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The Canadian baking industry is wondering what proposed legislation requiring labelling of genetically modified foods will mean for those who ship across the border. For the full story, see page 10.
BY LAURA AIKEN
FUTURES FAR AND NEAR
Summer is coming to a close…already? It is simply sinister that Canadian summers pass so fast. Publishing deadlines being what they are, as I write this the warm breezes are still blowing and I have my own unique time warp happening as my husband and I anticipate the arrival of our first child due in mid-August. This will be my last editorial before I begin a one-year maternity leave, and it is with great confidence that I hand the helm over to Janine Druery.
Janine is an award-winning editor and journalist with over 20 years of experience that spans working in the mainstream media, overseeing trade publications and working closely with industry associations. She has jumped into maternity leave positions before and is looking forward to creating dynamic content for the bakery industry as well as meeting our many great readers and supportive advertisers. The baking industry is a lot of fun, and I know Janine is going to enjoy her time spent immersed in it.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER | VOL. 74, NO. 7
EDITOR | Laura Aiken editor@bakersjournal.com 416-522-1595 1-888-599-2228 ext. 250
}I have much to anticipate, Janine has much to anticipate, and I am guessing you and your business have a lot to anticipate too. The end of another year is nearing, and I find this tends to prompt reflection on the annum that has passed. Business plans for the New Year are often determined in the early autumn months. It’s a great time for preparation, and it seems things are looking up.
The Bank of Canada’s Spring Business Outlook survey suggested an optimistic sentiment in our country’s economic climate. Conditions in the U.S. are improving, as were reported sales, current and forecasted, for the companies surveyed. There were still people reporting negative sales growth, but on balance, when looking ahead, companies were not anticipating deterioration in sales over the coming 12 months. Many were anticipating the sales growth to be tempered by strong competition.
Responses indicated that businesses were planning to invest in equipment and anticipated hiring. Firms also reported an easing in credit conditions in the prior three months.
This will be my last editorial before I begin a one-year maternity leave, and it is with great confidence that I hand the helm over to Janine Druery.
All in all, things are looking up, even if modestly so. This bodes well for the coming months, but what about the many years ahead? As a soon-to-be parent (and by the time you read this, a new parent), I think about what the future will be like for youth coming into the workforce in 20 years or so. One thing I know for sure is that trades cannot be overlooked for males or females. It’s important to enter a course of education with a career path at the end of it. We need to continue to work towards making the path towards a career in the bakery industry clear and clearly viable. Increased mentorship and the transfer of complex artisan skills are vital to bringing up the next generation of bakers.
There is a disparity between skills in the marketplace and skills required for the available jobs. With so many companies reporting labour shortages and hiring pains, it is unfortunate we still see articles in the media about the bleak outlook for today’s graduates. Matching the right job with the right person could be easier in 20 years. Technology may bring new innovations to areas of recruitment and retention by creating better models for determining personality and aptitude. New workers don’t have a track record of proven skills. Graduating school is just one step on the path to expertise. Looking ahead, near or far, it is a competitive but promising future for the bakery industry. People are very interested in food these days, and that shows no signs of slowing down. I wish all of our readers the best of luck in the coming 12 months. I embark on this maternity leave knowing Bakers Journal is in great and highly capable hands, and at this point the only one I have left to wish luck is me! / BJ
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briefly | Proteins may replace fat, indicates study; Complex bread wheat genome finally cracked; Weston bakery to expand in Indiana | for more news in the baking world, check out our website, www.bakersjournal.com
Industry Vet Creates Bakers Workshop
Peter Jacobs, a certified master baker with 35 years of experience, has made his dream a reality by creating a workshop for bakers. The multi-purpose space is designed to compliment Jacobs’ role as a sales manager for Lesaffre. Jacobs invested a significant sum to turn part of his garage space at his country home into a well-equipped R&D lab. Anchored by a massive butcherblock table on wheels, the workshop is outfitted with ovens, a sheeter, fridges, a large mixer and other small appliances to serve a variety of tasks. He was patient and lucky in his equipment acquisitions, saving a substantial amount by purchasing used. Jacobs used his keen baker’s eye to leave no detail unturned. The walls are made of cooler panels and the heating and air conditioning can be finely controlled for optimal temperature setting.
The lab can be rented out as a workspace by bakers, for presentation purposes or for R&D. In his spare time, Jacobs is available to do private
instruction and consulting with bakers on specific product challenges. He is also open to teaching amateur bakers, and would like to use the space for events such as couple’s culinary lessons as time outside his job permits. Various costs to rent the space or receive tutelage can be negotiated directly with Jacobs.
