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VOLUME 79, NUMBER 5 • JUNE 2019

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contents

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18 features 18 Keeping up with the demand Companies are developing plant-based food products and see opportunities in developing co-products and extraction technologies 24 Protecting the bottom line Martin Joyal has steered Yourbarfactory’s successful expansion in the past 15 years

28 Barks & bites 31 My dog is vegan, just like me 33 Setting the stage for pet products with CBD Sanny11 / iStock / Getty Images Plus

4 JUNE 2019

5

Editorial

6

News File

10 SIAL Show Review Records broken for attendance and exhibitors 11 Alizes Awards Spotlight on the winners 12 Market Trends The factors that are bringing uncertainty to commodity markets 13 Regulatory Affairs Agricultural Administrative Monetary Penalties 16 Food Law Proposed regs on cannabis edibles pose problems 17 Focus on Food Safety Establishment-based risk assessment

14 A dirty little secret Water management in craft breweries needs greater focus

27

14

21

Recipe to retail Curbing deceptive marketing

22 Rethink Innovation Canada needs to take bold action

photo: DawidKasza / iStock / Getty Images Plus

photo: Credit: KucherAV / iStock

departments

EDITORIAL Kristy Nudds

Made in Canada Have you ever heard anyone say “let’s go out for Canadian food?”

It’s an interesting question posed by David Hughes, emeritus professor of food marketing, Imperial College, London, U.K, during the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry meeting held on April 4 in Ottawa. The committee is looking for insights into how to grow the value-added food sector by making it more competitive in global markets.

Hughes told the Senate Committee that from his perspective, “Canada is a worldfamous producer and exporter of commodity food ingredients, but as a result of that, the reflection is that there is no great consumer knowledge around the world about what Canada produces.”

Take pasta, for example. “Authentic” pasta is considered to be from Italy, a view shared by consumers around the world, including Canada. The irony is, this “authentic,” Italian pasta is made from wheat produced in Canada.

“It sort of sticks in the craw, doesn’t it, that you can say, even to Canadians: Would you like the Canadian pasta or the Italian pasta? And they will say, “I think I will go for the authentic [Italian] pasta.”

He recalled looking at data from U.S. consumers, who think that Canada is “really good” at food — it’s trustworthy and safe — but can’t name any “Canadian” foods. Occasionally, “someone might eventually blurt out maple syrup,” he said.

The same is not true for countries like Italy and France, where both U.S. and

Canadian consumers, when asked what foods are from these countries, they “can rattle off a long list of high-value food products,” said Hughes.

Hughes, a former food policy analyst for the Canadian government, said that Canada’s historical focus on commodities stems from the fact that customers from other countries historically had tariff and non-tariff barriers to encourage imports that supported their own value-added processing sectors.

He also points out that value-added development in Canada was further constrained by its proximity to the U.S. border, as some of the biggest food companies in the world are not far from the border, providing a large market for commodities.

Despite the perception of the food industry obtaining low margins, Hughes said “we’re seeing a renaissance, if you will, of interest in the food industry.” But it is not coming from traditional sources.

“Almost all the growth in North America in prepared and value-added foods over the last five years has come out of small, emerging, often millennial start-up food companies.”

Despite being a world leader in the production of pulses, peas and lentils, significant sources of plant-based proteins, very little is processed here, Hughes noted.

However, that is changing. For example, Burcon Nutrascience Corporation announced last month that it is investing $65 million to build a commercial plant to process pea and canola proteins in Western

Canada. The Vancouver-based company said increasing demand makes the timing right to build a large processing facility using Canadian peas and canola.

Developments like these provide Canadian companies with the opportunity to brand their products as truly Canadian.

To support the growth of start-ups and new food innovations, Hughes recommended the federal government invest in food incubator programs to help them scale up. As shown at the recent SIAL Canada show, there is no lack of food innovation happening in Canada; the top 10 innovation finalists were products created in Canada.

The potential to brand Canada as a food, rather than commodity producer, has never been greater.

Kristy Nudds

knudds@foodincanada.com

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Government makes changes to Canada’s beer standards Canada’s beer standards just became a little more flexible after changes recently announced by the government. The Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) outline requirements for products to be labelled, packaged, sold, and advertised as beer in Canada. The changes to the FDR allow Canadian businesses more flexibility in what they use to make beer and how they do it.

The new regulations provides clarity on what constitutes standardized beer. Brewers are now able to develop new products by using new ingredients and flavouring preparations while maintaining the integrity of beer. Also, beer labels must declare food allergens, gluten sources, or added sulphites.

News> file

Barry Callebaut launches ruby chocolate in North America Barry Callebaut has launched ruby chocolate in North America. Known as the fourth type, ruby chocolate has been welcomed by artisans, brands and consumers across the globe. Barry Callebaut’s ruby has a new and unique sensory profile — a tension between fresh berryfruitiness and luscious smoothness — unlocked from pure cocoa beans that are specially chosen for their ruby properties, without adding berry flavours or colours.

With its one-of-a-kind taste and colour, ruby satisfies a different consumer need than dark, milk and white chocolate, providing chefs, artisans and chocolatiers unlimited product pairing opportunities, including bars and tablets, bonbons, pastries, desserts and more.

Fueled by the overwhelming consumer response around the globe, Barry Callebaut collaborated with a small group of pioneering artisans over the last six months to soft launch ruby in the U.S. marketplace. The sales of those consumer products have been very strong. As a result, to help ensure that its business partners have access to the product, Barry Callebout feels that now is the time to take the next step in its global roll-out campaign, and introduce ruby to the entire North American market, said Peter Boone, CEO and president, Barry Callebaut Americas.

Barry Callebaut is working closely with the FDA to begin test marketing ruby as a new chocolate product in the U.S., with the ultimate goal of establishing a new standard of identity reflecting ruby’s distinctive sensory profile.

6 JUNE 2019

CFIA’s new Administrative Monetary penalties The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs) of up to $15,000 can now be issued for violations by food businesses that threaten food safety and market access for Canadian goods. AMPs are an additional option CFIA can use to address violations under federal regulations. By expanding the use of AMPs across all food sectors, the CFIA will now have a consistent and comprehensive set of tools to enforce compliance with the requirements for all food in Canada.

Study finds Canadians are losing interest in cannabis edibles The study, titled “Edibles and Canadian consumers’ willingness to consider recreational cannabis in food or beverage products: A second assessment” compares Canadian attitudes toward cannabis products with those in 2017, prior to legalization. Cannabis-infused edibles will be legal to purchase for recreational use in Canada in October 2019.

The study, performed by lead researcher Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University’s Agrifood Analytics Lab, found that only 36 per cent reported that they would purchase cannabis-infused food products once legal, down from 46 per cent in 2017. Sixty per cent of Canadians are concerned that cannabis in edible form makes it too easy to overconsume.

Support for legalization has dropped slightly with 49 per cent of respondents still in favour (down from 68 per cent).

Uncertainty about legalization has increased by seven per cent since the 2017 study. And while most Canadians wouldn’t mind if restaurants started serving edibles.

Turkey farmers of Canada launches National Think Turkey™ campaign Turkey Farmers of Canada, the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council, and Turkey Primary Processing Sector Members have together launched Think Turkey/Pensez Dindon, the first national, bilingual campaign to boost turkey consumption since 2004.

The five-year program includes advertising, digital, experiential, PR, influencer, paid social and will focus on engaging primary meal planners to raise awareness of the benefits of turkey, drive year-round demand and increase overall consumption and retail availability.

The campaign launched May 6 with a sixweek, national outdoor campaign that includes paid social and online videos — including sixsecond and a 40-second YouTube pre-roll spots — as well as PR and influencer engagement.

Ontario company asks meat eaters to “meat us half way” A Kitchener-Waterloo company, Equilibrium Foods Inc, recently launched its Better Blends meat + plant burger. Created to meet the meat eater “half way,” the new blended burger is for consumers who want to eat healthier and be more mindful of the planet, but don’t want to compromise on taste, texture or flavour.

Better Blends meat + plant burgers (50 per cent meat + 50 per cent plants) have less fat, calories and cholesterol per serving than a traditional burger while still packing a protein, plus fibre.

The company spent more than two years developing the product in an effort to provide healthier options that encourage consumers to eat more plants and reduce meat consumption. Studies indicate that the majority of meat eaters simply want to reduce how much meat they eat, not necessarily become vegans or vegetarians.

Puratos Canada’s releases data from Taste Tomorrow study Puratos Canada released data from its 2019 Taste Tomorrow study. Taste Tomorrow is the world’s largest independent bakery, patisserie and chocolate consumer survey. The study offers a “Foodstep” into the future by tracking the evolution of trends and unveiling new ones.

Canadians highly value the quality of ingredients and the authenticity of recipes and packaging — food with a real, human touch. Sixty-two per cent of Canadian consumers are willing to pay more for artisan, handcrafted products. The report also states that 77 per cent of Canadians are drawn to traditional flavours while 55 per cent want to try exotic new global flavours.

Consumers seek greater transparency and increasingly consult packaging labels to have a more informed choice of consumption. Sixty-five per cent of Canadian consumers read ingredient lists and nutrition labels. Canadians also have a growing interest in plant-

FOODINCANADA.COM

7

NEWS FILE based food with 60 per cent claiming to eat more plant-based products while 30 per cent believe that consuming vegan is healthier than regular food.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE >Abbie Haskett has joined the customer service team of Malabar Super Spice Company. Haskett is Haskett

a graduate of George

Brown College’s Baking and Pastry Arts program and has held positions in the baking sector as well as ingredients.

She looks forward to expanding her knowledge and expertise within the meat and prepared foods industries. > Barry Carpenter has joined Food Safety Net Services (FSNS) as senior advisor for Carpenter

Regulatory Affairs

and Client Relations. Carpenter brings a wealth of leadership experience from various companies and organizations in the meat industry. As senior advisor for Regulatory Affairs and Client Relations, Carpenter will be assisting FSNS customers and their management team in working with FSIS and FDA along with many trade organizations. Prior to joining FSNS, Carpenter worked for the USDA where he was selected to USDA’s Senior Executive Service and was named deputy administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Livestock and Seed Program. He is also a former CEO of the National Meat Association (NMA). He led the merger of NMA with the North American Meat Processors Association to form the North American Meat Association (NAMA) in 2012. Again in 2014, he led the merger of the two major meat associations, the American Meat Institute, and NAMA to form the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute).

8 JUNE 2019

Burcon building pea and canola protein production plant in Western Canada Burcon NutraScience Corporation has entered into a joint venture (JV) partnership with an investor group to build a new C$65 million peaprotein and canola-protein commercial production facility in Western Canada. The protein production facility, which is planned to initially process approximately 20,000 tonnes of peas per year starting in mid2020, will produce Burcon’s Peazazz® and Peazac™ pea proteins, as well as Burcon’s Supertein®, Puratein® and Nutratein® canola proteins.

