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Large food firms and farm operations in the US were due to
receive letters last week from senators asking for details on how
they were protecting workers from COVID-19.
Senate Democrats Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.)
and Cory Booker (N.J.) said Monday (July 6) they were sending the
letters to companies asking them to answer detailed questions by
July 15.
Lack of precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), inadequate worker protections and
limited testing has been threatening worker safety and the food
supply chain, the senators warned.
In California, a bipartisan group of 27 lawmakers called last
week on USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to add wine grapes to the list
of specialty crops eligible for direct payments via the Coronavirus
Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
Led by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) along with Sens. Dianne
Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the lawmakers
said the COVID-19 pandemic had "broadly undermined market prices
for California wine grapes" and warrants help from USDA.
In Europe, the European Commission changed part of its COVID
market aid for the wine sector last week after the European
Parliament threatened to veto its original proposal.
A revised regulation setting out emergency aid for wine
producers to help the sector deal with the impact of the pandemic
was adopted on July 7
The new measures included the temporary authorisation of
"self-organisation" market measures; an increase in the EU's
contribution for the national support programmes for wine; and
advanced payments for crisis distillation and storage.
The European Commission revealed that EU meat imports would
decline by almost 9% this year as COVID-19 takes its toll on
consumption levels.
Total meat consumption could drop to 65.4 kg per capita in 2020
(-2.5%), due to a reduction in consumer demand during lockdowns,
and subdued domestic availability not compensated by imports, the
EU executive said in its latest Short-Term Outlook report.
Meat imports overall are expected to decline by 8.7% to 1.43
million tonnes (carcase weight equivalent).
Spain's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis
Planas, announced that farm labour shortages had been successfully
averted in Spain and that crop harvesting had not suffered because
of labour-related problems due to the impact of COVID.
He attributed the positive result to the hiring of farm labour
and the implementation of a Royal Decree on farm employment
measures, as well as to the government's decision to facilitate the
entry of temporary labour which helped the food sector respond to
challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation.
In Italy, the ministry of agricultural and forestry policies
(Mipaaf) announced it had set aside €21 million for the purchase of
PDO cheeses for distribution to people in need through
charities.
The list of PDO cheeses that will benefit from the financing
measures includes Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Caciocavallo
Silano, Pecorino Toscano, Montasio, Fontina, Pecorino Siciliano and
Ragusano. The public calls are expected to be finalized in mid-July
and delivery of the cheeses will be completed by December.
