2023 Spring BlockTalk - The Business Issue

Another Christmas season is in the books and that means it’s the time of year again to decompress, rest, and prepare for the next year. New Year’s is seen as a traditionally slow time for our industry in but I have always found it to be one of the busiest. Now is the perfect time to focus on your business, and plan for the upcoming year. Whether that looks like strategic planning sessions, staff evaluations and planning, getting caught up on training programs, or hopefully taking a well-earned vacation.

VISION

A sustainable, respectful and diverse food system that celebrates the nutritional and economic value of meat and poultry.

MISSION

We strengthen the meat and poultry industry in Ontario by connecting people, influencing change and empowering our members.

MPO LIFETIME MEMBERS

• Richard Halenda (2021)

• Doris Valade (2019)

• Laurie Nicol (2018)

• Joe Abate (2017)

• Brian Quinn (2016)

• Graham Dalziel (2015)

• Tony Facciolo (2011)

Kevin Schinkel President

One of the things you may consider when you return home nursing that sunburn, is where you can take your business in the upcoming year. MPO wants to help you succeed in all aspects of business and we’re excited to announce the roll out of the Centre of Meat Innovation and Technology. Our partnership with the University of Guelph can help you develop new products, address regulatory burden and train your staff so your next holiday season might be just a little easier, and hopefully a little more profitable. Make sure to pay attention to announcements on upcoming training programs and opportunities coming out soon! Luis Garcia and the rest of the staff can answer any questions, and we are always looking for input for new courses this year.

• Pat Johnson (2005)

• Gerry Houtzager (2003)

• Leo Rocheleau (2001)

• Jim Vidoczy (2000)

• Nancy Ackert (1997)

• Dr. Ron Usborne (1996)

• Ron Deeth (1995)

MPO LONG TIME MEMBERS

Thank you to our long time members who have been helping move the industry forward for over 25 years.

Ontario Pork - 1980

Gord’s Abattoir Inc. - 1982

L’Orignal Packing Ltd. - 1986

Walnut Hill Farm - 1986

MMIS / Mondo Inc. - 1986

VG Meats - 1987

Stemmler Meats - 1988

Darling International

Canada Inc. - 1988

Schinkels’ Gourmet

Helping you grow your business is at the heart of everything we do here at MPO. Working with our members and industry, we will continue to develop tools, programs and share knowledge that allow you to be innovative and your business thrive.

Our Spring issue of BlockTalk celebrates this theme and focuses on topics that can help you accelerate your business. Labour & workforce development, training, succession planning, connecting with the right suppliers, and understanding the current economic and consumer trends are all vital to moving your business forward.

Many of the topics covered in this issue will also be reflected during our Industry Day & AGM event being held April 19 in Guelph. Industry Day was developed to share the latest industry expertise and provide current and future leaders with the knowledge to propel our industry forward. Through events like Industry Day we hope to help contribute to raising the bar in our sector. We invite you and your team to attend in person this year, registration details are available on our website.

Our organization has a great year ahead with new projects on the horizon that will be a great resource for your business. We encourage you to reach out to the MPO team to take advantage of the programs and resources we have available to help your business succeed.

Franco Naccarato, Executive Director

Meats - 1989

Springer’s Meats Inc. - 1989

Chicken Farmers of Ontario - 1989

Jetnet Norstar Corp. - 1989

Brenner Packers Ltd. - 1991

Norwich Packers Ltd. - 1991

Weston Abattoir Ltd. - 1991

Hay’s Custom Cutting - 1992

Hoffman’s Meats & European Deli - 1992

Newmarket Meat Packers Ltd. - 1992

Sprucedale Meats - 1992

Handtmann

Canada Ltd. - 1992

Metzger

Meat Products - 1993

Schinkel’s Legacy - 1993

Yes Group Inc. - 1993

Windcrest

Meat Packers - 1994

Malabar Ingredients - 1994

R Denninger’s Ltd. - 1995

Abate Packers Ltd. - 1996

Domingos Meat Packers Ltd. - 1996

Sargent Farms Ltd. - 1996

Townsend Butchers Inc. - 1996

Conestoga Meat Packers Ltd. - 1997

Pemberton & Associates Inc. - 1998

UniPac Packaging Products Ltd. - 1998

MEAT INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT (MIA)

AWARD RECIPIENTS

• King Cole Duck (2021)

• Hayter’s Farm, Dashwood (2016)

• Schinkel’s Legacy, Chatham (2014)

• Conestoga Meat Packers, Breslau (2013)

• In Memory of Dave Tiller (2012)

• Halenda’s Fine Foods, Oshawa (2011)

• Springer’s Meats, Hamilton (2010)

• VG Meats, Simcoe (2009)

• Stemmler’s Meat & Cheese, Heidelberg (2008)

• Leo Rocheleau, Maidstone (2007)

ASSOCIATE MEMBER RECOGNITION AWARD

(AMRA) RECIPIENTS

• Farm Credit Canada (2022)

• Viscofan (2021)

• Multivac Canada Inc., Brampton (2020)

• Reiser Canada, Burlington (2019)

PAT JOHNSON AWARD

• VC999, Saint-Germainde-Grantham (2018)

• Handtmann Canada, Waterloo (2017)

• Malabar Super Spice, Burlington (2016)

• Natasha Barlett, OMAFRA (2022)

• Kelly McAslan, OMAFRA (2022)

Welcome to the Association

Building an informed and engaged membership representing a diverse Ontario meat and poultry industry.

Abell Pest Control

Eliana Pasquariello info@abellgroup.com

(416) 998-3262

246 Attwell Drive

Etobicoke, ON M9W 5B4

Belle Valle Meats & Abattoir

(705) 647-7419

982125 Belle Vallee Road RR2

Belle Valle, ON P0J 1A0

Burt Farm Country Meats

Max Burt

(705) 282-0328

1295 Line 10 RR1

Gore Bay, ON P0P 1H0

Butcher Black yasinhusien@gmail.com

Yasin Husien

(416) 832-3563

2133 Little Britian Road

Lindsey, ON K9V 4R2

Good Old Dad Food Products Inc.

