MEAT+POULTRY - September 2024 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES
Smithfield
to separate
European ops
Smithfield Foods Inc. announced on
Aug. 27 plans to carve out its European
operations to accelerate growth
opportunities companywide.
The company confirmed that Smithfield
Foods and Morliny Foods, previously
known as Smithfield Europe, will remain
subsidiaries of WH Group Ltd. According
to Smithfield, Morliny Foods adopted a
region-specific growth strategy to address
a more fragmented European market with
different market dynamics than in North
America. The business produces fresh
pork and poultry and packaged meats
across the continent from operations in
Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain
and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Smithfield expects to
continue to drive North American growth
by building its Packaged Meats business
unit through product innovation, using
its well-recognized brand with multiple
consumer price points, continually
optimizing its operations and through
investments enabled by stable cash flow
and a strong balance sheet.
" It's the right time to establish our
North American and European operations
as stand-alone businesses empowered
to execute distinct strategies addressing
different market environments and
opportunities, " said Shane Smith,
president and chief executive officer
of Smithfield Foods. " In doing so, we
provide our respective management teams
with increased decision-making agility,
optimizing the performance and prospects
for each business. "
CIRB ends work stoppage
The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on Aug. 24 made a ruling that put an end
to brief work stoppages at the country's two largest rail carriers and imposed arbitration
in the ongoing dispute between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and
Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). Hours after both
railways fully suspended operations earlier in the month, Canadian Minister of Labor
Steven Mackinnon ordered the CIRB to implement binding arbitration, extend collective
agreements, and resume operations.
CIRB Chairperson Ginette Brazeau ordered the companies, and the more than 9,000
union workers impacted, to resume operations starting at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 26.
In a letter to union members, Paul Boucher, president of the TCRC, said the workers
would return to work but the CIRB ruling would be challenged.
10 MEAT+POULTRY | 09.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
NPPC seeks
transfer of
gene editing
oversight
The National Pork
Producers Council
(NPPC) is advocating for
the transfer of regulatory
authority regarding
gene editing from the
US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA)
to the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA). The
group is concerned that
treating gene editing like
an " animal drug " could
deter the technology to
other countries, where a
science-based approach
is already implemented.
NPPC believes gene
editing has the potential
to improve animal
health, reduce antibiotic
use and help produce
safe food if it is not
overregulated. The group
notes that the deletion
or insertion of DNA can
be found naturally in an
animal, which FDA does
not take into account.
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MEAT+POULTRY - September 2024

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