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Sugar High

WITH SUGAR UNDER ATTACK IN THE MEDIA, SOME COMPANIES ARE LOOKING AT SUGAR REDUCTION STRATEGIES. IT MIGHT BE EASIER SAID THAN DONE Text by Nicolas Heffernan First it was fat; then came salt; now sugar is in the crosshairs. Sugar has been under increasing attack in the media with reports comparing the overconsumption of the sweetener to cocaine addiction and …

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Cereal Killer

RECENT TRENDS HAVE LED TO LOWER CEREAL CONSUMPTION, BUT FOR COMPANIES THAT CAN FIND A NICHE, CEREAL CAN STILL BE LUCRATIVE Text by Nicolas Heffernan There’s a killer on the loose. Cereal has been a staple of breakfasts for more than 100 years but changing consumer demands have become cereal killers for world famous brands like Kellogg and General Mills. …

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Creating the Best Recipe

FOR THE ONTARIO FOOD AND BEVERAGE PROCESSING INDUSTRY TO GROW AND PROSPER Text by The Honourable Gary Goodyear, P.C., M.P., Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario) As the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, or FedDev Ontario, I would love to host a dinner party for the food and beverage processing …

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Forbidden fruit

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 …

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Manufacturing Deficit Disorder

DESPITE HIGH-PROFILE CLOSURES AND AN EXPANDING TRADE DEFICIT, AGRI-FOOD EXPERTS REMAIN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT CANADA’S MANUFACTURING FUTURE Text by Nicolas Heffernan Reports of the demise of the food manufacturing and processing sector in Canada may have been exaggerated. After nearly 90 years in London, Ont., Kellogg will close the doors to its cereal plant by the end of next year, costing …

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Bugging Out

A TEAM OF MCGILL MBA STUDENTS WINS THE PRESTIGIOUS HULT PRIZE FOR USING INSECTS TO HELP SOLVE THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS Text by Nicolas Heffernan The answer to securing food for the impoverished and undernourished: grasshoppers, palm weevils, caterpillars, and water beetles. Don’t worry if it takes you aback, it took the captain of the team who is bringing the …

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Food Industry Trends for 2014

EMERGING DEMAND FROM ASIA, CHANGING CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS AND HEALTH-CONSCIOUS SHOPPERS WILL SHAPE CANADIAN BUSINESS NEXT YEAR Text by Nicolas Heffernan It won’t be easy but 2014 could be a good year for the Canadian agri-food industry. “I’m actually quite bullish on Canada,” says Dave Donnan, partner and leader of Global Food and Beverage Sector Practice for A.T. Kearney, a global …

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Starting from scratch

Consumer interest is forcing food companies to evaluate what’s in their food and on their labels By Nicolas Heffernan Baking a cake from scratch isn’t easy. McCain Foods Canada found this out the hard way when the company’s It’s all good campaign tried to tackle its Deep’n Delicious Cakes. The campaign was launched three years ago with the goal of …

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Where’s the love?

Canada’s pulses try to gain some affection at home, through value-added processing By Nicolas Heffernan Photos: Pulses Canada Ignored at home, adored abroad – that’s the reality for Canadian pulses. Even the people who grow them don’t eat them. Chuck Penner, founder of LeftField Commodity Research in Winnipeg, has seen this firsthand at some of the meetings he has attended. …

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