Richard Ianni-Palarchio

(705) 253-7426

185 Industrial Court B

Sault Sainte Marie, ON P6B 5Z9

Porkie’s Chicharon Inc.

Gabby Amurao porkie_crunchie@yahoo.com

(416) 431-5585

5-60 Weybright Ct.

Scarborough, ON M1S 4E4

MPO

ADMINISTRATION BOARD LISTING

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Franco Naccarato franco@MeatPoultryON.ca

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Daphne Nuys-Hall technical@MeatPoultryON.ca

EVENTS, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

April Jackman april@MeatPoultryON.ca

OFFICE MANAGER

Meghan Schmuck meghan@meatpoultryon.ca

MARKET DEVELOPMENT

SPECIALIST

Derek Boudreau derek@MeatPoultryON.ca

DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR MEAT

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

Luis Garcia luis@meatpoultryon.ca

PRESIDENT | Kevin Schinkel

Schinkel’s Legacy, Chatham

PAST PRESIDENT | Carol Goriup

Florence Meats

SECRETARY/TREASURER

Adam Hayward Nesbitt’s Meat Market, Lindsay

DIRECTOR | Gerhard Metzger Metzger Meats, Hensall

DIRECTOR | Peter Baarda

J&G Quality Meats, Burlington

DIRECTOR | Doris Valade

The Malabar Group Inc., Campbellville

DIRECTOR | Jeff Miedema

Townsend Butchers Inc., Simcoe

DIRECTOR | Dale Schefter

Schefter Poultry Processing Ltd., Gorrie

DIRECTOR | Doug Alexander

Leadbetter Foods Inc., Orillia

DIRECTOR | Yaser Alqayem

Parkhill Meats, Parkhill

DIRECTOR | Christine BonneauO’Neill

L’Orignal Packing, L’Orignal

DIRECTOR | Shannon Desborough

Finest Sausage & Meats, Kitchener

BLOCKtalk is the official publication of the MPO, distributed to over 250 MPO members, commodity groups, and others throughout the industry, providing excellent advertising opportunities for suppliers of the meat and poultry industry to promote their newest, most innovative, supplies, equipment, and technology.

ADVERTISING DEADLINES 2023

Summer April 28

Fall July 27

Winter October 26

Spice & Seasoning Blends

Rubs & Decor Seasonings

Brine Injection Units

Curing Salt

The information published in BLOCKtalk is compiled from a variety of sources, which we believe to be reliable; however, MPO does not guarantee, and assumes no responsibility for the correctness of the information.

Sausage Seasonings

Sausage Binder Units

Functional Food Ingredients

Custom Blending

BLOCKtalk encourages Associate Members and supporters of the industry to submit articles which would be beneficial to our members.

Processing Solutions

Our range of fresh and frozen meat grinders features a model for every business size, starting with a 130mm hole plate. We also have mixer-grinders and block cutters too.

With hopper capacities from 130L upwards, our intermeshing  mixers blend products efficiently yet gently. We can customize them to suit both your product and your process with the many  options available.

Suitable for bacon, deli, dairy and plant-based products, our compact slicers include simple, manual machines, mid-range, and fully automatic, high-speed systems.

Our whole muscle stuffers, provide total versatility in production, achieving the best weight precision, class-leading product quality and high stuffing speed.

Our bowl cutters range from 60L (all the way to 750L!) and can be optionally equipped with cooking, cooling or vacuum. Two emulsifier models are also available.

The TVI GMS 400 is our latest fresh meat portioner and suitable for small to mediumsized businesses. With its gripper-less design it delivers class leading yield and lowest giveaway in a compact footprint.

Our Defrosting, Marinating, and Massaging Tumblers provide gentle and highly versatile treatment for the marination and defrosting of delicate meats, providing excellent retention.

Our spray injectors ensure excellent brine distribution and colour uniformity for boneless and bone-in meat. With a wide range of injection rates, maximum injection precision and minimal drip loss they are the first choice for processors.

from a single source

As a leading global manufacturer of end-to-end solutions for both processing and packaging, MULTIVAC offers a comprehensive product range, thanks to our own innovations and developments, as well as the integration of high-quality products from our selected partners.

To help producers seamlessly integrate and automate their food production, our marketleading preparation and processing equipment extends our machinery lineup further upstream with Grinders, Mixers, Bowl Cutters, Emulsifiers, Portioners, Slicers, Injectors, Tumblers, Massagers, Tenderizers, Stuffers, Defrosters, Marinators and many more.

Talk to us and find out how our expertise can benefit your business.

Preparation & Processing

Portioning & Slicing

Packaging Equipment

Packaging Materials

Automation & Integration

Inspection & Verification

Labelling & Coding

Project Management

Supporting Meat Processors - Economic Diversification and Growth in Northern Ontario

By Doris Valade, Malabar Group

As the former owner/operator of Malabar Super Spice Co., providing seasonings and ingredients for meat processors across Canada, I had the opportunity to visit many meat processors and their facilities from coast to coast, and north to south. The challenges in the Canadian meat industry are many, however none are as great as they are for those processors living in the northern regions of each province. Access to supplies and equipment, the logistics of transport, availability of trained employees, and business training and support are all areas where northern meat processors struggle, and yet they do persevere!

The Canadian federal and provincial governments recognize the importance of our meat industry to the Canadian food supply, and they are providing funding and programs to meet the needs of meat processors and abattoirs in the northern regions.

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor) is the Government of Canada’s economic development organization for Northern Ontario. Through its programs and services, and financial support of projects that lead to job creation and economic growth, FedNor works

with businesses and community partners to build a stronger Northern Ontario.

