Barbecue Secrets

May/June 2009 

Just in time for summer 

Barbecue Secrets 

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement 41689029 

Taking the “swine” out 

of H1N1 Influenza 

Guest Editorial: 

Jim Laws, 

Canadian Meat Council 

pg.5 

meatbusiness.ca $6.00

Volume 8, Number 3 May/June 2009 

5 Guest Editorial 

by Jim Laws 

6 Rockin’ in the BBQ World: Rockin’ Ronnie’s Barbecue Secrets 

by Alan MacKenzie 

6 

8 Canadian Cattle’s Roll in Caring for a Sustainable Earth 

10 Canadian Meat Council Annual Conference / PACKEX 

Toronto 2009 

12 Taking the “Swine” Out of H1N1 Influenza 

by Alan MacKenzie 

14 Assembly Line 

16 The Five Steps to Good Governance 

by Wayne Gelb 

18 Cross Country News 

20 The Kitchen is Open 

by David Rizzo 

23 Events Calendar 

24 Industry Roundup 

26 Be a Fly on the Wall in Your Own Facility 

by Bill Melville 

12 

30 Meat Industry Business Watch 

by James Sbrolla 

20 

10 

meatbusiness.ca 

May/June 2009 Canadian Meat Business

| Guest Editorial | 

May/June 2009 Volume 8 Number 3 

PUBLISHER 

Ray Blumenfeld 

ray@meatbusiness.ca 

The need for a Canada-U.S. 

food safety authority 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

Alan MacKenzie 

alan@meatbusiness.ca 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Jim Laws, Wayne Gelb, David Rizzo, 

Bill Melville, James Sbrolla 

CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

Krista Kline 

FINANCE 

Jerry Butler 

Canadian Meat Business is published 

six times a year by We Communications West Inc. 

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E-mail: publishing@meatbusiness.ca 

Website: www.meatbusiness.ca 

Canadian Meat Business subscriptions are 

available for $28.00/year or $46.00/two years 

and includes the annual Buyers Guide issue. 

©2009 We Communications West Inc. 

All rights reserved. 

The contents of this publication may not be 

reproduced by any means in whole or in part, 

without prior written consent from the publisher. 

Printed in Canada. 

ISSN 1715-6726 

Cover photo: John Sinal 

T 

he Canadian Meat Council 

is now entering its 90th year 

of representing Canada’s 

federally inspected meat processors. 

And we’ve just returned from our 89th 

annual conference – this year held in 

Montreal. Just like last year, we reported 

that our Canadian meat processing 

industry is facing incredible challenges. 

But, this time, the challenges have all 

changed. 

What a difference a 

year makes 

Last year, a strong Canadian dollar, 

record high oil and feed grain prices 

and labour shortages were cutting 

into profitability. This year the recent 

H1N1 flu virus that has traumatized 

our pork sector, the U.S. mandatory 

country of origin labelling, new 

listeria control measures and the 

independent investigation along with 

the Subcommittee on Food Safety at 

the House of Commons are all top 

of mind. 

You will all recall the incredible 

political events of last year. Prime 

Minister Stephen Harper called for 

an independent investigation into the 

listeriosis event. A general election 

was then called and government 

officials went silent – including those 

from the CFIA and from the Public 

Health Agency of Canada. Once 

again, Canada elected a Conservative 

minority government. With calls for 

a full-blown public inquiry, and other 

political issues threatening to topple 

the government, our prime minister 

sought and received a rarely used 

prorogation of parliament granted by 

our Queen’s representative in Canada 

– Governor General Michaelle Jean. 

A gruelling and lengthy election 

campaign south of the border and a 

historic inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009, 

gave the U.S. its first African-American 

president. Since then President Obama 

has set his country on an ambitious 

plan with many large plans for reform. 

Canada’s prime minister, saddled with 

a minority government and a recession, 

seems to have no grand plans such as a 

new national high-speed railway system 

or a national electric power grid. 

Let’s offer them something big. Let’s 

tell them that we really believe that with 

these challenging economic times, we 

need to work more closely together. 

Let’s do what the many countries of 

Europe have done – agree on a common 

food safety system. Surely, if they can 

do it, we can do it. We’ve already seen 

how the misfortunes of one company 

in Canada on listeria control affect 

the entire industry, and now lately the 

new H1N1 virus in Mexico affected 

our entire North American industry. 

We’ve seen what happens in Canada 

when salmonella is traced to a peanut 

processor in the United States. 

Food safety systems 

With the new Obama administration 

now just past its 100 days, and Chrysler 

and GM seemingly put on life support 

by both the U.S. and Canadian 

governments, both our countries are 

turning their attention to their food 

safety systems. 

The Europeans have addressed 

their challenges with the creation of a 

European Food Safety Authority and 

their common economic union that 

allows for the freedom of exchange of 

goods and people travel without the 

need for border inspection between 

each country. 

Already, the North American Free 

Trade Agreement has helped to triple 

trade since 1993 among our three 

countries to a projected $1 trillion in 

2008. We can do a lot better. 

Our differences should be set aside 

and the strengths of our industry built 

on to compete in an ever competitive 

world. With the U.S. always ahead of us 

on access to new antimicrobial agents 

and interventions, and out-competing 

us on more favourable meat inspection 

fees and specified risk material 

regulations, it’s time we push for a new 

deal that sets common food safety rules 

for both of our countries. 

Jim Laws is the executive director of the 

Canadian Meat Council. 



Photo: John Sinal 

Photo: Whitecap Books 

Rockin’ in the BBQ World 

Vancouver’s Rockin’ Ronnie shares his Barbecue Secrets in an 

all-encompassing new cookbook. 

By Alan MacKenzie 

North Vancouver-based Rockin’ 

Ronnie Shewchuck is so 

obsessed with outdoor cooking 

that he calls himself a “barbecue 

evangelist” – and his new cookbook may 

just be “the bible” for barbecue fans 

everywhere. 

Published by Vancouver-based 

cookbook specialists Whitecap Books, 

Barbecue Secrets Deluxe! is Shewchuck’s third 

book, a combination of his first two titles 

– Barbecue Secrets and Planking Secrets – that 

brings together the best of both with new 

photos, information and recipes. With 

over 200 recipes in total, charts, diagrams 

and entertaining extras, the book is sure 

to be a hit with everyone from the average 

backyard griller to the up-and-coming 

professional. 

With passion Shewchuck details the 

difference between grilling (what we do 

with our propane or charcoal grills at 

home) and the slow-cooking tradition 

Canadian Meat Business May/June 2009 

of southern-style barbecue – complete 

with diagrams of how to perform both 

methods properly. He also shows that 

plank-cooking can be used for much more 

than just salmon. 

But Barbecue Secrets Deluxe! is more 

than just a cookbook – it’s a celebration 

of barbecue as a lifestyle. It’s an allencompassing 

guide, that goes beyond 

recipes and tells readers what beverages 

and music will go best with their barbecue 

– not surprisingly beer and wine and 

country and classic rock top the lists, but 

Shewchuck gets much more specific with 

drink recipes and sample playlists. 

Shewchuck – a communications 

professional by day – has been barbecuing 

competitively for about 15 years and his 

team – Rockin’ Ronnie’s Butt Shredders 

– has won numerous awards on the 

championship barbecue circuit. The 

group won the 2004 Canadian National 

Barbecue Championships and is a twotime 

Alberta champion. The team has 

also competed in the American Royal 

Invitational in Kansas City (the “World 

Series of Barbecue”), as well as the Jack 

Daniel’s Invitational World Barbecue 

Championship in Lynchburg, Tennessee 

– considered to be the most prestigious 

barbecue contest in the world. According 

to Whitecap Books, the Butt Shredders 

made barbecue history in 2001 when they 

became the only Canadian team ever to 

win a U.S.-based barbecue competition 

in a stunning upset at the Oregon State 

Open Barbecue Championship. 

