B.C. wine of a 2024 vintage is going to be hard to find in the coming years, as vineyards and fruit producers in much of southern B.C. are reeling from a cold snap in January — the latest in a series of major challenges for the high value crops grown in the region. “I’m hearing… Read More
Category: Food
Canada is a major global player in the trade of bulk commodities and animal protein, that’s clear. In addition, the increase in domestic processing of plant-based protein and pulse-based ingredients in the last five years has created more opportunities for processors to ship these types of products worldwide. Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada,… Read More
Protein Industries Canada has announced a new project to increase the value of sunflower and hemp products, in partnership with Burcon NutraScience, HPS Food & Ingredients, and Puratos Canada. A total of $6.9 million has been committed to the project, with Protein Industries Canada committing $3 million and the partners together committing the remainder. Burcon… Read More
Approval of a biotechnology reform bill in the European Parliament last month has been hailed as a major breakthrough toward allowing “new genomic techniques,” such as gene-editing, to be used in crop breeding in Europe. The bill still faces an uphill battle to become law across the European Union, but the vote was one example… Read More
The federal government is contributing $3.1 million to further develop the National Index on Agri-Food Performance. A pilot version of the index, which was designed to measure and support marketing around the sustainability of food produced in Canada, was launched in May 2023. As of early 2024, the Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking, led by executive… Read More
Canada has what the world needs: abundant food and food ingredients. More importantly, Canada has what much of the world lacks — good arable land, clean water, and stability. Murad Al-Katib, president and CEO of AGT Food and Ingredients, based at Regina, is well versed in moving commodities and food products around the world. In… Read More
Louis Dreyfus Company has announced plans to build a pea protein isolate production facility at the company’s existing location at Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Construction on the pea protein facility is slated to begin this year and wrap up by the end of 2025. The company has not provided any details on cost or processing volume, but… Read More
An Israel-based company that’s looking to revolutionize the dairy market says it’s the first producer of animal-identical protein to receive a “no objection letter” from Health Canada. Remilk produces BLG (Beta-lactoglobulin) — the main whey protein in milk — without any cows, through a fermentation process that involves genetically-modified microbes. The company says it can… Read More
There were major files up for discussion this week at the trilateral meeting of cattle industry representatives from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Dennis Laycraft, executive vice president of the Canadian Cattle Association, was on hand representing Canada’s interest at the meeting, tackling the biggest policy and political issues facing the industry. Shaun Haney met… Read More
The North American market for pea protein is the largest in the world, with the U.S making up 70 per cent of the market. A market of that size is an attractive one for countries with an excess of pea protein, a byproduct of extracting pea starch to make noodles. Nicole Atchison, CEO of Puris,… Read More
Every market functions under supply and demand. To varying degrees, as demand increases, so do prices — if supply stays the same. If supply stays the same or grows but demand drops off, prices fall. It’s a simplified explanation and in the real world several factors play into the total demand, total supply, and the… Read More
There has yet to be a successful bid for Merit Functional Foods nine months after the plant protein company, with its processing plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba, entered receivership. Merit’s receiver — PwC — filed a court update on Nov. 14 acknowledging the sales process launched in March had not resulted in any purchase agreement. The… Read More
Fourteen winners and 11 honourable mentions of the Ontario Excellence in Agriculture program were named this past weekend during an awards ceremony held in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair at Toronto, Ont. “I am very proud to present the 2023 Excellence in Agriculture Awards at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, where it is… Read More
It’s the end of an era for a northern Ontario cheese plant, as Gay Lea Foods Co-operative closed the Thornloe Cheese doors on Monday, October 30. The cheese and milk skimming plant has been in operation in some form since the 1940s, and was taken over by the co-op in 2019. Mike Langdon, vice president… Read More
With food costs having risen rapidly over the last two years, Canada’s national dairy farmer organization is recommending the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) hold off on increasing the farmgate price of milk in 2024. The CDC reviews dairy farms’ cost-of-production data annually to calculate the price to be paid to dairy producers the following year…. Read More