FedNor offers the Jobs and Growth Fund, which provides funding to businesses and organizations to help create jobs and position local economies for long-term growth. The Fund, delivered by Canada’s regional development agencies (RDAs), provides $700 million nationally over three years.

This funding includes support for the Responsive Advancement for Meat Processing (RAMP) Program which is for northern Ontario abattoirs and free-standing meat processing plants RAMP is a comprehensive approach to the sector that provides advisory support, expert consulting, and funding for eligible projects. One of the most recent programs that has been funded by RAMP is an 8 week comprehensive business development training program for Northern Ontario meat processors and abattoirs.

I have the opportunity to put together this program, supported by David Thompson and the Rural Agri-Innovation Network

Dripping with accuracy. Not brine.

• Elevated direct drive system

• Simple mechanics for longer lasting parts

• Easier cleaning and maintenance

• Greater accuracy and uptime

Precisely what you need

Brine Injectors for Meat & Poultry Processing

SERVO DRIVE TECHNOLOGY

(RAIN), to provide business strategies and resources to meat processing business owners, and also their senior team members. In October (2022), David and I visited more than 10 northern Ontario meat processors and abattoirs, from Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, North Bay, and a few small places in between. We listened to the owners tell us about their challenges and also about their plans to grow and adapt for continued success. They do not give up easily!

After listening to their stories, their challenges, and their hopes for the future, I created an 8 week business development program to help support the people in the sector with their growth and development goals. The program started on January 10th and runs twice a week for 2 hours. We are thrilled to have the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs joining us on our last night.

Each of the 8 weeks includes presentations, expert guest speakers and resources on a variety of topics including Leadership and Teamwork, Continuous Improvement, Human Resources (hiring challenges), Food Safety and Traceability, Health and Safety, Sales and Marketing, Financial Benchmarks, Succession Planning, and Selling Your Business. Participants are provided with handouts, worksheets and templates throughout the course to help them achieve their goals. We are very excited to have 14 business owners participating every week. Their interest and willingness to learn is as strong as their commitment to growing their business, and their industry.

The support and funding from FedNor and in recognizing the needs of our meat industry in northern Ontario and providing the opportunity to host this 8 week Business Development Training is truly appreciated. There is still a lot more support needed for our northern Ontario meat processors and abattoirs. This training is hopefully just one step of many to come! We have 14 companies participating;

• Penokean Hills Farms

• Creative Meats

• Cloverbelt Country Meats

• Canada Meat Group Inc

• 287 Farm Production Inc

• Fresh Market Foods

• Rico’s

• Rainy River District Regional Abattoir

• Charkuu 102

• Superior Foods

• Grand North Bison

• Bay Meats Butcher Shop

• Burt Farm Country Meats

• Dabrowski’s Smoked Meats

Riding the Wave of Rising Costs

By: Ronda Payne, Farm Credit Canada

When you’re running a business, it can feel like it’s hard to catch a break from rising costs. Increasing interest rates, climbing fuel costs and challenges accessing specific materials or ingredients can all be results of inflation – or a decrease in purchasing power. And all are out of your control.

Patrick Khouzam, a managing director with MNP Corporate Finance, says inflation is seen as soon as higher prices are applied to raw materials and salaries.

“Inflation in raw materials is variable and you can somewhat control how much you pay or how much you buy,” Khouzam says. Salaries, on the other hand, are dictated by the market and are more difficult to control.

Ideas for Handling Inflation

Inflation is something all processors are dealing with, combined with supply chain delays, says Dwayne Boudreau, Atlantic brand specialist with Food and Beverage Atlantic.

“Everyone is balancing the need to find new purchasing strategies because of a shattered supply chain,” he says.

The reality is everything costs more - every single business input. Cutting costs is one method to handle the issue, but so is shifting strategies to try new approaches. Boudreau recommends seeing where one or more of these strategies fit into your business to save you money.

• Seek out substitutes (without sacrificing quality) and new suppliers you can negotiate with fairly.

• Discontinue products that are barely, or not, profitable.

• Take care of employees and consider reduced hours rather than layoffs.

• Consider productivity-enhancing automation or upgrades.

• Carefully assess marketing and promotion spends and stick with those that are effective. Build loyalty with existing customers to sell more to them.

• Delay moves into new markets and offer incentives to create increased orders to keep transportation costs in line.

• Assess package sizes that allow for moderate price increases and offer higher-priced, value-added products.

Candice Appleby, executive director of the Small Scale Food Processor Association, says processors may find strength in numbers creating savings.

Some B.C. food processors have formed BuyBCFoodandDrink. com. The collaboration pools resources and offsets marketing costs, while also saving the processors time and money by working with a larger marketing group. It’s all to ensure the resiliency of small-scale food processors, Appleby says.

Khouzam, meanwhile, recommends processors lock in prices with suppliers whenever they can to ensure a consistent price point. He also suggests processors work with multiple suppliers. Buying from multiple suppliers puts you in a better position to negotiate prices since you can shop around for the best deal.

Make Your Case With Consumers

As consumers also face increasing prices in their grocery carts, they may leave higher priced food items for something less expensive. Khouzam says processors can mitigate this.

He says in an inflation cycle, consumers expect a price increase. Therefore, it’s logical to pass some of that along. The key is to ensure consumers understand why.

“Are you able to get your message across to the consumer as to why replacing your good with a cheaper good will not serve them better?” Khouzam says. “Why is your option better than the cheaper option? Why is it the better choice?”

Boudreau wonders whether consumers who leave your product behind were ever really yours to start with.

“Consumers you lose to cheaper products were never loyal to begin with,” Boudreau says. To maintain loyalty, offer bundles, different pack sizes and loyalty programs, he says.

If rising prices is part of the strategy, be upfront with customers about the reasons. No one is trying to get rich by adding $0.50 to the price of a product; instead, it’s the price of trying to stay alive.

