NE WS FILE The Voice of the Canadian Food & Beverage Industry Wal-Mart Supercentres a Boon to Producers ith space to house more than 10,000 food and bever- Wage products, producers are welcoming the entrance of Wal-Mart’s Supercentres into Canada. “We make a lot of products that those folks sell…[and] our members like doing business with Wal-Mart,” says Christopher Kyte, president of Food Processors of Canada. Elaine Smith, senior vice-president of Industry Affairs for the Food and Consumer Products of Canada, says producers have long anticipated the Supercentres’ arrival. Since many Canadian suppliers already operate at high volume, the industry is unlikely to feel increased pressure. Instead, she says, the stores allow small and medium-size producers to be listed and have their products sold. According to business professor Dr. Olav Sorenson, who teaches Strategic Management at the University of Toronto, while large suppliers have the capacity to fill Wal-Mart’s demands, medium-size ones may suffer because they can’t meet Wal-Mart’s capacity demands. Sorenson says Wal-Mart is a tough negotiator that collects information about cost structures for bargaining. However, says Kevin Grier, senior market analyst at the Guelph, Ont.-based George Morris Centre, Wal-Mart is no tougher than other powerful centralized buyers. “The reason why it took Wal-Mart so long to bring the Supercentres to Canada was because the Canadian market is very competitive,” he says. “Wal-Mart may find [entering Canada] a challenge.” Canadian retailers don’t foresee any major changes either, according to Dave Wilkes, senior vice-president of Trade and Business Development for the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors. Wilkes believes the Supercentres will increase competition, which is good for the market. And, notes Dr. Sorenson, since consumers generally choose smaller retailers for reasons other than price, Wal-Mart won’t be competing with these stores either, but rather with midsize regional chains that offer a variety of products and focus on low prices. According to Wal-Mart spokesperson Christi Gallagher, the company is currently piloting its radio frequency identification system (RFID), an online network that tracks stock through the supply chain. The system is currently being tested in the U.S., with “no rush or mandate” to roll out to Canada at present. “We’re waiting to make a decision with all players before we progress,” she says. — Rob McMahon GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT CHEERS TO YOUR HEALTH uropean and American beverage companies are jumping on the functional food craze with products that promise consumers a variety of nutritional benefits. Vitamin-packed, anti-oxidant-filled beers, wines and coffees are popping up all over the globe, offering consumers an innovative approach to drinking to good health. Here’s a snapshot of the biggest trendsetters: • Norway-based Med Eq As has released CoffeeSLENDER, a coffee that promises to help consumers lose weight by lowering blood sugar levels after meals. Med Eq As claims that moderate exercise combined with low sugar levels will burn fat deposits. Svetol, the active ingredient, won Bronze at the Best Innovation in Health Ingredients Awards 2006, during the 2006 Health Ingredients (Hi) Europe. • U.K.-based retailer Sainsbury’s has launched “healthy wine” E 8 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 Red Heart Cabernet Petit Verdot, an Australian-made red wine. Red Heart’s claim to fame is its anti-oxidant level, which rings in at 32per-cent higher than other leading wines. • Dallas, Texas-based Stampede Light Beer is a full-bodied German pilsner infused with vitamins. Stampede Brewing Co., Ltd. owner Lawrence Schwartz, a fitness book author, aimed to develop a healthy beer that replenishes the B vitamins which alcohol depletes from the body. The “zero fat – all muscle” beer contains B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, folic acid and folate. W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M NEWSFILE Getting the Trans Fat Out s this year’s deadline approaches Arequiring small food processors to list the amount of trans fats in their products on their nutrition labels, producers are already madly scrambling to eliminate the dietary culprit altogether. The baked-good sector in particular is wrestling with the problem, which some say is more difficult to resolve than in other food processing categories. “It’s not as easy as it sounds,” says John Michaelides, director of Technical Service for Guelph, Ont.’s Guelph Food Technology Centre. “There are a lot of things that contribute to the quality of the product from the point of view of shelf life and also from the point of view of texture.” Federal regulations required large manufacturers – those with annual sales in excess of $1 million – to list the 10 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 amount of trans fats on labels by December 2005, while smaller processors must comply by December 2007. Paul Hetherington, CEO of the Baking Association of Canada, says one of the major problems in reformulating baked goods to be trans