Sterling Belliveau, minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, explains that coast communities want the jobs that the industry brings “but not at any cost.”

“By developing strong regulations and enforcement we will help the industry grow in a way that balances economic development and environmental protection,” says Belliveau.

Meinhard Doelle and William Lahey, Dalhousie University law professors and environmental law experts, will lead the work.

An advisory committee, which will represent stakeholders and community interests including the Mi’kmaq, Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Salmon Association, Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council, Ecology Action Centre and the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, will advise both Doelle and Lahey.

A scientific advisory committee, which is still to be assembled, will consider a full range of impacts, benefits and risks that should be addressed through regulation and will provide Doelle and Lahey with its report.

They will use a multi-phased process of public and stakeholder consultation, the first phase of which will begin this summer.

“Our members are committed to farming responsibly in Nova Scotia,” says Bruce Hancock, executive director of the Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia.

“We believe that clearly written regulations are an important part of sustainable expansion of aquaculture in Nova Scotia and will help build public confidence in our industry.”

It is anticipated the department will receive recommendations to develop regulations by the end of 2014.

“From our vantage point, aquaculture regulations are failing to protect Nova Scotian communities and the environment and thus we welcome a comprehensive review of the regulatory system and options going forward,” says Mark Butler, Policy director at Ecology Action Centre.

“There are sustainable opportunities in aquaculture, but they must not come at the expense of the ecosystem or other marine industries.”

The development of regulations for the aquaculture industry was part of the action plan from the province’s first aquaculture strategy, released in May 2012. The aquaculture industry generates about C$50 million annually.

The program is an initiative of the Institut de recherche et de développement en agroenvironnement (IRDA) in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que., a non-profit research organization formed in 1998 by the provincial government and the Union des producteurs agricoles. Just over $13 million in funding is allotted to the initiative, about 80 per cent of which will come from the Quebec government.

The Platform for Innovation in Organic Agriculture is a platform for R&D and training in organic crop production for those involved in organic agriculture, as well as producers converting to organic production. Research will also help farmers engaged in sustainable agriculture.

“This platform is turning out to be a world-class facility that will allow the IRDA to increase its competitiveness in a growing sector and thus attract and retain top researchers,” said Pierre Duchesne, Quebec minister of Higher Education, Research and Science and Technology, during the inauguration. “Research, development and knowledge transfer in the field of organic crop production will draw on the expertise of our researchers and agricultural producers. Supporting excellence in research and innovation to benefit all Quebecers remains a priority.”

There have been a few remedies provided in the FDR. A very old one is a Temporary Marketing Authorization (TMA). A TMA can be used to work around the prohibitive nature of the FDR. It is an instrument employed by Health Canada to allow the sale of a food that would otherwise be prohibited, while gathering the necessary information in support of possibly making regulatory amendments. There is, however, no assurance that the regulations will be amended.

In 1997 the FDR was amended to include Interim Marketing Authorizations (IMAs). These are regulatory instruments permitting Health Canada to allow the sale of a food while they make the necessary FDR amendments. There have been a number of IMAs issued related to food fortification. The first IMA was that related to the addition of calcium and vitamin D in orange juice. Prior to this fortified orange juice could not be sold as a food and was sold as a drug product – a calcium supplement. To this day, the FDR has not been formally amended to permit calcium and vitamin D in orange juice beverages. Many IMAs related to vitamin and mineral fortification are technically no longer in effect, as the amendments in 2008 put a two-year limit on their life expectancy. However, these are still acknowledged by Health Canada. The difference between an IMA and a TMA is that in the case of an IMA, Health Canada has already accepted that the FDR will be amended. In the case of a TMA they are “still thinking about it.”

In 2012 the FDA was amended to give Health Canada the authority to issue Marketing Authorizations (MAs). MAs can be issued for matters related to the addition of vitamins and minerals. The 2012 amendments also repealed the statutory provision for Health Canada to issue IMAs. The FDR still includes those provisions, but these are to be eventually repealed by the more formal Governor in Council (GIC) regulations.

To make life even more interesting, Health Canada was given the responsibility to transition the many food-form Natural Health Products (NHP) into the food regulatory framework by the end of 2012. Many of these NHP food forms included issues related to vitamin and mineral fortification. To address this, the ministry has dusted off the old provision and has issued TMAs like never before – everything from fortified water and fruit juice beverages, to energy drinks and even more conventional foods.

One of Health Canada’s priorities now is to set up MAs to govern food fortification. That process will likely not be very different from what has been done with food additives. For instance, Health Canada could define a class of fortification via an MA and then by Incorporation by Reference (IbR) include tables of foods that would be permitted to contain added vitamins and minerals. Those tables can then include foods already listed in the FDR and current IMAs.

If the TMA processes for foods that involve fortification are successful, they could eventually find themselves in those IbR tables. The FDR will also need to be amended by the more formal GIC regulatory process. This could include setting up the parameters of the type of fortification the ministry may be willing to consider. Of course this is speculation, as we will not see the structure of the new regulations until Health Canada has made them available.

The changes that are coming will be some of the most significant since those in the early 1940s. Be assured that Health Canada will retain its tight control over food fortification in Canada.