Today Shewchuck not only competes, 

but also teaches cooking classes, writes 

articles for food publications and hosts a 

barbecue podcast. 

Born in Edmonton, Shewchuck grew 

up watching TV chef legend Graham 

Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet, on CBC TV. 

“I think I learned the spirit of really, truly 

enjoying food from him.” 

meatbusiness.ca

“I was brought up in a very meat and 

potatoes culture,” he adds. “I come from 

a Ukrainian family where we ate the three 

pork groups – bacon, ham and sausage. 

And I was always the guy as a teenager that 

whenever there was a backyard barbecue, 

I’d be the one who brought the threeinch 

thick porterhouse steak and have it 

all marinated beforehand – and I’d insist 

on grilling everyone else’s meat for them. 

I just always loved it.” 

Shewchuck adds that he is delighted 

by changes he is seeing in the Canadian 

meat industry that make it easier for him 

to use locally grown meat in competition, 

noting that better quality meat has been 

coming on the market in the last four or 

five years. 

“I think the cholesterol fascists have 

finally been at least displaced by people 

who like meat with really excellent flavour,” 

he says. “I try to (use locally grown meat) 

whenever possible. I’m starting to see 

changes that I like. When I first started to 

compete, I would look for pork and beef 

that was raised in the U.S., just because it 

had a higher fat content and was tastier and 

would stand up to the long, slow cooking 

of barbecue. Now I try to eat locally – I 

certainly look for Alberta beef, I try to buy 

local pork here in B.C.” 

Classic Dadburger Deluxe Recipe 

Makes 

12–16 patties, 

depending on 

how big you 

like them. 

Burger patties 

• 6 lb | 2.7 kg ground beef (or combine 

equal amounts of ground beef and 

ground pork) 

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped 

• 1 head roasted garlic, cloves squeezed 

out and mashed with a fork 

• 1 Tbsp | 15 mL toasted sesame oil 

• 2 Tbsp | 25 mL dark soy 

sauce, Worcestershire sauce or 

a combination 

• 1/2 tsp | 2 mL freshly grated nutmeg 

• 1/4 tsp | 1 mL cayenne (or more, if 

you like more heat) 

• lots of freshly ground black pepper 

• 2 eggs 

• 1/2 cup | 125 mL cold water 

Fixin’s 

• barbecue sauce 

• 12–16 cheese slices (optional) 

• 12–16 hamburger buns 

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. 

Gently combine the burger ingredients 

in a large bowl with your hands, taking 

care not to overwork the meat. Wet 

your hands in cold water before you 

form the mixture into chunks the size 

of tennis balls. Flatten them into patties, 

placing them on the baking sheet. Each 

patty will be about 1/2 lb (250 g) before 

cooking. Place them in the freezer for 

one hour to firm them up. 

Preheat your grill for medium direct 

heat. Take the burgers out of the 

freezer and grill them for six minutes 

per side, or until they are springy to the 

touch, glazing them on both sides with 

barbecue sauce. Top each patty with 

a slice of cheese for the last couple of 

minutes of cooking. Serve the burgers 

on buns with your favorite condiments. 

- excerpted from Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuck’s 

Barbecue Secrets Deluxe! 



Part of the 

Environmental Solution 

Canadian cattle’s role in caring for a sustainable Earth. 

W 

hen it comes to the 

environment, according to 

cattle producers – Canadian 

cattle have a bum rap. Contrary to 

reports, Canadian livestock make only 

a minor contribution to Canada’s 

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 

and energy use. Actually, cattle 

play an essential role in sustainable 

agriculture. 

Canadian cattle utilize natural 

resources very efficiently and cattle 

producers continuously look for 

ways to increase that efficiency. Good 

management of Canada’s approximate 

21 million hectares of pastureland is 

one of those ways. Not only do pastures 

support food production, but they 

provide wildlife habitat and serve an 

important role in GHG reductions. In 

some cases, pastureland stores carbon 

more efficiently than trees. 

Pastures can exist where our food 

crops can’t – on land that is too steep or 

cold or inaccessible to farm machinery. 

Pasture grasses play a significant role 

in feeding us. In Canada, since nearly 

one third of Canada’s agricultural 

land is unsuitable for crop production, 

utilizing it as pasture to raise cattle 

enables this land to still contribute to 

food production. 

More environmentally friendly 

than most other forms of producing 

food, properly managed cattle pasture 

lands control erosion and enrich the 

soil. Planted grasses are often used 

to rehabilitate soils where crops have 

grown. It is precisely because of these 

Better management 

practices have lowered 

the number of cattle 

required to produce 

the high-quality protein 

consumers require. 

benefits and more that cattle play 

such a pivotal role in our food supply. 

Without cattle those lands would not 

contribute to our food supply. 

For nearly 20 years, producers 

have worked hard to reduce the 

environmental footprint of Canadian 

agriculture by implementing best 

management practices to improve 

efficiency and reduce environmental 

impact. These practices include 

improving the diets of farm animals, 

selectively breeding for animals that 

use their diets more efficiently and 

improving animal health – all factors 

that contribute to the reduction of 

GHG emissions. Better management 

practices have lowered the number 

of cattle required to produce the 

high-quality protein consumers 

require. In addition, as stewards of 

the land, many producers adopt 

environmental farm plans tailored to 

their specific operations to enhance 

the environmental sustainability of 

their operations. 

Meanwhile the investments made 

in new technologies and agricultural 

research will certainly yield an even 

more sustainable future with cattle. 

They play a significant part in the 

burgeoning biogas industry; making 

it possible to turn manure, already 

a valuable soil amendment, into a 

renewable source of energy. 

When it comes to environmentally 

sustainable food production, let’s 

Canadian Meat Business May/June 2009 

meatbusiness.ca

eflect on the contributions the lowly 

Canadian cow makes to the environment 

and feeding the world. 

Canada’s beef and cattle producers 

make a valuable contribution to Canada’s 

economy and environment. Their good 

management practices maintain wildlife 

habitat and contribute to reducing 

GHG. They are committed to ensuring 

their practices prove beneficial to the 

environment, their animals and operations, 

plus the consumer. 

Sustaining Canada’s 

agricultural land 

• Canada’s cattle producers manage 

167 million acres of native grasses for 

livestock and wildlife – comprising 

about a quarter of Canada’s total 

agricultural land. 

• These native and tame grasses play an 

important role in sequestering carbon 

in the soil, filtering water, providing 

habitat for wildlife and birds and 

providing high-quality feed for cattle. 

• Producers annually convert additional 

cultivated crop land to tame grasses. 

Building and maintaining 

native grasses 

• Native grasses make a significant 

contribution to feeding practices that 

reduce methane output from cattle. 

• Science has proved that moving cattle 

from pasture-to-pasture, maintains 

the healthy, lush green grasses which 

provide easy-to-digest feed for cattle. 

• An easy-to-digest cattle feed promotes 

good weight gain and reduces methane 

production. 

• With more than 90 per cent of Canada’s 

beef cattle production pasture-based, 

the added bonus to these planned 

grazing practices is the flourishing 

wildlife habitat it creates. 

Eat meat and sustain the 

environment 

• Eating less meat will not save the 

environment. In fact, it may contribute 

to more demands on it. 

• Consuming less meat protein means 

that to maintain a healthy diet, people 

must consume more vegetablebased 

protein. Producing that requires 

the cultivation of more land, which 

increases use of fossil fuels and 

fertilizer application. Unfortunately 

valuable wildlife habitat is lost in the 

process. 

For more information visit the Canadian 

Cattlemen’s Association at cattle.ca. 