fat-free is that there are not a lot of substitute fats. “The supplier community is saying they have things under development,” he says. “But when pushed to say when they’ll be available, they don’t have a firm date.” Despite the challenges, Voortman Cookies Ltd. of Burlington, Ont., was able to announce in early 2004 that it had removed trans fats from all of its 55 cookie varieties. With that move, the company became the first North American cookie maker to be zero trans fats. Work on the project actually began in 2000, says John Bol, manager of Quality Control and Product Development, who almost singlehandedly reformulated the company’s product line. The company’s raison d’être was multi-faceted, says Bol. In addition to bolstering its competitive edge by developing better products for an increasingly health-conscious consumer, Bol says the company’s president, Harry Voortman, decided to go zero trans fats when his daughter, Lynn Voortman, a homeopathic physician, refused to eat the cookies because they contained trans fats. Through trial and error and a lot of experimentation in the company’s lab, Bol replaced hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils with a blend of soy, canola, palm, palm kernel and sunflower oils. To be trans fat-free, there can be no more than two grams of trans fat and saturated fat for a 30-g serving size. The winning formula worked because it was moderately firm, a requirement necessary for baked goods. Bol says the greatest challenge he faced was to reach the two-per-cent limit. As well, sourcing palm oil was difficult initially because it was unavailable in North America. Some varieties of cookies also became too oily because Burlington, Ont.-based Voortman Cookies removed the trans fats from all of its 55 cookie varieties in 2004, becoming the first North American cookie maker to be zero trans fats. the fats were softer than hydrogenated oils. To overcome this, the dough had to be cooled. For other manufacturers planning to make their products trans fat-free, Bol’s advice is simple: “Get outside help. A lot of the oil companies, such as Archer Daniels Midland, have scientists on board.” But most importantly, he says: “Stick with it. This trans fat thing is not a fad. It’s a real health — Carolyn Green issue.” A Healthier Fat? alm oil is staging a comeback Pthanks to the flap over trans fat. In the 1960s and ’70s, soy and canola oil prevailed because their producers successfully argued that saturated, fat-filled palm oil was harmful to consumers’ health. Now medical scientists are proclaiming that palm oil is healthier because it contains more “good” HDL cholesterol than hydrogenated soy or canola oil. Hydrogenation is a chemical process by which hydrogen is added to oils to make them a solid at room temperature. That also stabilizes the fat, increases product shelf life and improves product taste. In comparison, palm oil is naturally stable at room temperature. While this is great news for producing countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia – it exports (Continued on page 12) W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M (Continued from page 10) about 53 per cent of the world’s supply – food processors and consumers will have make adjustments. The unhealthful effects of hydrogenated oils are not news. “In the early ’80s,” says Bruce Holub, a retired Nutritional Sciences professor at the University of Guelph, “the government had asked a committee of food scien- tists to study trans fats used in margarine. We concluded that trans fats elevated blood cholesterol and increased the risk of heart disease, so we recommended that it take steps to reduce the trans fats levels in margarine and review the situation within five years. The government ignored both.” Many food processors have now Palm oil fruit eliminated trans fats from their products in response to competitive forces and regulations on both sides of the border to list trans fat content on product labels. Denmark has also banned their use, while New York City, Chicago and soon Toronto will prohibit their use by restaurants. The cost of finding alternatives such as palm oil is not a major barrier. “Switching to other fats costs about the same,” says Shasha Navzesh, CEO of Toronto’s ShaSha Bread Co. “But it takes time and money to adjust your recipes to the new ingredients.” Or in Holub’s words, “better late than never.” — Ken Mark Rare Honours len Breton Rare has been named Gone of the world’s Top 50 Spirits by Wine Enthusiast magazine. The 10year-old single malt whisky is produced by Glenora Distillery in Cape Breton, N.S., and is one of only two Canadian spirits named to the prestigious list for 2006. In December the distiller also launched its first batch of Glen Breton Ice, which according to company, is the world’s first single-malt whisky aged in ice wine barrels. 