CONFERENCE

April 19, 2023 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

DELTA GUELPH

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

‘Beefing Up’ the Connection with Our Community

Ontario Beef is Beef Farmers of Ontario’s (BFO) consumer engagement program that supports all Ontario beef industry stakeholders by laying the foundation for the promotion of ALL Ontario beef products and the entire industry. Our focus is entirely on Ontario consumers and our efforts support the Ontario Beef Market Development Program, as well as individual farmers, brands, retailers, butcher shops, etc.

In 2022, we continued our efforts to show Ontarians that Ontario beef is a delicious, versatile, sustainably raised, high-quality protein. We continued our “simmer and boil” marketing strategy, maintaining a continuous stream of content and activity all year and, at times, ramping things up to a boil with our larger campaigns. We kept our plans focused predominantly online, and included a few larger projects to further enhance our efforts. We would like to take a moment to share some of these new endeavours.

One new, exciting project was video advertising. We created and launched two 15-second video ads, both centering around the theme “Great Taste is Closer than You Think”. The opening visuals suggest the meal is taking place in London, UK or Paris, France, before quickly transitioning to show they are in London and Paris, Ontario. The idea is to remind folks great tasting beef can be found right in their own backyard. The video ads performed well running as YouTube and Connected TV ads for five weeks in the fall. If you were streaming you might have caught them!

In the summertime, we undertook a project to bring three high-profile social media influencers out to tour a farm and create content about what they learned about the environmental

sustainability practices on the farm. We worked with Food Network personality Wallace Wong, blogger and TikToker Sarah from Nutrient Matters, and Michael Rizzi, a lifestyle influencer, content creator and LGBTQ+ advocate. Collectively, they have millions of followers on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. With the new focus on TikTok, our top audience was folks aged 18-24 for this campaign. It was great to reach the younger crowd who are typically most concerned about the environmental impact of their food.

We expanded our podcast advertising in 2022 to include two three-month flights with ads read by music personality, Alan Cross, who hosts Ongoing History of New Music. The ads aired on Alan’s show as well as other podcasts across the Corus network. The first flight focused on continuing to reiterate the environmental message while also talking about summer and BBQ season. The second flight ran two ad spots focused on comfort food and cold weather cooking while also reiterating the sustainability message.

In terms of our Ontario Beef public engagement efforts, 2022 was a banner year. We were pleased with the results on all of our activities, and very happy to back at some in-person events in the latter part of the year as well. We are excited to build on the positive energy with exciting new plans, and further build our fanbase. Be sure to follow Ontario Beef on social media, visit our website, and connect with the office if you would like materials to help promote the fabulous Ontario beef options you have on offer.

www.ontbeef.ca @ontbeef @OntBeef

Lambrecipes.ca

The Consumer Website for Ontario Sheep Farmers

Featuring recipes, multilingual options, and an updated product locator tool to assist retailers and consumers.

Ontario Sheep Farmers (OSF) new and improved www.lambrecipes.ca website was launched in the spring of 2022. The consumer site delivers a wide range of resources and supports for consumers looking to purchase and cook with Ontario lamb. Many of the site’s features have been refreshed with an updated fresh look, layout, new recipes, updated cooking & handling tips and nutritional information. OSF has also added Ontario lamb producer profiles showing the families behind production because we know consumers want to know where their food comes from, and we are proud of the story we have to tell.

One of the most notable changes is the ability for consumers to view content in a variety of different languages. This supports the growing demand for Ontario lamb with ethnic markets in Ontario. The multilingual viewing option allows the site to be translated into 106 different languages. Site users can now find out where to purchase local lamb, and how to cook and prepare it in the language of their choice.

The consumer site also continues to connect lamb suppliers with consumers with the Ontario Lamb Product Locator tool. This tool helps consumers source local lamb products/ retailers and helps retailers get connected with customers looking for Fresh Premium Ontario local lamb. The Lamb Locator tool is prominently featured on the site and is easy to use – consumers simply enter their postal code to find a local lamb retailer near them. If you are selling Ontario lamb you can register your business for free with the

locator tool, visit www.ontariosheep.org/product-locatorregistration for more information.

As consumer interest in making smart and sustainable food choices grows, OSF is now profiling some of our farmers. Viewers can read stories on lamb production and the role sheep farming plays in mitigating climate change, as well as the many other environmental benefits of sheep production. OSF knows consumers will leave the site inspired to cook with lamb, and can feel good about supporting local, environmentally sustainable agriculture. Visit www.lambrecipes.ca for more ideas and resources.

Lamb Samosas

This recipe uses wonton or egg roll wrappers, and they are baked rather than fried. Serve warm with peach chutney.

Lamb Samosas

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

• Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, crumble lamb into skillet. Add onion and ginger; cook stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in sweet potato and curry paste, until fully combined.

Add water, salt, pepper and tomato; reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered and stirring often, until mixture is almost dry and sweet potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in coriander.

If using larger egg roll wrappers, cut in half diagonally. Place 1 to 2 tsp (5 to 10 mL) filling in centre of each wrapper (depending on size of wrapper). Moisten edges of wrapper with water; fold in half to form triangle and press edges together to seal. Arrange on baking sheet; brush lightly with oil. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tip: Make as above, cool and refrigerate in covered container for up to 2 days. Reheat on baking sheet in 350°F (180°C) oven for about 5 minutes or until warm.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz (250 g) lean Ontario Ground Lamb

• 1 Ontario Onion, finely diced

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) minced fresh gingerroot

• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) peeled, shredded Ontario

Sweet Potato (1 small)

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) curry paste or powder

• 1/4 cup (50 mL) water

• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt

• Pinch pepper

• 1small Ontario Greenhouse Tomato, diced

• 3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped fresh Ontario

Coriander Leaves

• 40 wonton or 20 egg roll wrappers

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil

Makes about 40.

Beef Mushroom Burgers

Who can resist a juicy beef burger topped with bacon, mushrooms and aged Cheddar?

