Not only for the Islamic festival of sacrifice Kurban Bayrami

The Islamic festival of sacrifice, Kurban Bayrami, is celebrated from February 01st to 04th. Meat from sheep is consumed here, which according to the interpretation of the Koran by various Islamic religious scholars should not be stunned before slaughter. Slaughtering without anesthetic, the so-called slaughtering, is strictly prohibited. This was pointed out by the Ministry of Agriculture, the animal protection service of the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety and the Animal Protection Advisory Board at yesterday's meeting of the Animal Protection Advisory Board of the State of Lower Saxony.

According to the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Welfare Slaughter Ordinance, a warm-blooded animal may only be slaughtered after it has been stunned. The anesthesia eliminates the animal's ability to feel pain. Emphasis is therefore placed on the possibility of taking the concerns of animal welfare and Islam into account by short-term electrical stunning of the animals for slaughter, which is approved by the locally responsible veterinary office.

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Livestock and Meat

Demand for beef at wholesale meat markets remained subdued. The trade focused primarily on cheaper items. The sales prices for beef mostly remained at the previous level, but there were discounts for roast beef. Despite the sluggish meat sales, at least last week's prices had to be paid for slaughter cattle, and in some cases a little more. There were price premiums for young bulls, especially in the north-west. The supply of slaughter cows was noticeably smaller after the significantly lower payout prices in the past few weeks. In order to stimulate the producers' willingness to sell, at least the same prices were paid, regionally also somewhat more. On the national average, slaughter cows O3 brought in 1,48 euros per kilogram slaughter weight, one cent more than before. The average price for young bulls R3 increased by two cents to 2,41 euros per kilogram. In the case of mail-order beef, there was also no demand from neighboring countries. Nevertheless, German companies demanded unchanged prices. – After the turn of the month, beef demand could pick up slightly; some suppliers are planning beef sales for the coming week. Beef cattle prices are likely to be stable or slightly firmer. – Veal was sold wholesale at unchanged prices. There was only a scarce supply of slaughter calves for sale, so the price decline came to an end for the time being. Animals for slaughter that are billed at a flat rate brought in an estimated 4,50 euros per kilogram of slaughter weight, as before. – Prices for farm calves continued to be stable.

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Commission approves amendment to merger terms

The European Commission has approved an application by Aventis to sell its remaining 49% stake in Wacker-Chemie instead of its remaining stake in Rhodia. The Commission cleared the merger between Hoechst and Rhône-Poulenc in 1999, resulting in Aventis, subject to the condition that it divest assets to solve competition problems. Rhodia's deteriorating financial position has made the sale difficult since then. The sale of Wacker-Chemie's stake serves the same purpose, since the competition issues stemmed from the overlaps between these two companies.

The Commission cleared the merger between Hoechst and Rhône-Poulenc in August 1999, subject to conditions (see IP/99/626). The combined company was renamed Aventis.

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Results of the GfK consumer climate study in January 2004

From the consumers' point of view, 2004 began with an icy start. In general, the rather frosty mood of consumers cooled off in December. Obviously, the early tax reform agreed in mid-December 2003 did not give consumers the hoped-for clarity regarding their future financial relief. The uncertainty that results from the still controversial discussions about taxes, social security contributions and pensions is weighing on sentiment. As a result, all indicators of consumer sentiment declined in January.

After a slight recovery in consumer sentiment in the second half of 2003, it was already downhill in December. The January survey of GfK shows that the bad mood of the citizens of the republic has further intensified. Their mood is currently clearly in contradiction to the optimism of the entrepreneurs (ifo) and financial analysts (ZEW). According to the Ifo Business Climate Index and ZEW, entrepreneurs and financial experts see a positive outlook for the future. Responsible for the renewed mood of depression among the Germans is the political back and forth about the tax, pension and health care reform. The consumer climate, which has been rising slowly but steadily since May last year, is weakening slightly for the first time in a long time.

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2004 Global Powers of Retailing study by Deloitte lists the world's 200 largest retailers

 Supermarket chains occupy eight out of ten top spots in Deloitte's ranking of the 200 largest global retailers. They still play first fiddle in terms of size, but in terms of numbers, the specialist trade has outstripped them with 102 entries.

In recent years, the considerable growth rates in the food trade have been obvious. In this year's seventh edition of the Deloitte retail study "Global Powers of Retailing", however, the strong increase in specialist retail chains such as Lowe's, H&M or Ikea is striking.

