Not Organic, No Label!

As of December 14, 2008, The Canada Organic Regime is the Government of Canada’s response to requests by the organic sector and consumers to develop a regulated system for organic agricultural products. The Organic Products Regulations (the Regulations) define specific requirements for organic products to be labelled as organic or that bear the Canada Organic Logo.

The Canada Organic Regime has been developed to:

• Protect consumers against misleading or deceptive labelling practices;
• Reduce consumer confusion about the definition of organic;
• Facilitate the access of Canadian organic products to foreign markets that require regulatory oversight; and
• Support further development of the domestic market.

As of December 14, 2008, any product with an organic claim must comply with the requirements of the Organic Products Regulations.

• Only products with organic content that is greater than 95% may be labelled as: “Organic” or with the Canada Organic Logo and/or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada”.
• Multi-ingredient products with 70-95% organic content may have the declaration: “% organic products.” These products may not use the Canada Organic Logo and/or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada”.
• Multi-ingredient products with less than 70% organic content may only contain organic claims in the product’s ingredient list. These products may not use the Canada Organic Logo and/or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada”.

Certified organic products must also bear the name of the certification body that has certified the product as organic.

This is a really good step that the Canadian government is taking to protect consumers because of the high prices of organic food. Because of this new regime, we can be 100% sure that the food we are purchasing are in fact organic and worth the price. Go Green!

Source: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/orgbio/stainte.shtml

Canada’s Oldest Brewery Turns Out the Lights

Molson, Canada’s oldest brewer, is pleased to announce that all its Canadian facilities will turn-off non-essential lights on Saturday, March 29, from 8 to 9 p.m. (local time), in support of Earth Hour. This global initiative calls on individuals and businesses around the world to turn off their lights and show their support for taking action on climate change. Molson’s participation in Earth Hour kicks off the brewer’s Energy Conservation Awareness Program for 2008.

“Our participation in Earth Hour is one way of saying that energy conservation is an important issue for our company,” says Daniel Pelland, Molson Chief Brewing Officer. “It symbolizes the efforts that we make every day at Molson to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and our environmental footprint,” he adds.

Similar energy-efficiency programs have also been implemented at all its Canadian facilities, resulting in substantial energy savings from coast-to-coast. Molson has set targets to reduce its overall energy use, indexed to production, by 5 percent this year.

Molson’s participation in Earth Hour and the Molson Energy Efficiency Week are all part of a larger ongoing Energy Conservation Program that will encourage Molson employees to change behaviors that waste energy and water, whether at work or at home.

Molson’s participation in Earth Hour sets an example for all other companies to follow. Their idea to turn out the lights for one hour will help save a lot of energy and shows they are socially responsible being the oldest brewery in Canada. Kudos to them!

Source: http://cnrp.ccnmatthews.com/client/molson/release.jsp?actionFor=837084&releaseSeq=1&category=5&year=2008&logo=http://www.ccnmatthews.com/logos/20060203-mol_200.jpg
http://blog.molson.com/community/

Good Things Grow in Ontario

To promote Ontario’s home grown food, they brought back a jingle they used from the ’80′s to catch the attention of grocery shoppers to choose Ontario produce.

Source: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/infores/releases/2007/062107.htm

Similar Cluster – Chicago

1. Metropolitan Chicago’s food manufacturing industry is the largest in the nation in terms of the number of people employed. In 2000, the nine-county metropolitan area employed 67,711 workers in 867 companies. Because of this, it is recognized as the largest U.S. food manufacturing “cluster”, offering food companies located in the area competitive advantages because of the availability of industry-specific resources.

2. Illinois has the most productive food sector of any state in the nation. The output per worker in the Illinois food sector is about $460,000 a year, while the average for both the U.S. and the top ten food producing states is only $380,000. Illinois food industry workers are 23% more productive than both the U.S. and the top ten states’ averages.

3. Job Openings: Approximately 800 employment vacancies open up in the industry every year in the region. Jobs range from entry-level positions to highly advanced technical and supervisory positions.

4. High Employment Multiplier: The employment multiplier for this industry is 2.58, which means that for every food manufacturing job, another 1.58 jobs are created in businesses that supply and support food manufacturing.

5. Good Wages: The average wage of all Chicago Metropolitan food manufacturing workers is $28,000 per year, not including overtime pay. The average hourly wage for production workers is $13.16 per hour.

Source: http://www.clcr.org/publications/pdf/food-mfg-statistical-report.pdf

Similar Cluster – Aukland, New Zealand

Food and beverage processing is one of the larger industry sectors within the southern sector of Auckland. The sector employs over 5,460 in the southern sector of Auckland, over 73,500 in New Zealand with a growth rate of over 5% per year. More than half of the export earnings for New Zealand are generated from this sector.

The food and beverage industry is well serviced in the region with co-packing, logistic operations and many other support services. In addition it is in close proximity to the international airport, port facilities and the national roading network. These factors ensure the region is very desirable for the establishment of food & beverage manufacturing organizations.

The food industry has a long and proud history in New Zealand’s development. The country has always had bountiful resources and food and beverage processing has evolved into a vibrant industry sector.

