New catfish inspections to start in March
Catfish and other ray-finned fish species will undergo a new inspection process starting in March. The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service released its final rule Wednesday on the new process. Under the rule, the agency will conduct inspections at U.S. processing and slaughter facilities during all hours of operation, including at least one inspection per shift at plants that only process the fish. Before the rule takes effect, countries that ship the fish to the U.S. will be required to provide a list of export facilities and documentation that they comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration import requirements. The 2014 farm bill shifted inspection responsibility from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Food Safety Inspection Service, which inspects meat, poultry and egg production.
— The Associated Press
Catfish producer expands in Mississippi
ISOLA, Miss. -- A catfish producer and processor is expanding its operation in the Mississippi Delta town of Isola.
Consolidated Catfish, which currently employs 425 people, announced Tuesday that it is adding 12 jobs.
The state's economic development agency, Mississippi Development Authority, says it provided $100,000 to help the company improve a wastewater treatment facility.
The company is investing $900,000 for the expansion. It is buying a new spiral freezer and improving other equipment.
Consolidated Catfish owns and labels two brands, Country Select and Delta Pride.
-- The Associated Press
Puerto Rico payment deadline looms
Puerto Rico faces a dilemma: Pay bondholders $354 million on Tuesday or hold on to the cash to ensure it can keep the government running.
The Caribbean island is seeking to cut its $70 billion debt by persuading investors to accept less than they're owed. While it began skipping payments on bonds backed only by legislative appropriations in August, next week's payment includes debt that the central government has guaranteed, giving investors legal recourse. Another $957 million is due from Puerto Rico and its agencies on Jan. 1.
If there's a default, bondholders may sue for repayment, igniting a legal battle that could upset efforts to negotiate a debt-restructuring agreement. Talks with creditors are only just beginning, and Puerto Rico has yet to disclose the terms it will offer investors to exchange their debt for new securities.
The commonwealth is doing "everything possible" to make the payment, according to Jesus Manuel Oritz, spokesman in San Juan for Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla.
The payments Tuesday are all due on bonds sold by the Government Development Bank, which lends to the island's central government and its agencies.
-- Bloomberg News
France finds bird flu in foie gras region
France found a case of deadly bird flu in the foie gras production region of Perigord, in the country's southwest.
The H5N1 strain of avian influenza was confirmed in a flock of about 30 backyard poultry in the village of Biras, said Christian Moreau, a spokesman for the Dordogne prefecture, which includes the Perigord region. The birds have been culled and a security perimeter set up at the village, he said.
Bird flu and measures to contain it, including mass culls, can decimate poultry production. A U.S. outbreak eliminated about 48 million fowl, mostly layer hens, in the first half of the year. The Aquitaine region that includes Dordogne is France's biggest producer of foie gras, the luxury food made from the liver of fattened ducks or geese.
"The perimeter has been established, we have to eradicate the virus but the situation is under control," Moreau said. "There are quite a few foie gras producers in Dordogne."
The outbreak is the first of this type since 2007, the Agriculture Ministry said. The strain is highly pathogenic to poultry, and French food-safety agency Anses will evaluate the potential risk to humans, according to the ministry.
-- Bloomberg News
VW: Quick fix for Europe diesel engines
BERLIN -- Volkswagen says it will take less than an hour to bring 1.6- and 2.0-liter turbodiesel engines in Europe into line with emissions rules.
The German automaker has pledged to fix 11 million vehicles worldwide that were discovered to contain software that enables them to cheat on emissions tests for nitrogen oxide.
Volkswagen said in a statement Wednesday that in Europe the 2.0-liter EA 189 engine will require only a software update taking half an hour to install.
It says the 1.6-liter engine will be fitted with a grid to improve the motor's efficiency, taking less than an hour.
Volkswagen said the measures only cover Volkswagen-branded models in Europe and should be completed by the end of next year. A proposal for the 1.2 liter models will follow.
-- The Associated Press
Hormel Foods sets 2-for-1 stock split
NEW YORK -- Hormel on Wednesday announced a two-for-one stock split a day after the company reported a strong fourth quarter and outlook.
The company is projecting higher sales from organic meats producer Applegate, which it bought earlier this year.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Ettinger said Wednesday that the split "demonstrates our confidence that we will continue to grow our sales and earnings."
The stock split, which would increase the number of shares to 1.6 billion from 800 million, requires shareholder approval.
Hormel Foods Corp., based in Austin, Minn., set Jan. 26 as the record date for shareholders to be eligible for the split. It would be effective around Feb. 9.
-- The Associated Press
Paris hotel bookings, flights dealt blow
The Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris have had a greater impact on tourism than the Charlie Hebdo shootings in January, according to preliminary data from the French capital's tourism office.
Average daily occupancy rates in Paris hotels fell by 21 to 31 percentage points in the week after the Nov. 13 attack when 130 people were killed, the tourism office said in a statement.
That compares with declines of 0.3 to 6.5 percentage points in January after 17 people were killed during the attack on the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store.
Flights are also affected, with bookings for the end of the year showing a 13 percent decline from 2014, compared with a 2 percent drop before the attacks, the tourism office said.
It took tourism-related businesses in Paris four months to recover from the January shootings, the tourism office said.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 11/26/2015