Bakers Journal spent June 27 participating in a workshop with Jacobs that spanned the production of German beer bread, Ciabatta, baguette, brioches, croissants and even a cake for his grandson’s birthday. The day demonstrated the versatility of the space, which could also be used for chocolate.
Jacobs will share his master skills by giving a dough demonstration on flavour and fermentation, sponsored by Lesaffre & Red Star Yeast, at the upcoming Canadian Pizza Show on Oct. 27 in Mississauga, Ont.
To register for this free event, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com/pizzashow.
To inquire more about Jacob’s newly
New Halal Labelling Requirements to Take Effect in 2016
Come April 2016, food products labelled as halal will be required to provide the name of the certifying body.
New halal labelling requirements are intended to help consumers by requiring that all food products labelled as halal include the name of the certifying body, said the government in a media statement. Consumers will have the assurance that halal food products meet a specific certifying body’s standard so they can make informed food decisions about purchasing products that meet their religious requirements.
The amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations were published in Canada Gazette, Part II on April 23 and will come into effect on April 4, 2016.
These regulations will also help industry by providing consistency and preventing mislabelling practices and claims regarding halal food products.
“By making this change, industry will be able to provide consumers with the information they need to make informed decisions about halal food products,” said Brad Butt, member of Parliament for Mississauga – Streetsville, in the statement.
made space for bakers, contact 1-705-228-8011 or phjacobs@icloud.com.
Bakery Breaks Record for Biggest Cannoli
The Big Cannoli made good on its name on Canada Day by breaking a Guinness world record for the largest cannoli.
Aldaro Capelli, owner of the Woodbridge, Ont., bakery, made the historic pastry on July 1st at its recently opened second location in Unionville, Ont. The cannoli was nine feet, two inches long and weighed 211 pounds, Capelli said, breaking the record previous held by Giulio Pistolesi and Scott Wilkinson of Newburgh, N.J., with their 123-pound, seven-foot-long creation.
The cannoli took about two hours to roll out and fry, and 20 minutes to fill, he said, adding he and staff placed it on bubble wrap and cardboard before transferring it to a stretcher for transport to the street celebration.
Documenting the feat did not require a visit from Guinness officials, but it did require measuring and weighing the cannoli in front of witnesses, including the mayor and media. Staff then dished out the treat for hungry onlookers. “It’s long gone,” said Capelli.
When the record becomes official, he plans to display a life-sized picture of the giant pastry at the shop.
BAC Updates Industry on Safe Food Legislation
Even if you are already meeting food safety standards, you will need to clear a few hoops to comply with the requirements of the Safe Food for Canadians Act and regulations.
On June 25, The Baking Association of Canada (BAC) provided updates on the legislation. When the act comes into force in June 2015, companies exporting or importing ingredients or finished products within or outside Canada will require a licence and a preventive control plan (PCP) that meets government criteria.
A panel consisting of Laura Pasut, director of food and nutrition policy for the BAC, Arun Sahu, manager of quality assurance for Backerhaus Veit, and Mike Hudson, vice-president of quality systems and regulatory for Lallemand/ American Yeast, examined what this will mean for bakers and suppliers in a webinar called “Are you ready? New food safety regulations are coming!” hosted by BAC and moderated by Carolyn O’Brien of the BAC’s technical and nutrition policy committee.
Every two years, food producers and distributors who transport products over provincial or national borders will need to
U.S. Consumers Will Pay for Protein: NPD
About half of U.S. consumers purchase protein-enriched foods and are willing to pay more for them, reports NPD Group.
Cereal and bread are the two proteinenriched foods most likely to be purchased, according to NPD’s recently released report, Protein Perceptions and Needs.
With 78 per cent of U.S. consumers telling NPD that protein contributes to a healthy diet, protein is currently very much top of mind with grocery shoppers, suggests the research.
“Going forward food and beverage marketers should look for opportunities to fortify their products with protein, but it shouldn’t stop there,” said Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst, in a news release. “Inform consumers about what a great source of protein your product is, and why it matters to their health.”
apply for one or more licences – at a cost of $250 per licence – depending on their activities, said Pasut. Companies with several locations may decide to maintain multiple licences to prevent a problem in one facility from affecting others.
Importers to Canada need not reside in Canada, as was previously indicated, said Pasut. Instead, if the foreign state has a similar system to Canada’s, for example, the U.S., importers may report from abroad.
The PCP requires that companies identify issues and outline their response. Businesses with under $30,000 profit annually will not require a PCP. Companies must maintain traceability records for three years, as is the Codex standard. The information need not be kept in Canada but must be accessible.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada are reviewing commodity-specific requirements. The process is holding up other aspects because the agencies want to ensure label changes are done efficiently and only once, she said.