The JV partner investor group has extensive operations expertise in production facility design and startup, as well as considerable expertise in the manufacturing and sale of plant proteins, Burcon said in a release. The JV partner investor group is to invest up to $16 million in capital contributions, and enters into a 20-year exclusive license agreement for Burcon’s pea and canola protein technologies.

The plant will be the world’s only commercial-scale food-grade canola protein production facility. Burcon said that the production plant design incorporates ability to efficiently expand processing capacity in the future.

Through the JV partnership, a new operating entity, Burcon Functional Foods Corporation (“Burcon Foods”), will own and operate the new protein production facility. Burcon Foods has entered into a license agreement with Burcon for the production, sale and distribution of Burcon’s pulse proteins.

As a standalone entity, the management, sales, marketing and production personnel of Burcon Foods will be direct employees of the new operating company. Burcon will be responsible for the technology transfer to Burcon Foods, and will also provide assistance (under contract) to support the design, construction and commissioning of the commercial

protein production facility.

Burcon Foods funding is expected to include support from Canadian and provincial government agencies and organizations.

The investor group has committed to providing up to $16 million in capital contributions. The anticipated funding structure is expected to provide tremendous leverage to Burcon, whereby Burcon’s capital contributions will be limited to only approximately 12.3 per cent of the total project cost, while maintaining 40 per cent equity ownership of Burcon Foods.

IN BRIEF > Drizzle Honey received the Startup Canada Social Enterprise of the Year Award, Prairies Region. The award was one of 10, which were announced in Edmonton during the Startup Canada Awards Ceremony. Drizzle sources its honey from apiaries across Canada while supporting local farms and beekeepers.

The Startup Canada Awards celebrate and recognize individuals, communities, and institutions that demonstrate innovation, excellence, outstanding achievement, and impact in advancing entrepreneurship in Canada. > Agropur Cooperative was voted the most trusted brand in the dairy products and alternatives category on the Gustavson Brand Trust Index. In the survey, published by the University of Victoria, the Agropur name was submitted to 7,200 respondents along with nine of its brands (Natrel, OKA, iÖGO, Olympic, L’Extra, Farmers, Island Farms, Québon and Sealtest). Agropur also ranked in the top three overall on the “values-based trust” dimension among the 313 Canadian brands scored by respondents. Values-based trust measures consumer perceptions of the brand’s social responsibility and faithfulness to its values.

SUPPLIER NEWS > KPM Analytics announced that it has acquired Sightline > PRANA has introduced Water-smart Almonds, which are sourced from Spanish suppliers who use natural irrigation and no artificial water sources. The water savings is an estimated equivalent of 700 Olympic-sized swimming pools of fresh water a year. > Tim Hortons is providing a new options for guests with the new Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich test. Starting May 15, select stores will be testing three new breakfast options made with the 100 per cent plant-based Beyond Meat Breakfast Sausage patty.

Guests will be able to enjoy a Beyond Meat Breakfast Sandwich, a Beyond Meat Farmers Breakfast Wrap and a Beyond Meat Vegan Sandwich, all featuring the Beyond Breakfast Sausage patty. > Victoria Caledonian Distillery’s single malt spirit has been named Best Canadian New Make in this year’s World Whiskies Awards. The Vancouver Island-based distillery also claimed a bronze medal for their Macaloney’s Twa Cask Islay blended Scotch. The distillery is the first in Canada to peat-smoke its barley at the distillery, leading to the first “Canadian” peated whisky using local ingredients. > The International Food and Beverage Alliance’s (IFBA) has pledged

Process Control, a company specializing in 3D colour vision and automated inspection systems that improve product quality, increase line productivity and reduce operating costs across the food production process. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ont., with sales and service in Europe, the business will continue to operate from its HQ in Ottawa. > Keystone Natural Holdings (KNH) announced the completion of its acquisition of the WestSoy tofu, seitan, and tempeh businesses from the Hain Celestial Group. The acquisition did not include the WestSoy plant-based beverage business, which has been retained by Hain Celestial. > Intercity Packers Ltd. and Albion Farms and Fisheries announced an amalgamation, combining together to operate as one legal entity. The brand name will now be Intercity Packers Meat & Seafood and will legally be incorporated as Intercity Packers Ltd. > Ardent Mills launched a new set of capabilities within the existing mill in the River North Art District in Denver, Colo. The mill’s new processing “muscle” will directly support The Annex by Ardent Mills (the Annex). New capabilities include cleaning and packing intact grains, pearl barley and dehulling heirloom grains.

to phase out industrially-processed trans-fat from the global food supply by 2023. The pledge comes a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) launched an initiative to provide guidance for all countries on how to remove artificial trans fats from their foods, with a view to eradicating the ingredient worldwide by 2023. > Lone Star Texas Grill will now be offering the Beyond Meat Fajita.

Lone Star said in a release that it will be continuing to look at ways to incorporate Beyond Meat into its other signature Tex-Mex dishes like burritos, enchiladas and chimichangas in the near future. The Beyond Meat fajitas are now available across all 22 Ontario Lone Star restaurants.

Sleeman Breweries is the first brewery in Canada to gain 3RCertified status.

3RCertified is a voluntary program originally funded by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks that evaluates how organizations manage solid waste using preestablished criteria. 3RCertified helps business understand their waste diversion and disposal performance, and most importantly, track and measure performance against goals.

FOODINCANADA.COM

9

SHOW REVIEW

SIAL Canada tops records The international food show sets records for attendance and suppliers

T

his year marked the 16th edition of the International Food Show (SIAL Canada) and the Equipment and Technology Sector (SET Canada), which took place from April 30 to May 2 in Toronto, Ont. During the three days of the show, the agri-food industry set a record for attendance in Toronto, with growth of almost 10 per cent compared to 2017.

With 1,130 exhibitors and brands from more than 50 countries spread over 280,000 square feet and some 25,106 visitors from over 60 countries, this edition of SIAL Canada and SET Canada topped records in both suppliers and visitors.

For this year’s country of honour, Italy, the official inauguration of the show was held under the colours of the Italian flag honouring national and international dignitaries during their various speeches.

According to Xavier Poncin, SIAL Canada’s executive director, the 2019 edition proves the importance of such an alternating event in Canada’s two largest provinces. Never before has local representation, co-mingled with exceptional international entrants, offered such numerous innovations.

“Not only have we seen international business growth driven by Canada’s international momentum, and the signing of multiple international agreements, but a significant achievement, Ontario businesses have proven through a 20 per cent growth in participation, 20 per cent (record this year) versus 2017,” said Poncin.

On the first day of the show, the three winners of the SIAL Innovation contest were unveiled. There were 117 entries submitted. For the first time this year, the Hopeful prize, dedicated to food start-ups, was added to the three traditional gold, silver and bronze awards.

Unbun Keto Foods won gold for their Vegan Keto Buns in the 2019 SIAL Innovation contest. Yummy Doh won silver for their Raw Cookie Dough, and the bronze went to Lofbergs Canada Inc for their product ICE. Partake Brewing won the

10 JUNE 2019

Winners of the SIAL Innovation contest were chosen from 117 entries. Gold, silver and bronze awards were given to the top three new food innovations.

All three winners were from Canada.

Hopeful Grand Prize for their Partake Pale Ale — Craft NonAlcoholic Beer.

The International Cheese Competition was the first of its kind on site and for Canada. The jury, comprised of professionals from the cheese industry, evaluated 230 cheeses from nine countries across 23 categories. The 23 medals were the Best English Cheese, Best Italian Cheese, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Best New Cheese and Best Winner awards. The Grand Champion Cheese was awarded to Alfred the Grand Cru farmer, a Quebec cheese from La Fromagerie La Station. This cheese was also named Best Firm Dough Cheese and Best Dairy Product of Canada.

For the largest international competition for extra virgin olive oil in Canada, Olive d’Or, the jury, who were experts in olive oils, was composed of seven members. The 12 best extra-virgin olive oils were submitted by producers from around the world.

New this year, a special Italy prize was awarded to highlight the country’s presence.

For the second day, the new Food Startup sector was in the spotlight at the Pitch Competition. They had three minutes to win over a jury of experts. Organized in collaboration with the City of Toronto and CFWI IC Niagara College, the competition honoured four winners.

This year 2,660 pounds of food was donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank. This program aims to help reduce food waste by distributing food surpluses at the show. SIAL Canada also gave the Central Expert Hub a check for $12,000.

The next SIAL Canada will be held in Montreal from April 15 to 17, 2020 at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal.

ALIZES AWARDS

Performing on international markets The Alizés Awards Celebrate excellence in agri-food exports Kristy Nudds

T

he inaugural Alizés Awards, successor to the Canadian Export Business of the Year Award, were given out at the Beanfield Centre in Toronto on April 30, 2019 by the Export Group during the Alizés Evening, held in conjunction with SIAL Canada.

The winner of the grand prize, the Alizé of the Year, was Jefo Nutrition Inc., a global leader in high performance non-medicated nutritional solutions for animals. The Jury’s Choice Alizé was awarded to Wendell Estate Honey Inc., a family-owned beekeeping company.

“The countless initiatives put in place by Jefo Nutrition Inc. to consolidate its international commercial actions, combined with investments to ensure the development and sharing of its knowledge base, deserved to be recognized and applauded,” said André A. Coutu, president and CEO of the Export Group.

A family business, Jefo Nutrition Inc. was created in 1982 and founded by Jean Fontaine, an agronomist by training.

Located in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., Jefo’s mission is to improve animal health and increase human longevity by providing better sources of protein for the population.

From left to right: Dominique Bohec, chairman of the board of the Agri-Food Export Group Quebec-Canada and vice-president of La Petite Bretonne, Sophie Perreault, executive vice-president and chief operating officer at Farm Credit Canada, Jean Fontaine, president and founder of Jefo Nutrition Inc., Émilie Fontaine, marketing director and regulatory affairs of Jefo Nutrition Inc., André Coutu, chief executive officer of the Agri-Food Export Group Quebec-Canada and André Lamontagne Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec.

Jefo Nutrition Inc. Jefo Nutrition Inc. has distinguished itself by its dynamic nature and innovative growth strategies based on long-term trust relationships with its partners. Emilie Fontaine, Jefo’s director of marketing director and regulatory affairs, said “it’s an honour to be recognized by the global agri-food industry sector.” The company markets its products in more than 50 countries through 10 subsidiaries around the world. Fontaine said the company has doubled its exports in the past five years, with the biggest growth being in Asia, the U.S., and the Middle East.

Wendell Estate Honey Inc. Wendell Estate Honey Inc. won the Jury’s Choice Alizé for the excellence of its online trading strategies in Asia, Europe and North America.

Wendell Estate Honey Inc. was founded in 2011 by Tim and Isabel Wendell in Roblin, Man., to allow the family of beekeepers to sell their raw, natural honey all over the world. The Wendell family has been producing honey since the 1930s from their MacNutt Bee Farm in Saskatchewan.

