News on Food Trends from Canada

Every year, the earth loses 12 million hectares of farmable land due to erosion. That’s roughly one soccer field every few seconds. Erosion ruins farmable soil, and a lack of farmable soil means that the future of potatoes, and fries, are at stake.

Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA) announced today the release of its landmark study on the economic impact the potato industry in Alberta. The report, entitled The Alberta Potato Industry – Growing Success in 2022 outlines the significant growth of Alberta’s potato industry in recent years and documents its economic impact on our economy.

The increase in food prices is the result of a ripple effect throughout the supply chain. Farmers and producers experienced sharp rises in the prices of essential inputs like feed, fuel, and fertilizer, leading to a 16.1% increase in their operating expenses.

Authorization from the PMRA, following a thorough review of the company’s extensive data dossier, indicates a mutual understanding of the composition, potential and low risk of the RNAi technology.

Carrot Ventures is announced the launch of Cellar Insights. It is the second company emerging from Carrot's AgTech company formation model.

FPS Food Process Solutions ("FPS") celebrates World Food Safety Day 2023 by keeping to its promise of upholding hygienic standards in food processing.

In a critical move towards advancing precision agriculture, AgTech startup Picketa Systems has successfully closed a CAD 1.445M (USD 1.059M) (Seed investment round. The funding will broaden the development and deployment of their real-time plant tissue analysis technology, called LENS™.

New numbers from the P.E.I. Potato Board show that on Prince Edward Island the acreage of cover crops grown before potatoes has doubled.

The 2023 Canadian Produce Marketing Association Convention and Trade Show (CPMA 2023) held last week in Toronto is CPMA’s biggest show in its history with over 4200 people attending the event.

In 2014, Charlottetown-based research scientist Bourlaye Fofana was looking for a way to make plant products healthier by adding the antioxidant selenium.

New research has found that four in 10 parents report having only three or fewer family dinners per week, leaving 42% feeling 'worried', according to a new poll of 2,000 US parents.

At the Annual General Meeting on March 13th, CEO of Kroeker Farms in Manitoba, Wayne Rempel was elected as the new Chair of the United Potato Growers of Canada (UPGC) after serving several years as the Secretary.

AgriShield®, a comprehensive risk assessment and planning tool created by Farm Management Canada, is the first and only Canadian risk management platform that meets the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) standards at the highest level – GOLD.

It is time to update your shopping list. Cavendish Farms announced that it has won the prestigious Product of the Year Canada Award for its All-Day Breakfast Mini Quick Cook Hash Brown Patties.

McCain Foods is making a substantial investment in Coaldale Alberta, doubling the size of its potato processing facility and output in Coaldale, Alberta.

Ontario Potato Board, Potatoes New Brunswick join the United Potato Growers of Canada (UPGC) as the representative of their potato grower members, giving the organisation a truly national reach.

The PEI potato industry welcomed the final report of the International Advisory Panel (IAP) on Potato Wart that was presented to industry and government on January 16, 2023.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientists have discovered that selenium, a micronutrient and anti-oxidant activates genes in potatoes that boosts the plant's immunity and helps in the prevention of late blight.