On the supplier side, Mike Hudson said an associated draft Risk Assessment Model (RAM) involves initial risks,
mitigating factors (evaluation of the PCP) and compliance factors (company’s compliance history including inspection findings). He noted the Food Safety Enhancement Program and HACCP remain in effect. Inspectors will assess before their visit, walk the premises inside and out, finalize the scope of inspection, assess the PCP and determine compliance. Importers must provide more documentation, and training will be key for industry and regulators.
There will be a transition period of one year from June 2015 for the licence and a second year for a PCP.
The CFIA website houses the draft legislation and A New Regulatory Framework for Federal Food Inspection: Overview of Proposed Regulations at www.inspection.gc.ca.
The CFIA will post interpretive guidance and model systems online as user-friendly templates. The legislation will be published in Canada Gazette, Part I, with revisions. Industry will then have 60 days to comment on Gazette, Part II.
Read more about the regulations in “Licence to travel” in the April 2014 issue of Bakers Journal.
Why you should have the U.S. genetically engineered labelling laws on your radar | BY COLLEEN CROSS
THE GREAT GE DEBATE
DEBATE
This spring, rumblings in the United States about the labelling of genetically modified, or more precisely, genetically engineered, food products became louder. Because traditional breeding techniques also result in genetic modifications, the term genetically engineered (GE) is seen by some experts as a more precise term to mean genetically modified, genetically modified organism, transgenic, biotech, bioengineered, or products made with modern biotechnology.
The April passage in Vermont of An Act Relating to the Labeling of Food Produced With Genetic Engineering has the Canadian baking industry wondering what this and other proposed state and national legislation will mean for those who ship across the border.
This is not a case of simply slapping an extra label on food products that contain genetically engineered (GE) ingredients. It concerns the processes food products undergo before coming to market.
At least 25 states have considered legislation to require labelling GE foods, and a proposed national act, The Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, is being looked at. Alaska has passed a law that requires labelling of GE fish sold in the state; Connecticut and Maine have passed bills with limitations; and several other bills are pending. For now, Vermont’s law represents the best example of what process-based labelling looks like in the United States.
Proponents of mandatory GE labelling say consumers have a right to know what is in their food; opponents say it will raise food costs and confuse shoppers without improving health or safety.
}“It’s
not just a jurisdictional government initiative. There are consumer-based groups out there making these demands.” –Paul Hetherington, BAC
recombination barriers.
Here is how the Vermont government summarizes the legislation: “This act requires food that is intended for human consumption and that is offered for sale on or after July 1, 2016 to be labeled as produced from genetic engineering if the food was entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering.”
Genetic engineering processes named in the Vermont legislation are in vitro nucleic acid techniques, and fusion of cells or hybridization techniques that overcome natural physiological, reproductive or
The U.S. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) released a report this spring exploring the pros and cons of mandatory GE labelling of food and feed products, and its scientific, economic and legal implications. CAST consists of scientific societies, individual and student members, and company, non-profit and associate society members. For this report, there was no designated funding from any sponsors and its chair, author and reviewers all served as volunteers.
The report emphasizes the already wide reach of genetic engineering in the U.S. food and feed industry, citing a Cornell University study that says at least 70 per cent of processed food items in supermar-
kets contain at least one ingredient derived from a GE crop. Soybean, canola, cotton and corn crops are the most widely known GE crops to yield food ingredients; for example, in 2000, about 60 per cent of the U.S. soybean crops were GE.
The report touches on three themes: public opinion, consumer choice and the right to know. Considering the pros and cons of each is rather like riding a seesaw. Many Americans support mandatory labelling when pointedly asked; however, more than 99 per cent of people answering unprompted polls do not voluntarily support the practice. It’s all in how the question is posed.
As for consumer choice, proponents say people should be allowed to vote with their wallets. However, they already have that option through such voluntary non-GE and organic labelling initiatives such as the Non-GMO Project and the Whole Foods initiative of 2013, the latter of which requires all products sold in its U.S. and
Canadian stores to be labelled to indicate if they contain genetically modified ingredients.
The report distinguishes between the right to know what is in food and the right to know how it was produced. On one hand, proponents of mandatory GE labelling say consumers have a right to know what is in their food; on the other, opponents think such a label will increase the cost of food and confuse consumers without improving health or safety. In this emotional issue, and with consumer lobby groups pitted against industry, it feels like never the twain shall meet.
THE SCIENCE
Requiring GE labels singles out GE from other methods and processes not being mandated, such as the use of herbicides or free-range conditions, says the CAST report.