Jeremy Wendell, the company’s business development manager, said the company is “ectastic that the Export Group recognized us” despite being what he calls a “little player” in the export sector. Wendell said the company is proud of the fact that they were the first to create a new market for raw honey in China and receiving recognition for this achievement.

The winners were selected by a panel of recognized experts in the field of agri-food exports. The Alizés Awards highlight the excellence of the work accomplished by Canadian agri-food companies that have distinguished themselves in the international marketplace.

With over 450 members, the Export Group is the largest association of agri-food exporters in Canada. Created in 1990, the association has, over the years, developed several services and initiated hundreds of activities to facilitate market access outside Quebec and internationally for agri-food exporters in Quebec. A privileged link between exporters and markets, an essential bridge between the public sector and industry, the association works daily to increase the presence of Quebec products around the world.

FOODINCANADA.COM

11

MARKET TRENDS Larry Martin

The return of uncertainty Two natural, and one, distinctly unnatural, factors have brought back uncertainty and volatility to the commodity markets.

The natural disasters are excess rain and flooding in the Midwest and African Swine Fever (ASF) in China. The two are related in their uncertainty.

We will likely never know how many Chinese pigs were lost to ASF, but sources estimate as much as 30 to 35 per cent of the herd, which would be approximately 150 per cent of U.S. and Canada’s production combined. ASF has spread to Vietnam and now North Korea. This will have a huge impact on the demand

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

for feed, and potentially, the demand for pork, chicken, turkey, and other meats.

But it will also affect demand for feed by a country who has a large stockpile of corn but, reportedly, is suffering army worms in its current crop.

Excess moisture in the U.S. raises the specter of substantially reduced supply that, along with the usual over reaction of hedge funds to get short, is creating a rally as the shorts try to get out and limit their losses.

My experience is to buy the rumour and sell the fact; when the sun comes out, “flood makes mud” will turn into “rain Like corn, July futures made a key rever-

makes grain.” We’ll see a correction to the overreaction to the upside.

The third factor is the increasingly aberrant resident of the U.S. Whitehouse. The natural disasters will correct themselves. Trump will only be corrected when Republican Senators figure out that he is leading his party and country down a rat hole.

Market Trends is prepared by Dr. Larry Martin, dlm@xplornet.com or 519 841-1698, who offers a course on managing risk with futures and options.

For more information visit agrifoodtraining.com.

Like sugar, these low prices suggest either

sal bottom at $4.18.5 on May 13 topping at

buying hand to mouth with protection above

What drops must rise is the watch phrase of

$5.21.25, currently at $5.25. Resistance is at

$2.67 or $2.95, or protecting above it, or booking

grains: corn and wheat rose $1 in two weeks,

$5.40 and $5.60. We suggested protecting

a bunch forward.

pulling up the rest of the complex. The energy

above $4.82.5. If you did, this may be a good

> Crude oil: July Brent Crude tried in mid-May

complex shows jitters over the unfolding interna-

place to take profits. Whether you did or not,

to reach its April highs, but peaked at $73.40

tional trade climate.

be covered above $5.60.

before dropping to the current $66.03. The

> Grains: Grain and oilseed markets entered week

> Sugar: Sugar bottomed at $.1157 on the July,

drop occurred despite the Organization of the

of May 13 with burdensome domestic supplies,

then rallied to $.1176. That increase is attributed

Petroleum Exporting Countries producing less

ever increasing forecasts of production in Brazil,

to shorts covering because they are getting

oil: Saudi’s increase did not offset Iran’s decrease

Argentina, Western Europe, Russia, Ukraine and

hammered on short grain positions. The world’s

resulting from Trump’s sanctions. Most analysts’

Kazakhstan. This supply mountain loomed over

largest trader, Brazil’s Copersucar, forecasts

say the uncertainty created by the trade war of

a demand side dominated by loss of more pigs in

that some of the excess supply will reduce later

the crazy person in the White House is what’s

China than the U.S. and Canada produce, as well

this year because of reduced production in

behind this as China adds more retaliatory tariffs

as the effects of Trump’s trade war with China.

Brazil and Thailand.

and their manufacturing activity declines.

Funds pounded the complex, especially corn,

The recent low tested last September’s sup-

The market is below the $68.38 we suggested

with record short positions. Then it rained in the

port at $.111 and is just above major support

as the target level of protection. That means

U.S. Corn Belt, and rained, and rained…

from back in 2001: taking a long-term view,

buyers are enjoying lower cash prices. We would

> Corn: By May 28, only 58 per cent of U.S. corn

prices are really low. Has it bottomed, or is

maintain protection at this level.

acres were planted, compared to 90 per cent

there another plunge down?

> Canadian dollar: The loonie drifts lower in

normally. Only 39 per cent emerged, compared

If you think this is the bottom, it makes

an eight-month range between $.77 and $.735,

to 69 per cent normally. Much seeded area is

sense to contract or hedge a bunch right now.

currently at $.7408. Exports continue to be under

underwater, portending reduced yields. Funds

Alternately, resistance is at $.128, which could

attack by China, oil prices are dropping and the

are covering short positions with losses.

be used for target protection while you buy in

last employment report was disappointing. Cur-

the cash market.

rently, the federal government remains between a

$4.38, currently at $4.34. We suggested covering

> Natural gas: Natural gas tried mightily in mid-

rock and a hard place on trade issues largely as a

against $4.03. If you did, this may be a good place

May to penetrate the $2.67 resistance on the

result of its own doing. The crazy guy referred to

to take profits, but be covered against $4.45.

July, noted here last month, couldn’t and now, at

above isn’t helping.

Wheat: U.S. seeding of spring wheat at 84 per

$2.56, it’s testing $2.53 support. The drop was

cent almost caught up to the normal 91 per cent,

driven by the ninth straight week of higher than

but both spring and winter wheat suffer from too

expected US inventories, and a new tariff by

which are now in the money and Sep-

much water and too little sun. Australia again

China on U.S. liquid natural gas. More damage

tember’s $.735’s last month, which are

faces an east coast drought.

caused by the U.S. bull in the China shop!

close. $.73’s are now a good choice.

July futures bottomed at $3.43, then zoomed to

12 JUNE 2019

Commodity buyers should hold Canadian dollars. We suggested $.75’s,

REGULATORY AFFAIRS

Agricultural administrative monetary penalties Gary Gnirrs

O

n May 1, final regulations amending the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations (AAAMPR), were published in Canada Gazette II. AAAMPR have been around since the mid 1990s, but the application of administrative monetary penalties (AMP), to food labelling is new.

May 1 has also seen amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR), modernizing the standard for beer. The new beer rules see the consolidation of beer, ale, stout, porter and malt liquor standards.

The standard now recognizes flavoured beers that are citrus flavoured, which in turn would extend the exemption from including a list of ingredients on its label, something beer currently enjoys, but not unstandardized alcoholic beverages. The trade-off, however, is that beer is no longer exempt from allergen, gluten and sulphite labelling. Labels will need to be brought up to speed by December 14, 2022. That date is not a coincidence, as that is the end of the transition period proposed for frontof-packaging nutrition symbols, the new ingredient and new nutrition labelling rules under the FDR. It looks like CFIA and Health Canada are aligning their regulatory modernization ducks on this date.

AMPs are administrative fines for not complying with the rules within the AAAMPR. The rules in this case would be those under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), which came into effect earlier this year. Typically, monetary penalties (fines), such as those under the Food and Drugs Act (FDA), are applied by the courts after a person is convicted of an offence. For example, under the FDA a person who contravenes the FDA’s or the

FDR’s food laws on a summary conviction could be liable to a fine not exceeding $50,000, and on an indictment to a fine not exceeding $250,000. In the case of an AMP, the CFIA would apply that administratively. This would more than likely result after CFIA first investigates a matter and issues and inspection report. A review at CFIA headquarters might then result in the AMP notice of violation being issued.

The factors that influence the issuance of an AMP most likely will involve the past compliance history of the person, as well as the severity of the violation. As a recourse, a person may request a review of the violation notice by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food or the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal (CART). A decision by the minister can be requested to be reviewed by the CART, whose decisions are also subject to judicial review by the Federal Court of Appeal. AMPs will not replace the possibility of prosecution under the FDA or Safe Food for Canadians Act. AMPs are simply just more efficient and effective for CFIA under the right circumstance.

AMPs can be issued as a warning or with a monetary penalty. Those penalties can range from $500 to $10,000 depending on the seriousness of the violation. In the case of fines of at least $2,000, the CFIA may enter into a compliance agreement with a person where all or part of the fine might be reduced, if that amount is used in support of future compliance. The intent is for the money to be used for financial gain for CFIA, but for companies to invest in their own compliance so that the CFIA does not have to chase the problem repetitively.

The new AMPs applying to the SFCR include many types of violations such

as importing a food that fails to meet a prescribed standard or that might be mistaken for such a food; failing to provide proper import documents; and failing to store food in a prescribed manner. Foods that are labelled in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression, is considered “very serious.” This could include a claim that a food is made without preservatives, when in fact it does contain preservatives. It may also involve creating a false uniqueness even where statements may be factual. For example, a claim that a poultry product is raised without hormones without stating that all similar products are the same. A label that does not bear the required information in the prescribed manner is considered “minor.”

An interesting scenario involves Section 218(1)(c) of the SFCR. That sections speaks to the labelling of foods that must also be labelled with information prescribed by the FDR. The AAAMPR includes Section 218(1)(c) of the SFCR in its schedule of violations as “very serious.” What makes this fascinating is that AMPs cannot be applied to offences under the FDA and FDR. The latter is subject to the Criminal Code of Canada.

However, AMPs can be applied to the SFCR. So, if the SFCR requires labels to include information prescribed by the FDR, that in theory could be subject to AMPs. What does the FDR require? Well that list is long and includes nutrition labelling, ingredient labelling, etc.

CFIA has many compliance tools in its belt, including seizure and detention, suspension and/or cancellation of a licence, a recall order, written warnings, stop orders for activities and a corrective action request.

The new AMP is locked and loaded, ready for action.

Gary Gnirss is a partner and president of Legal Suites Inc., specializing in regulatory software and services. Contact him at president@legalsuites.com

FOODINCANADA.COM

13

BEVERAGE PROCESSOR

Water management in craft breweries needs greater focus — By Jordan Whitehouse —

C

raft beer continues its boom in this country, and there are no signs of it slowing any time soon.

In 2013, there were 380 breweries across Canada. Today there are around 800. That’s a good thing for jobs, tourism and any Canadian wanting something different than a Blue or a Keith’s. But, as one craft brewer put it, there’s a “dirty little secret” associated with this boom that many craft brewers don’t want to talk about: a lot of water gets used and wasted before their beer actually reaches a pint glass.