Gary Gnirss is a partner and president of Legal Suites Inc., specializing in regulatory software and services. Contact him at president@legalsuites.com

Some of the bigger moves in shipment and market volumes reflected significant run-ups in inventories (dairy, seafood) or their depletion (confectionery), but there was real market contraction in the fresh baked goods sub-sector in response to continued high prices. Mergers and acquisitions tended to concentrate the focus of the purchasers, particularly in the meat sector, rather than diversify their products and markets. Capital investments consolidated distribution on a regional basis or developed production capacity for a North American or global market. New product development favoured higher-margin, better-for-you products and decadent indulgences.

Negotiations on the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership could loosen the supply management restrictions on dairy and poultry products this year. The December ruling of the World Trade Organization may reduce the U.S. Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) restrictions on our beef and pork exports. The consensus view of moderating commodity prices for 2013 should moderate retail price inflation allowing consumers to reset their expectations of a fair price for bread and meat.

Canadian food and beverage manufacturers, if they follow-through on their intentions, will increase their capital investments in construction, machinery and equipment by 24 per cent this year. Much depends on how consumers respond to weak but positive economic growth in Canada and the U.S. if current forecasts are correct. They may take the respite as an opportunity to cut household spending and grocery budgets to build up savings for a rainy day or invest their current savings in a kitchen renovation to make more meals at home.

To read more, and to order a copy of the report, contact Daniela Piccone at DPiccone@foodincanada.com, or at (416) 510-6773

The researchers, from the university’s wheat breeding program, successfully developed two new varieties that were recently approved by the Prairie Grain Development Committee, a federally regulated body.

Two new varieties

Dean Spaner, an ALES researcher, and his research team developed BW947 and PT765, two high yielding Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat lines with good resistance to stripe rust, a serious, new disease affecting wheat crops in Western Canada, especially Alberta.

PT765 also has improved resistance to Fusarium Head Blight, a disease of consequence for animal and human health in the harvested grain.

Both lines mature early, a significant characteristic for wheat growing in Alberta, especially north of Red Deer where the growing season is shorter, says the university.

“We only have 99 days (in our growing season in Alberta). Early maturity means you can harvest faster, you have less downgrading of the crop, less frost damage and less pre-harvest sprouting,” says Spaner.

CWRS wheat could be the highest quality wheat in the world because of its high protein content, kernel size and the ability of its dough to rise.

It is often used to supplement lower quality grains of wheat in industrial purposes. To be approved for registration, CWRS wheat must pass extremely stringent bread-making quality tests over a number of years.

Breakthrough

The registration of the two new lines is a breakthrough for the university’s wheat breeding program as they are the first two lines developed in Alberta and approved for release since 1997, when U of A wheat breeder Keith Briggs developed Alikat.

Previously, the U of A had developed and released three varieties since the faculty’s inception in 1915.

Canada has one of the most stringent regulatory systems in the world when it comes to releasing wheat varieties. It takes between eight and 12 years to develop a wheat cultivar. It must be field tested in roughly 50 environments in over five years and tested for many agronomic traits, including yield and maturity, as well as disease resistance and quality traits.

The lines are in the process of being commercialized and will likely be made available to prairie farmers in two to three years.

That’s according to recent findings by researchers at China Agricultural University in Beijing and Assiut University in Egypt, reports BakingBusiness.com.

According to the researchers, the potential health benefits of eating millet include:
• preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases;
• reducing tumor incidence;
• lowering blood pressure, risk of heart disease, cholesterol and rate of fat absorption;
• delaying gastric emptying; and
• supplying gastrointestinal bulk.

Millet grains also have the potential to be useful in preventing diabetes and for treatment of diabetics, according to the review.

According to the researchers’ review, the industry needs novel processing and preparation methods to enhance the bioavailability of the micronutrients and to improve the quality of millet diets, reports BakingBusiness.com. The review is online in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.

Annual world production of millet grains is 762,712 tonnes with India the top producer at 334,500 tonnes. Compared to other cereal grains, millet has shown resistance to pests, diseases and drought while having a short growing season.

Globally, households at the rural level in developing countries mainly use millet grains, according to the review.
“This is due to a lack of innovative millet processing technologies to provide easy-to-handle, ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat and safe products and meals at a commercial scale that can be used to feed large populations in urban areas,” say the researchers.

A need exists for innovative processing technologies for decortication (removing the cover), milling and other preparation treatments, reports BakingBusiness.com. A need also exists for a consistent supply of high-quality millet grains for industrial uses.

Millet comes in different forms

Millet comes in different forms, with each one having specific nutritional qualities. For example, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is rich in resistant starch, soluble fibre, insoluble fibre, minerals and antioxidants.

Amino acid profiles differ, too, says BakingBusiness.com. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) contains more lysine, threonine and valine than other millets. Consumption of diets based on finger millet has resulted in significantly lower plasma glucose levels. The amino acid pattern of foxtail millet (Setaria italic), which is rich in lysine, suggests possible use as a supplementary protein source to most cereals.

In certain geographic areas people have incorporated millet into foods and beverages. It is used in porridges in Africa. In Nigeria, kunu is a nutritious beverage.

