THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IFPRI) SAYS AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES COULD INCREASE GLOBAL CROP YIELDS AS MUCH AS 67 PER CENT AND CUT FOOD PRICES IN HALF BY 2050. Security in a World of Natural Resource Scarcity: The Role of Agricultural Technologies, a new report by the IFPRI pinpoints the agricultural technologies and practices that can significantly reduce food prices …

CANADA COULD MOVE FROM BEING ONE OF THE TOP 20 NET FOOD EXPORTING COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TO BEING ONE OF THE TOP FIVE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, WHILE ADDRESSING THE LEGITIMATE NEEDS OF CANADIANS FOR SAFE, HEALTHY AND AFFORDABLE FOOD ACCORDING TO THE CONFERENCE BOARD OF CANADA. The organization’s Canadian Food Strategy, unveiled at the third Canadian Food …

THE CANADIAN AGRI-FOOD SECTOR RECEIVED A BOOST WITH NEWS OF THE CANADA-KOREA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (CKFTA). The deal, which has yet to be fully ratified, but once in force will result in the elimination of 86.8 per cent of agricultural tariff lines. Some tariffs will take more than a dozen years to be fully phased out. This duty-free access will …

WHILE TRADITIONAL FLAVOUR PROFILES STAND OUT ON THE MENU, RECENT TECHNOMIC RESEARCH ALSO SHOWS THAT CANADIAN CONSUMERS ARE ON THE HUNT FOR FLAVOUR INNOVATION. An overwhelming majority of consumers (73 per cent) say that if they try and like a menu item with a new or innovative flavour, they’re very likely to make a return visit to that restaurant for …

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, PAT PIMM, IS LOOKING FOR MARKETS AT HOME AND ABROAD TO GROW B.C.’S AGRI-FOOD SHARE TO $14 BILLION Text by Nicolas Heffernan Talking to Pat Pimm, it’s easy to hear the enthusiasm B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture has for his position. There’s a lot of optimism in B.C. with Pimm’s administration hoping to take B.C.’s agri-food sector to …

RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN ACADEMICS, INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT IS CHANGING THE DAIRY INDUSTRY Text by Lindsay Grummett Scattered across the Canadian countryside from Vancouver Island to Logy Bay, Nfld., are nearly 13,000 dairy cattle farms that are home to just over 960,000 dairy cows. A typical dairy farm in Canada is a family-owned operation with a herd of about 77 Holstein …

Hello and welcome to the Regulatory Arena! This regular column will highlight regulatory developments of relevance to the food and beverage industry. And what a year it is going to be for the food industry. Health Canada is in the midst of a “modernization makeover” and as a result, significant change is on the horizon. Health Canada’s current modernization efforts …

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 …

Richard A. Holley1 | Tineke H. Jones2 | Lynn M. McMullen3* Guaranteeing the safety of the food supply in Canada continues to prove challenging to industry and government. Food safety cannot be “regulated” into food and new approaches are required to support the production of safe meat products. Recognition by processors that “a culture” of food safety is the best …

AS GM FOODS BECOME MORE COMMON IN THE MARKETPLACE, CONCERNED CONSUMERS AND FOOD INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS ARE FIGHTING BACK AGAINST FOOD PRODUCERS AND RESEARCHERS Text by Lindsay Grummett The Canadian food industry is no stranger to the headlines. There was the Alberta beef recall back in 2012 and, of course, the legal battle of Michael Schmidt, an Ontario dairy farmer who’s …