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On January 26.01.2004th, 1.186, the board of directors of Kögel Fahrzeugwerke AG applied to the local court in Ulm to open insolvency proceedings. The insolvency application relates to the following companies of the Kögel Group: Kögel Fahrzeugwerke AG, Ulm, Kögel - Werdau GmbH & Co., Werdau, and NVG Nutzfahrzeug-Autovermietung GmbH & Co. KG, Werdau. A total of XNUMX employees are affected by the bankruptcy. The local court in Ulm has appointed the Neu-Ulm auditor Werner Schneider for all proceedings as preliminary insolvency administrator. The group companies are not affected by this insolvency application: Kögel KAMAG Transporttechnik in Ulm, TRAILERdirekt in Ulm, Kögel as Chocen in the Czech Republic and Kögel Ges.mbH in March, Austria.

With the filing of the bankruptcy application, the draft of an insolvency plan was submitted to the local court in Ulm, on the basis of which the reorganization and restructuring of the company is to be carried out. According to the insolvency plan, various financial and business restructuring measures will be carried out in the course of the 2004 financial year.

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Study at the Westphalian Wilhelms University

It is well known that middle-aged non-smokers with normal cholesterol and blood pressure values ​​as well as a healthy diet and sufficient exercise have a good chance of being spared a heart attack. Nevertheless, it happens again and again that people aged around 40 and younger suffer a heart attack overnight without having to prove a single one of the so-called classic risk factors. The only plausible explanation medical professionals have for such cases is hereditary predisposition. The aim of Prof. Dr. med. Stefan Martin Brand Herrmann. As a clinical pharmacologist, the native of Marburg holds the newly established chair for "Molecular Genetics of Cardiovascular Diseases" at the Institute for Arteriosclerosis Research at the University of Münster, which is probably unique in Germany.

Against the background of the fact that more than 90.000 people die of a heart attack in Germany every year and more than one in three of them before reaching a hospital, the elucidation of the genetic causes of coronary heart disease is also of the utmost importance in terms of health economics.

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With an increase of 18,68 percent compared to the previous year, Fressnapf Tiernahrungs GmbH is continuing its growth path. In the 2003 financial year (December 31.12st) the franchise company achieved sales of 552 million euros across Europe - 86,8 million euros more than in 2002. In Germany, Fressnapf posted sales of 459,5 million euros, a plus of 13,8 percent compared to the same period last year. On a like-for-like basis, growth is just over three percent.

"Despite the general reluctance to buy, we also achieved a clearly positive result in 2003 and are very satisfied," explains Torsten Toeller, owner and managing partner of Fressnapf. After a strong start to the year, the hot summer was also hard on food bowls. "During the heat wave, not only we humans, but also animals had less appetite, which we saw in the markets as stagnating sales. In November, on the other hand, consumers were not very keen to consume due to the pending reforms of the federal government Turnover and we were able to record a total increase of almost 20 percent - like for like 7,8 percent - for this month. Due to this positive development we are very optimistic about 2004. "

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Food safety at McDonald's

Systematic quality assurance and preventive control at all stages of production have always been a top priority at McDonald's. MAAP, the new McDonald's Agricultural Assurance Program, starts where, for example, potatoes, lettuce, meat or milk come from - with the seed or the rearing.
Example potato cultivation: McDonald's pays attention to the selection of the variety and quality of the seed. Controls are constantly carried out from the start of cultivation to the storage of the harvested potatoes. When raising animals, McDonald's attaches great importance to the fact that e.g. B. the staff is specially trained in the care of cattle.

MAAP was developed to ensure the quality and safety of the raw materials used and requires good agricultural production from suppliers. McDonald's thus contributes to the long-term promotion of sustainable agriculture and goes one step further than previously required by law.
 
MAAP is not just another seal of quality, but an internal reference standard. It defines how McDonald's envisions Good Agricultural Manufacturing Practices and provides a tool by which existing national quality programs on which it is based can be compared in exactly the same way.
McDonald's is one of the first catering establishments in Europe to systematically promote the implementation of an ecologically and economically balanced production method.

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Central themes: healthy nutrition, food safety and quality - New EU countries appear to be well prepared for accession - Visitors spent 130 euros per person - Highest level of approval: 95 percent of visitors enthusiastic - Response was above average at around 470.000 visitors

A central focus on consumer interests, an intensive exchange at the highest agricultural policy level and the strongest trade fair appearance to date by the EU accession states and other Eastern European countries characterized the course of the International Green Week Berlin 16 from January 25th to 2004th. The 69th Green Week since 1926 offered an impressive showcase of international food and agriculture and once again lived up to its function as a test market for new products from all over the world. The consumer was the focus of politics, the producers of agricultural products and the manufacturers of food, who provided comprehensive information about healthy nutrition, food safety and quality.

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Impact of health care reform on price index still unclear

As reported by the Federal Statistical Office, the consumer price index in Germany is expected to increase by 2004% in January 2003 compared to January 1,2 (December 2003 compared to December 2002: +1,1%) according to available results from six federal states.

The effects of the health care reform have a significant share in the increase in prices: the co-payments of those with statutory health insurance are included in the consumer price index. In contrast, contributions to statutory health insurance as social contributions are not part of consumer spending.

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