According to Ontario environmental non-profit the Bloom Centre, a craft brewery with poor conservation policies could equal the water usage of 20,000 residents. Put another way, the average craft brewer uses up to eight litres of water just to make one litre of beer — and some a lot more than that (large brewers like Molson Coors typically use between three and five litres of water per litre of beer).

The bigger problem, however, could be wastewater — i.e. all of the byproducts of the brewing process like hops, yeasts, cleaners and beer itself that go down the drain. If left untreated, that stuff can seriously overwhelm and damage wastewater facilities. It can also cause nutrient pollution, which in turn can lead to large algae blooms and the depletion of water oxygen

14 JUNE 2019

that fish need. When the Bloom Centre started its Water and Beer initiative in 2012 — a program meant to help brewers manage their water and resources — it found that some craft breweries’ wastewater was many times the strength that it should have been.

Baysville, Ont. Lake of Bays Brewing was one of them. When Darren Smith launched the brewery in this tiny Muskoka village in 2010, he wasn’t even thinking about wastewater. “Right when we first opened and were commissioning our production system, we had an incident where we had some beer that we made that we didn’t want to sell to the public. Not knowing any better, we put it right down the drain. That caused some serious issues at the wastewater plant, and so it was an issue on everybody’s radar right from the get-go.”

Smith says they tried a few different stop-gaps over the next few years, but as the brewery grew, so did its wastewater problem. By 2016, the municipality was knocking at the door again, saying they seriously needed to reduce the strength of what they were putting down the drain. And so they did, installing two large underground tanks right beside the brewery that can capture high-strength waste until it’s later trucked offsite. They also installed a flow balancing tank for low-strength discharge that can adjust the strength of that wastewater before it goes to the sewer.

But the biggest thing they did, says Smith, was getting brewery staff to think differently about what they were dumping. “We came up with a little rule of thumb called ‘colour, chunks and acid.’ If what you were about to put down the drain met any of those restrictions, it went to the high-strength drain. If not, it could probably go to the low-strength drain.”

So far, it’s all paid off. Smith says the strength of what’s now being sent to the municipality is 90 per cent lower than what it was. “I think they’re happy with us now.”

The Lake of Bays example is an exception rather than rule, however, as many breweries don’t hear from their municipalities, let alone receive consistent surcharges for straining the system, says a source with in-depth knowledge of the water practices of the craft beer industry who wishes to remain anonymous. “Part of the issue here is that you don’t know what you don’t know if you don’t measure. And you don’t know what you don’t know if someone isn’t knocking on your door telling you that you’re causing issues.”

photo: Instants / Getty Images / Collection: E+

A DIRTY LITTLE

photos: Lake of Bays Brewing

photo: Instants / Getty Images / Collection: E+

So why aren’t more municipalities knocking on those doors?

“Because of the tourism aspects, the economic development,” says the anonymous source. “There’s always this tension within cities and regions and towns between economic development and environmental regulations.”

There is one notable exception, though: Vancouver. The city wants to become the greenest city in the world by 2020, so when commercial water consumption went up by 10 per cent between of Bays Brewing made changes to the way it handled waste and water, 2013 and 2014, something had to be said. And the city said that a Lake including installing two high-strength waste tanks beside the brewery. part of that increase was due to the proliferation of craft breweries.

The hope was that most craft breweries would reduce their water tion by about 75 per cent, and recently they launched consumption to seven litres of water per litre of beer, or less. a program to conserve even more water through the A year later, the city also passed a wastewater bylaw specifically aimed at installation of a new bottle washer, keg-filling line and fermentation operations. It requires every brewery to remove solids from shower heads on their packaging line. their wastewater, as well as monitor and treat wastewater pH, and pay treatEnvironmental stewardship has always been a focus at ment fees depending on their production volume.

Steam Whistle, says VP of marketing Tim McLaughlin, As positive as these announcements were, however, the follow-through has but there’s an economic imperative at work here as well. been questioned by some. Take Luppolo Brewing Company, for example, “It’s something that just makes sense from a business which opened in craft-heavy East Vancouver in 2016. As they went through all standpoint, because those efficiencies in terms of water of the bureaucracy of launching, no one mentioned water efficiency. “There was also help contribute to the bottom line.”

Still, admits McLaughlin, it can be expensive to never any mention of it from any level,” says head brewer and co-owner Ryan Parfitt. “Maybe if you were a large brewery, they’d worry about it. But still, if implement some of these efficiencies, and that’s likely you have 10 or 15 small breweries, that adds up to a lot of water consumption.” another big reason why craft breweries — particularly the small ones — are unable or unwilling to do anything about reducing water consumption or properly treating wastewater.

Part of the issue here is that you don’t know what It doesn’t have to be that way, however, says the anonymous source. “The challenge in the food and bevyou don’t know if you don’t measure erage space is that there are a lot of companies that are selling solutions that deal with the end of the pipe — The same is true on the wastewater side, says Parfitt. “A few times they’ve like putting a treatment system at the end. If you’re not come and taken samples themselves, but I’ve heard nothing. And when they doing anything to make it weaker by improving your were taking those samples, they said to me, ‘We don’t know really what we’re practices, then of course any quote you get to deal with looking for. We’re going to take these samples, look at them all, put them on it is going to be bloody expensive. So I think there’s a a chart or a graph and try to make some decisions as to what our threshold is disconnect right now between some of the service progoing to be for acceptable levels.’ That was two years ago.” viders not either wanting to or not having the time to This hasn’t stopped Parfitt and other breweries in Vancouver from taking understand the nuances of different sectors.”

Couple that with inaction from provincial and water management seriously, however. At Luppolo, they do everything they can to prevent clean water from going down the drain, recovering, for instance, municipal authorities, and it’s a recipe for continued heat exchanger and steam condenser water, and using refractometers instead of inertia, the anonymous source says.

“If the ministries or the municipalities got a little large volume gravity samples, which can waste a lot of water. They’re also looktighter on regulation, in a roundabout way it would ing into other measures like collecting rainwater to use for low-level cleaning.

Outside of Vancouver, some breweries are taking water management seri- actually improve not only the bottom line for a lot ously of their own volition, too (though it should be noted that several brewer- of craft breweries, but it would actually improve their ies with stated water management practices on their websites were contacted footprint. But there’s that bubble of pain for a while, for this story and never responded). Toronto’s Steam Whistle Brewing is one. especially if people kick it down the road and then In 2008, the company installed a new brewhouse that reduced water consump- have to react, as opposed to being proactive.”

FOODINCANADA.COM

15

FOOD LAW

Yes to edibles, not so fast to food companies

photo: Creative-Family / iStock / Getty Images Plus

C

Lewis Retik

onventional food clients regularly ask us about participating in the edible cannabis market. Many expect edibles to become a significant segment of the cannabis industry, and see opportunities to leverage existing resources to expand into edibles. Conventional food companies should be well positioned to innovate in one of the first legal edible markets. For example, a baked goods company may be interested in leveraging its facility for CBD-infused muffins or a beverage company may consider a THCinfused water product.

On December 22, 2018, Health Canada published the Proposed Regulations Amending the Cannabis Regulations Amending (New Classes of Cannabis) and Proposed Order Amending Schedules 3 and 4 of the Cannabis Act (“Proposed Regulations”), taking the first steps toward edible legalization. The proposed regulations are the draft amendments that, if finalized as is, outline how edibles could be formulated, manufactured and sold in Canada. It is important to note that the proposed regulations are subject to change.

Notwithstanding the business opportunities, conventional food companies need to consider a number of hurdles before entering the edibles market. The most obvious hurdle is the requirement for a licence to process cannabis products under the Cannabis Act. This takes time and typically involves a financial investment to pull together the resources required to go through the process. As of writing this article, it seems that Health Canada is in a constant situation of backlog due to an overwhelming number of applications.

Health Canada also recently changed

16 JUNE 2019

its approach to licence reviews. On May 8, 2019, Health Canada emailed licence applicants stating “[e]ffective immediately, Health Canada will require new applicants for cultivation, processing or sale for medical purposes licences to have a fully built site that meets all the requirements of the cannabis regulations at the time of their application, as well as satisfying other application criteria.” This change may limit the number of applicants in queue and therefore reduce the backlog; however, it could also have a detrimental effect to viable applicants. Specifically, if a company must build a facility before it is licenced, the facility is unlikely to generate revenue during the licensing process. At this time, it is unclear how much this change will impact licence application times and therefore how long such facilities are likely to remain unproductive.

Another financially challenging situation is that if the Proposed Regulations are adopted without change, companies could not manufacture cannabis edibles within the same building as a conventional food.

The proposed requirement for a separate building in effect requires a conventional food company to invest into significant duplication of its resources to produce cannabis edibles. This restricts existing licenced cultivators from working with many food companies simply unwilling or unable to re-allocate resources to such a new facility.

Health Canada’s requirement for a separate building is intended to ensure cannabis doesn’t mistakenly enter the conventional food supply. Presumably, if cannabis is not in a building that manufactures conventional foods, then errors would not be possible. However, there may be reasonable alternatives that could mitigate this risk. If

The proposed regulations do not seem to consider anything but the most extreme approach to cross contamination prevention cannabis edibles were manufactured in a secure and separately contained area from conventional foods, then presumably it could have a comparable effect on the prevention of cross-contamination — without a separate building. Another approach could be the permissibility of manufacturing both conventional food and edibles in the same location, but never at the same time, with additional security and protocols.

In short, the proposed regulations do not seem to consider anything but the most extreme approach to cross contamination prevention, nor the compounding effect of having to build such a facility prior to applying for a licence. Building a new facility is expensive, time consuming, and could carry serious financial risk. Creating such a barrier for conventional food companies to participate in this new industry could mitigate economic opportunities for Canadians as a whole. While everyone wants to keep the health and safety of Canadians as a priority, the question that Health Canada should consider is whether there are other, less restrictive approaches that can achieve this goal in a manner that better supports Canadian businesses.

Lewis Retik is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office, practising primarily in the area of corporate commercial and regulatory law.

Contact him at lewis.retik@gowlingwlg.com

FOCUS ON FOOD SAFETY

CFIA’s establishment-based risk assessment model

I

Ron Wasik

recently attended a B.C. Food Protection Association event on tthe subject of assessing food safety risks across the entire food supply chain. One of the speakers was Dr. Manon Racicot from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) who spoke about a project launched by the CFIA back in 2013 to develop a model for CFIA inspectors to prioritize and schedule their inspections. Dr. Racicot has been, and still is, one of the senior contributors to the project. Many food-safety veterans in attendance that evening, myself included, were totally unaware that the CFIA had commissioned this project and that it has been field testing the model for some time. Here are some highlights about the CFIA’s Establishment-based Risk Assessment model (ERA) that may be of interest to readers.

Rationale for the ERA The Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations have added thousands of additional establishments that need to be inspected by the CFIA. Given its limited financial and inspection resources, the CFIA developed the ERA-Food model in an attempt to quantify the risk within various food sectors to help it allocate inspection staff to sectors of higher risk and those establishments therein.

