Dairy processor Agropur Cooperative says it will be closing its fluid milk plant at Winnipeg, Man., later this year, consolidating production at other Agropur facilities in Western Canada. “Unfortunately, the level of investment required to maintain the plant’s competitiveness in the coming years was becoming too high. We are making this strategic decision to optimize… Read More
Meat & Poultry Ontario is looking for a few more livestock producers in the southwest region of the province to participate in a pilot project. The organization has been working diligently on assessing and evaluating livestock processing capacity, stumbling blocks, and opportunities from both the producer and processor perspective. As part of the study, the… Read More
By Meagan Murdoch In early February, Calgary-based cookbook author Julie Van Rosendaal asked on social media whether anyone else had noticed that butter is no longer soft at room temperature. Her question helped spark a national and international conversation about Canadian butter. To some it probably seemed like a light-hearted conundrum against the backdrop of… Read More
COVID-19 has impacted each and every economic sector, and the protein processing industry is no exception. From plant shut downs, to slow downs, to outbreaks amid plant staff, and even deaths from the virus, the meat processing value chain has been hard hit by this pandemic. With vaccines now a reality, meat packers through the… Read More
Protein Industries Canada (PIC) has announced a partnership that will develop and commercialize non-GM soybean protein ingredients. Canada Protein Ingredients Ltd (CPI), DJ Hendrick International, Agrocorp Processing, Semences Prograin, and Synthesis Network have partnered to produce high-quality soybean protein ingredients. The $27.3 million project will result in an innovative proprietary process to produce soybean ingredients… Read More
Thirty-six Longo’s locations in Ontario have been sold to Empire Company Limited. The deal, initially worth $357 million for 51 per cent is based on an enterprise value of $700 million, including the e-commerce site Grocery Gateway. Longo’s will continue to be operated by the Longo’s leadership team, led by president and CEO, Anthony Longo, the company says. Empire… Read More
How did one tweet change an entire conversation surrounding butter in this country? What role did social media play in this thing called #buttergate? What can we, as an industry, learn from one consumer-facing issue that literally went around the world? Guest host Lyndsey Smith is joined by digital media strategist Christina Crowley-Arklie for today’s… Read More
The post-COVID situation for the food industry may be a concern for the average consumer. The impacts might be most felt by the grocery and restaurant sectors and one has to wonder what the business might look like when we emerge from the pandemic. “It depends which country you’re in,” says Dr. David Hughes, emeritus… Read More
In a story that only seems to get more contentious and downright odd the longer it goes on, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is now asking dairy farmers to consider eliminating the use of palm oil by-product supplements in dairy rations, until new research is completed. Earlier this month, RealAgriculture explored reports by some Canadians… Read More
A surprising thing happened during the COVID-19 lockdown: grocery stores in Canada didn’t jack prices in comparison to their American counterparts. What’s more, the sales of certain items, such as beef, held very strong — much stronger than many anticipated. That demand helped offset the loss of sit-down dining demand. But as Kevin Grier of Kevin… Read More
Meat and Poultry Ontario (MPO) is launching a project to identify opportunities to increase meat processing capacity in Ontario. The $127,000 project, funded through the federal/provincial Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is aimed at addressing a growing demand for abattoir services across the province, including the north. MPO has begun researching a strategy that pairs skills development with… Read More
Paul Lofgren has been appointed president and CEO of DeLaval by the Tetra Laval Group. The decision follows Joakim Rosengren stepping down from the position after 18 years with DeLaval, and 35 years with the Tetra Laval Group. Lofgren, served as the executive vice president for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa clusters of DeLaval,… Read More
While there are people on social media trying to cast a shadow on the quality and safety of Canadian butter due to a perceived change in its melting point, industry experts say butter consistency, cheese texture, and the composition of milk change every year — and throughout the year — based on ration changes of the… Read More
The theories range from “evil” American milk making its way into Canada, to mistreatment of cows or mysterious supplements fed to cows, to enzyme activity; but any sort of factual explanation for why some Canadians are saying butter has either changed consistency at room temperature or changed in flavour since August 2020 remains a mystery…. Read More
Merit Functional Foods has started commissioning its $150 million pea and canola protein facility at Winnipeg, Man. Construction on the 94-thousand square foot plant on the west side of the city started in the fall of 2019. “This is a momentous step for us,” says Merit’s co-CEO Ryan Bracken, highlighting the completion of construction in… Read More
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