The debate surrounding what should be considered meat — and what isn’t — continues to spark conversation across the food industry. What are plant-based burgers, such as the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat, actually made of? Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor at the University of California-Davis, was a guest on AgriTalk last week where he shared… Read More
Following consultation with the food and agriculture industries along with individual Canadians, the federal government has announced the first-ever national food policy for Canada. The policy seeks to address reliable access to healthy food, especially for children, and to reduce food waste, according to a press release. Canadian food waste tips the scales at more… Read More
A flock of chickens in the southeast corner of Manitoba has contracted a confirmed case of infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT), an acute herpes viral respiratory tract infection of chickens, turkeys, and pheasants, that may result in severe production losses and mortality as high as 85%. ILT is on the list of four notifiable diseases at the… Read More
The province of Manitoba and the federal government have announced more than $1.1 million will go to cheese producing company Bothwell Cheese. The New Bothwell-based facility will use the money to modernize its facility. “Our goal is to retain and grow our world-class food enterprises to meet the growing demand for protein-rich foods while fostering… Read More
Ontario sheep and cattle producers who work with many of the province’s independent meat processors could soon find themselves fully responsible for their livestock’s hides. In April, one of the few processing companies in the province that collects hides from small and medium-sized abattoirs, announced it was ceasing operations. It had been serving Ontario abattoirs… Read More
Quebec’s farmer union and its beef producers are calling on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to stop Beyond Meat from using the word “meat” when referring to its plant-based products, such as burgers and sausages, Quebec’s TVA Nouvelles reports. Beyond Meat launched its meat-alternative product line in Canada on May 1, 2019. L’Union des producteurs… Read More
For those who handle the grocery shopping in the household, you might be surprised to hear that recent run ups in grocery store prices are somewhat of an anomaly. As Kevin Grier, with KG Market Analysis and Consulting explains, price inflation of grocery items has actually been low to negative in the past few years,… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced it will be fining food businesses for violating federal food safety rules. Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMP) can range from a notice of violation with no monetary fine to as serious as up to $15,000 for serious offences or repeat violators. The penalties have been used in the… Read More
Canadian supply chain data platform, TrustBIX, has officially gone public as of Tuesday morning, listing on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) in Canada. Formerly known as Reco Northern Alberta Inc. (RNAI), the Edmonton-based company merged with ViewTrak Technologies Inc., to create TrustBIX. The new company focuses on the supply chain of agricultural products, as well… Read More
Canada, and Western Canada specifically, has been incredibly successful at growing millions of acres of plant-based protein in the form of peas, chickpeas, and canola meal. With a few exceptions, nearly all processing of Canada’s pulse crops happens outside of the country. Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, has been tasked with changing that…. Read More
La Broquerie, Manitoba-based HyLife announced today it is being bought by Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl (CPF) for $498 million. HyLife is a vertically-integrated pork production company, from feed processing, to hog production, and pork processing and distribution of pork products. HyLife employs over 2,500 people, and has processing plants in Canada, including Neepawa, Man.,… Read More
While attending the Council of Dairy Farmers of Quebec’s annual general meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the federal government is providing $376,668 to the Cheese Expertise Centre (CEC). This money will go into two projects to keep Canadian cheese makers “competitive and innovative,” according to Bibeau. “With the assistance provided by… Read More
Agriculture as a whole struggles with finding enough workers — from dairy barns, to grain fields, and, perhaps most acutely, in the fruit and vegetable sector. Automation and robotics can most easily solve repetitive tasks, but designing and developing automation for high-value, highly perishable product is also highly complex — and expensive. Part of the… Read More
In a recent proof-of-concept field trial, the Canadian Sheep Federation partnered with SheepChain LLC to demonstrate how the Canadian sheep industry can capitalize on blockchain-based traceability to add value to Canadian lamb. Canada is the first sheep industry to manage the technology in a real-world setting, tracking lamb from pasture to plate, according to the… Read More
Within an hour of its release, those representing certain sectors of agriculture had their statements prepared and sent out to various media organizations. Their opinion of Canada’s Food Guide was largely determined by where their commodity ended up on the new plate. Dairy industry Although Health Canada made it clear dairy was “still on the… Read More