- Staff 



Canadian Meat Council Marks 90 Years at 

Annual Conference 

T 

he Canadian Meat Council 

(CMC) held its 89th Annual 

Conference on May 6 to 8 at 

the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in 

Montreal. This year’s conference also 

marked the 90th anniversary of the 

Canadian Meat Council. 

The conference featured the 

popular Product Tasting Reception 

on Wednesday evening, with products 

from the Beef Information Centre, BSA 

Ingredients, Delft Blue Inc/Ecolait 

Ltee, FPBQ – Quebec grain-fed veal, 

Griffith Laboratories, Hermann Laue 

Spice Company, Kerry Ingredients & 

Flavours, Olymel and Viscofan Canada. 

Retail and foodservice guests were in 

attendance at this event. 

Throughout the day on Thursday, 

speakers addressed topics in the areas 

of sales and marketing, operations, 

and technical. Popular presentations 

included Current Perspective on 

Listeria Control by Dr. Randy Huffman 

of Maple Leaf Foods, and Supply Chain 

Alliance, by Jeff Kroll of MacDonald’s 

Restaurants of Canada. 

The program on Friday included an 

Photo: Jim Laws 

analysis of the agri-food commodities 

by Irene Nattel from the Royal Bank 

of Canada; an overview of the industry 

by Patrick Boyle and Rod Brenneman, 

the president and chairman of the 

American Meat Institute; a parallel 

between history of the CMC and current 

issues by Jim Laws and Don Davidson, 

the council’s executive director and 

Product Tasting Reception, Beef Information Centre booth. 

president; and an update on Canadian 

Food Inspection Agency activities by 

Jean Lamoureux, executive director of 

Quebec operations. 

The 90th Annual Conference will be 

held at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in 

Victoria, B.C. from May 5 to 7, 2010. 

-staff 

PACKed in for ’09 

PACKEX Toronto 2009 confirms its status of a 

Canadian must attend event for all packaging and 

supply chain professionals. 

F 

rom May 5 to 7 Canadian Meat 

Business was in attendance 

at PACKEX Toronto 2009, 

Canada’s largest packaging, material 

handling and logistics show. 

The 34th edition of PACKEX 

Toronto was a huge success. In spite 

of difficult economic times, both 

exhibitors and visitors communicated 

positive feedback to organizers with 

comments focusing on the quality of 

PACKEX Toronto as an essential show 

for the Canadian industry. 

PACKEX Toronto welcomed over 

354 exhibitors from Canada, the United 

States, and overseas. This edition 

presented a wider selection of exhibits 

represented by 143 new companies. 

Furthermore, PACKEX Toronto was 

co-located for the first time ever with 

IPA Canada, the National Food Process 

Exhibition. These two co-located events 

provided technologies and solutions 

under one roof, from food production 

to its shipment. 

PACKEX Toronto 2009 welcomed 

7,034 attendees, showing a thriving 17 

per cent increase from the previous 

edition in 2007. 

- staff 

Paul Medeiros and Carol Zweep, 

Guelph Food Technology Centre 

Photo:s Alan MacKenzie 

10 Canadian Meat Business May/June 2009 meatbusiness.ca

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Photo: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz shows support 

for the pork industry on Parliament Hill. 

Derrick Pobereznek 

What’s in 

a Name? 

Governments, WHO take the “swine” 

out of H1N1 Influenza. 

By Alan MacKenzie 

W 

hat difference does a name make? Millions of 

dollars worth of exports, if that name is “swine 

flu.” 

In late April a deadly virus with origins in Mexico that 

beganspreading to the United States and Canada made 

headlines worldwide under the name “swine flu” – even 

though the virus includes genetic components of human, 

avian and swine origin. 

In the days following the outbreak, countries began 

halting imports of North American pork because of the 

association with the name, despite the fact that the virus 

in not a foodborne illness. Ukraine – which imported $11 

million worth of Canadian pork last year – banned pork 

from Canada and several others were reportedly considering 

it, including the Philippines – which imported $46 million 

worth of Canadian pork last year. 

Pork groups such as the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) 

and the Canadian Swine Health Board (CSHB) began 

pressuring the federal government to follow U.S. President 

Barack Obama’s lead to stop using the term. The Canadian 

government agreed and the virus became known as H1N1 

influenza – however mainstream media did not follow 

suit, and many pork industry officials are concerned 

that consumers and importers will continue to make the 

association between the illness and pork products. 

“The impact will be lessened, but it will not be back to what 

it was,” Jacques Pomerleau, executive director of Canada 

Pork International, told Canadian Meat Business. “It’s a good 

first step, but I think the industry will have to work very hard 

in the next while just to rebuild that confidence.” 

The situation was heightened April 28 when an Alberta 

farmer voluntarily reported influenza-like symptoms in his 

herd, resulting in a quarantine and the cull of approximately 

500 animals on his farm. According to the CPC the cull was 

made on Arnold Van Ginkel’s farm to alleviate overcrowding 

brought on by the quarantine. 

The CPC said Van Ginkel is owed a debt of gratitude by 

the Canadian pork industry for putting the health of the 

industry ahead of that of his own farm. “In addition to 

Arnold Van Ginkel, we would like to thank Alberta Pork, 

Alberta Agriculture and the Canadian Food Inspection 

Agency for their quick and efficient handling of the 

impending overcrowding issue on the farm,” CPC chair 

Jurgen Preugschas said in a release. “Thanks are also due 

to Van Ginkel's neighbours and industry partners for their 

ongoing support of the Van Ginkel family and for respecting 

and protecting the privacy of the family until they were ready 

to be publicly identified.” 

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz stated that the 

government will continue to reassure Canadian consumers 


and international trading partners that 

Canadian pork is safe. 

“The international scientific community, 

including the OIE (World Organization 

For Animal Health) and WHO (World 

Health Organization), agree that H1N1 

Influenza A is not a food safety issue,” he 

said in a release. Ritz added that Canadian 

consumers should show support by buying 

more pork. 

Review and strengthen 

biosecurity 

CPC and CSHB have urged hog 

producers to review and strengthen their 

existing biosecurity practices: 

• Visitor traffic to pig barns should be 

minimized to essential services only, 

and persons recently returning from 

affected regions should have no contact 

with pigs for at least seven days. 

• Barn entry requirements should be 

enhanced with a minimum of a change 

of clothes and boots and a thorough 

hand wash. If masks are available, they 

should be used, with a N95 respiratory 

mask and gloves being the preferred 

choice. 

• Insure ventilation systems are 

functioning and minimize recirculation 

of air inside animal housing 

facilities. 

• No workers suffering “flu” like illness 

should contact swine, workers should 

not return to swine facilities until 

seven days after having respiratory 

illness. The same should apply if a 

farm workers household has been 

diagnosed with influenza. 

• Influenza-like symptoms could include 

one or more of the following, fever, 

cough, body aches, and sometimes 

vomiting and diarrhea. 

• Any unusual respiratory disease in 

pig herds should be investigated by 

the herd veterinarian and diagnostic 

samples (lung tissues and nasal swabs) 

from acutely ill pigs with a fever should 

be sent to the regional veterinary 

diagnostic lab. 

• The decision to vaccinate swine herds 

with existing swine vaccines should be 

made with your herd veterinarian. 

For the health of workers in contact with 

swine, the groups recommended: 

• Report any unusual respiratory disease 

to your doctor. 

• Use masks and gloves are 

recommended and safety goggles 

when necessary. 

• Recommend that an annual flu 

vaccination be discussed with 

their doctor as part of their health 

management plan. 


May/June 2009 Canadian Meat Business 13

| Assembly Line | 

Assembly Line is an opportunity for companies to feature new products for the meat 

producing, processing, packaging and distribution industry. To include information about your 

new product e-mail alan@meatbusiness.ca. 