Beef Mushroom Burgers

Preparation Time: 15 minutes • Cooking Time: 4 minutes

Grilling Time: 14 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

In large bowl, combine beef, egg, onion, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Shape into 6 burgers.

In medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until tender.

Place burgers on greased grill over medium-high heat. Grill, covered, for 5 to 7 minutes per side or until thermometer inserted sideways into centre of each burger reads 160°F (71°C).

Top with cheese and grill to melt.

Toast buns on grill. Spread each bun bottom with barbecue sauce. Top with lettuce, burger, mushrooms, bacon and bun top.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 6 servings.

• 1-1/2 lb (750 g) lean Ontario Ground Beef

• 1 Ontario Egg, lightly beaten

• 1 small Ontario Onion, diced

• 1/4 cup (50 mL) dry breadcrumbs

• 1/2 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper

• 2 tsp (10 mL) vegetable oil

• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) sliced Ontario Mushrooms

• 6 slices aged Ontario Cheddar Cheese

• 6 sesame seed buns

• 6 tbsp (90 mL) barbecue sauce

• 3/4 cup (175 mL) shredded Ontario Lettuce Leaves

• 6 slices cooked Ontario Bacon

A Steep Learning ‘Carve’

By Karen Sample and Janet Morley

Kara Enright and her husband Darold, owners of Enright Cattle Company and Quinn’s Meats Ltd., both grew up on farms in the Tweed, Ontario area. They started their own farm around the corner from Kara’s parents based on a small herd of Black Simmental beef cattle that Kara had begun to build while still in high school. Today they have roughly 60 cows and buy additional weanling stock to finish to meet their customers’ needs year-round.

Thirteen years ago, the Enrights decided to direct market their beef at a farmers’ market and then online. They have not looked back since.

Originally both Enrights worked off farm, but as the business grew, first Kara then Darold transitioned to full time on the farm. As demand for their beef grew and the local abattoir they worked with originally neared capacity, the Enrights realized they would have to get creative in order to ensure their processing volume could be met. As COVID-19 further backlogged processing, they started considering a number of concepts to increase capacity for processing.

Becoming a Processor

By chance, a friend of Kara’s mother drove by Quinn’s Meats in Yarker, about 50 minutes from Tweed, and noticed a for sale sign on the shop. The friend sent a message to Kara’s mother who quickly relayed it to Kara and Darold. The couple recognized this was an opportunity to grow their business and solve their looming processing crisis. As the saying goes, the rest is history.

Not ones to shy away from new challenges and hard work, in 2021 the Enrights entered into negotiations with Quinn’s to purchase the abattoir. Discussions proceeded quickly, a contract was signed and the sale closed approximately four months later. Brian Quinn, retiring owner of Quinn’s Meats wanted to see the Enrights succeed in their new venture and stayed for several months to ease the transition and pass along some of his 46 years of knowledge of the business.

The couple was grateful for the assistance in transitioning as Enright describes taking the reins of the business as “a very steep learning curve.”

Buying their own processing plant has given them the ability to go from farm to fork with control of their own supply chain. From raising and finishing beef animals to processing, packaging and even smoking, the Enrights can do it all themselves. In the end they decided it was the next logical step in their journey from direct marketing their beef in farmers markets, then online, and most recently wholesale.

They agree, however, it is worth it to be able to ensure processing of all their animals as well as continuing to provide service to all the beef, pork and lamb farmers that depended on Quinn’s for processing.

Growth and Employees

The plants’ employee roster has almost doubled to 22 since they purchased Quinn’s, however, Kara confirms skilled labour is a challenge. They still have plant capacity to grow, however the workforce to fill that extra capacity is not yet in place.

Enright says, “It was just trying to find the skilled labour. It’s really difficult to find people that know what they’re doing in the industry like a skilled butcher that can break down carcasses, not just a retail meat cutter. Finding people that know how to work on the kill floor; that is pretty difficult as well.”

In an effort to fill the need for more employees, the Enrights have developed an on-site training program and hired younger, inexperienced people whose values and work ethic matched the Enrights. They used their existing skilled butchers to train the new hires. Says Enright, “The butcher trade doesn’t seem to get passed down to the next generation very well.”

Along with learning how to attract appropriate candidates and provide training, another new challenge for Enright has been learning how to manage so many people. She says going from working on a family farm where most of the employees are your family members to managing employees was an adjustment.

Enright Beef

When asked what makes Enright beef different and special, Enright humbly replies, “I don’t really have any big secrets about our beef. We don’t use any artificial hormones. We’re not putting implants into the cattle. That was something that we quit doing when we started direct marketing because our customers were asking about it, and they were willing to pay a little bit more to cover our extra costs.”

Most of the Enright’s meat sales continue to be done online and are delivered by refrigerated van three days per week. Two drivers put in twelve-hour days to cover clients from Ottawa to the GTA, delivering for a small fee.

Diversified Operations

Running an abattoir and farming beef cattle is quite likely more than most people would care to tackle. Yet that’s not the extent of operations for the Enrights. They also grow all the feed for their cattle, have a blueberry farm, a small on-farm shop and a retail store at Quinn’s. They have already added to the local products sold at the Quinn’s location and are looking forward to expanding the items available at both Quinn’s and the farm shop to include additional produce and artisan items from local vendors.

Currently at Quinn’s, in addition to the meats, cheese and baking the shop has always had, they sell local produce, eggs, maple syrup, chips, nuts and sauces. Some of the additional items to come include more local products. Buns and bread will be next so people can grab everything they need for their BBQ or dinner.

“Customers are happy with the availability and with the fact that the additional products are locally sourced,” says Enright.

Smoked Wings and Ribs

Quinn’s smokers are also getting put to good use preparing wings and ribs on Wednesdays for customers to pick up. With no restaurant close by, the option to pick up different flavours of wings and ribs and just heat them up at home is a handy convenience. Enright says they are looking at doing something similar on another day of the week since Wednesday wings and ribs has been going over so well.