There is also potential for using millet in other food products, says BakingBusiness.com. Using millet in ready-to-eat breakfast cereals is possible say the researchers in their review. White proso millet (Penicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet have been used in flaked whole grain cereals. Incorporation into expanded cereals also is possible, but popped foxtail millet has significantly lower content of crude fat and crude fibre than raw millet while the carbohydrate and energy values are significantly higher.

Incorporating millet into bread or noodles may be more of a challenge since millet has no gluten. Millet may be used to replace a percentage of wheat flour in such applications.

Photo from theKitchn

A researcher in Nova Scotia says it’s an untapped resource that offers a plethora of health benefits.

Lynn Cornish, a seed stock manager at Acadian Seaplants Limited, told FoodNavigator.com that seaweed is an extremely nutritious yet unexploited food ingredient.

Huge prospects

Cornish, who also goes by Sister Seaweed, adds that while seaweed is being used in the food sector, it hasn’t seen the same use in snacks. The ingredient holds huge prospects for snack makers.

It’s estimated that there are between 6,000 and 9,000 species of seaweed (micro algae) across the globe, says FoodNavigator.com, but Cornish says only a dozen have been used as a food component.

Cornish explains to FoodNavigator.com that seaweed has existed for more than 2.5 billion years and as a result has adapted with a plethora of active compounds to survive.

The sea plants are high in fibre, both soluble and insoluble, antioxidants, amino acids, vitamin B12, iron and contain some omega-3. Seaweed also has a good binding function because of its high hydrocolloid content, adds FoodNavigator.com.

Health functions, too

Cornish adds that previous research has linked seaweed with anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity health functions and has found that certain compounds lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure and promote healthy digestion. Its calorie content is also extremely low.

When formed into an ingredient most seaweed has very little taste, Cornish tells FoodNavigator.com, some can be very bright in colour like red, pink and blue.

As for applications, Cornish says it has vast potential and would work great as a seasoning for potato chips or popcorn, as an alternative inclusion to salt grains on pretzels or ground into a granola bar.

By now the book is a bestseller. Many readers will have read the book already. Mainstream urban media have issued gushing reviews, never missing a chance to beat up on the food processing industry. So this is not a conventional book review – I’ll just share three points.

Moss is a good storyteller. For example, we learn of the young Canadian farmer from Stevensville, Ont. who ends up in 1912 as a street vendor in Chicago. Tinkering at night in his boarding house, James Kraft discovers a way to pasteurize cheese and begins selling it in tin cans. We learn about William Wallace Cargill, the son of a Scottish sea captain, who buys his first warehouse to store grain in Iowa in 1865. Today his company is one of the richest in the world, with sales in 2012 of $133.9 billion, and is still private, being controlled by his 100 descendants. The exciting story of the invention of the highly successful Oscar Mayer Lunchables line is told by the inventor himself. Dean Southworth tells the story of why and how he invented one of my favourite foods, Cheez Whiz. We get the inside scoop about how the marketing people at one of the food giants discover how to turn its drink made with sugar and artificial flavours into marketing gold simply by adding a miniscule amount of real fruit juice. Moss’s re-telling of his 2009 story of how he “exposed” as “pink slime” what many still think is a good product (lean fine textured beef) should serve as a cautionary tale for any innovative food processor.

Moss’s main sources are his many interviews with retired or fired former food company scientists and executives. Time and again, fascinating accounts of highly confidential internal meetings and material are readily given to Moss. These industry veterans seem to feel no sense of loyalty to their former employers and, in comfortable retirement in their lovely homes in southern Florida or California, are beyond reproach and happy to spill the beans. Many of them insist they never did or would actually eat the food they invented or sold, and they seem to relish the chance to try to make amends for their life’s work, to unburden themselves for their many past sins.

Finally, the book ends on an interesting regulatory note. When a former CEO of one of the largest food giants is asked whether he thought government should be more aggressive in setting limits on salt, sugar and fat, he replies: “Regulation may well be the best way.” I have often noticed this paradox. While publicly critical of regulation, privately companies often welcome regulation, as this is the only way to have a level playing field. This is particularly relevant to Canada today as rumours persist that Canadian regulators are moving scarce resources away from food standard setting and enforcement of quality and nutritional labelling in order to focus on food safety. This is a mistake. As Moss’s book demonstrates, what’s in our food and how it’s labelled may be as important to our health as the safety of it.

Ronald L. Doering, BA, LL.B., MA, LL.D., is a past president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. He is Counsel in the Ottawa offices of Gowlings. Contact him at Ronald.doering@gowlings.com

The researchers have created a potential food source from non-food plants by transforming cellulose into starch. The process has the potential to provide a previously untapped nutrient source from plants not traditionally thought of as food crops.

Starch is one of the most important components of the human diet and provides 20 to 40 per cent of daily caloric intake.

The research was published this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Y.H. Percival Zhang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering, led the team of researchers in the project.

What is cellulose?

Cellulose is the supporting material in plant cell walls and is the most common carbohydrate on earth.

This new development opens the door to the potential that food could be created from any plant, reducing the need for crops to be grown on valuable land that requires fertilizers, pesticides and large amounts of water.

The type of starch that Zhang’s team produced is amylose, a linear resistant starch that is not broken down in the digestion process and acts as a good source of dietary fibre. It has been proven to decrease the risk of obesity and diabetes.