12 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M Photo: MPOB NEWSFILE John Bate and Associates Ltd. NEWSFILE recognized as cold storage experts IN BRIEF • AVAC Ltd., a not-for-profit company dedicated to building the eco- Design Build Engineers General Contractors specializing in food processing, distribution and storage facilities 5800 Ambler Drive, Unit 114, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4J4 Telephone: 905-625-5646 Fax: 905-238-9957 E-mail: generalinfo@johnbate.ca Web: www.johnbate.ca 14 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 nomic viability of value-add agriculture and renewable resource ventures in Alberta, is investing $5.3 million towards the development of new value-added canola and flax oils. The initiative will help develop cooking and baking oils that are naturally high in saturated fat, but which contain no trans fatty acids. • Women in Food Industry Management has named Debra Bradshaw, technical sales and specialized food sales representative at Zep Manufacturing, Entrepreneur of the Year for 2006 for her newsletter The Food Newz. • Mississauga, Ont.-based General Mills Canada Corporation has launched a new online resource for parents (www.everydaycelebrations.ca) that provides tips, games, articles and recipes for the whole family. • Lyn, Ont.-based Burnbrae Farms was awarded the 2006 Crystal Egg Award by the International Egg Commission. The award is given to the company with the best egg marketing and promotion campaign. • Victoria, B.C.-based Rogers’ Chocolates has announced a partnership with Sobeys, Inc. Its products will now be available in 42 Sobeys’ stores across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. • Aeroplan and Pepsi-QTG Canada have teamed up for a multi-year deal that offers Aeroplan Miles on select Quaker and Tropicana breakfast products. The initiative, which kicked off in January, is set to drive higher consumer product consumption, increase purchase frequency and direct consumer traffic to retailers that sell Quaker and Tropicana breakfast products. • Maple Leaf Foods has been given approval by the Manitoba government to expand its Brandon, Man. plant. Maple Leaf has committed to implementing new wastewater standards and will upgrade on-site wastewater treatment systems at the plant. • Eagle Brand, considered the oldest food product brand name still in use, is celebrating its 150th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone Eagle Brand has released a recipe book entitled 150 Years of Magic, available in grocery and bookstores. • Doris Valade, president of Malabar Super Spice Co. Ltd., has been included in Profit W100 Canada’s top women entrepreneurs for the sixth consecutive year. • The Agriculture and Food Council of Alberta has updated it’s website with a fresh new look and features that make it easier to find the latest industry information (www.agfoodcouncil.com). • Cambridge, Ont.-based Grand River Foods, a division of Paris, Ont.-based Grand River Poultry, was named New Business of the Year for 2006 by the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achievement. The award is given to the organization displaying exceptional innovation while exhibiting outstanding attention to employees and suppliers. W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M NEWSFILE New bottling plant opens in Winnipeg here’s a new owner of the former TMaple Leaf Distillers plant in Winnipeg. In December, Angostura Canada Inc. held a grand opening to show off the refurbished blending, bottling and manufacturing facility in the city’s west end. At the opening, the president of Angostura Canada, Horace Bhopalsingh, reported that the company spent $500,000 to renovate the 55,000 sq.-ft. plant, which became available when Maple Leaf Distillers, a locally grown company, declared bankruptcy early last year. The plant’s capacity is more than eight million litres a year. Bhopalsingh expects that the current workforce of 25 will reach 60 by the end of next year. Trinidad-based, 180-year-old Angostura Ltd. is the largest distiller in the Caribbean. The company produces rum and bitters. Its 11 Canadian lines include former Maple Leaf products — Margarita Ice, Platinum Vodka, Norm’s Sour Power and Hoja Vieja tequilla. Its products are available in more than 120 countries. According to Bhopalsingh Angostura was looking for a processing plant in North America to complement its sister companies in Scotland (Burn Stewart Distillers) and France (Hine Cognac). Bhopalsingh says that the company has been well received by liquor commissions in Eastern Canada, Manitoba and Alberta. — Myron Love Canada, found that “23 per cent of all meals consumed are snacks, compared to 22 per cent for lunch.” While healthy foods are leading the way in terms of snacking popularity and frequency, according to Marion Chan, director of Food and Beverage for the NPD Group, “Indulgent snacks represent one-third of all snacking occasions.” The two trends aren’t necessarily contradictory however, as Chan points out that “manufacturers, sensing the trend towards healthier choices, have increasingly been introducing low-calorie versions of our old favourites.” Canada Inc. We are proud to be known by the company we keep! Celebrating our 40th year! Methocellulose Hydrolyzed Vegetable Proteins Potato and Tapioca Starches Powdered Creamers & Fat Replacers Isomalt a Sugar-replacer Flavors, Variegates & Vanilla Carrageenan, Xanthan, Guar