shearer@onlineathens.com . Story updated at 11:11 PM on Monday, October 15, 2007 A project to empower agriculture officials to respond quickly to serious animal disease outbreaks still is little more than a paper plan nearly four years after it was proposed. shearer@onlineathens.com . Story updated at 11:11 PM on Monday, October 15, 2007 A project to empower agriculture officials to respond quickly to serious animal disease outbreaks still is little more than a paper plan nearly four years...

If it doesn t reopen, farmers say it could damage the local food network, drive up poultry prices because of increased transportation and push small farms out of business. Department of Agriculture during the processing in order to sell it in grocery stores and farmers markets. Burt, 65, stood in the break room of her small poultry processing plant in Utica last week, her plastic smock surprisingly clean after processing 1,250 chickens and 50 turkeys. The demand for locally grown chickens...

At the very least, Congress should require imported cattle to be marked with their country of origin, so domestic product won't be burdened with the same suspicions. Department of Agriculture should hold off on its plan to permit, beginning today, imports of older Canadian cattle even as Canada continues to find cases of the disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The rule is based on when Canada banned the use of bonemeal and meat from other cud-chewing animals in feed...

The DNA TraceBack system enables retailers, meat producers, meat processors and food-service outlets to respond to the growing consumer demand, both domestically and in export markets, for more information about where and how their meat is produced. IdentiGEN is a leading global provider of DNA-based identification and verification solutions for enhancing food safety and building consumer confidence in the food and agriculture industries. DNA TraceBack utilizes DNA identification...

Wrapped up in it, however, are some far trickier questions: Is it ethical to charge for saltwater that increasingly pumps up supermarket chickens? Is the sodium lactate used as a flavoring and preservative in sliced roast beef natural? How about the high-fructose corn syrup that sweetens sodas? Wrapped up in it, however, are some far trickier questions: Is it ethical to charge for saltwater that increasingly pumps up supermarket chickens? Is the sodium lactate used as a flavoring and...