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Foodwatch criticized: Sayings instead of deeds
In a letter dated March 29.3.2004, 14.4, the public prosecutor informed foodwatch that the investigation following our criminal complaint against the companies NSP and HaGe Nordland had been discontinued. As feared, on XNUMX. the discontinuation of the nitrofen procedure has now also been officially announced to the public. Read here why a feed and food scandal remains unpunished.
In the following, foodwatch goes into the arguments of the public prosecutor's office, the original of which is also available as a PDF document at the end of this article. Anyone who would like to recall the stages of the nitrofen scandal should first read the foodwatch nitrofen dossier or look at the summary graphic [1].
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General recommendations for saving salt in the diet are not medically justified. On the contrary, consuming too much salt usually does not endanger health, while consuming too little salt can be problematic. Because the human organism - contrary to popular belief - apparently has options for storing excess salt in the body without having to store fluid in the tissue. Dr. Martina Heer from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne-Porz, presented on Friday at the congress of the German Society for Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research in Mannheim.
According to her, the human body has a kind of salt reservoir, which explains why the majority of people's blood pressure does not rise even with increased salt consumption. This is only the case with hypertensive patients who are sensitive to salt due to a genetic change, i.e. who obviously lack this endogenous salt reservoir.
According to Professor Dr. Karl-Ludwig Resch from Bad Elster but only every fifth hypertensive patient. "Only with these patients, however, does a drastic salt restriction with the food make sense," explained the physician in Mannheim. The vast majority of people react, he says, "resistant to salt", which specifically means that their blood pressure remains constant even when increased amounts of salt are consumed. In addition, according to Resch, it must be taken into account that in quite a few people the blood pressure even increases with low-salt diet.
Using the example of older people, the doctor made it clear that it is not necessarily healthy to save on salt. These often have a low-salt diet, which can lead to significant health problems. Studies have shown that consuming too little salt can have an unfavorable effect on the metabolism and increase the risk of cardiovascular complications. Elderly people are also threatened with considerable disturbances in their fluid and electrolyte balance if they eat low-salt, the doctor emphasized.
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As reported by the Federal Statistical Office, the consumer price index for Germany rose by 2004% in March 2003 compared to March 1,1. The estimate based on the results from six federal states was thus confirmed. Compared to February 2004, the index increased by 0,3% (an estimated + 0,4%). In January and February 2004 the annual rate of change was + 1,2% and + 0,9%, respectively.
The increase in tobacco tax on March 1, 2004 played a major role in this development: the prices for tobacco products rose both within the year and by 12,2% compared to the previous month. The purely arithmetical effect of the tax increase (1,2 cents + VAT per cigarette) on the overall index was + 0,2 percentage points. In fact, the impact of the tobacco tax increase on the overall consumer price index was 0,3 percentage points. The health reform measures also had an impact on the consumer price index. Compared to the previous year, health care prices increased by 16,7%. The index for health care remained unchanged compared to the previous month.
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Acid-related tooth damage from vegetables is possible
"He didn't drill at all!" Such statements are no longer rare after a visit to the dentist. Recent dental health studies show that the overall incidence of tooth decay is decreasing. However, more and more people are suffering from non-carious, acid-related tooth damage. These occur as so-called erosions or tooth neck lesions, i.e. the lack or abrasion of the enamel without bacterial influences with various causes - but mostly acids from food.
It seems that vegetarians in particular are affected by this tooth damage, as they eat more vegetables than the average person. Dr. Regina Purschwitz from the University Hospital Leipzig presented during the congress of the German Nutrition Society at the Technical University of Munich. The possible health benefits of a vegetarian or vegetable-based diet are evidently offset by an increased risk of acid-related tooth damage.
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No outsourcing yet
In March, 538 tons of pork were still stored in Germany as part of the aid-supported private storage campaign. This meant that stocks rose to 11.168 tons by the end of the month. The storage has now ended.
Almost half of the pork was stored for a period of three months. 24 percent were withdrawn from the market for four months and 26 percent for five months. The outsourcing should begin in April.