ERA model concept After extensive literature research and studying what other countries like France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand are using to assess foodsafety risk, the CFIA (in collaboration with

academia, PHAC and HC with a scientific chief from the Université de Montréal, Dr. Sylvain Quessy) decided to use the concept of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) as a measure or unit of food-safety risk. A DALY “is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the cumulative number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death” and is the total of “Years Lived with Disability and Years of Life Lost.”

The developers then took Canadian food illness data associated with 18 pathogens, converted the data into DALYs and then attributed the burden to 14 food sectors including beef, pork, poultry, game, deli and other meats, lamb and goat, dairy, fish, produce, eggs, honey, beverages, bread and all other foods. The analysis showed that products from fruits-and-vegetables, poultry and beef sectors contributed the highest foodsafety risk to consumers.

ERA model risk factors The next task that faced developers was to assess the food safety risk of the various activities that occur within establishments. The model includes “inherent risk factors,” “mitigation factors” and “compliance factors.”

Inherent risk factors include the type of operation, commodity, types of products, volume, processing steps and the intended consumer. Mitigation factors include the firm’s food safety program, international scheme cerification, third party audits, etc. Compliance factors include inspection results, history of enforcement actions, recalls and confirmed food-safety complaints. Inherent and mitigation fac-

tors are collected through My CFIA when requesting a licence.

Canadian experts determined the relative risk (weighting) of each risk factor.

The ERA model issues three results for each establishment: inherent risk results, mitigated risk (considering inherent and mitigation factors) and final risk (adding compliance data into the calculation).

The results from the above analysis were then used to develop a risk-based inspection frequency model that could be used by the CFIA to allocate inspection resources. There was extensive consultation with different commodity sectors for the pilot projects and national data collection for the model.

ERA’s current status Pilot and performance assessments have been completed for dairy, meat/poultry, maple, fish, honey and egg sectors with fruit-and-vegetables to start in June 2019.

Following national data collection in different sectors, the ERA results are now being used to prioritize inspection in the dairy and maple sectors. Other sectors will follow shortly.

Final words As conceived, the CFIA ERA is a good tool but it appears to be more applicable to larger versus small-medium enterprises.

The inclusion of third party audits and GFSI certification as mitigating factors is at odds with the USFDA, as these programs have not reduced food recalls in the U.S. However, the CFIA considers these mitigation factors as one of the indicators for assessing management commitment towards food safety.

For more information, search the web for “CFIA Establishment-based Risk Assessment.”

Dr. R.J. (Ron) Wasik, PhD, MBA, CFS, is president of RJW Consulting Canada Ltd. Contact him at rwasik@rjwconsultingcanada.com

FOODINCANADA.COM

17

INGREDIENTS

Keeping up with

the demand

18 JUNE 2019

Companies are developing plant-based food products to keep up with consumer demands, but they also see opportunities in developing co-products and extraction technologies — By Ellen Goodman —

attended a one-day technical seminar on plant-based ingredients and applications with a focus on plant protein, hosted by the Food Development Centre (FDC) in Portage la Prairie, Man. Co-sponsored by the National Research Council’s (NRC) Industrial Research Assistance Program, presentations from industry experts included opportunities in developing plant ingredients and co-products, extraction technologies, evaluation of plant protein functionality and quality, food applications, and regulations governing development of plant-based protein products.

“This is a sign of what is happening as companies are really aware of the opportunity,” says Robin Young, CEO of the Food Development Centre.

“They are also trying to figure out the technology they should be investing in, what type of innovation. And as a Centre we really want to play a role before they make big capital investments. They can flesh out those ideas, see what is actually working and what’s economically feasible.”

She says a contribution agreement allows NRC clients to have access to FDC services where the NRC also covers a portion of costs for project work.

The recent session came about in part because the NRC has shown interest in providing companies more information on what the FDC and other centres across Canada have to offer.

“We’re seeing a lot of demand, looking not just at protein, but for plant-based ingredients, extraction, application, and functionality,” says Young, adding that the FDC also works in partnership with the University of Manitoba. “There’s a lot of infrastructure and knowledge for clients to access here in Manitoba.”

green pea photo: Sanny11 / iStock / Getty Images Plus • canola photo: Tsekhmister / iStock / Getty Images Plus

A

s consumer trends in Canada and the U.S. show a growing preference for natural, sustainable and nutritional food sources, especially among women and younger people, more processors are realizing this translates into new opportunities for manufacturing plant-based ingredients and incorporating them into food and health products.

Ontario-based Maple Leaf Foods, for example, is investing big in meat alternatives, doubling its capacity to meet demand for plant-based protein products with its recent announcement for a new $310-million U.S. facility. And it was recently announced that the Beyond Meat burger was broadening its market reach as it was headed from A&W popularity to Canadian grocery stores.

According to preliminary findings from one study released last fall by Dalhousie University, “Plantbased dieting and meat attachment: Protein wars and the changing Canadian consumer,” 6.4 million Canadians limit their meat consumption, a number expected to grow, and that younger and more educated respondents are more likely to want plant-based alternatives. For companies, such market information marks the beginning of potential opportunity but the path to commercialization of products also requires an understanding of the proper tools and technology involved in optimal processing of plant ingredients.

In March, about 100 representatives from food processing companies, agri-science companies, research centres, universities and government

The FDC focus on protein in ingredient development is partly due to the province’s recently announced Manitoba Protein Advantage Strategy for economic investment into long-term sustainable development of both the plant and animal protein sectors, she says. The FDC aims to undertake work in innovation that’s required to explore new opportunities and to increase opportunities for producers, processors and users of new ingredients.

“When you think of the landscape of Manitoba and our agriculture, it’s a good opportunity for both sides that plant-based is coming up. Meat is still going to be there, and how do we look at our crops differently. We’ve been saying for years that we wanted a more value-added strategy.”

In addition, the newer federally funded Protein Industries Canada initiative features a supercluster concentrating on plant-based opportunities, potentially acting as a larger voice on behalf of industry. ”We work with both plant and animal proteins at the Centre but are aware that the plant-based side is requiring a lot of innovation at this point,” Young says. “We (in Canada) typically sell commodities and this is a shift to add more value in ways of looking at extraction and applications.”

The seminar was intended to showcase work that needs to be done in all areas, she says, noting that companies should be aware that equipment and technology providers are available to them. The FDC also needs to work together with industry in selecting the right equipment for its clients.

Although commercialization of a product is a goal, it isn’t based on success with one high-value ingredient, but also for co-products.

“You have to consider co-products like starch, fibre, oils, or whatever else is left over,” Young says. “Companies need to have an end use for all of the components that come out of extraction technology. Economically, you might have a high-value oil but if you have a starch left it’s important that businesses have an opportunity to capture value from that as well. We want to help them through those challenges.”

She says the FDC has also been trying to “think outside the box,” reaching out to plant-based material users for non-food purposes to look at where they might use starch or other left over products. “We want to make sure the whole industry is talking and understanding the needs and demands of one another in the value chain.”

In addition, processors should be prepared for delays in commercialization of plant-based products. “When you create a new ingredient there are regulations that require you to prove it meets such requirements as digestibility and viability.

So there are reasons some of this can take time. As part of our role in the Department of Agriculture we are trying to communicate there’s not only the technical challenge of getting at a functional ingredient that’s going to perform.”

Currently there is more of a focus on larger volume crops like yellow peas and canola, Young says, and more to explore as far as lower acreage or specialty crops.

Other areas for further investigation include water usage required in processing as well as any allergen issues.

“The market is growing so fast there’s room for other alternatives.

Consumers are looking for alternatives. So there’s lots of opportunity with plant-based ingredients and a reason to get past any hurdles.”

Equipment, ingredients and co-products key The value of agricultural production increased from $57 billion in 2015 to $112 billion in 2017 and, along with support from provincial and federal governments, means this is an exciting time for potential growth in ingredient processing and product manufacturing in Canada, according to Dr. Rick Green, president of Intellectual Capital Generation with Keyleaf Life Sciences (formerly POS Bio-Sciences) in Saskatoon.

Green was one of a dozen speakers at the seminar and focused on a broad theme of opportunities in developing plant ingredients and co-products.

POS, which started in 1977 as a fee-for-service facility for ingredient development from concept to pilot scale, was recently rebranded into Keyleaf, now a private enterprise specializing in plant-based ingredient commercialization. KeyLeaf no longer offers the same services as POS, but still works with some companies and plans to collaborate with local businesses and food development centres to make equipment available off-site for process development.

Consumer trends, particularly with millennials, show a desire for natural ingredients, clean label and sustainable production, Green says. A preference for healthy foods that includes low fat, no-trans fat,

We’re seeing a lot of demand, looking not just at protein, but for plant-based ingredients, extraction, application, and functionality

Products from oilseeds such as canola range from health and cooking uses to industrial oils, and co-products are as varied in food and feed applications

FOODINCANADA.COM

19

INGREDIENTS

20 JUNE 2019

“A pea protein isolate (protein with high purity) from one company may be a little different than from another company.

And that’s because of the function of the integrated process they put together.”

Green explains this integrated process involves more than just one or two ingredients when a seed is taken apart during processing; it is important to understand what potential it contains along with the markets for its components.

“Basically you have your raw material, raw seed, and you take it to a processing plant to produce that ingredient like a powdered protein,” he says.

“But what more can you get from that? If you’re a pulse and cereal processor, and you are processing proteins you’re obviously in the starch business as well.

So these co-products are other ingredients and let’s try to maximize their value.”

In addition to starches and modified starches for food and industrial uses, co-products include soluble and insoluble fibre and bran for functional foods and natural health products, anti-oxidants and phytochemicals from hulls, and seed/germ oil that has different fatty acid composition and flavours. These may be applied in different ways to meat analogues, baked goods, beverages, pasta, dairy alternatives, nutrient bars and extruded snacks and cereals. Products from oilseeds such as canola, for example, range from health and cooking uses to industrial oils, and co-products are as varied in food and feed applications.

He also points out that if a protein, starch, fraction or fibre co-product is not cost-effective, it will take away from the financial end of a business.

Looking at economy of scale it might work better for a larger production or there may be value in aligning with other companies that can transform that value into a commercial product.

“Overall, a co-product can increase the economic viability of a process.

In Western Canada we’re very fortunate, we have this land, the great crops and the farmers. Pulses are really big and a driver behind the whole protein industry we’re talking about developing here.”

New opportunities may also exist with other crops such as fruits and vegetables and also high-value herbs and spices that may be produced on smaller farms, Green says.

“Food centres throughout Canada do a wonderful job,” he adds. “They can develop prototypes. It’s one thing to take the ingredient and say we did functionality testing, which are physical chemical tests, and that we’ve got a good emulsifier here. You need to demonstrate it. And that’s where food centres and product development divisions come in. The buyer wants to see it to believe it and you can show them the ingredient works.”

photo: Karisssa / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Omega-3, reduced sodium, nutrient dense and high fibre is providing opportunities for plant ingredients and co-products. These include designer oils, bioactive extracts, fibre, phytosterols, nutritional lipids, probiotics, prebiotics, and alternative sources of protein.