The local economy is an important factor that plays into many of the Enrights’ decisions as evidenced by the support they give to local artisan and food producers through their expanding retail product line.

A local tannery turns all their hides into leather which a local artisan makes into handcrafted merchandise like handbags. Even the tallow is locally manufactured into soaps and candles.

When asked about goals for the future, Enright said she feels like she and her husband have been in survival mode for the past couple of years. With the steep learning curve that came with buying Quinn’s Meats, they have had their heads down figuring out how to operate. They are only now able to start thinking more about what they might want to change, but they have yet to find enough time to set formal goals.

Enright says they are “Just now getting a handle on how everything runs. We’re now at a spot we can start making and meeting goals. Up to now, it’s been just figuring out what we are doing!”

It Runs in the Family!

The Enrights have two children, Corben, 13, and Evelyn, 8, who are heavily involved with the family farming operation as well as raising their own animals for school projects and profit!

Corben provides substantial help during the summer break, from grass cutting to feeding, fixing fences, raking hay, moving cattle and more. Corben’s COVID project for home schooling was raising 120 meat chickens two years in a row. He sold all of the chickens before processing and was responsible for figuring out all the math and doing the selling and interacting with his customers.

Evelyn likes to help with the cattle and is responsible for bedding pens during calving season, checking calves, feeding and more. Evelyn’s COVID project for home schooling was halter breaking two calves – Hamburger and Holly. “Guess which one was not as cooperative,” Enright jokes! Evelyn persevered and both are now in the herd, tame, friendly and halter broken!

The path the Enrights have chosen is not for everyone and definitely not for the faint of heart. Enright will be the first to tell you that taking on an abattoir when you know nothing about running a processing facility is “a big task.”

This hard-working farm family has succeeded where many would fail while supporting and helping grow their local economy as well as employment. This is no small accomplishment. Stay tuned because there will be much more to come, we have no doubt!

Quinn’s Meats Ltd. Yarker, ON Kara Enright

kara@enrightcattlecompany.com

(613) 377-6430

www.quinnsmeats.com

Putting the customer first –

Reiser Canada

By Karen Sample and Janet Morley

In 1959 Robert Reiser & Co., based in Massachusetts, started importing German-made equipment for North American meat packers and food processors. As the company grew, Reiser Canada was established in 1987 just outside of Toronto to better serve the Canadian market. In 2007 the Canadian office relocated to a new, more spacious facility in Burlington, Ontario.

We caught up with Randy Belcot, Vice President of Sales and Julian McAuley, Director of Service to chat about Reiser Canada and what makes them stand out in the meat processing and packaging industry.

Customer First

It is no accident the company’s logo shows a handshake and declares, “Built on trust.” It is a reminder and a testament to their commitment to customer satisfaction.

According to McAuley, it is the company’s full dedication to serving their customers and not the bottom line that breeds success. “In the service department, we don’t just fix machines. That’s not how I think about it.”

He goes on to explain that, yes, machines that are not working properly do get physically serviced, but that is almost a minor part of the service equation. The most important part of the work done by the Reiser technicians he oversees is building and reinforcing customer relations because behind every broken machine is a customer whose production is delayed. They may have product with limited shelf life and they likely have people standing around unable to do their work. While fixing the machine is, of course, important, ensuring the customer is satisfied is the primary job.

“It’s pretty simple. Our mandate in service is to do whatever it takes to ensure the customer is satisfied whether that be relationship-wise or machine-wise, whatever it is. Technicians are completely authorized to do whatever it takes. If that’s a meeting over coffee and donuts or attending a social event, they can do that without question.” McAuley continues, “At Reiser, we still look at the numbers on the back end, but that’s not our focus. Our focus is really to make sure customers are taken care of. It’s exciting to live like that and to work like that.”

Hiring and Training

McAuley says that he’s learned from experience to hire technicians based on emotion. “The technical abilities are important, but we can train those, but if we can’t get along with the technician or their mentality doesn’t fit the mentality of Reiser, then it’s not going to work.

“Then when we get to the training, we do group training. It could be overseas. It could be in Germany, it could be in the U.S. It could be at head office in Boston. It could be with other technicians in the field.”

Once a year, all the North American service employees, about 170 or so, gather for a weekend of training and spending time together. McAuley believes this is an important part of building the best possible customer service department. “The technicians all want to gain new technical skills, but I’m always reinforcing with them that it’s really about building relationships with our suppliers.

McAuley says rather than thinking technicians work under him, he looks at it differently. “I work for them. It’s my job to give them the resources, the training, the time, whatever it is, so that they can do their job because they are the people that are in contact with the customers every day. We are there to serve you. This enables us to be nimble, make decisions and react quickly.”

Customer Relations Equals Customer Retention

Belcot says that Reiser’s customer base grows each year in addition to retaining current customers. Reiser’s diverse product line allows the company to provide different solutions. Once that first sale is made, things get rolling, “We build the relationship. We may start with one thing, and before long, we’re doing several different things with them. So that’s part of the retention and growth.

“It all starts with a sale. But you know that second sale all starts with how well you take care of that customer. That’s where our service department is critical and exemplary in how they do things. They make sure the customers are taken care of as Julian described.”

Audits – Value-Added Service

Reiser maintains support teams that can be deployed anywhere in North America to help find solutions for their customers’ processing issues. The team consists of meat specialists, as well as other experts. The “Fleischermeisters” or German-trained master butchers who work here in Canada, the U.S. and UK are invaluable. McAuley says, “These specialists are vital because there is a drain in the industry for this specific expertise in butchering and meat processing.”

Pandemic Shift – Growing Smaller

During the pandemic Reiser experienced growth in their smaller customer base. As people embraced shopping locally and found smaller, local establishments to favour, those businesses found themselves needing to serve a larger clientele. Local butchers, non-chain grocery stores and small markets were suddenly serving more people per day which meant they needed to turn out more product to sell.

