From the Ground Up - McCain Foods Limited

In 2001, Canada Post
honoured McCain by
featuring it on one of
its stamps.
AbovE: packages of McCain
potato products inform
consumers that the contents
are trans fat–free.
FACING PAGE: McCain ads
comparing the nutritional
information of a serving
portion of Superfries to that
of a small potato.
But the market for processed potato products is now well developed in North
America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia. Most potential french fry consumers
are already consuming them. Moreover, the populations of the industrialized
nations are aging. Older people eat fewer french fries than younger people or eat
french fries less frequently, and they need fewer calories in general.
Morrison’s goal is to take McCain deeper into the world by winning over new
populations while at the same time taking it deeper into the food marketplace of the
developed world by broadening its product line. And he emphasizes that this does
not imply neglecting potato products. “Potatoes are our core business and will continue
to be,” he says. “I think there is enormous growth potential in that category.”
If your major product is french fries and public opinion adopts the idea that french
fries are unhealthy, you’ve got a problem.
First the food industry had to contend with the low-carbohydrate craze promulgated
by the Atkins and other diets that claim carbohydrates such as potatoes cause
obesity. By the turn of the twentieth century, nutritional common sense – that carbohydrates
are an essential part of a balanced diet – had prevailed. However, a new
nutritional villain had been identified: bad fats. It was no longer the potatoes that
were bad for you but the oil they were fried in.
This argument had merit. In restaurants, frozen fries are refried in cooking oil that
may contain unhealthy fats. Animal fats and the tropical oils that were commonly
used in the industry contain about 50 percent saturated fatty acids. These saturated
fats can raise blood cholesterol, thereby increasing the risk of heart attacks and
strokes. During the 1980s, the restaurant industry in North America switched to oils
much lower in saturated fats, such as soybean (15 percent) and canola (7 percent).
To stabilize them, these oils were partially hydrogenated, resulting in better texture,
longer shelf life, and greater ease of use in processing. However, during the 1990s, it
became evident that the trans fatty acids created by the hydrogenation process also
boosted cholesterol levels and increased the risk of heart attacks.
McCain’s goal is to remove as much of the saturated fats as possible from its french
fries. Better factory fryers and other improvements in processing have made it possible to
use non-hydrogenated oils, thereby ensuring that the finished product is free of trans fat.
As of June 2007, all McCain branded retail and food-service frozen french fries and other
potato products are fried in oils that are low in saturated fats and have zero trans fats.
Consumers are thus reassured that the occasional serving
of french fries can be part of a healthy diet. As Nancy
Schwartz, a nutrition expert and former professor at the
University of British Columbia points out, “Potatoes are a
wonderful vegetable. They are low in calories, are fat-free,
and are a source of potassium, vitamin C, iron, and fibre.”
French fries are one of many ways to prepare a vegetable
that was discovered seven thousand years ago in
the Andes mountains of Peru and has since become the
world’s fourth most important crop, after maize, wheat,
and rice. Potatoes are rich in carbohydrates and thus
a good source of energy. They also contain protein. In
recognition of the importance of the potato, the consumption
of which is growing steadily in the developing
countries, the United Nations declared 2008 the
International Year of the Potato.
Once the health concerns about french fries are alleviated,
says Morrison, “we are going to give people who
have left the category permission to come back. And
we are going to give people who were buying french
fries once a week and reduced that to once every three
weeks permission to increase their frequency.” There is,
says Morrison, a psychic benefit to eating french fries
that few other foods can offer. He knows it’s the reason
french fries will always be McCain’s core product.
Sustainability is another area that McCain Foods
will focus on in the years ahead. In 1987, the report of
the Brundtland Commission, convened by the United
Nations, defined sustainable development as that which
“meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.” “At McCain, we describe this as responsibility
and trust,” says Janice Wismer, global vice-president
of human resources. “We must develop our people and
drive sustainable, profitable growth while caring for the
environment and being a responsible corporate citizen.”
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130 Calories Low in
*
Saturated Fat
228 f rom T he ground uP
a world of change 229
Source of
Potassium
0 Trans Fat
Source of
Dietary Fibre
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www.potatofacts.ca
Cholesterol
Free
Source of Iron
Source of
Vitamin C
*Per 85g serving of fries as sold. Compares
reasonably with a small potato weighing 170 g.
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0 Trans Fat
130 Calories
Excellent Source
of Potassium
Source of
Dietary Fibre
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www.potatofacts.ca
*
0 Saturated Fat
Cholesterol Free
Excellent Source
of Vitamin C
Source of Iron
*Facts based on a small, skin-on potato.
A 170 g potato is approximately the size of a computer mouse.