“I learned in school about food additives but now we are talking about plant proteins that can do some of this,” he says. “Protein and protein fractions, or peptides, for example, are being associated with mediating systems for health and wellness benefits.

“We don’t say we are in the food industry, but in the health and wellness industry. People are getting more than basic nutrition from food and they are looking for the health and wellness aspect.”

Plant protein has extensive potential in foods and nutraceuticals, not only improving nutritional value but also can be used for emulsification, aeration, foaming, gelation, protection from oxidation (in microcapsules, for example), viscosity, water holding capacity, texture modification, and elasticity in baked goods.

Green emphasizes the importance of looking beyond the main ingredients to recognize the value of co-products and understanding the right equipment for processing. “The equipment that you select is not only to increase yield but the quality of the product, like your protein for example, and also your other products.

It’s very important for equipment selection, and to know the nuances of each equipment manufacturer.”

He outlined various plant protein processing technologies and highlighted value-added opportunities for various components. Processes include dry milling and air classification, wet processing (extraction and isolation), fractionation and protein hydrolysis for higher value ingredients.

“We have to decide whether it’s a wet or dry processing approach, and there’s maybe solid processing that’s more detailed the further on you go down the line,” Green says.

“What type of ingredient do you want to process and (what are the) co-products? The processing line for each ingredient must be economically viable.”

Processors should be aware that with the range of commercial protein products from oilseeds, cereals and pulses, comes high variability in function and performance, depending on the process, equipment, processing conditions and seed source. “A pea protein isolate (protein with high purity) from one company may be a little different than from another company.

And that’s because of the function of the integrated process they put together.”

RECIPE TO RETAIL

Curbing deceptive marketing

photo: ©2019 Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

C

Birgit Blain

onsumers don’t like to be manipulated, but brands manipulate us all the time.

Case in point, a can of Canada Dry Ginger Ale highlights “Made from Real Ginger,” but “ginger” is nowhere to be found in the ingredient list, only “natural flavours.” As a consequence, consumers filed lawsuits to hold the brand accountable for false advertising.

It is a marketer’s job to influence consumers to buy a product. Some marketers will go to any lengths; twisting words, stretching the truth or outright lying. Not only is that deceptive marketing, it’s unethical and illegal. “Deceptive” is defined as “causing [a person] to believe what is not true, or fail to believe what is true.”

Health Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations exist to “help Canadians make healthy and informed choices about the foods they buy and eat.” The legislation applies to pre-packaged foods distributed by retail stores, restaurants, other foodservice establishments and airlines. Free samples must have compliant labelling too.

Legal requirements also extend to advertising, which includes websites, social media, store flyers and signage, all media and promotional vehicles.

The overarching rule is that food labelling and advertising must be “truthful and not misleading.” This opens up a big can of worms for food marketers.

What are claims?

Health Canada regulates at least 10 types of claims, including health, nutrient content, nutrient function, disease risk reduction, negative (free-from), functional, composition, comparative, method of production and quality.

Being able to navigate and understand

the complex regulations requires a high level of expertise.

Product features and benefits in marketing copy are often considered “claims.”

Just about anything you say about a product could be a claim. Even images can imply a claim and mislead consumers.

The overarching rule is that food labelling and advertising must be “truthful and not misleading.” This opens up a big can of worms for food marketers Questionable marketing lingo Here is a list of commonly used statements that are problematic: »» “Natural” claims are ubiquitous but the regulations spell out specific conditions. »» “Gluten-free” is a particularly risky claim. Products must meet regulatory requirements and manufacturers need GMPs and preventive controls. »» “Better” implies a product is being compared with another and requires an explanation. »» “Canadian” means a product’s processing, labour and more than 98 per cent of the ingredients are of Canadian origin. “Made in Canada” requires a qualifying statement. And the Canadian flag cannot be used without government permission. »» Organic statements such as “Made with organic ingredients,” “100% organic (product name)” and “Certified Organic” are not permitted.

»» “All the energy to get you through to the next meal” is misleading and unacceptable. »» Cereal is not considered a complete breakfast and should not be promoted as such. »» “Breakfast bar/cookie/drink” suggests the product is a meal replacement for breakfast. Therefore it must meet Health Canada’s nutrient requirements for a meal. »» “Tonic” cannot be used as a descriptive term for a food product. »» Some brands use celebrity testimonials or quote articles that tout health benefits. That too is a no-no, unless the statement complies with regulations.

The solution My company tackles this challenge as part of our copywriting process, ensuring that marketing copy we create complies with food labelling regulations.

The truth will prevail and truth is based on facts. Use it as your yardstick, and have marketing copy reviewed by a regulatory specialist. Ignorance of the law is no defense.

Lots of brands circumvent the rules, making all kinds of non-compliant claims. If the CFIA doesn’t step in, consumers who feel deceived will.

As a packaged foods consultant, Birgit Blain helps food brands comply with regulations.

Her experience includes 17 years with Loblaw Brands and President’s Choice®. Contact her at Birgit@BBandAssoc.com or learn more at www.BBandAssoc.com

FOODINCANADA.COM

21

RETHINKING INNOVATION

Bold action required

Canada’s food and beverage processors urgently need a national ecosystem Superfund for scale-up, research and innovation Peter Henderson

T

he request for a Superfund for food and beverage processors is not new. It was proposed before the last federal election to help support what has been reported as Canada’s largest manufacturing sector by GDP, employment and shipments. Despite early indications of “action,” the Superfund concept has largely fallen through the cracks, likely inadvertently, despite reasonable efforts by the food and beverage processing industry to inform on the structure and size requirements of such a wise investment.

As the Minister of Innovation Navdeep Bains expressed on May 29 during innovation week, transformation is impacting everyone, and “we need bold action.”

But bold commitments and bold action can’t begin without a bold understanding.

It’s important to understand why a Superfund for food and beverage processors has not evolved. Is it wrong or competing voices being heard; dysfunction within government; greater complexities due in part to the climate crisis; weak lobbying efforts? The list of questions can go on, and it should be fully explored.

Possible reasons: • The federal government’s intention, and that of the Economic Strategy Table advisory board, was superclusters would serve the needs of food and beverage processors (can Canada afford to wait for the roll out of more superclusters?).

• Canada’s food and beverage processing sector doesn’t fit neatly in agriculture, agri-food or advanced manufacturing, and government innovation programming experts can’t figure out how to decouple food and beverage processing from agriculture, it should be partially decoupled as Quebec has done.

• The internal government definition and metrics for “research and innovation” don’t fit the needs of the food and beverage processor sector. Ninety per cent of which are small and medium enterprises

22 JUNE 2019

with less than 100 employees, which need help with scaling up.

• The federal government see it as provincial jurisdiction, which is historically partially true, however, times have changed, and Canada would benefit from a new approach.

• Government can’t figure out how to make a splashy announcement as they could for the auto, aerospace, health, or digital industry (that can’t be that difficult).

• The fragmented nature of the food and beverage processing industry and its various trade associations. Yes this is a problem for industry, yet it doesn’t absolve the federal government of its governance responsibility.

• Federal government experts are getting conflicting advice.

• The threat of food security is not large enough.

The food and beverage processing industry is caught in the middle of dysfunction and global transformations, with immense pressure on margins. Food and beverage processing and related food ecosystems can be harmed disproportionately and immeasurably if Canada plays a waiting game while seeking to understand, and/or pondering the merits of making a very large strategic fund in support healthy and competitive food and beverage processing.

Canada, let’s come together to boldly ‘collaborate and innovate’ how Canada can best support food and beverage processors of all sizes: to invest in automating; scaling-up; developing the right healthy new products and environmentally responsible processes and packaging; attracting and retaining skilled labour/ talent; be a part of Canada’s brand; and so on!

Peter Henderson is president of Ideovation Inc., a breakthrough innovation and strategy design consultancy.

Contact him at phenderson@ideovation.com, or follow him on Twitter @ideovation.com or Linkedin.

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PROCESSOR PROFILE

PROTECTING THE BOTTOM LINE Martin Joyal has steered Yourbarfactory’s expansion in the past 15 years

ph ot o:

Yo u

rb

ar fa ct or

y

— By Mark Cardwell —

24 JUNE 2019

was a good call for the other 40 people who were still here. It’s my job to protect the bottom line because if we don’t have any more money we can’t keep bringing happiness and growth.”

Joyal says he learned and developed those core business lessons during his short but dynamic career working for other companies in the food and retail industries.

It started with a bang when Joyal, a native of Drummondville, Que., studied finance at the Université de Sherbrooke, and took a job with c-store chain Couche Tard after graduating in 1993.

FOODINCANADA.COM

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photo: p_saranya / iStock / Getty Images Plus

M

artin Joyal has come up with a new job title for himself at his food manufacturing company near Montreal. “It’s not on my business card yet but I’m going to call myself the growth, happiness and continuity manager,” says Joyal, owner and operator of Yourbarfactory, a leader in the production of allergen-free bars.

For Joyal, the title neatly captures the things he values and credits most for the success of the business he bought in 2001.

Back then, it was named Rapid Snack and was making around a million marshmallow squares that were sold as knockoff brands at local canteens and convenience stores.

Eighteen years, 30 per cent annual growth and one name change later, the company is now making more than 50 million nonallergen bars a year for private labels in 10 countries, including Canada and the United States.

That production is expected to double at Yourbarfactory’s new $15-million, LEED-certified facility the company moved to in January in the off-island Montreal suburb of Chateauguay.

It is there that Joyal puts into practice the particular style of manage­­ment that will soon be spelled out on his business card, which is aimed at spurring growth, keeping employees happy and protecting the life of the enterprise.

“The business has to grow all the time, to give people new challenges,” says Joyal. “When you’re growing it’s a lot easier than when you’re not.”

Growth, he adds, is only possible when employees are happy in the workplace. That’s why Joyal makes happiness an overarching aim and focus for his business’s 75 employees — a workforce that will soon double along with production — and five student interns.

“If you’re not happy find another job,” Joyal says pointedly.

“If not, it’s going to be painful to work with you.” He notably uses a colour code to gauge employees humour and happiness.

“Every week every member of the team is asked, ‘Are you green, yellow or orange or red?’” explains Joyal. “If you’re red, we can dig deeper, get people to help you. You can be yellow, but if you’re red you’re like a bad apple for the others around you.”

Joyal’s third new job title reflects his being ready and willing to protect the company’s bottom line. Sometimes that means making difficult decisions, like the time several years ago when he let go 20 per cent of his workforce during a corporate and brand makeover.

“That obviously wasn’t much fun for the employees who lost their jobs,” says Joyal. “But the decision helped the business survive so it

Are you green, yellow or orange or red?