The pressure was on those smaller operators and processors. Some of them got by with producing a little more manually, but others found the demands exceeded manual capabilities and it was time to automate. These smaller customers find the skilled staff at Reiser extremely helpful, especially the butchers and often call their Reiser contacts for input, advice or knowledge on a wide variety of subjects.

Belcot says although the growth of smaller accounts has levelled off, he doesn’t believe it will diminish or go back to pre-pandemic levels. “I think there’s still a place for it. A lot of people found new products that they didn’t realize were out there and I think there was a benefit overall.”

Reiser Canada Company

Burlington, ON Randy Belcot

rbelcot@reiser.com

(905) 631-6611 www.reiser.com

Growing your Business and Building Trust: Insights from the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity’s Consumer Research

By Ashley Bruner, Research Manager, Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI)

No matter where you fall on the supply chain, when it comes to long-term success in Canada’s agrifood sector, consumer perceptions matter. Without acceptance from the audiences you serve, growth opportunities are limited; the best technologies, leadership, and policies will all fall flat without consumer trust. More than ever, Canadian consumers are having conversations about what’s on their plate and how it gets there; joining these conversations is essential to building trust and fostering your ability to innovate, grow, and succeed.

The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) was created to help Canada’s food system better engage with Canadian consumers and earn their trust. CCFI’s annual national public opinion research sheds light on what the average consumer thinks and feels when it comes to the food they eat and how it’s produced.

Over the years, CCFI’s public trust research has uncovered several key themes that can not only help build public trust, but your business as well.

The Canadian consumer landscape is diverse but rooted in a nearly universal truth – the cost of food is a critical consumer concern. Over the past year, cost of living pressures has impacted us all, but the cost of food out-ranks all other pocketbook concerns. Nearly seven in ten Canadians say they are very worried about the cost of food (69%, up a significant eight points vs 2021).

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Although most consumers (56%) understand the core issue of increasing supply chain costs as the main factor behind the rising cost of food, five in ten (20%) feel businesses wanting to increase their profits are to blame. This secondary factor is a business risk not to be underestimated. Above all else, demonstrating what you are doing to provide healthy, affordable food to Canadians will not only address a critical consumer concern, but continue to foster goodwill among Canadians.

The Cost of Food Is Increasing Because…

More than ever, consumers are open to hearing from animal agriculture stakeholders. After reaching a tracking-low in 2021, CCFI’s 2022 research found a significant improvement in public perceptions that Canadian meat, milk and eggs are derived from humanely treated animals, reaching a five-year tracking high. It is time to leverage this positive momentum to secure long-term public trust and personal success.

perceptions on these areas are most strongly linked to improving public trust overall. More specifically, a one point increase in public confidence related to food safety will grow public trust by nearly half a point (0.42). Technical jargon aside, these results provide the food system with a ranked roadmap for effective trust-building consumer themes you should be clearly communicating about.

Public Trust Key Drivers

CCFI’s public trust research can help you benefit from improved overall perceptions towards animal agriculture. Address the rising cost of food, demonstrate your economic impact in a local, personalized way, and tap into the proven trust-building themes of food safety, transparent information, and the wellbeing of farm animals. Consumers and producers alike benefit when our food and agriculture system is trusted.

Canadians want to hear about the positive impact you have on the national job market, but context is key. CCFI’s 2021 research revealed that over half of Canadians (54%) said that learning about how many Canadians are employed in agriculture improved their perceptions of Canada’s food system. Complimentary focus groups, however, provides an important caveat – providing additional context is important. Consumers want more information on this impact to make it meaningful to them – how many people in your community are employed? What are the spin-off jobs? How does your impact differ from other sectors? Help consumers to fully understand the positive impact you are having on the local job market and economy.

When communicating with consumers, some messages matter more than others when it comes to building trust. Food safety, transparent information, and animal welfare are key areas that are most impactful on public trust. Improving public

Interested in learning more?

Visit www.foodintegrity.ca to download the free CCFI Public Trust Research reports in (English & French).

Want tailored insights, reports, presentations and over five years of research findings? Inquire today to come to the table as a CCFI member.

How A Free Resource Can Help Your Business Promote Psychological Safety

By Workplace Safety & Prevention Services

Psychological safety has a big impact on business. According to the Canadian Mental Health Commission, in any given year, one in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem or illness, with a cost to the economy well in excess of 50 billion dollars. But if you’re not sure where to begin, it may seem difficult or overwhelming. So where do you start?

Start with the Mental Health Prevention Roadmap

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services’ (WSPS) Mental Harm Prevention Roadmap is a free step-by-step guide developed to help employers reduce the risk of mental harm at work. The Roadmap shows employers how to meet the requirements outlined in CSA-Z1003-13 -Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, which was introduced in 2013.

Kristy Cork, Specialized Consultant for Healthy Workplaces with WSPS explain that while the CSA Standard gave employers the specifics on what was expected of them in terms of protecting employees from mental harm, many employers

didn’t know where to start. “The CSA Standard is similar to the ingredients in a recipe and the Roadmap tells you how to combine them and in what order for a successful finished product.,” says Kristy. “The Roadmap gives them something tangible to follow based on their own readiness, size, and available resources.”

Mental Health vs Psychological Safety

One of the first things you’ll see when you visit the site is a definition of psychological safety and how it differs from mental health, which is an important concept to understand as you work towards a mentally safe and healthy workplace. “Mental health is what we carry with us all the time. It’s about how well we deal with various stressors. You can be living with positive mental health or poor mental health,” says Kristy. “Psychological safety is when you look at the factors that can harm our mental health. We want to reduce those factors and move from a culture of carelessness to one of carefulness in the workplace.”

