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
Italian pasta giant Barilla says it has closed its acquisition of Ebro Foods’ Catelli dry pasta business in Canada as of January 29. The deal, which values the Catelli business at C$165 million, includes the Catelli, Lancia, and Splendor brands, and a pasta plant in Montreal, Que. “In Barilla, we’re leading the charge in transforming… Read More
The federal government has announced $162.6 million in additional funding for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) over the next five years, and $40 million per year in added funding for the agency on an ongoing basis after that. The funding boost, announced by Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, and Health Minister Patty Hajdu on Friday, follows… Read More
It was January 18, 2017 when a global food ingredient company based in France announced plans to build the world’s largest facility dedicated to producing pea protein at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Fast forward four years, and Roquette’s new 200 thousand square foot pea processing plant has started accepting deliveries from farmers. In fact 163… Read More
It takes heaps of management to grow perfectly-sized, quality sweet potatoes. Katie Keddy, of Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes in Nova Scotia, shares how her farm grows this neat crop, plus strawberries for propagation, blackberries, and raspberries. Listen to Keddy (@VHsweetpotatoes) in conversation with host Kara Oosterhuis below (with a special guest voice appearance by producer… Read More
Frontline essential workers, including those in the food processing sector, will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in the next round of immunizations, says Ontario’s premier Doug Ford. In late December, Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) and the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association along with the Canadian Meat Council, Meat and Poultry Ontario, Food and Beverage Ontario, Ontario… Read More
COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns, distancing, and cancelled learning events have had a profound impact on so many. Our food systems, food processing, and focus on local economy may be forever changed by this pandemic. Marty Seymour, director of industry and stakeholder relations with Farm Credit Canada, joins our host Kara Oosterhuis for today’s LIVE!… Read More
One of Canada’s largest agriculture businesses has acquired one of the country’s largest trucking companies. James Richardson & Sons, Limited has purchased 100 per cent of the outstanding shares of Bison Transport Inc. from Wescan Capital Inc., as of January 1, 2021. Based at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bison was founded in 1969 by Duncan Jessiman. The… Read More
As planned, Cargill has begun the “measured” re-opening of its Better Beef plant at Guelph, Ont. The plant originally closed December 17, 2020, due to over 60 positive COVID-19 cases within its workforce, and increasing community cases. A spokesperson for Cargill says that the plant has begun the process of re-opening as of December 29th,… Read More
Cargill’s Better Beef processing plant at Guelph is set to re-open December 29, after closing at the end of day December 17, due to increasing COVID-19 infections within staff and the community population. A spokesperson for Cargill says the company plans to re-open the Guelph-Dunlop primary beef facility on Tuesday, after “careful deliberations among Cargill… Read More
Updated story: Details of the program are now listed on Agricorp’s website The governments of Canada and Ontario have committed $5 million in immediate, emergency assistance for the province’s beef farmers through funding for feeding costs associated with market-ready cattle that must be set-aside due to COVID-19-related processing disruptions. Last Thursday, Cargill’s Better Beef plant… Read More
Cargill has announced it has begun the process to temporarily idle its Guelph protein processing facility, due to “community-wide” impacts of COVID-19. The plant will close end of day December 17 for an undisclosed amount of time. Currently, the plant has had 68 employees test positive for the virus out of 1,000 employees. A spokesperson… Read More
Protein Industries Canada has announced a partnership that will research and develop new applications for pulse flours. Avena Foods, Big Mountain Foods, Daiya Foods, Bakenology, and The Village Bakery have joined forces to test and develop new applications for Avena Foods’ proprietary tempered pulse flours. Big Mountain Foods and Daiya Foods, both based out of… Read More
Bill Greuel of Protein Industries Canada joins Shaun Haney for today’s LIVE! to talk about increasing ingredient manufacturing and food processing capacity in western Canada. Don’t miss the LIVE! weekdays at 1 pm M/3 pm E on your favourite social media platform! SUMMARY Presentation to the standing committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food last week Questions… Read More