“If you’re not happy find another job,” Joyal says pointedly. “If not, it’s going to be painful to work with you.”

He notably uses a colour code to gauge employees humour and happiness “It wasn’t really what I wanted to do but the job market was hard so I took the job,” recalls Joyal.

“It turned out to be a good school with a very entrepreneurial style of management.”

Joyal spent five years with Couche Tard, which then had 120 stores across Quebec. Since then, company founder Alain Bouchard has built it into a multinational behemoth with 15,000 stores.

Joyal worked his way up to regional manager in charge of 12 stores and 70 employees, as well as purchasing and category manager. “I was given a lot of responsibility,” he recalls. “It was like, ‘Okay, you’ve got the key, make it work.’ I’ve kept the same spirit and I use the same approach here in my business.”

“Everybody here is responsible for something, we really turn on that,” adds Joyal. “Everyone knows the principal role for which they are responsible in the organization. That goes from the person at the reception desk, who is responsible for first impressions and brand image, to the people responsible for the plant’s cleanliness and starting on time. That’s a lot more true and motivating than just being called a cleaner.

“And we tell people, if you don’t know what to do, make a decision. We like to say that if you make two good decisions out of every three, then we’ve taken a step forward — but the bad decision, don’t do it again. Learn by your mistakes.

“If you say you’re going to do something, do it.

We’re pretty intolerant about people who don’t. We prefer people who take action and make mistakes to people who don’t do anything.”

26 JUNE 2019

After Couche Tard, Joyal spent two years with Provigo/Maxi, which Loblaw’s had just acquired, where he worked as bakery purchasing manager for the Quebec-wide chain. “We were buying $100 million a year in product,” says Joyal. “I learned a lot about the retail food industry and got to know a lot of people in the business.”

Joyal left in 1999 to join Humpty Dumpty as Quebec sales manager. But just two years later he decided to strike out on his own and buy Fast Snack, which was almost bankrupt and available.

“By then I knew pretty much everything about being in business, except as an owner,” says Joyal. “I was always acting as an entrepreneur for others so I decided to do it for myself. I walked the walk.”

The company was housed in a 30,000-square-foot plant in the south-west Montreal borough of Lasalle. When he bought it in 2001 — the same year he and his wife had the first of their two now-teenage girls — Joyal also bought a car and a house nearby.

“It was a big move,” he says. “But I was confident because I know how to manage people, how to negotiate and sell and to talk to bankers. And the factory was easy to understand. I mean, the product they were making only had four ingredients: marshmallows, margarine, Rice Krispies and high-fructose syrup.”

Aware of growing public awareness and consumer interest in healthier eating, Joyal soon began modifying his business’s staple product and producing new ones that were free of fat, trans fat and allergens.

“We were the first peanut-free private label that Walmart accepted,” Joyal says. “Being allergen free has always been our niche. We never do any projects that involve peanuts or almonds or nuts of any kind.”

In 2007 the company started filling orders for private-label grain and cereal bars that were sold across Canada and then in the U.S., two countries that continue to account for 80 per cent of company sales.

Joyal later rebranded and re-baptized the company Yourbarfactory, a name he says is also a statement about the company’s desire to work closely with its customers, which include top-flight North American brands and food retailers, to develop the best possible non-allergen snack products.

“We follow opportunities but we stage gate every one,” says Joyal. “Almost all of our customers are repeat business. Sometimes we do other projects, but must be a good match for us. We have to create things that are delicious but that fall within our parameters. We are known as the allergen-free experts.”

Joyal says Yourbarfactory produces some two dozen new flavour families of bars every year and considers up to 40 new leads a month. The company, he adds, is recognized for being innovative, particularly the award-winning recipe development work of its four-member R&D team of food scientists.

Joyal also continues to sell shares in the company to a handful of senior managers who are now his partners, though he remains the majority owner.

“People are more involved if they’re invested,” he says.

Joyal says his main tasks these days at the new company plant in Chateauguay’s industrial park revolve around his new job titles.

“Sometimes I’m the cheerleader or the motivator, other times I help in production or take out the garbage,” he says. “I’m trying to give as much responsibility as possible to the people who do the job. I’m giving them the tools to be more productive rather than telling them what to do.”

photo: undefined undefined / iStock / Getty Images Plus

PROCESSOR PROFILE

JUNE 2019

MY DOG IS

VEGAN, JUST LIKE ME A LOOK AT THE GROWING INTEREST IN VEGAN DIETS FOR DOGS PG.31

PET PR OD WITH C UCTS BD

RE SE A POSITIV RCH SHOW S E RE SU DOG S WITH E LTS FOR PILEPS Y

PG.33

damedeeso / iStock / Getty Images Plus

PLUS

HIGH LEVELS OF POTENTIALLY HARMFUL BACTERIA IN RAW DOG FOOD DIETS PG.28

Cutting the metal tax on pet food cans The United States has agreed to end metal tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico and Canada. Both metals are used in the production of pet food containers.

Fifty per cent of U.S. pet food exports goes to Mexico and Canada, which is an increase from 38 per cent in 1993. President Donald Trump enforced tariffs of 25 per cent on

Pet food industry news

Study shows owners interested in plant-based diets for pets A study from the University of Guelph found that 35 per cent of pet owners are interested in feeding their furry friends a plant-based diet. An online survey was conducted of 3,673 dog and cat owners from around the world to learn about what kinds of foods they fed their pets and themselves.

The survey found that 35 per cent of owners whose pets ate conventional diets were interested in switching their animals to a vegan diet. Fifty-five per cent added that certain requirements needed to be met before they would make the switch.

Those requirements included needing further evidence that a plant-based diet would meet their pets’ nutritional needs, wanting approval from their veterinarians

IN BRIEF > Fredericton-based Corey Pet Nutrition has entered a five-year partnership with Chinese company Dogness International Corporation to have its products distributed in China. The deal includes five-year extensions up to 20 years and will see Dogness distribute Corey Pet Nutrition’s Corey North Paw brand throughout China. > Freshpet Inc. was awarded the Pets and Supplies Supplier of the Year Award 2019 by Walmart, and was amongst the top five companies in the overall Consumables category. > V-planet, the international arm of San Francisco-based v-dog, producers of 100 per cent vegan dog food, is now available in Israel through the online store Vegpet.

V-planet has been available in Canada and in Australia since 2018 and the company plans to expand into more countries. > Symrise has signed a purchase agreement with the owners of ADF/ IDF, a leading natural nutrition ingredient provider for pet food, regarding the acquisition of their business. ADF/IDF is a pioneer in clean label meat and egg-based taste and nutrition ingredients.

With the acquisition, Symrise aims to broaden its activities in the fast growing pet food business and to expand its position in the food nutrition market.

28 JUNE 2019

Left photo: miriam-doerr / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Barks&bites

and wanting plant-based pet foods to be easily available.

Just under six per cent of the survey respondents were vegan and more than a quarter (27 per cent) of them reported they already fed their pets plant-based diets.

Among the rest of the vegans, a full 78 per cent were interested in helping their pets switch to a plant-based diet if one were available that met their needs.

“That percentage, 27 per cent, might sound like a small number, but when you think of the actual numbers of pets involved, that’s huge, and much higher than we expected,” said lead author Sarah Dodd.

In total, 1.6 per cent of the 2,940 dogs in the survey and 0.7 per cent of the 1,545 cats were being fed a strictly plant-based diet; only vegans and one vegetarian chose to exclusively feed plant-based diets.

Another 10.4 per cent of the dogs and 3.3 per cent of cats were intermittently fed vegetarian diets or plant-based foods.

Of the 3,673 pet owners surveyed, six per cent were vegetarian, four per cent were pescatarian, and nearly six per cent were vegan.

Previous studies have also shown that pet owners tend to offer the same kind of diets to their dogs and cats that they adopt for themselves.

Top photo; eatcute / iStock / Getty Images Plus

steel and 10 per cent on aluminum on June 1, 2018.

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BARKS&BITES

High levels of potentially harmful bacteria found in raw meat dog food products: study Many raw meat dog food products contain high levels of bacteria that pose potential health risks to both animals and people, European research published online in Vet Record shows.

Researchers took samples from 60 packs of raw meat products, bought from a range of stores within a 200 km radius of their laboratory between March and September 2017.

The products, which were all intended for dogs, contained at least one of: uncooked meat; and edible bones and/ or organs from cattle, chicken, lamb, turkeys, pigs, ducks, reindeer or salmon.

Some of the products also included vegetables, vegetable fibre, and minerals.

All the products, made by 10 different manufacturers, originated from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany or England.

photo: glenkar / iStock / Getty Images Plus

“So, while only a small proportion of pet owners are currently feeding plant-based diets to their pets, it is safe to say that interest in the diets is likely to grow,” said Dodd.

The samples were analyzed for bacteria that could potentially pose a health risk to animals and people: Enterobacteriaceae species; Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella and Campylobacter species.

All 60 samples contained Enterobacteriaceae species, which are indicators of faecal contamination and hygiene standards. Levels varied widely among

NEW PRODUCTS > Dixie Brands Inc., a leading consumer packaged goods companies, has announced that its pet wellness subsidiary Therabis LLC is entering the feline market with hemp-based soft chews designed to promote stress relief. “Calm and Quiet”TM soft chew treats will be Therabis’ first product for cats, building upon its successful line of hemp-based treats and food toppers for dogs.

Calm and Quiet includes cannabidiol (CBD) and other natural ingredients such as L-theanine and L-taurine. Therabis has filed for a U.S. patent relating to its unique formulation which was first used in canine products in 2016.

> Phivida Holdings Inc., a producer of CBD/Active Hemp Extract infused functional beverages and health supplements, has announced that it intends to introduce a range of hemp-derived CBD pet products.

The company says that initially, the new product range will consist of tinctures in three concentrations formulated for small, medium and large pets as well as an oral spray.

30 JUNE 2019

the different manufacturers, and in some cases, among the different products from the same manufacturer.

But 31 (52 per cent) of the samples contained levels that exceeded the maximum threshold set by European Union (EU) regulations of 5,000 bacteria per gram. Most of the species identified are not known to cause infection, apart from E. coli, which was found in about a third of the samples.

C perfringens was found in 18 samples (30 per cent); two of the samples exceeded the maximum limits set by Swedish guidelines. Salmonella species were found in four (seven per cent) of the 60 samples, while Campylobacter species were found in three samples from three different manufacturers. This is a relatively low level, but possibly because Campylobacter species are very sensitive to freezing, say the researchers.

The findings prompt the researchers to highlight the importance of careful storage, handling, and feeding of raw meat dog food products because of the potential health risks they pose.

MY DOG IS

VEGAN, JUST LIKE ME

A look at the growing interest in vegan diets for Canadian canines — By Treena Hein —

Top photo: vecado.ca

I

t’s a different food landscape out there than it was even five years ago — for humans and their pets. The number of vegan products now available for humans grows each week, and interest in vegan pet food has also never been higher.