It helps to think of these concepts in terms of physical safety. We’re used to dealing with hazards in the meat industry that may harm us physically, such as working with sharp objects, or near heavy machinery. Controls are put in place to protect employees from these types of physical health hazards. Similarly, we need controls in place to protect employees from mental health hazards. “An example of a mental health hazard could be working long hours with minimal breaks causing overexertion. Fatigue can lead to potential impairment –affecting the employee’s ability to work safely and effectively, and increases the risk of injury,” says Kristy. “Ensure staff are given appropriate breaks so the worker can rest their physical body and their mind.”

How to build your plan

• Create an account and select a Champion. Go to Roadmap to get started. Identify someone internal to be a Champion who can facilitate within the organization. You can involve the joint health and safety committee (JHSC) as well, to integrate psychological safety into the organization’s overall health and safety management system.

• Assess your organization’s current state. Use the tool on the site to determine where your organization is on its journey toward a mentally healthy workplace. These results indicate which areas to prioritize when you begin to build your roadmap.

• Build your roadmap. The site breaks down eight building blocks that represent an area of focus to help you build your roadmap. Based on the results from your assessment, the site recommends which building blocks your organization should start with.

• Monitor your results. Using the dashboard, track your results and evaluate the effectiveness of the controls your organization has put in place. If you find that your organization has made progress on its journey toward a mentally healthy workplace, move on to the next building block.

Learn more: free resources

• Visit the WSPS Mental Harm Prevention Roadmap to start building your roadmap.

• Sample Policy: Right to Disconnect

• Psychological Safety: A Roadmap

• WSPS.CA Mental Health & Employee Wellbeing

Resource Stream

• Small Biz Safety Podcast: How a new FREE resource can benefit your business & promote mental health

Allergen Labelling in Canada

By Daphne Nuys-Hall, Technical Director, Meat & Poultry Ontario

For those with food allergies, sensitivities or intolerances, avoiding specific foods and ingredients is an important health challenge. An allergic individual coming into contact with an undeclared allergen such as peanuts in a food product may have symptoms that develop quickly and rapidly progress from mild to severe, including anaphylactic shock and death.

What is a Food Allergy?

Food allergy is an abnormal immune response to proteins found in food. An allergic reaction can range in severity from a skin rash or itching of the mouth, to migraine headaches, a drop in blood pressure, anaphylaxis and death.

It is estimated that 1.2 million Canadians may be affected by food allergies or 1 in 25 persons. The prevalence of food allergies is approximately 5 to 6 percent in children and 3 to 4 percent in adult.

For those suffering from celiac disease, prolonged consumption of gluten could lead to long-term health complications and the only current treatment is to maintain a strict gluten-free diet. Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA),

allergy associations, and the medical community have identified the key substances most frequently associated with food allergies and allergic-type reactions.

• peanuts

• tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews,hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachio nuts and walnuts)

• sesame

• milk

• eggs

• crustaceans and molluscs

• fish

• soy

• wheat and triticale

• mustard

• sulphites

• gluten

There is no cure for food allergies and the only way for an allergic individual to protect themselves is strict avoidance of the allergen. One of these ways is to read the label on every product they purchase, and they must rely on the food industry to manufacture safe food that is properly labelled.

In 2022 there were 226 food recalls, of which 37% were due to undeclared allergens in the product. Specifically for meat products, 53% of the recalled meat products were due to undeclared allergens. The meat industry needs to do more to protect the consumer.

What Are Your Labelling Responsibilities?

Processors will be required to clearly identify food allergens, gluten sources, and sulphites either in the list of ingredients or in a “Contains statement” at the end of the list ingredients.

There are a couple of options to declare allergens in an ingredient listing.

In the first the food allergen or gluten may be shown in parentheses in the list of the ingredients immediately following the ingredient itself –

Ingredients: Flour (wheat) • Liquid albumin (egg)

• Vegetable oil • Sugar • Chocolate chips (milk) (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk ingredients, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavour).

Or immediately after the component that is shown in the list of ingredients, if the food allergen or gluten is the component or is present in the component –

Ingredients: Pastry pieces [flour (wheat), butter (milk), liquid albumin (egg), canola oil] • Sugar

• Natural flavour.

The last option is to list the food allergen or gluten on the label of a product in a contains statement that complies with the requirements restrictions outlined in of the Food and Drugs Regulations. If a “contains statement” is used on the label, all allergen, gluten and added sulphite information must appear in the statement at least once, even if that information is already shown in the list of ingredients for the product. For example:

Ingredients: Wheat flour • Water

• Vegetable oil margarine • Sugar

• Yeast • Canola oil shortening

• Potato starch • Garlic • Salt • Parsley

• Seasoning • Diacetyl acid esters of mono and diglycerides • Whey powder

• Calcium propionate

• Potassium bisulphite

Contains: Wheat • Milk • Sesame • Sulphites

In this example, all food allergens, gluten sources and added sulphites are declared at least once in the contains statement, even though wheat and potassium bisulphite (sulphites) already appear in the ingredient list.

Precautionary Statements

A precautionary or cross contamination statement is a declaration on the label of a prepackaged product that alerts consumers of the possible presence of an allergen in the food and may only be used when, despite all reasonable measures there is the unintended presence of food allergens in the food. Cross contamination statements are not a substitute for Good Manufacturing Practices.

Health Canada and the CFIA recommend using only the title below to introduce precautionary/cross contamination statement on food labels:

“May contain: [X]” or “May contain: [X]” (if it begins on a separate line)

where X is the name of the allergen prescribed source name.

As part of your business’ allergen control plan you should develop procedures to review ingredient listing on labels at least annually or when changes are made to product formulations. Verify label accuracy when changing over products, ensuring the label matches the product. Compare the ingredient declaration on the label with the ingredients on the incoming materials to make sure they match.

‘Undeclared allergens’ remains the number one reason for a product recall in Canada. Ensuring that your labels are accurate, truthful and identify any and all of the 10 priority allergens that may be present in your products is of the utmost importance. Mistakes with allergen labelling are not just costly for your business but also to the allergenic consumer.

Meat & Poultry Ontario encourages operators to contact us with any of your labelling questions or concerns.

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