This discovery holds promise on many fronts beyond food systems.

“Besides serving as a food source, the starch can be used in the manufacture of edible, clear films for biodegradable food packaging,” says Zhang.  “It can even serve as a high-density hydrogen storage carrier that could solve problems related to hydrogen storage and distribution.”

Zhang used a novel process involving cascading enzymes to transform cellulose into amylose starch.

The new approach takes cellulose from non-food plant material, such as corn stover, converts about 30 per cent to amylose, and hydrolyzes the remainder to glucose suitable for ethanol production.

Corn stover consists of the stem, leaves and husk of the corn plant remaining after ears of corn are harvested. However, the process works with cellulose from any plant.

This bioprocess – called “simultaneous enzymatic biotransformation and microbial fermentation” – is easy to scale up for commercial production.

It is environmentally friendly because it does not require expensive equipment, heat, or chemical reagents, and does not generate any waste. The key enzymes immobilized on the magnetic nanoparticles can easily be recycled using a magnetic force.

At the same time, Gardin believes the perceived effects of recalls on meat consumption may be greater than they actually are. “There may be a small contingent of the population that will stop eating meat and find different sources of protein [after a recall],” she says, “but as a general rule, effects are generally not long-lasting because consumer eating habits are generally well ingrained.” Gardin points to a web-based poll conducted by the Canadian Food Safety Institute after last fall’s XL Foods beef recall, the largest recall in Canada’s history. Two in five Canadians claimed they reduced their consumption of beef at that time, but Gardin notes that it’s difficult to conclude that this was due to worry over food safety, or simply due to there being fewer products on the market after a recall.

Recalls aside, within the entire protein sector there has been a consumer preference shift to chicken, something Gardin thinks is likely due to rising health and lifestyle concerns. “Chicken is easier to digest and generally considered leaner than pork or beef,” she says. “Additionally, recent patterns of immigration indicate a likelihood that these new Canadians come from regions where they are more likely to have dietary preferences for chicken.” Retailers, Gardin notes, are therefore offering innovative chicken products and recipes featuring authentic ethnic and regional flavouring.

Greater choice

Marty Brett, senior Communications officer for the Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC), agrees that the ability of the chicken sector to offer new products is a major reason why chicken is currently the number-1 protein in Canada. “Consumers are asking for different types of chicken products,” he says, “and that evolution is demonstrated in the trend from a market dominated by whole-bird sales to one that offers consumers many choices of cuts and husbandry methods.” Indeed, while Maple Lodge Farm’s marketing efforts have concentrated on promoting chicken as healthy to all consumers, they are also targeting the ethnic demographic – specifically Muslim consumers. “We are the leading supplier of halal chicken in Canada [and] we have been processing halal chicken for more than 20 years,” notes Gardin, “but it is of particular significance now as the Muslim population in Canada continues to grow at a rapid rate.”

Other ethnic population changes in Canada are also leading to the consumption of protein choices besides beef. “As indicated in the 14th edition of the NPD Group’s Eating Patterns in Canada report, Asian Canadians are less likely to include beef in meals prepared at home, instead favouring pork, poultry, and fish and seafood,” says Joel Gregoire, NPD’s foodservice industry analyst. “As Asian cultures become more pervasive in Canadian culture and continue to represent a greater share of the population, it’s possible that meats aside from beef will continue to grow in prominence.”

To market to health-conscious Canadians, Maple Lodge started reducing the sodium content in its products several years ago. In 2011 the company launched a line of “simple recipe” natural deli meats called May Family Farms, with celery salt as a natural preservative. “Additionally, we were amongst the first manufacturers in Canada to incorporate High Pressuring Processing (HPP) into the manufacturing process of our ready-to-eat meats,” says Gardin. HPP is a cold pasteurization technique that uses extreme high-pressure water to significantly reduce the risk of bacterial contamination. “It also provides fresher taste and longer shelf-life than conventional food preservation techniques,” she notes.

On the beef front, new information about nitrites may change perceptions about the healthiness of prepared and grilled offerings when eating out or at home. “Recent research is providing a powerful scientific foundation upon which to establish a new nitrite and human health paradigm,” explains Ron Davidson, director of Government and Media Relations at the Canadian Meat Council. He says that as a product of enzymatic synthesis in humans, nitric oxide has been found to control blood pressure, immune response, wound repair, and neurological functions. The production of nitric oxide and nitrite by the body may also prevent various types of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, atherosclerosis and stroke. “These findings are providing evidence for an assertion that nitrite should be reclassified as an essential molecule with identifiable medicinal benefits,” says Davidson, noting that what’s now needed is further research, as well as education of the public, politicians, health care providers and the media about nitrite’s fundamental and critical biological role.

Marketing efforts

According to Canada Beef, beef consumption remained within norms throughout fall 2012, in part due to the organization’s many web-based initiatives. “Our extensive blog outreach program has dramatically increased our online footprint, allowing more Canadians than ever to find recipes, nutrition facts, cooking videos, step-by-step lessons, and the other valuable tools,” says Heather Travis, Canada Beef’s director of Public Relations. “In fact, in recent months Canada Beef’s online activities have seen record numbers of Canadians joining the conversation.” Travis says a December tweet about how to cook the perfect holiday roast had Canadian beef as a national Twitter “trending topic” for over two hours, allowing the organization to reach more than 220,000 Canadians. December also saw a significant spike in website traffic to Canada Beef’s consumer site. www.beefinfo.org.

