasteurization or destroyed. Hopes for a National Title are GrowingCongratulations to the "team of two," Forest and Matthew Grow, who captured the Senior Avian Bowl Championship at the California State Fair. Forest and Matthew will represent California at the 4-H Poultry and Egg National Conference in Louisville, November 18-21. Also on their way to Kentucky are Captain Jeremy Johansen (Yolo County), Errine Mailman and Ravi Rangi (Contra Costa County) and Marybeth Upjohn (Sacramento County). These four are the California 4-H Poultry Judging Champions. -Francine A. Bradley Coming EventsDecember 17, 1997 - California Egg Industry Outlook, Riverside. See page 1 for details. January 19-20, 1998 - Southern Poultry Science Society Meeting, World Congress Trade Center, Atlanta, GA. For more information contact Dr. Gene Pesti 706/542-1351. January 20, 1998 - A "Farm-to-Table" forum for shell eggs and egg products. SE Working Group II/Risk Assessment Organizational Meeting, World Congress Trade Center, Atlanta, GA. For more information contact United Egg Producers 770/587-5871. January 21-23, 1998 - International Poultry Trade Show, Atlanta World Congress Trade Center. For more information contact the US Poultry and Egg Assoc. 770/493-9401. February 7, 1998 - Avian Science Day, UC Davis. Contact Francine Bradley 530/752-6316. *March 3-5, 1998 - PePa Convention, Double Tree Hotel, Monterey, CA. For more information contact PePa 916/441-0801. *New Date! August 2-6, 1998 - Poultry Science Association, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. For more information contact PSA at 217/356-3182. March 8-10, 1998 - Western Poultry Disease Conference, Capitol Plaza Holiday Inn, Sacramento. For more information contact UC Conference and Event Services 530/575-3331. Ralph A. Ernst, Editor |