Tamper Proof Greatness in NITA’s Newest 

Clamshell Labeller 

The new Shellshock clamshell 

labelling system from Montrealbased 

Nita Labeling Equipment is 

configurable to handle container 

sizes as small as four inches wide as a 

large as 15.5 inches in width. 

The labeller provides quality, 

accuracy, user friendliness, HMI 

(touch screen) operated, servomotor 

driven reliability. The over 

the top wipe-on labeller is specially adapted to plunge deeper 

through the conveyor for a consistent throughput and an 

exceptional accurate look to your clamshell container while 

offering a tamper-evident seal. 

The product feature stainless steel and anodized aluminium 

construction and no proprietary electronics. 

With only the clamshell and tray containers in mind, this 

device is aimed specifically at the baking, meats, poultry, 

produce and confectionary industries. 

nitalabelingequipment.com 

Protecting Your Products with Sodium 

Acetate and Diatcetate 

In December 2008 Health Canada issued an Interim 

Marketing Authority allowing sodium diacetate and sodium 

acetate to be used in meat and poultry products. Bombal 

(Fresh Amba) – available from Malabar Super Spice Co. Ltd. 

– is a special blend of these ingredients designed to slow the 

growth of microorganisms (including listeria monocytogenes, 

e.coli, bacilllus cereus and staphylococcus aureus). 

Bombal (Fresh Amba) is a fine powder that is easy to use, 

dissolves quickly, can be mixed at any stage of the process, and 

has a low usage rate of only 0.5 per cent calculated on the total 

weight. 

The blend is designed for both sausage emulsions and cured 

and injected meat and poultry products. There is no reaction 

with other spices or ingredients. It should be added after 

phosphates and salt. Sodium diacetate is a free flowing source 

of acetic acid (organic acid), most recognizable as a granular 

form of vinegar. 

Bombal (Fresh Amba) is available in 3 kg or 22 kg bags. 

malabarsuperspice.com 

Clarion Food Grade Lubricants Available in 

New Convenient Size 

Clarion Food Grade white oil lubricants are now available to 

food manufacturers in a convenient five-gallon pail. 

Representing the leading edge of purity and performance for 

more than 40 years, white mineral oil base products such as Clarion 

Food Grade, has given food manufacturers the opportunity to 

use lubricants that offer the same quality performance, or better, 

than traditional lubricants while helping to remove the risks of 

contamination or recall from operations. 

Clarion Food Grade white mineral oils are highly refined 

and stabilized so that they can be used for everything from food 

coatings to direct use in pharmaceutical products like suntan 

lotions and ointments. 

Clarion products meet the most stringent standards of 

purity and performance for food processing. White oils cannot 

be labelled as “food grade” unless the products pass special 

approval tests governed by the United States Food and Drug 

Administration (U.S. FDA). All Clarion Food Grade products are 

NSF H-1 registered for use in food processing plants under the 

jurisdiction of the U.S. FDA. 

A spokesperson for the company said applications have been 

submitted to Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to 

register the Clarion Food Grade products in Canada. 

With a diverse product line, Clarion offers solutions to almost 

any food manufacturing need. Clarion food grade greases 

effectively lubricate most machinery used to manufacture, 

process, package and store food products. High-temperature, 

extreme pressure water-resistant food grade greases provide 

excellent rust protection and oxidation inhibition – ideal in 

applications where the greases may accidentally come into 

contact with food. Synthetic food grade oils allow extended 

drain intervals, in many cases, lowering the lubricant cost and 

reducing maintenance work. All Clarion Food Grade products 

are available in bulk, totes, drums or pails with the recent addition 

of the convenient five-gallon pail. 

clarionlubricants.com 

Food Safety is a Hands-On Issue 

Waterford, Ont.-based Deb 

Canada recently launched its Food 

Safety Hand Hygiene program in an 

e-learning format. 

The company says that foodborne 

illness is most often transmitted by 

food workers that fail to wash their 

hands effectively. 

The program, designed to help 

raise standards of food safety by 

reducing the risk of food being cross-contaminated as a result 

of poor hand hygiene, covers key topics including Centre of 

Disease Control statistics, communicable disease prevention 

and proper hand-washing techniques, according to marketing 

manager Patrick Boshell. 

The program, which is based on the Deb Skin Care System, is 

a combination of highly effective skin care products and support 

activities, designed to help food manufacturers implement and 

maintain effective hand hygiene. A preventative intervention, 


it consists of a six-step approach to skin care, which includes 

protection, cleansing, sanitizing, restoration, education and 

auditing. 

debcanada.com 

FKI Logistex Offers Sortation Equipment 

and System Audits 

FKI Logistex now offers a performance audit program 

for its sliding shoe, linear belt and pop-up wheel sortation 

equipment and systems, including the UniSort product line. 

The audit is designed to reveal cost-efficient ways to optimize 

system capacity and throughput, improve equipment 

utilization and extend system life. 

Performed by a certified FKI Logistex audit engineer, audits 

include a complete equipment inspection and review of 

operational and maintenance procedures. The comprehensive 

service also includes a detailed audit report containing 

equipment drawings, performance checklists and digital 

photographs for technical reference. Recommendations for 

maintenance, upgrades or modifications are accompanied 

by a complete list of recommended spare parts. The audit 

engineer will also provide schedules for recommended 

future audits and preventive maintenance. 

fkilogistex.com 

Petro-Canada Launches Environmentally 

Friendly Lubricant Line 

Petro-Canada has announced its new EcoSia brand, a 

suite of products that possess environmentally friendly 

characteristics. The product offering spans a diverse range 

of applications and customer segments including, but not 

limited to, lubricants and fluids for agriculture and general 

manufacturing. 

The EcoSia line-up includes products from many of Petro- 

Canada’s existing brands, including, but not limited to, 

ENVIRON hydraulic fluids, PUREDRILL drilling mud base 

fluids, CALFLO specialty heat transfer fluids, select PURITY 

FG food grade lubricants, PURETOL white oils, select 

COMPRO compressor fluids, and LUMINOL electrical 

insulating fluids. 

Petro-Canada blends and packages more than 350 

different lubricants, specialty fluids and greases that are 

exported to more than 60 countries on six continents. 

Majority of products are manufactured from 99.9 per cent 

pure base oils – among the purest in the world. As the world’s 

largest producer of white oils and the leading supplier of 

factory fill automatic transmission fluids, Petro-Canada is 

focused on going beyond today’s standards. With more 

than 30 years of experience in blending Groups II and III 

base oils, the company delivers a diverse line of innovative 

lubricants to meet an ever increasing range of international 

specifications. 

lubricants.petro-canada.ca/ecosia 

please visit us at: www.sperlingind.com 

“BOSS” equipment 

Industry providers to the food industry for over 100 years... 

• Focused on food safety with enhanced production reliability. 

• Specializing in engineering, fabrication, installations, Beef & Pork. 

• BOSS provides packers with reliable efficient equipment. 

Sperling 

Industries Ltd. 

51 Station St, (Box 100) 

Sperling, MB Canada R0G 2M0 

1-204-626-3401 or 

Fax 1-204-626-3252 

Also: 

Brandon, MB 

1-204-729-9190 

2420 Z Street, Omaha, NE 68107 

1-402-556-4070 



The Five Steps to 

Good Governance 

A company’s reputation with consumers and stakeholders is 

important to the bottom line. 

By Wayne Gelb, CA 

A 

s the population becomes 

increasingly sensitive to social 

accountability, a company’s 

reputation is as important to the bottom 

line as revenue growth. Managing your 

company’s reputation effectively begins 

with strong corporate governance. 

While every corporate governance 

strategy will have its own parameters, 

there are five fundamental steps that 

every organization should consider when 

putting a program in place. 