In addition, Canada Beef has a monthly “Make It Beef Club” e-newsletter featuring recipes and other information, distributed to over 35,000 Canadians. “We are also actively encouraging our beef-farming families to reach out to consumers to share the entire beef story, right from farm to fork,” says Travis. A Canada Beef publication, Made In Canada, featuring recipes and beef farm family profiles, was recently distributed in partnership with Kraft Canada and Costco to more than1.5 million Canadians. The organization also has a wide range of programs and outreach efforts involving the health care industry. “One example is our doctor detailing initiative,” says Travis. “This initiative allows [us] to directly speak with over 1,500 doctors about the fact that Canadian beef is part of a heart healthy diet, with the solid research supporting this, and provide credible information for these doctors to provide their patients.”

Pork Marketing Canada also runs a consumer site (www.putporkonyourfork.com) with recipes, health information and much more. The Canadian Pork Council released a report in late 2011 entitled Building a Durable Future In the Canadian Hog Industry, which outlines plans for additional involvement in national domestic market penetration programs and strategies.

The CFC and other associations aiming to increase chicken consumption are also heavily using the Internet for promotion. For example, with the help of registered dietitians, CFC recently updated its seven-year-old nutrition factsheet series with a fresh design, and added four new factsheets based on consumer health trends and research in nutrition science. CFC’s new online health portal for health professionals and the public offers tools such as food journals and a comparison feature where visitors can compare 11 different cuts of chicken against cuts of beef, veal and more.

Although overall annual chicken sales have remained consistent over the past few years, the industry sees no reason to rest on its laurels. There is always a need, says Brett, to continue evolving in response to consumer demand. This, he says, “reinforces that the industry should continue to fund poultry research into new technology and innovation.”

Campden BRI of the U.K. and Alchemy Systems LP of Texas conducted the survey in partnership with BRC and SQF. They released the results today.

The survey found other barriers food processors experience to effective food safety training of their employees. They include:

• Verifying the effectiveness of training (43 per cent);
• Dealing with language issues when delivering a consistent training program across global sites (28 per cent);
• Resource problems (24 per cent); and
• Keeping the training curriculum up-to-date (24 per cent).

Cross section

Campden and Alchemy say the 649 companies surveyed represent a cross section of the industry, drawn from across the world. They ranged in size from under 50 employees to over 1,000 and cover many sectors including cereal and baking, dairy, meats, fish and poultry, and packaging.

“With food safety being so critical to the food industry, the importance of adequate training remains vital,” says Laura Dunn Nelson, director of Industry Relations at Alchemy. “The results of this study are an excellent way for food manufacturers and processors to benchmark their performance against their competitors and identify any opportunities for development.”

Training methods

Almost 85 per cent of food companies use on-the-job training, which was closely followed by reading policies, refresher courses and traditional classroom-based learning.

It is worth noting that e-learning and interactive training were used by 39 per cent and 14 per cent of companies, respectively.

However, with only 66 per cent of companies stating they are very satisfied or satisfied with the quality of training undertaken, there is clearly room for improvement. The biggest deficiencies identified were a lack of employee understanding and incomplete training records.

“The results of this survey provide a complete picture of the current activities and practices in food safety training across the industry,” says Bertrand Emond, head of Membership and Training at Campden BRI. “By conducting the survey each year we will be able to track developments and trends, and develop solutions to some of the challenges identified.”

Click here to read the full results of the study, which surveyed companies on all areas of food safety from auditing and measuring competency to management of training records

The scientists, who are based at the North Carolina State University, are using a technique to manipulate bacteria that live in the intestines of chickens, reports the NewsObserver.com.

The researchers say they will try to identify microscopic elements in the birds’ intestines that might fend off salmonella. The aim is to encourage those “good” bacteria to flourish.

“We will be looking to see if there are bugs in the chickens’ gut that can exclude salmonella, and therefore lower the risk they will carry a food-borne disease,” Matthew Koci, associate professor in the Department of Poultry Science at the university, told the NewsObserver.com.

The scientists work on creating a salmonella-free chicken stems from research in microbiomes, or the set of bacteria, viruses and fungi that populate the intestines of animals, including humans.

NewsObserver.com reports that microbiomes can influence a wide range of health factors, from disease resistance to digestion.

Why don’t the chickens get sick?

The scientists will also explore why chickens can have salmonella bacteria in their stomach but don’t suffer any adverse effects themselves, says the NewsObserver.com.

“Poultry don’t get sick from salmonella,” Hosni Hassan, professor of microbiology at NCSU and the project’s lead researcher, told the NewsObserver.com. “But when we eat the chicken, we get sick. We want to know how the microbiome of the chickens allows salmonella to survive there happily.”

“We are looking at the project two ways: in terms of eliminating salmonella from the poultry, and educating a new generation about how to handle food,” adds Hassan.

The university reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave both Koci and Hassan a five-year US$2.5-million grant earlier this year to stamp out salmonella.