It is important to remember that the FDA, the body responsible for labelling in the U.S., has not found that GE foods “differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way, or that, as a class, foods developed by the new technique present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding,” says the paper. Also, scientific authorities have not deemed GE food unsafe to humans or the environment. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Medical Association have affirmed that genetic engineering poses no new or different risks to food safety.
Canada echoes this stance, and because GE foods have not been deemed unsafe for human consumption, they do not fall under its labelling guidelines, says Gary Holub, a spokesperson for Health Canada. Canada allows voluntary labelling and advertising of foods, whether or not they are products of genetic engineering. Food products are labelled for nutritional and health purposes, like identifying allergens, says Holub.
POTENTIAL LEGAL CHALLENGES
Mandatory labelling is likely to face legal challenges, says the CAST report. The U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause says a law may not “discriminate against out-of-state products or unduly burden interstate commerce.” The Supremacy Clause and Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act pre-emption prohibits states from imposing labelling requirements that differ from those of the FDA. But the First Amendment Protection of Commercial Speech may prove the most useful to opponents of the law. It was used to stop Vermont from applying mandatory labelling for a process used on dairies in the production of milk. In that case, the federal court overruled the state’s decision to label on the grounds that satisfying customer curiosity was not a strong enough reason to compel labelling.
“If the United States were to mandate labeling of GE food, the United States would have to show a scientific health threat in order to be in compliance with international trade law,” says the CAST report. Canada and Mexico could potentially challenge a U.S. GE labeling law, just as they challenged U.S. laws on Country of Origin Labelling.
Paul Hetherington, president and chief executive officer of the Baking Association of Canada (BAC), wonders if such a challenge would be effective. “I am not a legal expert. But I think it’s more difficult to exert an external challenge into another jurisdiction if they are applying those laws domestically as well as internationally. In this case, it’s bad but being equally applied to everyone.”
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Jonesin’ for Cake owner shares her painting, stencilling and stamping know-how | BY COLLEEN
CROSS
COOKIE ART WORKSHOP
Jessie Jones leads a double life. From Monday to Friday, she is a full-time chef at London Bridge daycare in London, Ont., where she has provided meals and snacks since 2009.
In the time left between work and her job as mom to 1-1/2-year-old daughter Everly-Lane, she is an artist who creates amazing works of edible art using cookies, cakes and cupcakes as her canvases.
The professional chef, a graduate of Fanshawe College’s culinary management program, is a food purist who believes in baking everything from scratch and using locally sourced ingredients. She also has a passion for the creative side of food that she has developed through her baking artistry business, Jonesin’ for Cake.
Jones’ interest in decorating ignited while she was on maternity leave with her daughter in 2012.
“The chef in me met the
artist in me,” she says.
Her two sides will merge completely when she opens her own storefront, a move planned for January 2015.
“I registered the business in January 2014 ... I am booked into October with custom cake jobs, so I can see a future,” she says. At the moment, she is using the premises of caterer Chef Les Cooks, run by Les Kozachuk, in a quiet London neighbourhood outside his business hours.
However, the hunt is on to find a location of her own.
While her ultimate goal is to design original cakes, there are challenges such as finding the right customers.
“It’s a very niche market and you can’t please everyone,” she says. Part of the process involves educating customers on the value – and costs – of what she does.
TECHNIQUES
Three methods Jones favours for decorating cookies are
Let the vodka sit for a couple of seconds, then move it back and forth with the brush, blending and pushing to get the look you want.
hand-stamping, creating patterns using stencils and hand-painting. With all these techniques there are three basic steps:
Lay fondant or royal icing (she prefers fondant but either will work) on a basic sugar cookie. Use corn syrup to help the icing adhere. Decide on a method to transfer the design onto the cookie surface, whether it is drawing freehand, tracing using paper, or applying stamps or stencils.
}Create a palette and dilute with pure lemon extract while using vodka to allow further manipulating, shifting and removal of the paint.
WHAT YOU NEED
Food-colouring paints (edible): either concentrated colours or edible dust paint (Jones’ medium of choice). Available in a chalk form, it mimics watercolour and can be used as a dry dust or applied with lemon extract to achieve a wetter consistency.
• Lemon extract
• Vodka
• Corn syrup
• Shortening
• Parchment or wax paper for tracing
• Palette
• Paintbrushes of
different thicknesses, some curved
• Rubber stamps, found in many craft stores
• Clear acrylic stamp block
• Food-writing pens, thin and thick
• Flexible rubber stencils
• Paper towels for clean-up
“Don’t
Stamps typically come in flat sheets to be peeled off as needed. Stick the stamp onto a block, which will hold it in place. A clear acrylic block lets you see the design as you work. Use a wide-tip foodwriting pen to apply the paint; this allows for more even distribution. Make sure you cover the entire stamp. Press the stamp onto the cookie, using even pressure.
use water to dilute your paint. It doesn’t evaporate and it doesn’t dry. You will have tacky, sticky cookies forever and ever, and packaging will be a nightmare.”