Step 1 – Understand stakeholders 

Until you truly define and understand 

your stakeholders, you cannot create a 

holistic governance program for your 

company. Traditionally, stakeholders are 

thought of as the owners, investors and 

the board of advisors, but you also need 

to consider and include management, 

employees, suppliers, customers, lenders 

and the community. For those in the meat 

processing industry, it is also important 

to consider the needs of the regulatory 

and health and safety bodies that govern 

your business. 

Step 2 - Identify key objectives 

This is essential to setting the expectations 

of your stakeholders and encouraging 

ethical decision making at all levels. Start 

by developing a long-term strategic plan 

that will satisfy all identified stakeholders. 

Build or revisit your company’s mission 

statement to ensure that it encompasses 

attributes such as honesty, trust, integrity, 

openness, accountability, responsibility, 

mutual respect and commitment to the 

organization. It is also important to make 

sure that growth remains a key element in 

defining your objectives. 

Step 3 – Define internal control and 

reporting requirements 

This step involves two elements. The 

first is to review financial reporting 

processes and the frequency of reporting. 

In this current economic climate, it is 

advisable to accelerate your cash flow 

forecasting to a quarterly, maybe even 

monthly, basis to accommodate rapidly 

changing assumptions and business 

conditions. 

The second element is to monitor your 

working capital carefully. This includes 

staying on top of your receivables and 

proactively identifying specific customer 

credit issues. Keep in mind that both your 

financial and operational processes need 

to be documented and communicated so 

that lenders and regulators can be sure 

you are taking the right steps to protect 

your finances, your products and the 

future of your operation. 

Step 4 – Ensure your team has the 

right tools and resources 

Ultimately a company needs to be 

prepared to make the necessary investment 

to ensure that the right tools are in 

place to meet the corporate governance 

objectives. If your management team does 

not have the adequate training, support 

and technology to run the business 

effectively, then the owners or board of 

advisors cannot hold them accountable. 

Consider surveying the management 

team to identify what resources will allow 

them to optimize their performance 

and encourage them to contribute their 

opinions to improve the success of the 

company. By doing so, you will not only 

gain loyalty, you will also enhance and 

strengthen the corporate culture. 

Step 5 – Enforce your policies 

Effective governance begins with a 

strong company culture. It is essential to 

communicate regularly and effectively 

so that you foster a culture where team 

members believe in and live the corporate 

values and responsibilities. That means 

setting clear expectations and guidelines 

for the team, rewarding achievements and 

behaviours that reinforce the company’s 

values, as well as celebrating company 

successes. However, effectively managing 

corporate culture also means dealing 

swiftly with behaviours that are not in 

congruence with the company’s values. 

It is important to remember that 

governance is an evolving process that 

demands a corporate wide effort. 

Wayne Gelb is a partner with Fuller Landau, 

Toronto-based, mid-market public accounting and 

business advisory firm. Wayne can be reached at 416- 

645-6546, or by email at wgelb@fullerlandau.com. 


| Cross Countr y News | 

Saskatchewan 

200 Laid Off at XL Foods Moose Jaw Plant 

XL Foods Inc. recently laid off all 200 staff at its Moose Jaw 

beef plant due to a shortage of cull and fed cattle supplies. 

According to the company, the shortage is “unusual” and 

expected to abate in the coming months. The company said 

the plant will remain closed until September. 

“We regret that we have had to take such extreme action 

but look forward to recalling the staff and recommencing 

operations on or before Sept. 28, 2009,” XL co-CEO Brian 

Nilsson said in a release. 

Manitoba 

Governments Launch Growing Forward 

Programs in Manitoba 

The federal government and Province of Manitoba have 

announced details of new agricultural programs for farmers in 

Manitoba under the Growing Forward framework. 

“Farmers expect all levels of government to work together to 

drive Canadian agriculture and this agreement is making that 

happen,” federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a release. 

“Growing Forward delivers stable and bankable programs that 

work for farmers. The agreement we signed today will kick-start 

the rollout of these essential programs in Manitoba.” 

“This combined support for Manitoba’s diverse agriculture 

industry will help advance timely programs and products 

that will expand agricultural business opportunities,” added 

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister 

Rosann Wowchuk. “As new initiatives are created throughout the 

province, the ripple effect of the economic benefits will provide 

an even more positive growth factor in the future.” 

Growing Forward is a national agriculture framework to 

coordinate federal and provincial agriculture policy. Federal, 

provincial, and territorial governments are delivering $1.3 

billion for farm families over five years. Today’s agreement with 

Manitoba will deliver a total of $117.5 million from the federal 

and provincial governments for agriculture in this province. 

Growing Forward programs are tailored with the flexibility 

to meet Manitoba’s diverse regional requirements. The 

Government of Canada and Province of Manitoba have worked 

with farmers every step of the way to develop the Growing 

Forward framework. 

In Manitoba, the Growing Forward framework supports 

programs to encourage innovations such as new business 

initiatives and value-added products that will add to agriculturalbased 

value chains. Other programs include enhancements to 

food safety systems from the farm gate to the food plate and 

environmental protection planning. 

For a complete list of Growing Forward programs in Manitoba, 

visit gov.mb.ca/agriculture. 

Ontario 

Maple Leaf Foods to Wait for Sale of 

Burlington Business 

Maple Leaf Foods announced it will not continue a formal 

sale process for its Burlington, Ont. pork processing business 

until possibly early next year. 

“The current economic conditions and credit markets have 

created a less than ideal environment to sell any business,” 

Michael Vels, chief financial officer of Maple Leaf Foods said 

in a release. “There is no immediate urgency to selling the 

Burlington business. It is an efficient and profitable business 

and we want to ensure we negotiate an offer that recognizes the 

appropriate value for the business and meets the expectations 

of our shareholders” 

The decision to sell the Burlington business resulted from 

the company's decision to refocus its growth in the value-added 

meat, meals and bakery businesses in October 2006, involving 

the divestiture or exit of several of its primary processing and 

other operations. 

The company said it plans to wait until markets rebound 

to continue the process, which it estimates will not be likely 

before early 2010. 

Guelph Woman Arrested for Tampering with 

Schneider’s Meat Products 

Guelph, Ont. police arrested 41-year-old Mastoora Qezil in 

March for tampering with meat products at a grocery store. 

The woman, a former Maple Leaf Consumer Foods 

employee, was charged with one count of Common Nuisance 


under the Criminal Code. 

On March 18, Guelph police entered into an investigation 

when it was reported that sewing needles of various lengths 

had been inserted into various Schneider’s meat products at 

the No Frills Store located on Silvercreek Parkway. 

Aside from the original complaint none of the items 

tampered with were sold to the public. In all 12 packaged 

products containing 13 needles had been tampered with. No 

one was physically injured as result. 

According to Maple Leaf Foods, Qezil had worked at the 

company’s plant in Guelph for seven years and was terminated 

earlier that month. 

“We are very pleased that the police investigation has resulted 

in a charge being laid,” a Maple Leaf media statement said. 

“We also grateful to the cooperation extended by the police 

and the retailer throughout the investigation.” 

Bona Foods 

Our apologies to Bona Foods. In our last issue we 

did not correctly identify the company as Platinum 

Winners at the Ontario’s Finest Meat Competition in 

the “Fermented Sausage” category for its Paisanella 

Salami. Bona Foods is a food processing company that 

manufactures and distributes a variety of Italian-style 

deli meats throughout Canada. Visit Bona Foods at 

bonafoods.com. 

Why should people go 

hungry while food goes 

to waste? 

Do you... 

Work with a perishable or non-perishable 

food company in the Greater Toronto Area? 

Want to reduce waste and save on 

disposal costs? 

Need to free up storage space? 