Blue Diamond Almonds’ Global Ingredients Division announced on March 14 that it will open a new 6,500-sq.-ft. research centre in California, which will focus on designing cutting-edge almond products.

Blue Diamond, a 103-year-old cooperative owned by over half of California’s almond growers, expects to increase new almond product sales growth five-fold over the next five years.

“The new facility,” says Mark Jansen, Blue Diamond’s president and CEO, “will be a showcase for initiating new almond product concepts for our consumer business and for the most innovative global food companies.”

The centre will lead the company’s efforts to develop new almond products. It will also be open to global food companies that want to explore the potential benefits of almond products worldwide, reports the Sacramento Bee.

Blue Diamond research and development workers have been developing almond products including everything from nondairy beverages to Blazin’ Buffalo Wing-flavoured almonds in a can.

The coop introduced a dozen almond products in the U.S. alone over the last six months and has about a dozen more set to launch in the next six months, says SacBee.com.

And now all that research will be done in a pristine centre that resembles a hybrid of a massive hotel kitchen and a top-tier medical research facility, adds SacBee.com. The centre is stocked with exotic-looking devices to measure such things as taste, shelf life, pH levels and flavour coatings.

The two-billion pound California almond crop is valued at US$6 billion. More than 80 per cent of world supply is grown in California, says Blue Diamond.

Photo: International Nut and Dried Fruit Council

According to a recent survey from researchers at the University of Toronto and University of Guelph, more than 80 per cent of respondents agree the food industry should use less salt.

The survey results and report were published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Sodium concerns

The report authors say Canadians are concerned about dietary sodium and welcome government intervention to reduce sodium intake through a variety of measures, including lowering sodium in food, and education and awareness.

The top barriers to limiting sodium intake are a lack of lower-sodium packaged and processed foods and lower sodium restaurant menu options.

“Canadians are supportive of government intervention to lower salt intake,” says lead investigator Mary R.
L’Abbe, PhD and a professor and chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto.

L’Abbe also notes that most Canadians eat more than the recommended amount of sodium, increasing their risk of developing high blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions.

Canadians consume too much

CBC’s Marketplace also recently analyzed the daily sodium intake of 80 Canadians and found a great majority consume far more than the nutritionally recommended amounts, reports CBC.ca.

High sodium intake is a major health problem in Canada; it’s a leading cause of hypertension, which afflicts one in five Canadians and can lead to obesity, strokes and heart attacks.

Overall, 99 per cent of those Marketplace tested consumed more than the daily recommended 1,500 mg per day, while 77 per cent exceed the recommended maximum of 2,300 mg, reports CBC.ca. The average Canadian intake is 3,400 mg per day.

Working group

To combat high sodium in Canadian diets, a federal government-appointed multi-stakeholder Sodium
Working Group developed “A Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada,” which includes a formal set of recommendations that focus on the food supply, education and awareness, and research in order to lower the amount of sodium Canadians eat from an average 3,400 mg per day to 2,300 mg per day by 2016.

The group also called for voluntary sodium reductions in the food industry coupled with regular monitoring of progress, which may be enforced through regulation should industry fail to reach targets.

Researchers from the University of Toronto and University of Guelph conducted the online survey (http://consumermonitor.ca) with a representative sample of the Canadian population in terms of age, sex, province, and education.

Support for interventions

In light of the proposed federal Bill C-460 – legislating the working group’s recommendations – investigators also sought to determine Canadians’ level of support for a number of sodium reduction initiatives.

There was very high support for almost all types of public health interventions to lower sodium. Eighty per cent of respondents would like the food industry to lower the amount of sodium in food.

A large number supported setting maximum amounts of sodium in grocery and restaurant foods and for foods served in public settings like schools and hospitals.

There was little support for taxation of high sodium foods or subsidizing lower sodium foods.

Among the 2,603 people surveyed, 67 per cent were concerned about their sodium intake, especially older individuals and those with high blood pressure.

Approximately half of the respondents were actively limiting their sodium intake. However, many thought they consumed low amounts of sodium because they did not add salt to their food.

Others were not limiting their sodium intake because they had low or normal blood pressure and overall good health, contradicting the literature demonstrating benefits of sodium reduction in individuals with normal blood pressure.

Only 16 per cent of people knew the recommended intake for sodium (1,500 mg per day), and 12 per cent knew the maximum amount that should be consumed (2,300 mg per day).

Photo: Healthy Families B.C.

They’ve been ranked on the global Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI), which was just released by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition.

The ranking and report assessed the nutrition-related commitments, performance and disclosure practices of 25 of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers as measured against guidelines, norms and accepted best practices.

Danone, Unilever and Nestlé are the top performers on the index, receiving the highest scores on both the obesity and under-nutrition rankings.

But even they have room for improvement with the highest score being 6.3 on a 10.0 point scale.

“Obesity and under-nutrition affect billions of people and threaten a global health catastrophe. The Access to Nutrition Index is an urgent call to action for food and beverage manufacturers to integrate improved nutrition into their business strategies. It is not only good for public health; it is a business imperative and key to their long-term sustainability,” explains Inge Kauer, executive director of ATNI.

How it was put together

The three-year initiative was funded by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.

