Reviews

Supercritical carbon dioxide technology

FOR FOOD AND NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCTS Feral Temelli* | Marleny D.A. Saldaña INTRODUCTION Based on the significant developments in research and know-how in the area of supercritical fluid technology over the past three decades, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction and fractionation of natural ingredients have become main stream operations in the rapidly growing functional food and natural health products industry, …

Read More »

Basic facts on porcine epidemic diarrhea virus

AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CANADIAN SWINE INDUSTRY Sinisa Vidovic1 | Bernardo Predicala2,3 | John R. Lawrence1 | Darren R. Korber1* BACKGROUND The rapid emergence of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) in North America has significantly impacted hog industry operations as well as the supply of market hogs. While known to have caused outbreaks for several decades in Europe …

Read More »

Microalgae: Canada’s Next Blooming Industry

Andrea Stone1 | Susan Jorgensen1 | Nienke Lindeboom2 | Michael Nickerson1* Although relatively unknown, the Canadian microalgae industry is blooming. Microalgae are simple unicellular (photosynthetic) organisms with exceptional growth potential, capable of doubling their biomass within a 24 h period. They can be cultivated in ponds and tanks using water that is unsuitable for human consumption and only need a …

Read More »

Salmon Aquaculture in Canada

Tom Gill1* | Richard N. Patterson2 Importance of Aquaculture in Canada: The latest available fisheries statistics1 indicate that the “farm gate” total dollar value of fisheries in Canada is ~ $2,954,459,000. The aquaculture landings in that year represented a value of $825,457,000 and the farmed salmon landings were valued at $598,845,000 (~72 per cent of total aquaculture). Globally, Canada is …

Read More »

Maple Syrup Quality Control Benefits From Advances In Technology

Alain Clément1 | Bernard Panneton2 | Nathalie Martin3 | Luc Lagacé3* Every spring, when daytime temperatures rise above the freezing point and night-time temperatures are below zero, the sap in maple trees starts moving from the roots to the stem. This sap contains everything the tree needs to prepare for the growing season: water, sugars, amino acids, vitamins, etc. Abundant …

Read More »

Honeybees and Humans, a Critical and Threatened Relationship

Nicholas Low In the relatively short history of humans, our relationship with bees and the honey that they produce has been a mutually beneficial enterprise. It has been postulated that this relationship may have played an important role in our evolution, due to the fact that honey was a readily available energy dense food that is rich in the carbohydrate …

Read More »

New Sector Science Strategies Guide
Federal Agricultural Science and Technology

Debbie Lockrey-Wessel The role of science and technology continues to be critically important in maintaining the profitability and competitiveness of Canada’s agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector. At the same time, the sector’s science requirements are growing in complexity, new technologies are emerging, the government policy and program landscape is changing, and the science capacity of many players in Canada’s …

Read More »

Canadian “Super Fruits”:
Are they real?

H.P. Vasantha Rupasinghe Overview Canadian fruit crops are worth over $700 million annually post-farm gate to the food industry. Apples, blueberries, grapes, cranberries and strawberries represent the major fruit crops grown in Canada. However, recently market trends are shifting towards newer varieties, imported exotic fruits, and value-added fruit products as consumer demand is growing for healthier antioxidants-rich foods1. Emerging imported …

Read More »

Food allergens and the Canadian Food Chain – Working toward a safer food supply

Joyce Irene Boye* Food hypersensitivity, which includes food allergy and food intolerance, affects many Canadians and is a subject of growing health concern. Approximately 3-4% of adults and 5-6% of children reportedly suffer from food allergy (Samson 2004, 2005; Ben-Shoshan et al., 2010). Although often used interchangeably, food allergy and food intolerance are different types of food reactions. Food intolerance …

Read More »

Current perspectives on the microbiological safety of fresh produce

Foodborne illness associated with fresh produce Kevin Allen1 | Pascal Delaquis2* Analysis of recent epidemiological data reveals that sporadic infections and full-blown outbreaks associated with the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables contaminated with viral, bacterial or protozoan pathogens are occurring with increasing frequency in Western countries1. Some commodities are now recognized as important vehicles for the transmission of foodborne …

Read More »