A new study from the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College gauges this interest. Lead author and PhD candidate Sarah Dodd and her colleagues here and in New Zealand recently conducted an online survey of over 3,600 dog and cat owners from around the world, and found that about a third of those who feed their pets conventional diets were interested in switching them to a vegan diet. However, more than half of those participants (55 per cent) put qualifiers on actually making the switch. To do so, they said they would need further evidence that a plant-based diet would meet their pets’ nutritional needs, and want both approval from their veterinarians and an easily-available vegan pet food.

“Our findings suggest that around half of all pet parents had concerns regarding animal products in pet food, regardless of their own diet, with concern for animal welfare being the highest,” says Dodds. “If plant-based diets were well-researched and commonly accepted as being healthy options for dogs and cats, instead of being the alternative and unconventional diets they presently are, I believe it is quite likely that there would be much wider acceptance.”

The stance of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association towards vegan diets is quite cautious. The organization highly recommends that pet owners who wish to feed their pets alternative diets to consult a veterinarian to ensure it is a nutrition plan based on optimal

health for the animal and that Canadian veterinarians consult with a certified veterinary nutritionist before recommending alternative diets for the long term.

Similarly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also continues to recommend that pet owners only make changes in their pets’ diets in consultation with a licensed veterinary professional. After receiving reports about a problem, the agency is currently investigating a potential link between canine heart disease and dog foods which have peas, lentils, other legumes or potatoes as main ingredients. The FDA states that these reported cases of the disease are highly unusual in that they involve incidences in breeds not typically genetically prone to having canine heart disease.

In the view of veterinarian Dr. Cailin Heinze, the quality of commercial vegan and vegetarian dog foods is a significant concern.

“There hasn’t been a lot of testing of vegan diets,” says Heinze, a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist and an associate professor of nutrition at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts. “I would like to feed my dog a diet that’s been around for years, that’s been proven safe, and I would like my clients to do the same. With vegan diets, there can be differences in the bioavailability of nutrients that we don’t yet know about, and the challenge with the protein is that the per cent of protein and amounts of some amino acids in plant materials is a lot lower than in animals. So, while the vegan food might meet the minimum industry requirements, there isn’t much data about whether that’s enough plant-based protein for dogs.”

She adds that with the ingredients that are commonly used these days as a source of plant-based protein (such as concentrated soy protein), there isn’t a good way to increase the protein level without adding a lot of it, which is expensive and can also bring other issues into play.

Heinze is not convinced (outside of health conditions like liver disease and food allergies where she might recommend a vegetarian diet for a dog) that vegetarian and especially vegan diets are a good idea for dogs. She is firm that vegan diets are a particularly “bad idea” for cats, as there are a lot of required Heinze, shown here with her dog nutrients that cats can’t get from plant sources.

Luna, says that although vegan “A vegan diet is as far from what a cat is designed dog food may be an emerging to eat as you can get,” she notes. “Dogs have more market, “this trend is fraught biological flexibility, but I only recommend a vegwith potential to cause harm if not approached very cautiously.” etarian diet for dogs on a case-by-case basis.”

FOODINCANADA.COM

31

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32 JUNE 2019

Photo: vecado.ca

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Studies For its part, Toronto-based Vecado (Vgan CAts and DOgs) cites research documenting the positive effect of plant-based ingredients on pet health and also points to quite a few studies done in the past decade or so with positive conclusions about the nutritional quality of plant ingredients and their digestibility in stomachs of cats and dogs.

“For example, it was found that soy has an amino-acid profile comparable to that of meat and is easily digestible, so vegan companies use this ingredient as protein source in their formulations,” says Vecado marketing associate Anna Halevina. “Combination of plant-based ingredients and supplemented nutrients results in wellbalanced, nutritionally-complete formulas.”

Vecado markets products sourced from non-GMO and organic plant-based ingredients grown in the U.S., Canada or Europe. Halevina says their sales have doubled every year since the company started up in 2014.

With regard to processing ingredients, Halevina explains that as is the case with any processed food, some nutrients are lost in the process of making both meat-based and plant-based pet food.

“Taurine, for example, does not tolerate high heat processing and has to be added back in,” she says. “Some synthetic taurine is being added to plant-based kibble. To avoid these limitations, many cat and dog guardians choose to cook their own plant-based meals at home and supplement. Well-balanced recipes are available and we offer supplements which make these recipes nutritionally complete.

Going forward Dodds notes that since her research began at the University of Guelph in 2017, “I have watched the Canadian market grow from one Canadian manufacturer of vegan pet food to three Canadian manufacturers, and watched the importation of plant-based diets grow as well through brick-and-mortar and online pet food retailers.” She says that as the study she and her colleagues published was a snapshot in time, “it would be very interesting to repeat in a couple years to document how much the use of plant-based diets has grown in Canada in that time. Interestingly, cost was not a barrier reported by many study participants, so how expense will factor into limiting or facilitating growth hasn’t been determined at this point.”

In the end, Heinze is of the opinion that pet food companies that want to market a vegan dog food need to have a lot of data to back it up, instead of just making a product that looks good on paper and marketing it. “Vegan dog food may be an emerging market,” she says. “But this trend is fraught with potential to cause harm if not approached very cautiously.”

SETTING THE STAGE FOR

PET PRODUCTS WITH CBD

photo: Svetlana Sarapultseva / iStock / Getty Images Plus

C

annabidiol, or CBD for short, is being lauded as a way to relieve pain and anxiety and as a sleep aid for both humans and companion animals, as well as a treatment for epilepsy and arthritis. Various companies in Canada are poised to release CBD-containing pet products once regulations are in place, and several in the United States have already done so. Before we look at those developments however, let’s look at research on CBD being conducted by Stephanie McGrath and colleagues at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University.

In a double-blinded crossover clinical trial, 60 dogs with uncontrolled epilepsy are going to be given either a control (no) treatment or a treatment containing CBD to try and determine if CBD works for this condition,

Until we have the proper pharmocokinetic studies, dosages for dogs and cats are widely experimental

Research shows positive results for dogs with epilepsy — By Treena Hein — and if it’s safe. Qualifying dogs must be experiencing at least two seizures per month for four consecutive months while on therapeutic levels of conventional anti-epileptic medications.

Neurology clinical trials co-ordinator Breonna Thomas says the research is focused on epilepsy because “not only is it a pressing problem in canines, but anecdotally, people were claiming that it worked to treat epilepsy and we need to do some research to see if there is any merit to those claims. Our pilot studies for both arthritis and epilepsy in canines have both shown that CBD may have a lot of benefit in dogs.”

The hope, says Thomas, is that CBD-treated dogs will have fewer seizures.

This was seen in the pilot trial where almost 90 per cent of treated dogs experienced a reduction in their usual number of seizures. The team also hopes to do some sort of CBD study on cats in the near future.

The lack of studies like this one hasn’t stopped pet owners from dosing their pets with various legal and illegal edible cannabis or hemp-based products, and some unfortunate accidents have occurred relating to the toxicity of THC, the intoxicant in cannabis. Dr. Katherine Kramer, founding chair of the Veterinary Advisory Board at True Leaf Pet, a British Columbia-based maker and distributor of hemp-based pet products, notes that “dogs and cats are much more sensitive to the effects of THC, and edible products are often combined

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with other ingredients such as chocolate and xylitol [a non-caloric sweetener] that can be quite toxic to pets. Even some CBD products can cause some pets to appear intoxicated.”

Kramer adds that illegal pet products containing CBD can present problems in terms of quality differences, poor labelling and even the inclusion of ingredients in the product that are not listed on the label.

“Dosing is another huge issue,” she says. “Until we have the proper pharmacokinetic studies, dosages for dogs and cats are widely experimental. Dosing may be individualistic as well, depending on the product, patient and condition being treated.”

True Leaf will be launching a line of pet supplements with hemp-derived CBD and other compounds once it becomes legal to do so in Canada. At that time, its sales of CBD pet products will join what is already a huge market. Research firm Brightfield Group noted recently that worldwide sales of CBD-containing pet products rose from US$8 million in 2017 to a whopping $32 million in 2018. And by 2022, the firm estimates the market could reach $1.16 billion ­— just in the U.S. One company already selling CBD-containing pet products in the U.S. is Boulder, Colo.-based Charlotte’s Web. It launched an ingestible CBD oil for dogs in 2016 and recently rolled out more items, including a chicken-flavoured CBD oil and meat chews.

Phivida, based in Vancouver and San Diego, already produces a CBD-infused functional beverages and health supplements for people in the U.S., and just announced in May that it intends to launch hempderived CBD pet products in both the U.S. and Canada once regulations are in place. Chief marketing officer Mike Cornwell says the initial products will be tinctures in three strengths, one for cats and small dogs, one for medium-sized dogs and one for large dogs.

When asked for his view on the potential for CBD for pets, Cornwell reflects that with these products, “we believe we can provide a natural alternative option for pet owners instead of pharmaceutical medicine to relieve stress, anxiety or moderate pain conditions.” However, he says “we would always recommend pet owners to seek out a veterinarian’s advice.”

The veterinarian perspective Similarly, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) states that the increased medical use of cannabis by Canadians over the past few years and the legalization of cannabis in Canada in October 2018 have been associated with the CVMA receiving “a number of anecdotal reports” concerning “increased interest among companion animal owners, livestock producers and others about the potential therapeutic benefits of using cannabis in animals for the alleviation of pain, relief of anxiety, and treatment of behavioural conditions.”

To address the issue, the CVMA is taking a rather proactive — and some would say, quite surprising — stance.

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The organization points out that currently there are no therapeutic protocols available to Canadian veterinarians since there is no legal means for veterinarians to make cannabis [or hemp-based] products available to their patients — and while “the CVMA supports a cautious approach in order to demonstrate purity, safety, efficacy of cannabinoids in animals, so that they can be properly registered by Health Canada as drugs and made available to our patients” — “in this interim period before new veterinary products are registered, knowing that many owners may search out and administer cannabis unsupervised to their animals, the CVMA supports veterinarians being permitted to grant access to medical cannabis products to their patients so that veterinary oversight can take place.”

In terms of just how many other Canadian companies are currently developing CBD pet products and may market them, PIJAC (the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, a non-profit organization of 800 members which offers guidance and resources to pet businesses, and helps advance the well being of Canada’s pets) isn’t sure.

“Currently the way we are tracking the evolution of CBD in the pet industry is through contact with government agencies, the veterinary community and industry news from Canada and abroad,” says PIJAC communications manager Susan Dankard. “We are focusing on any reports that come out and watching to see how this new ingredient will be integrated into the pet product landscape.”

However it is integrated, through oils or other products, with a few or a wide range of concentration levels and so on. At this point it seems that CBD use for pets is destined to become common in Canada in the near future. If it will be a commonly used substance over the long term remains to be seen.

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