Why not donate your surplus, close-to-code or 

damaged packaged food to Second Harvest? 

To arrange a food pickup, simply call 416-408-2594 

or email melissad@secondharvest.ca 

secondharvest.ca 



The Kitchen 

is Open 

A new way for processors to purchase 

equipment. 

Photo: Unitherm Food Systems 

By David Rizzo 

J 

ust as only a fool would buy a new car without going 

for a test drive, food processors now find themselves 

adopting a similar approach when it comes to 

purchasing equipment for their facilities. No longer 

content to simply sign-off on the delivery of large 

ovens and chillers at their docks, and then trying to adapt the 

machinery to their particular process, plant managers have long 

sought a means to ensure, in advance, that such equipment is 

optimally suited for their operation. 

With the advent of equipment manufacturers offering fully 

equipped kitchens so that food producers can “kick the tires” 

on new equipment by visiting the manufacturers with their 

product in tow, better results in terms of yield and quality are 

now becoming the norm. 

The most complete examples of these kitchens allow food 

processors to test varying cooking and freezing options and to 

optimize the equipment and the process before they put down a 

penny. Some manufacturers even go so far as to bring in design 

engineers to modify the equipment to further customize the 

equipment to actually improve the customer’s process. 

In effect, this new direction allows processors to perfect their 

product – be it cooked or frozen, vegetable or meat – in the 

“showroom” so that no surprises pop up on the production 

floor. 

Henry Ford was quoted as saying, “You can have any colour 

you want, as long as it’s black.” It’s not too far a stretch to 

make a comparison with the old paradigm of purchasing food 

processing machinery, where processors had to purchase “off 

the shelf.” 

In such instances, the capabilities of the equipment often 

dictated the cooking and freezing processes, resulting in a lessthan-optimal 

taste and quality of the final product for the sake 

of high volumes that only automated machinery can deliver. 

But the competitive food market takes no prisoners, and 

processors that don’t offer the best gustatory experience to the 

consumer will eventually go out of business. Hence, the need to 

get it right the first time. 

This is where the shift toward equipment-testing kitchens 

comes in. 

“The future of food process machinery purchasing is 

going this way, where the customer can demand to go into a 

kitchen and actually try out their product on the machinery,” 

predicts David Howard, CEO of Unitherm Food Systems of 

Bristow, Oklahoma. “Only then can they feel confident that 

the equipment best serves their operational parameters and 

expected results.” 

Already recognized throughout the food processing industry 

for its unique heat transfer systems that maximize yields and 

reduce processing times, Unitherm recently joined the, as yet, 


Photos: Unitherm Food Systems 

“The future of food process machinery purchasing is going this way.” 

– David Howard, CEO, Unitherm Food Systems 

small coterie of manufacturers that feature fully equipped test 

kitchens. 

As one of the newer, more modern, iterations of manufacturerowned 

test kitchens, it presents a textbook example of what 

type of environment awaits the producers of cooked vegetables, 

meats and frozen foods. 

Upon arrival, guests get introduced to a $2.5 million, 25,000- 

square-foot kitchen dedicated to high-volume, high-speed, food 

processing. Entry begins with a true “clean room” experience, 

with hygienic architectural products such as stainless steel 

curbing, hands-free sinks and stainless steel floor drains. 

“Test kitchens should be set up to resemble a high-quality 

food factory,” explains Howard. “Here, you walk in, change into 

your smock and boots, and put on a hair net. Then proceed 

through a hand wash station. There’s also a sanitizer to scrub 

and wash your boots.” 

The food processing area itself contains $8 million worth of 

fully operational production machines and product handling 

equipment that can continuously feed as many as 10 different 

cooking processes. Think: steaming, blanching, broiling, 

baking, searing, branding, grilling and pasteurizing; convection 

impingement to infrared; with gas, electric or thermal oil. 

Cooking temps range from below boiling point all the way to 

1,600° F. 

Continued on page 22 



Photos: Unitherm Food Systems 

Specific pieces of equipment include a flame broiler/griller 

with a series of eight ribbon burners to speed the browning 

and searing of foods such as mushrooms. In the case of poultry, 

the searing process seals in the natural oils before entering an 

oven. The oven, itself, incorporates a 16-inch wide belt that 

spirals around the burners to the equivalent of 150 ft. of belt, 

all within an 8 ft. x 8 ft. footprint. 

No kitchen, test or otherwise, would be complete without a 

gas infrared oven, the most innovative of which utilize a stainless 

steel burner head for increased durability. 

Likewise, quick cooling “crusters” have attained de rigueur 

status for any food processing plant that produces meat or 

poultry logs. Round out the chilling side of the business with a 

spiral freezer and a continuous impingement freezer. With the 

inclusion of an infrared or aquaflow pasteurizer, almost every 

imaginable aspect of the food processing industry gets covered 

in today’s modern kitchen. 

If that’s not enough, Unitherm’s kitchen, for one, comes 

staffed with design engineers willing to work hand-in-hand 

with food processors to modify any existing machinery into a 

customized cooking system. An on-site 3-D modelling system 

speeds the process. 

Test drives yield success 

Early feedback indicates that these kitchens are proving 

to be quite popular among food processors. Whether fireroasting 

Portobello mushrooms, steaming potatoes, cooking 

vegetables and other ingredients for sauces and ravioli fillings 

or baking chicken tenders, experimenting with the equipment 

emboldens processors to proceed with confidence, knowing 

that the equipment will maximize yields, reduce processing 

times, increase food safety and improve the taste of final 

product 

“One food processor based in Mexico flew directly from a 

trade show, where we met, to our plant near Tulsa,” recalls 

Howard. “We supplied the green peppers that he uses in his 

plant, that ultimately stuffs the peppers with other ingredients. 

Passing them through a correctly set-up roaster blackens the 

outer skin, which then gets removed to leave a slim, roasted 

pepper. We ran the test, and they bought a machine on the 

spot.” 

Howard tells of another processor who needed to speed up 

the roasting of tomatoes. 

“He came to our kitchen loaded with tomatoes just before 

Christmas,” continues Howard. “We put the tomatoes in the 

roaster and the project was finished in 10 minutes. In-and-out; 

done. In this case, we could adapt the machine to fit his exact 

purpose, which is why it worked out so well. But we couldn’t 

have done it unless he was in our kitchen with his product.” 

Such positive outcomes get repeated in these new kitchens 

throughout the country, with all manner of food products and 

purposes. Howard recounted stories of successfully achieving a 

roasting rate of 7,000 lbs. per hour of red bell peppers within 

four hours of having the client enter the kitchen. In the case 

of a producer of pre-cooked ready meals – such as lasagna, 

macaroni and cheese and potato salad – the producer booked 

two-days of stay at the Unitherm location. 

“We’re allowing food processors to first think about, ‘How 

am I going to maximize the quality of my product,’ as opposed 

to thinking about machinery,” adds Howard. 

David Rizzo, D.P.M., writes technical articles for Power PR, based in 

Torrance, Calif. He has published two trade books, 150 technical articles, 

and 300 newspaper columns. 


events calendar 

May 2009 

27 to 28 

Advanced Listeria Intervention and Control 

Workshop 

Allerton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois 

ami.com 

June 2009 

17 to 18 

Food Meets Function 

Best Western Lamplighter Inn and 

Conference Centre, London, Ont. 

foodmeetsfunction.ca 

17 to 21 

35th Annual Canadian Association 

of Foodservice Professionals (CAFP) 

Conference 

Calgary, Alta. 

cafp.com 

July 2009 

12 to 15 

IAFP 2009 96th Annual Meeting 

Gaylord Texan Resort 

Grapevine, Texas 

foodprotection.org 

September 2009 

10 to 13 

NAMP 67th Annual Convention 

The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, 

Colorado 

namp.com 

27 to 28 

Alberta Foodservice Show 

Roundup Centre / Stampede Park 

Calgary, Alta. 

crfa.ca/tradeshows/Alberta 

March 2010 

7 to 9 

CRFA Show 

Toronto, Ont. 

crfa.ca/tradeshows 

April 2010 

18 to 19 

ApEx 

Halifax, N.S. 