Gum Silicon Dioxide Flow Agents Autolyzed Yeast Extracts Novel Cellulose Fibers Canola Oil, No Trans Fats Dehydrated Garlic & Onion Healthy snacking tops trends hile consumers are snacking Wmore today, they’re also becoming more selective in their snack preferences. According to the NPD Group’s 2006 Snacking Report, fruit is now the number-1 snacking choice for Canadians, representing 20 per cent of snacking occasions. Perhaps driven by research on antioxidants, chocolate is the number-2 snacking choice, followed by yogurt. That’s positive news, especially considering that another NPD report, 2006 Eating Patterns in W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M Lipid Based Delivery System Please contact us at; foodingredients@chemroy.ca Or call our regional offices at: In Ontario (905) 789 - 0701 • In Eastern Canada (450) 625 - 0505 • In Western / Central Canada (604) 460 - 7610 FOOD IN CANADA • 15 NEWSFILE SUPPLIERS’ UPDATE Brampton, Ont.-based L.V. Lomas Ltd. has been appointed the exclusive distributor in Canada for GELITA North America’s GELITA Edible Gelatine and Gelatine Hydrolysates. • Oakville, Ont.based Continental Ingredients of Canada (CIC) has acquired the assets of Abbotsford, B.C.-based Brookside Foods Ltd.’s chocolate powder and drink crystal business. The acquisition will allow CIC to increase its portfolio and better utilize its manufacturing capacity. • Univar Food Ingredients has been appointed the exclusive distributor in Canada for Cargill’s line of texturants for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The How to Cut Bakery & Snack Food Products Urschel Laboratories, Inc. manufactures a diverse line of size reduction equipment for a variety of bakery & snack food applications including: • Granulation of nutmeats for confectionery products and toppings • Reduction of broken items including creamfilled cookies for toppings, coatings, or reuse • Production of corn masa for chips and other fabricated snack food products • Dicing dried and dehydrated fruits for ingredients or mixes • Production of nut pastes and butters used as fillings • Reclamation of imperfect chocolate bars and candy • Slicing potatoes into a wide variety of chip sizes and shapes Our experience with these and hundreds of other processing applications could increase the yield and production efficiency of your operation. Urschel® Model N Urschel® Model CC Comitrol® Processor Model 1700 TranSlicer 2000® Cutter THE SIZE REDUCTION SPECIALISTS w w w. u rs chel.com Take advantage of our worldwide testing facilities to evaluate your product requirements. Contact your local Urschel Sales Representative, Chisholm Machinery, for more information. P.O. B ox 245, Niagara Falls, Canada, L2E 6T3 Telephone: (905) 356-1119 Fax: (905) 356-9170 ® Urschel is a registered trademark of Urschel Laboratories, Inc. 16 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 product line includes Xanthan Gums, Pectins, Carrageenans and Alginates. Univar will also have access to Cargill’s Specialty Texturant Blends. Cargill recently added to its texturant line with the acquisition of Degussa’s Food Ingredient business. This acquisition allows Cargill to offer a complete line of Texturant products to the food and pharmaceutical industries, and makes Cargill a global leader of texturizing and emulsifying ingredients. • Toronto-based Dealers Ingredients Inc. has moved to a 5,000-sq-ft. facility in Brampton, Ont. The move has allowed the company to increase its sales force and respond more quickly to the growing food ingredient industry. Dealers continues to expand as a “one-stop supplier” with the addition of fat and oils, through a Canadian distribution deal with Columbus Foods. • Chemical distributor Brenntag has acquired Montreal-based St. Lawrence Chemical Inc. • Louisville, Ky.based D.D. Williamson received the first annual Kosher Compliance Award from the Louisville Vaad Hakashruth. • Haver & Boecker presented its HAVER 2006 Innovation award to Bethany, Conn.based Laticrete International for its co-operation in the development of clean packaging, protecting the product and increasing shelf life. • San Diego, Calif.-based Gen-Probe has announced an exclusive partnership with 3M to develop, manufacture and market innovative nucleic acid tests to enhance food safety and increase the efficiency of testing for food manufacturers. • Citroil Enterprises Inc. has opened a state-ofthe-art flavour laboratory at its headquarters in Carlstadt, N.J. • Kerry Ingredients now offers full-service certified organic capabilities. Kerry has expanded each of its technology offerings of flavours, cereal, cheese and dairy, lipids, proteins, seasonings and sweet ingredients. In addition, Kerry Group’s Mastertaste division has developed a collection of organiccompatible flavours, freeze-dried powders, essential oils and oleoresins. • Dayton, Ohio-based NCR Corp. announced plans to separate into two independent publicly traded companies through the spin-off of the company’s Teradata Data Warehousing business to shareholders of NCR common stock. W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M NEWSFILE NEW CONSUMER PRODUCTS • Montreal-based Carriere Foods Inc. has introduced Arctic Gardens Steammm! a line of frozen vegetables packaged in a one-of-a-kind microwaveable, self-regulating steam pouch. The vegetable packs are in re-sealable 400-g packages containing two 200-g vegetable steam pouches, and are seasoned with natural herbs and olive or sunflower oil. Steammm!, is available in three varieties: Whole Green Beans, Broccoli and Whole Baby Carrots; Sugar-Snap Peas, Green Peas and Yellow Zucchini; and Broccoli, Yellow Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers. The steam pouches retail for $3.79 across Canada. • Consumers looking to enjoy fresh lobster year round won’t have to go any further than their grocer’s freezer thanks to Clearwater Seafoods Ltd. Partnership. The Bedford, N.S.-based company has introduced Clearwater Whole Frozen Lobster, ready-to-cook, frozen lobsters. The lobsters are 100-per-cent natural, with no additives or preservatives, and have been chosen from the W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M company’s premium “hard-shell” brand of live lobsters. They retail between $20 and $25 at Whole Foods, select grocery stores and through the company’s website. • Winnipeg-based Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils has launched Organic Hemp Seed Nut, a nut packed with omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. The hemp seed nuts, which look similar to sesame seeds and have a nutty flavour like pine nuts, contain protein, fibre and numerous minerals and antioxidants. Hemp seed nuts can be added to salads, pastas and breads to enhance flavour and nutritional intake. Manitoba Harvest processes each package fresh ondemand, selling them in airtight containers to maintain nutrients. The nuts are prepared in a kosher, U.S.D.A. organic-certified processing plant. The Hemp Seed Nuts are available in 340-g bags, and sell for $19.99 at natural food retailers. FOOD IN CANADA • 17 NEWSFILE PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Toronto-based SunOpta Inc. has named president and chief operating officer Steve Bromley as chief executive officer. • Dartmouth, N.S.-based Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd. has appointed Kevin Krail general manager of its new Asia-Pacific region. • Victoria, B.C.based Rogers’ Chocolates has named Steve Parkhill president and COO. Parkhill replaces Jim Ralph, who is retiring. • Steve Parkhill Winnipeg, Man.-based Manitoba Harvest has appointed Bill Barker Quality Control manager. • Tom Hansson has been appointed senior vicepresident of Strategy and Corporate Development for Chicago, Ill.-based Sara Lee Corporation. • The American Egg Board has selected Joanne C. Ivy to succeed Louis B. Raffel as presi- Joanne C. Ivy dent and CEO. • Burnaby, B.C.-based The Spice Depot, Inc. has named Adi Muljo president and CEO, Danny Ferraro vice-president of Product Development, and Darren Donas vicepresident of Business Development. • Markham, Ont.-based Premier Manufacturing Support Services of Canada, Inc. has appointed Todd Ulrich director of Business Development. • Harry Scholten has been appointed vice-president, Global Sales and Account Management, for Netherlands-based Quest International. • Kansas City, Mo.-based Multivac, Inc. has named Jan Erik Kuhlmann president and CEO. • North Bergen, N.J.-based Frutarom USA Inc. has named Michael Meyers and Kris Watson sales account executives. • Manchester, Mich.-based Amcor PET Packaging has appointed William Featherstone vice-president of Sales for its Beverage Division and Kim Houchens vice-president of Product Development for North America. • U.K.based DataLase has appointed Trevor Bailey non-executive director and Fred Barnard Business Development manager for North America. • Rockleigh, N.J.based Takasago International Corp. (USA) Flavor Division has named James W W W. F O O D I N C A N A D A . C O M Buchanan senior flavourist and senior associate and Alexandra DeAngelis marketing administrator. • Schenectady, N.Y.-based Fortitech, Inc. has appointed Alejandra Gratson and Kevin Krall formulation scientists and Dana Brown regional sales manager for the U.S. Mid- Atlantic, upper Mid-West and Canada (excluding B.C.). • Geneva, Ill.-based Fona International has appointed Ray Hartman senior flavourist and Rebecca Wagner senior scientist to the Sweets and Confections Business Unit and Amy McDonald director of Sales. TEAMWORK DELIVERS THAT To succeed in any industry, you need to keep ahead of your competition. In any endeavor, individual performance needs to be backed up by a team of highly trained experts. By combining experience, education and technical training, the professionals at L.V. Lomas are able to give your company the competitive advantage. From order entry to delivery, the team at L.V. Lomas will keep your supply chain on the right track. A driver can cross the finish line, but a team wins the race! Join a winning team. L.V. LOMAS your FIRST choice for responsible chemical distribution ON Ph: (905) 458-1555 PQ Ph: (514) 683-0660 West CAN Ph: (604) 521-7779 WWW.LVLOMAS.COM your FIRST choice for responsible chemical distribution FOOD IN CANADA • 19