Development of ATNI was housed at GAIN and involved an extensive, multi-stakeholder process that included input from governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, and investors at every phase of the process. It was also guided by advice from an independent, multi-stakeholder advisory panel and a group of experts on nutrition.

Company research and assessments were conducted by MSCI ESG Research using publicly available documents supplemented by additional information requested from each company.

ATNI evaluated companies on:

• Corporate strategy, management and governance related to nutrition
• Formulation and delivery of appropriate, affordable and accessible products
• Positive influence on consumer choice and behaviour

Key findings

Some of the report’s key findings include:

• The highest scoring companies have clear commitments, detailed policies and measurable targets related to nutrition. They have also charged senior executives with achieving these targets and provided incentives for them to do so.
• Companies’ practices often do not measure up to their commitments. Companies are missing key opportunities to implement their commitments in core business areas such as product formulation, marketing and distribution.
• Companies are not meaningfully engaged in addressing under-nutrition and could better leverage their expertise, skills and scale to help combat this global health challenge.

The report challenges companies to:

• Develop clear and measurable objectives and targets to improve nutrition. This is critical to ensuring that nutrition considerations become central to companies’ core business activities such as product development, pricing, distribution, and marketing.
• Translate commitments to improve nutrition into action and develop mechanisms to track and monitor progress.
• Increase public disclosure of nutrition activities. Such disclosure underpins credibility, strengthens any evaluation of their nutrition practices, and heightens accountability.
• For companies that manufacture breast-milk substitutes, ensure full compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in all countries.

For more information on the report, visit: www.accesstonutrition.org/home

Photo: Kelle Hampton

The report, Canada’s Wine Economy – Ripe Robust Remarkable, has found that wine industry production has an annual national economic impact of $6.8 billion.

Specifically, for every bottle of wine produced in Canada, $31 of domestic economic impact is generated in the country.

The research study is the largest ever conducted on the Canadian wine and grape industry. The Canadian Vintners Association, the Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario, the British Columbia Wine Institute and the Winery Association Nova Scotia commissioned the report.

“The research findings reinforce the significant economic value the Canadian wine industry brings to the national economy,” says Dan Paszkowski, president, Canadian Vintners Association.

“The impacts are both direct and indirect, from job creation and tourism to tax generation and agricultural growth, the wine industry benefits multiple business sectors across the entire Canadian economy,” he added.

Other key findings include:

• The wine and grape industry is responsible for more than 31,000 jobs in Canada from manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, transportation, research, restaurants and retail.
• Wine-related tourism welcomes more than three million visitors each year, generating more than $1.2 billion annually in tourism revenue and employment.
• The wine industry generates $1.2 billion in federal and provincial tax revenue and liquor board mark up.
• Canadians enjoy over one billion glasses or 220 million bottles of wine produced by the Canadian wine industry each year.

Canadian winemakers also support a broad network of related industries in urban and regional centres across Canada through significant investments, long-term jobs and market opportunities in rural communities.

Wine consumption in Canada continues to grow as many Canadians are reaching for a glass of wine over spirits or beer. With Canadian wines presently representing only 30% of total wine sales across the country and imported wine at 70%, there is enormous potential for Canadian wine growth and the entire national economy.

The study can be found at: www.canadianvintners.com

This is the story of GM food in Europe. ”Science” that supports a belief more deeply entrenches the public conviction. Confirmation bias is always a problem, especially when the science is junk.

Seralini’s study concluded that rats fed corn genetically modified for herbicide resistance with or without Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide developed tumours, contradicting the conclusions of hundreds of studies that have consistently found no safety issues. Leading scientists from around the world quickly identified more than a dozen serious problems with the study, including the use of tumour-prone rodents, the small sample size, and the selective presentation of data.

The European Food Safety Authority, traditionally no friend to the biotech industry, severely criticized the study, concluding that it was “of insufficient scientific quality to be considered as valid for risk assessment.” In a rare joint statement, even the six leading French academies issued an unequivocal condemnation describing the study as a “scientific non-event…that does not enable any reliable conclusion to be drawn.” Then the French food safety authority ANSES concluded that the study was fundamentally flawed, as did the German, Brazilian, American, New Zealand and Australian authorities. Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reviewed Seralini’s research and concluded that it had “significant shortcomings in the study design, implementation and reporting.”

I’m just an old lawyer with my own biases and not able to fully judge the science, but such unanimity of science criticism is rare. Moreover, Seralini’s tightly orchestrated media offensive that included the simultaneous release of a book and film about his work, combined with his failure to release his basic data for peer review, clearly suggests that he had an ulterior agenda beyond the search for the truth.

Predictably, Canadian media were quick to uncritically report the Seralini results. Dr. Oz featured the rat study on his popular television show. Organic true believers and other anti-GM activists gleefully piled on. The facts did not get in the way of their convictions. Biotech crops have undergone more safety and environmental testing than any crop varieties in history. They have been proven as safe as the scientific method permits, by every valid method known to science and medicine. There is not a single solitary confirmed case of human or animal disease. After more than a trillion meals containing biotech-derived ingredients, there hasn’t been a single tummy ache, sore throat or rash. This is why Canadian farmers, recognizing their many environmental and economic benefits, confidently choose GM for 95 per cent of the canola they plant, 90 per cent of the corn, and 80 per cent of soybeans.