29 to 30 

BC Foodservice Expo 

Vancouver, B.C. 


Thefoodnewz is an on line events calendar created by Debra Bradshaw of Zep Food 

& Beverage Division. To find out more about the events listed in this magazine visit 

thefoodnewz.com. If you know of events not listed please email Debra directly at 

zeprep@rogers.com. 



| Industr y Roundup | 

Depressed Margins in Packaged Meats 

Overshadows Maple Leaf’s Q1 

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. continues to recover 

from last summer’s massive product recall, 

the company reported today in its financial 

results for the first quarter ended March 31, 

2009. 

Sales for the first quarter increased 

6.3 per cent to $1.3 billion compared 

to $1.2 billion last year, reflecting price increases and the 

benefit of favourable foreign currency changes on fresh 

meat sales. 

Earnings from operations before restructuring and other 

related costs and other income decreased by 4.5 per cent 

to $31.6 million compared to $33.1 million last year, as 

significant declines in packaged meat earnings were mitigated 

by benefits from the restructuring of pork processing and hog 

production operations and price increases across the bakery 

business. 

Adjusted operating earnings in the company’s meat products 

group declined to $11.4 million in the first quarter of 2009 

compared to $25.0 million last year. Margins in packaged 

meat products were significantly lower than last year due to 

the impact of volume recovery efforts following last year's 

product recall. The company stated that over the next several 

months, its management will be implementing actions to 

restore margins, including appropriate price action, reducing 

internal costs and resuming more normalized investment 

in promotions. In response to the economic recession, 

marketing and innovation activities are focused on shifting 

the product mix to offer consumers a greater variety of value 

propositions. 

Earnings from fresh pork operations improved significantly 

in the first quarter, as the benefits from double shifting the 

pork processing plant in Brandon, Man., the consolidation 

of ham boning operations and the closure of less efficient 

plants were realized. A weaker Canadian dollar resulted in 

higher sales prices for fresh pork and increased earnings from 

international sales. 

In the first quarter, the company announced that due to 

difficult credit markets, it has suspended actively marketing its 

pork processing business in Burlington, Ont. The sale process 

for this business is expected to resume when credit markets 

stabilize and an appropriate sale value can be realized. The 

business is profitable and contributed to cash flow and 

earnings for the quarter. Earnings from the company’s poultry 

operations were consistent with last year. 

Rollstock Sales Director to be “Deeply Missed” 

Rollstock, Inc. released the following statement regarding 

the death of its sales director, Craig McBee. 

“Craig McBee began his sales career in automatic vacuum 

packaging in 1979. He joined Rollstock as the director of 

sales in 1998 where he was instrumental in establishing the 

company as the industry leader in entry-level to mid-range h/ 

f/f/s packaging equipment. Craig found more than a job at 

Rollstock; he found a new family and lifted it to success. He 

was an authority in his field and his unique, jovial personality 

will be deeply missed by all who knew him.” 

CFC’s 2009 Executive Committee 

The Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) has announced the 

election of its 2009 executive committee. 

The 15-member Board of Directors, made up of farmers 

and other stakeholders from the chicken industry, provides 

leadership on CFC’s strategic plan and mission and has chosen 

the following representatives: 

David Fuller, a farmer from Blomidon, N.S., has been reelected 

as CFC’s chairman – a position he has held since 1999. 

He has been with CFC’s board since 1996, and has been active 

with the Chicken Farmers of Nova Scotia for over 15 years. 

Fuller and his family produce 1.4 million kilograms of chicken 

annually in the Annapolis Valley. Three generations of Fullers 

have been involved at all levels of the industry. 

Martin Dufresne, representing the province of Quebec, was 

re-elected to the position of first vice-chair. Also a member 

of CFC’s market development committee, Dufresne farms 

near St. Félix-de-Valois with his wife and three children. He 

produces approximately 1.7 million kilograms of chicken per 

year on the farm started by his father in 1954. He has been 

farming for over 20 years and is also the chair of the Quebec 

provincial board, Les Éleveurs de volailles du Quèbec. 

Urs Kressibucher, a second-generation farmer from 

Beaverton, Ont., was re-elected to the CFC executive committee 

as second vice-chair for 2009. Since 2004, Kressibucher has 

participated on the CFC market development committee, 

the CFC food safety committee and the CFC animal care 

committee. Representing District 9 (Eastern Ontario) for 

seven years for Chicken Farmers of Ontario and serving as 

vice-chair of the Poultry Industry Council, Kressibucher and 


his family have been chicken farmers for the past 20 years. 

Erna Ference has been involved with poultry farming for 

years and has been re-elected as the member at large. As a 

certified management accountant and a second-generation 

poultry farmer, she brings a breadth of experience to the 

table. Married to Reg, a former CFC board member from 

Alberta, they have five kids between the ages of 14 and 25. 

Their operation produces about 1.5 million kg per year and is 

located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. 

CFC’s main responsibility is to ensure that Canada’s 2,800 

chicken farmers produce the right amount of fresh, safe, high 

quality chicken to meet consumer needs. CFC is proud of its 

role in a continuing agriculture success story and over 30 

years of raising the quality chicken that Canadians trust. 

Reiser Begins Construction of New 

Customer Centre 

Food processing and packaging equipment company 

Reiser has begun construction of a new state-of-the-industry 

Customer Center at its Canton, Massachusetts headquarters. 

The Customer Center – a 6,600 square foot expansion to their 

existing building – builds on Reiser’s commitment to work 

with their customers to test and develop new products and 

processes. It is scheduled to open in September 2009. 

The center will feature a customizable processing room 

with space to run individual machines or fully automated 

lines, as well as a test kitchen for preparing finished product. 

The facility allows product to be processed under the same 

conditions found in most top-of-the-line plants in the industry. 

It also includes modern conference rooms for meetings and 

training, as well as comfortable work stations for visitors. 

“Reiser has a long history of providing the highest levels 

of customer support,” John McIsaac, Reiser’s vice president 

of strategic business development said in a release. “Our new 

Customer Center is one more way that we can help processors 

develop the best solution for their particular application.” 

Reiser’s full line of processing and packaging equipment 

can be tested at the Customer Center, including: 

• Vemag – stuffers, grinders, formers, fillers, portioners, 

depositors, extruders, coextruders and dough dividers 

• Holac – dicers, slicers, and cutting equipment 

• AMFEC – mixers, blenders, tumblers, massagers, and 

macerators 

• Fomaco – injectors, tenderizers, brine mixers, and tanks 

• Seydelmann – bowl cutters and choppers, mixers, 

grinders, and mixing grinders 

• Ross – tray sealers for case-ready and modified 

atmosphere packaging 

• Repak – horizontal form/fill/seal packaging machines 

• Supervac – automatic vacuum chamber 

packaging machines 

Processors are invited to contact Reiser and schedule a test or 

demonstration. Reiser is located in Canton, Massachusetts. 

reiser.com 



Be a Fly on the Wall in 

By Bill Melville 

Your Own Facility 

How to understand fly habits and prevent infestations. 

B 

eef, pork, poultry, flies? Which 

one doesn’t belong? While the 

answer might be obvious, flies 

are more than just nuisance 

pests, they are a health hazard and can 

cause serious problems for your facility 

– from contamination to shutting down 

operations. 

Flies carry more than 100 pathogens 

and can transmit bacteria such as 

staphylococcus, E. coli and salmonella 

every time they land. More importantly, 

flies can cover large distances in a short 

amount of time so they pose a serious 

contamination risk to facilities. 