Source: http://www.foodbowl.org.nz/

Trade Show Trends

Trade shows offer a snapshot look at key trends affecting the food and beverage industry, both for new products available on the Canadian market and those set to emerge in the near future.

The following are the trends that will affect the food and beverage industry:

1. Organic Foods

2. Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals

3. Mediterranean Foods

4. Tea

5. Gourmet Cooking and Entertaining

6. Desserts, Pastries and Confectionery Products

7. Healthy Snacks

8. Environmentally-Friendly Packaging

9. Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Premium Beverages

10. Bottled Water and Add-to-Water Flavouring Packages

Source: http://www.ats.agr.gc.ca/events/4331_e.htm#c

Food and Beverage Show

The Canadian Food & Beverage Show and the HostEx Show attract many of the same visitors, but the annual events have always operated separately, at different times of the year. That has changed since March 2nd, when the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (C.R.F.A.) brings the two shows together under one roof in a new location—the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place. This is the largest food and beverage trade show in Canada, drawing over 700 exhibitors and 11,000 trade visitors.

The show had 1,700 booths and included cooking demonstrations by top local chefs (including Mark McEwan and Lynn Crawford), cookbook signings, and a series of free seminars that addressed such food-service challenges as labour shortages and energy costs.

Visitors walked away with a different feeling about this industry. It’s always been underserved by the shows, and it’s a much bigger industry than most people realize—$56 billion in Canada. Seeing all these products and services together made people in the industry quite proud of the business they’re in and the professionalism that’s available to them, right from the chefs to the manufacturers and suppliers in the service industry.

Source: http://www.crfa.ca/aboutcrfa/newsroom/2008/crfa_show_wrap-up.asp

Healthy Children are our Future

 

Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) announced leading Canadian food and beverage companies are shifting the landscape of advertising directed to children under 12. Under the terms of the Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (Children’s Advertising Initiative), first announced in April 2007, 16 leading food and beverage companies committed to shift their advertising directed to children under 12 to the promotion of healthier dietary choices and healthy active living.

Through the Children’s Advertising Initiative, Participants will shift their advertising and marketing emphasis to foods and beverages that are consistent with the principles of sound nutrition guidance, including those that are lower in total calories, fats, salts and added sugars, and higher in nutrients that are significant to public health.

 

 

Watch one of the commercials launched on behalf of this campaign.

 

Core Principles
Under the Children’s Advertising Initiative, Participants have committed to:

• devote at least 50 per cent of their television, radio, print and Internet advertising directed primarily to children under 12 years of age to promote products that represent healthy dietary choices and/or to include healthy lifestyle messages,
• incorporate only products that represent healthy dietary choices or include healthy lifestyle messages in interactive games primarily directed to children under 12 years of age,
• reduce the use of third party licensed characters in advertising directed primarily to children under 12 that does not meet the Children’s Advertising Initiative criteria for healthy dietary products or healthy lifestyle messaging,
• not pay for or actively seek to place food and beverage products in program/editorial content of any medium primarily directed to children, and
• not advertise food or beverage products in elementary schools.

Charter Participants
• Cadbury Adams Canada Inc.
• Campbell Company of Canada
• Coca-Cola Canada
• General Mills Canada Corporation
• Hershey Canada Inc.
• Janes Family Foods Ltd.
• Kellogg Canada Inc.
• Kraft Canada Inc.
• Mars Canada Inc.
• McCain Foods Canada
• McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd.
• Nestlé Canada Inc.
• Parmalat Canada Inc.
• PepsiCo Canada
• Unilever Canada Inc.
• Weston Bakeries Limited

 

This is a very responsible initative that the comapnies are shifting towards. Because of the increased number of overwight children, this will help kids make healthier choices without the pressure of eating unhealthy junk food advertisements. I applaud the large and leading industry companies that are participating in this campaign because they are paving the way and setting an exmaple for other companies to follow suit.

 

Source: http://www.fcpmc.com/issues/hal/splash/index.html http://www.adstandards.com/en/childrensinitiative/default.asp

25 Years of Wine and Cheese

The Toronto Wine & Cheese Show is known worldwide for its informative and refined selection of gourmet food and award-winning wines. It also features cuisine from renowned restaurants, exciting seminars, beers, single malt whiskies, forthcoming vintages and industry-regarded wine and beer competitions. It’s a show that has a consistent loyal following, that increases in numbers every year.

This year, there will be many features such as 22 live cooking shows demonstrated by Food Network hosts; a Jazz Wine Garden where you can sip wine while listening to performers and much more! Don’t miss this opportunity to be introduced into the world of gourmet and classy dining.

Source: http://towineandcheese.com/

Welcome Back Summer… licious!

Although it’s four months away, The 5th Annual Summerlicious Presented by American Express returns to Toronto July 4 -20 2008. This is an opportunity for tourists and residents to sample and experience the city’s finest food at incredible values. It celebrates Toronto’s restaurant industry to promote the best of the city’s eclectic cuisine with 130 of Toronto’s top dining establishments with three course prix fixe menus. Make your reservations as soon as they become available. Bon Apetit!

Hopefully restaurants that participated last year will also be on the list again this summer because of the great reviews they received.

Source: http://media.torontolife.com