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Scarce supply of slaughter cows
The supply of slaughter cattle developed differently in the past weeks of March: The local slaughterhouses only had a limited number of slaughter cows available. Since significantly more cows had been slaughtered since the turn of the year than in the previous year, the supply did not increase as usual in other years, despite the dairy year ending. The slaughterhouses therefore had to continuously invest more money in order to get the desired number of items. In contrast, the supply of young bulls in March was significantly higher than in the previous month. From the middle of the month onwards, the prices came under pressure with an overall rather calm demand for beef.
For young bulls in meat trade class R3, the providers received an average of 2,52 euros per kilogram of slaughter weight in March; that was two cents more than in February, but the comparable level of the previous year was missed by 22 cents. For heifers in class R3, the average price rose by four cents to 2,32 euros per kilogram, which was exactly the same as last year. The prices for slaughter cows in the O3 category have increased significantly compared to February, by 17 cents to 1,75 euros per kilogram. The gap to March 2003 was thus significantly reduced and was only five cents.
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Structural change through accession to the EU
With accession to the EU, the poultry industry in the acceding countries will have to adapt to EU regulations. It is not yet clear whether all slaughterhouses will be able to meet the requirements for approval as an EU slaughterhouse. However, it is already becoming clear that smaller companies in particular have difficulties complying with the standard. In any case, structural change in the Central and Eastern European countries is likely to accelerate.
In the run-up to the eastward enlargement, the EU and the candidate countries had agreed on quotas for duty-favored or duty-free movement of goods. Some products from several countries could even be exported to the EU without quotas in the year before accession. In return, the acceding countries have granted trade facilities for goods of EU origin. Through these so-called association agreements, the eastward expansion was likely to have been anticipated in some areas. The goods of Eastern European origin, which were offered comparatively cheaply due to the preferential tariff, led to price irritations in the old EU at times.
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Consumer prices similarly low as in the previous year
On the grill, set, go: this year's barbecue season heralds itself with spring-like temperatures. Pieces of pork, which local consumers can buy this year at similarly low prices as in 2003, are preferred to land on the local grills. In March, for example, a kilogram of pork chop cost the national average EUR 5,63; For one kilogram of pork schnitzel, the shops charged an average of 7,18 euros.
In the case of organic goods, the prices differ somewhat more from those of the previous year. Those who bought organic pork chops in March 2004 paid a national average of 11,15 euros per kilogram, almost three percent more than a year earlier. For organic pork schnitzel, on the other hand, retailers asked for 13,36 euros per kilogram, almost five percent less than in March 2003.
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Prices climbed above the previous year's line
Last month there was a plentiful supply of slaughter calves from domestic production. If there was good demand, the payout prices from February to March were able to steadily stabilize. In the second half of the month in particular, the demand for veal increased noticeably with the approaching Easter. The prices paid out for slaughtered calves climbed to over EUR 4,60 per kilogram by the end of the month and thus clearly exceeded the previous year's level.
At the purchasing stage of the mail order slaughterhouses and meat product factories, the weighted federal average for lump-sum slaughtered calves was, according to a preliminary overview, in March at 4,49 euros per kilogram of slaughter weight. That was 14 cents more than in February and 41 cents more than in March 2003.
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Demand fell short of expectations
Supply and demand in the butcher's lamb and lamb market were fairly evenly matched in the first half of the reporting month. The price movements were kept within narrow limits. It was not until the end of March that the prices for high-quality domestic animals for slaughter as well as for New Zealand origins tended to be stable to firm. In the transition week between March and April, interest in the east increased significantly, and prices rose noticeably for both lamb and lamb. Animals billed as a flat rate exceeded the four-euro mark noticeably at the end of the month.
On the monthly average in March, the producers received 4,00 euros per kilogram of slaughter weight for lambs charged at a flat rate, which was 23 cents more than in the previous February. The comparable previous year's revenues were, however, still 19 cents short of it. The notifiable slaughterhouses accounted for around 1.590 lambs and sheep per week, partly as a lump sum, partly according to trade class; that was five percent more than in the previous month. The offer from March 2003 was even exceeded by almost 45 percent.