Meat processing facilities provide 

the right ingredients for flies – plenty 

of water and food. An integrated pest 

management (IPM) plan, however, 

incorporates sanitation and facility 

maintenance to eliminate pests’ access to 

these survival needs. 

Do your homework 

Ask your pest management professional 

to inspect your facility for evidence of flies 

such as breeding sites, or conditions that 

attract them, like available food and water 

sources. In order to identify what specific 

flies might affect your facility, your pest 

management professional should be 

trained in pest biology and behavior. 

For example, he or she should be able 

to easily identify the difference between 

a fruit fly and a drain fly, as fly control 

treatments work best when targeted 

toward a specific pest species or growth 

stage. After the inspection, consult with 

your pest management professional to 

determine the most effective prevention 

options. 

Keep a clean house 

Flies can pick up bacteria from breeding 

spots, such as in trash or on decaying 

matter, and pass it onto other surfaces the 

next time they land. Therefore, an unclean 

facility is fly-friendly and open to problems 

down the road. Establish a sanitation plan 

to complement your IPM program and 

keep flies uninterested in your facility. 

Set up a regular cleaning schedule and 

assign duties so that everyone plays a role 

Photo: Orkin, Inc. 

Install plastic strip doors to create an 

extra barrier against flying pests. 

Meat processing 

facilities provide the right 

ingredients for flies – 

plenty of water and food. 

in stringent sanitation. 

• Thoroughly clean all equipment on a 

regular basis. Make sure to clean deep 

into the cracks and crevices. 

• Keep employee break rooms free of 

any uncovered food or dirty dishes 

that might draw flies. 

• Wipe up spills immediately, even if it 

is just water. Fruit fly larvae tend to 

develop in moist areas or in standing 

water. 

• Line all trash cans inside your facility 

and keep the lids closed to reduce 

odors attractive to flies. Take trash out 

regularly, especially if it contains food 

waste. 

• Schedule a regular trash pick-up to 

remove the fly attraction from your 

property. Keep dumpsters as far 

from your building as possible, and 

then power wash and rotate them 

frequently. 

• Remove drain covers and scrub drains 

with a brush and an organic cleaner 

to prevent build-up. 

Create a barrier against flies 

Flies breed extremely quickly, so once 

inside your facility, two can turn into a 

few in a matter of days. Regularly inspect 

your building’s exterior to make a few 

improvements that can help discourage 

pests from ever coming inside. 

• Use positive airflow to push flies 

out rather than suck them into 

your building. To check if airflow is 

positive, hold a strip of paper under 

the doorway. The paper, and air, 

should blow out the door and away 

from the building. 

• Pay attention to lighting on the outside 

of your facility. Use sodium vapor 

lights since they are less attractive 

to flies than fluorescent lights. If 

possible, position sodium vapor lights 

away from the building, shining back 

toward the structure. 

• Keep doors and windows closed at 

all times. Weather stripping around 

doors and windows will close up any 

small cracks or crevices. 

• Install #16 mesh screens on windows 

to block even the smallest flies from 

getting through. Phorid flies can be as 

small as .03 centimeters. 

• Consider plastic door strips near 

loading zones . 

• Air curtains, installed above all 

frequently used doors, can also help 

to prevent fly entry. Position highspeed 

fans inside door frames that 

blow air downward to create a barrier 

to flying insects. 

Encourage your employees to work 

directly with your pest management 

professional and report sightings 

immediately. With a plan in place, you 

can take the right steps toward effective 

pest management and keep flies out of 

the picture. 

Bill Melville is quality assurance director for 

Orkin PCO Services. For more information, 

contact bmelville@pcocanada.com or visit 

orkincanada.com. 


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| Meat Industr y Business Watch | 

Stimulating Growth by 

Funding Innovation 

By James Sbrolla 

Ontario meat sector companies take note! 

T 

he Province of Ontario has 

found a new way to stimulate 

growth in companies 

embodying new technology. The 

Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) 

is an early-stage seed fund that is 

managed by the Ontario Centres of 

Excellence (OCE). It is designed to 

help Ontario based start-up and earlystage 

technology companies bring 

their products and services to market. 

Through investment of up to $500,000, 

the IAF will help commercialize and 

bring to market technology ventures 

that have high potential. 

In addition to critical seed investment, 

that is often a challenge for early-stage 

companies to secure, the IAF also 

provides access to valuable services 

such as market research and business 

mentoring through the Business 

Mentorship and Entrepreneurship 

Program (www.marsdd.com). 

The IAF is part of the Market 

Readiness Program, which OCE is 

delivering in partnership with MaRS 

and the National Angel Organization. 

Together, these organizations provide 

a platform of programs and resources 

that entrepreneurs and innovators 

can access to help create successful 

businesses. Essentially the money 

comes from the province through the 

Ministry of Research and Innovation 

and is administered through the OCE. 

According to Shirley Speakman, 

investment manager of the IAF, there 

has been tremendous traction for this 

new fund. “We have had hundreds of 

companies apply and we have made 

eight investments to date. The quality 

and quantity of exciting companies 

that are commercializing in Ontario 

is truly amazing.” Speakman goes on 

to say that, “Companies are rigorously 

evaluated through an investment 

process. Knowing the challenges 

that start up companies face, we try 

to respond quickly to investment 

opportunities.” 

Eligibility 

The IAF is open to Ontario-based 

start-up or early-stage technology 

companies that have received no 

significant institutional investment 

and meet the following minimum 

requirements: 

• Technologies or intellectual 

property (IP the company intends 

to commercialize must have unique 

and protectable aspects that 

establish a sustainable competitive 

advantage); 

• The company must have 

unencumbered rights to 

commercialize the technology; 

“The quality and quantity 

of exciting companies 

that are commercializing 

in Ontario is truly 

amazing.” 

– Shirley Speakman, Investment 

Accelerator Fund 

• The products and services the 

company intends to bring to 

market must meet a defined 

market need and have a significant 

and sustainable advantage over 

competitors; 

• The addressable market should be 

at minimum $20 million; 

• The management team must have 

the appropriate skills and domain 

expertise or be willing to replace or 

augment the team if necessary; 

• There must be a clear and plausible 

path to commercialization; 

• Both pre-revenue and early revenue 

companies are eligible; 

• A minimum of 50 per cent of salaried 

employees must be based in Ontario; 

The terms of the funding are quite 

reasonable for companies that qualify. 

The money is invested in the form 

of a convertible debenture. This is a 

“loan” like instrument. The interest 

rate is prime plus one per cent, which 

is extremely competitive compared 

to other sources of venture capital. 

The loan is convertible into equity 

(at a discount) when another round 

of significant financing is completed. 

While there are no personal guarantees 

required, the investment is secured 

against certain assets of the company 

and the company must give up five per 

cent of the equity of the business to 

consummate the investment. 

The IAF investment money must be 

directed at specific initiatives that come 

from the following business activities: 

• Recruitment of team members 

• Business development 

• Late-stage product, process or 

service development 

• Implementation of a defined 

marketing or distribution strategy 

The IAF selection process is extremely 

competitive. Hundreds of companies 

have applied thus far and many have 

met the guidelines. However, meeting 

the eligibility requirements alone is not 

a guarantee that a company will receive 

investment. Resources are limited and 

only select companies will ultimately 

receive investment. 

The IAF funding program is an 

outstanding instrument for companies 

that do receive investment. It brings 

capital at a critical stage that may not 

be available from traditional sources. 

In these current tight financial times 

this opportunity should not go by 

unexplored. 

James Sbrolla is a Torontobased 

management consultant 

and can be reached at 

416.234.5120 

or sbrolla@rogers.com.

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