As long as Europeans are willing to pay the environmental and economic costs of their ideological aversion to GM crops, they will continue to maintain their moratorium on importing GM food (though, hypocritically, accepting our GM animal feed). The saddest part of this sorry tale was to read that because of Seralini, the Kenyan government, against the advice of its own scientists, announced a ban on GM imports, further exacerbating its shortage of corn. Millions of Africans will still go to bed hungry.

L’affaire Seralini is yet another example of what Nietzsche has taught us: ”Convictions are more dangerous enemies to truth than lies.”

Ronald L. Doering, BA, LL.B., MA, LL.D., is a past president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. He practices food law in the Ottawa offices of Gowling Lafleur Henderson, LLP. Contact him at Ronald.doering@gowlings.com

The full-day event brings together a selection of experts on food safety to tackle the pressing issues the food industry faces today.

This year’s theme is “Managing risk in an increasingly competitive marketplace.” Topics in the agenda include an update from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on the regulatory landscape, recent activities and what’s coming up. Frank Schreurs of the GFTC will look at what’s next after GFSI certification and what more needs to be done in the areas of management commitment, validation, ingredient risk assessment and customer specific requirements.

Karen Leacock-Bingham of the GFTC will offer food-packaging professionals an update on the new package auditing standards that apply to all facilities that manufacture packaging. And MNP LLP will cover the complexities of instituting a risk-based food safety program.

Keynote

This year’s keynote presentation will be from Ross Roxburgh of the Niagara Institute, a division of The Conference Board of Canada. His presentation, “Leading from the Middle: Today and Tomorrow’s Reality,” will take a look at middle management professionals and the role they play in a company’s food safety culture.

The conference will also include an update on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and two key proposed rules the FDA issued on Jan. 4 for public comment: Preventive Controls for Human Food and Standards for Produce Safety.

The event will also be host to the first ever GFTC Food Safety Recognition Awards.

The finalists for the awards were announced earlier in January and include Skilcor Foods Inc. and Weston Bakeries – Amherst, N.S. plant for the Excellence Award; Sani Marc Group and Axiom Millwrighting & Fabrication Inc. for the Allied Trades Award; and the Leadership Award, which will be announced at the awards ceremony.

In announcing the finalists, Paul Medeiros, director of Consulting Services, said the GFTC is “very pleased with the results from our first year of competition. The calibre of submissions was exceptional. We should be very pleased at how well Canadian companies are doing to ensure the safety of food in Canada.”

For manufacturers of the ingredient, the news is something they’ve eagerly awaited.

Benjamin Fleischer, founder and CEO of Pyure Brands of Naples, Fla., says “it definitely opens up a lot of doors. We’ve been working with Canadian companies now for close to three or four years. A lot of those companies were waiting for the official approval.”

Pyure Brands grows and extracts stevia and supplies the ingredient to food and beverage manufacturers around the world. And after the news in Canada, says Fleischer, “we’re going to see a lot of Canadian companies either start working on formulations or you’ll start to see more sugar-reduced natural products on the market.”

Some of those products could include baked goods, yogurt, ready-to-drink teas, beverages, protein powders and protein drinks. “You’ve just got to take a step back and realize that this is the best alternative for sugar and artificial sweeteners,” says Fleischer. “Any product that essentially uses sugar is an opportunity.”

The approval also means more opportunities in the market for the nine million diabetics and pre-diabetics in Canada, reports SeekingAlpha.com. Stevia’s benefits include zero calories and a zero glycemic index.

Other manufacturers such as Truvia, and PureCircle (whose products are distributed in Canada through Unipex Solutions Canada) also welcomed the news, saying the move offers opportunities for both manufacturers and suppliers.

Before Health Canada approved stevia for use as an ingredient, it was available only as a natural health product. Currently, it’s approved for use as an ingredient in most major markets around the world.

In Canada, it’s now approved for use in beverages, breakfast cereals, bakery products, desserts, fruit and nut spreads, confectionery and tabletop sweeteners.

The new technology was developed by Dr. Declan Diver and Dr. Hugh Potts of the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy. It involves temporarily turning some of the oxygen in a sealed package into ozone, which is an effective germicide.

According to an announcement released by the university, a retractable device is briefly held against the surface of the glass or plastic packaging in order to split the bonds between oxygen molecules inside it, forcing them to reform as ozone. The ozone naturally turns to its natural state after a few hours.

Testing of the method shows that it effectively and safely kills any mould, bacteria or fungi on the packaging’s content, while extending the product’s shelf life by at least one day. It does not alter the taste or appearance of the product, and requires no changes to existing packaging.

“Although ozone can be harmful to humans, it has a very limited lifespan before it returns to oxygen and it doesn’t leave behind any dangerous residues so it’s perfectly safe to use in food decontamination,” says Dr. Ian Muirhead, CEO of Anacail, the company set up to market the technology. “It’s a very effective way to destroy or inhibit the growth of bacteria and viruses.”

Anacail is currently seeking development partners to enable it to bring the technology to full production.

Above: (Left to right) Dr Hugh Potts, Dr. Ian Muirhead and Dr. Declan Diver