January 2003

Food Safety and Quality

Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector has a global reputation for consistent delivery of safe, high-quality food. Industry and government know this reputation can reap healthy profits in today's market where consumers expect and demand greater assurances of food safety and quality. Governments support and promote industry moves to meet consumer demands because strengthening food safety and food quality systems meets consumer expectations and builds marketing opportunities. The actions proposed under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) would help facilitate industry-led development throughout the agri-food chain of food safety systems, food quality systems and traceability systems. As appropriate under the APF, government recognition of industry food safety and food quality systems is proposed, as is research to advance food safety, food quality and traceability systems. AAFC is committed to research making safe, high-quality food products and technologies available to Canadian consumers and industry.
Sally Rutherford, AAFC, (613) 759-7333

More to Milk

There is more goodness in a glass of milk than most people imagine. More than 2,000 distinct molecules have been isolated, revealing exciting new properties in milk. Some components are already incorporated into many consumer products, including facial creams, shampoos and toothpastes. At the AAFC research centre in Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, the quest for promising human health and industrial applications continues. Advanced fractioning techniques, able to reduce milk to its constituent parts, are among the first steps to finding the innovative uses for milk molecules.
Michel Britten, AAFC, (450) 773-1105 ext. 328

Taking the Heat Off Food Production

Consumers roving the aisles of grocery stores know they'll find nutritious and flavorful food, safely preserved in jars and cans. Soon they'll savour the zesty products of an innovative, two-step canning process. The new process begins with "acidification" which preserves vitamins and other nutrients while retaining more flavor and texture. The second step is low temperature pasteurization. The novel technology, developed at AAFC's research centre in Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, has benefits beyond improved food quality. A study revealed the new pasteurization process leads to a 30-per-cent reduction in energy consumption, compared to the traditional process. This lowers production costs and curtails greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent.
Michèle Marcotte, AAFC, (450) 773-1105 ext. 219

Good News in a Fruit Bruise

Good news is hidden in bruised fruit. Phenolics, those chemical compounds present in brown spots on damaged fruit, fight a bacterium that causes food poisoning. Listeria monocytogenes, the very hardy and dangerous pathogen that causes serious illness with sometimes fatal results, is proving susceptible to the antimicrobial activity of phenolics. AAFC studies in Summerland, BC, indicate phenolic compounds inhibit Listeria and prove lethal to the dangerous bacterium under optimum conditions. Investigation continues into the role of phenolics in the nature of human pathogens in "ready-to-eat" fruit and vegetable products. Researchers hope the anti-microbial activity of phenolics will have applications as natural preservatives in some food products.
Pascal Delaquis, AAFC, (250) 494-6367

A Family Feud

Some friendly bacteria may have the goods on their harmful cousins E. coli and Salmonella. Known as probiotics, they protect against dangerous micro-organisms. Bifidobacteria, beneficial bacteria able to survive in the digestive system, are under investigation at AAFC's research centre in Guelph, ON. One study shows bifidobacteria protect human intestinal cells against E. coli. In chickens, Salmonella may be controlled by supplementing the diet with probiotics. Work continues to help further understanding of probiotic bacteria in therapeutic treatments.
Roger Wheatcroft, AAFC, (519) 829-2400 ext. 3105

White Flour from Whole Wheat

The toughest critics in taste test panels, kids from six to 11 years old, preferred the taste of whole wheat bread made from white wheat flour. AAFC wheat breeders in Winnipeg, MN, could not be happier that their new hard white spring wheat is a kid pleaser, producing a lighter, whiter bread with the nutritional advantages of whole wheat flour. The white-seeded version of Canada's premier bread wheat, Canada Western Red Spring, has the potential to contribute as much as $2 billion to Canada's annual agri-food exports. Consumer testing continues to determine if the new variety maximizes its potential.
Odean Lukow, AAFC, (204) 983-1629

Flaxseed Does Double Duty

The tiny flax seed is a double-edged sword in the battle against disease. The seed coat and kernel have distinct beneficial components, but when flaxseed is eaten whole, the nutrients in the core are not readily adsorbed by the digestive system. Responding to the increasingly specialized food industry's need to use all valuable components, an AAFC researcher in Guelph, ON, invented a process to separate the hull from the kernel. The world's first de-hulling plant in Winchester, ON, is owned by Natunola Health, the patent licensee of the technology. The flax kernel contains an essential omega-3 fatty acid believed to reduce heart disease, lower cholesterol and offset cancer. As well as fibre, the hull holds high levels of a reportedly anti-cancer component called lignan.
Steve Cui, AAFC, (519) 829-2400 ext. 3108

A Cut Above an Apple a Day

Packaged, freshly cut apple slices could be a part of the next trend in healthy snack foods. The trick will be to have them hold that crisp, "just-picked flavor" while being available the year around. AAFC research in Summerland, BC, shows popular apple cultivars like Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, and Delicious have potential in a new fruit snack product. Consumer tests have shown apple slices in re-sealable plastic bags have a refrigerated life of 10 days under home conditions. Another trial showed children in a daycare enjoyed the equivalent of eight slices when the nourishing treat was offered. More work lies ahead to commercialize fresh-cut apple slices packaged as a healthy snack food.
Peter Toivonen, AAFC, (250) 494-6386

New Southeast Asian Market

The Vietnamese market is open to Canadian livestock commodities. With the recent signing in Vietnam of veterinary health certificates to export cattle and beef, Vietnam recognizes Canada as free of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy). The agreements follow an Animal Health Protocol MOU agreed to in Ottawa last July. At the MOU signing, several veterinary health certificates were finalized. They allow the export of Canadian pork, breeding swine, porcine semen, bovine semen, bovine embryos, poultry meat, day-old chicks/hatching eggs and day-old poults/hatching eggs. Canada is one of a few countries to have signed a veterinary protocol for various animal products with Vietnam. Given this relationship, Canada will organize in Vietnam technical seminars on meat processing technologies in March 2003. Alain Moreau, CFIA, (613) 225-2342 ext. 4603