Drop colour into your palette, remembering a little goes a long way. Add a tiny amount of lemon extract or vodka, which evaporates immediately to provide a streak-free finish.
Don’t use water to dilute your paint, she warns.
“It doesn’t evaporate and it doesn’t dry. You will have tacky, sticky cookies forever and ever, and packaging will be a nightmare.” To thicken the consistency, use glycerine or work straight out of the colour cap.
HAND-STAMPING
Jones encourages cookie artists to experiment with stamping as a fun, easy way to customize a cookie.
STENCIL PATTERNS
Jones also likes to create coloured patterns using stencils. For this technique, she says flexible rubber stencils work best.
Dry dust paint lets you be precise with colour. Rub shortening onto the icing base to prevent the stencil from shifting unexpectedly. Lay the stencil on the cookie surface. Push the dust into the stencil holes using a wide-tip pen.
Going from colour to colour without changing brushes creates a muted, transcendent effect. Alternatively, you may want to stick to one solid colour at a time. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
“It doesn’t take long to achieve a really stunning look,” Jones says.
HAND-PAINTING
Jones enjoys painting realistic-looking portraits on her cookies. To do this, she recommends using vodka to keep the paint fluid and to remove it when necessary. She likes to draw everything freehand.
“I’m kind of a risk-taker,” she says.
The more cautious may want to trace a design onto the cookie using parchment or wax paper. To do this, trace the picture onto the paper, then trace over it more heavily. Pat a little shortening onto the wax paper design using a paper towel until it appears dry, then lift and push the wax paper onto your cookie, applying light pressure. With your pencil or the end of a brush, trace the picture. When you lift the paper, a slight indentation will remain.
Eyeball the outline of the picture, or face, and sketch in the hair, the eyes, the mouth and the bridge of the nose.
“Every project has an ugly stage,” says Jones. “It takes time to bring it together. As you keep painting, it will come alive. I promise.”
Pour vodka into a small dish.
Left: With so many stamps available, design options are nearly endless. Right: Using dry dust paint lets you be precise with colour when stencilling.
This medium will allow you to manipulate the paint. Using a wider brush, dip into the vodka and dab it onto the cookie to fill in the face, then apply the paint, for example, black and white to create grey. Apply concentrated black around the facial features. You can now pull the colour around to achieve fine details and shading. Sketch out the overall picture,
polishing various areas of the picture later on. Use vodka as needed to remove colour where you want to lighten the picture. Let the vodka sit for a couple of seconds, then move it back and
forth with the brush, blending and pushing to get the look you want. As the colours merge, the painting will look more like a black-and-white photo. If you make a mistake, the vodka will take the colour right off, says Jones.
“It takes a lot of trial and error to get the look you want,” says Jones. “But if you don’t like what you’re doing, it’s not difficult to start over or change it up. It’s pretty forgiving.”
The chef-mom-entrepreneur divides her time among passions, but says it can be difficult to stay motivated when working alone. She recommends learning new techniques, taking classes and watching online demonstrations to feed your creativity and push your limits. “Learning can be addictive,” she says. / BJ
For a video demonstration, visit bakersjournal.com
Stamping, stencilling and painting can complement one another.
BY DR. JOHN MICHAELIDES
POPULAR PROTEIN
Increasing the protein content of your baked goods can create desirable food products
Carbohydrates, fats, and oils and proteins play an important role in our diets. Of all three, the most important and complex are proteins. Proteins are made of various building blocks, the aminoacids, which are arranged in a specific sequence to form many different protein types. Proteins are mainly composed of carbon (50 to 55 per cent), oxygen (20 to 23 per cent) and nitrogen (12 to 19 per cent). Nitrogen is the most important of the three. Some other minor elements such as sulfur and phosphorus are also present in proteins. Normal analysis of food products and ingredients relies on the amount of the nitrogen multiplied by a specific factor for the determination of their protein content. For example, in the case of wheat, the accurate factor for whole kernel is 5.83, for bran is 6.31, and for the endosperm (flour) is 5.7. Because we determine the protein content of foods indirectly based on the amount of nitrogen content, the result is occasional food adulteration issues caused by incorporating nonprotein nitrogen in formulations.
}production of cakes and other baked goods. The high cost of such ingredients has sparked much research to find inexpensive alternatives. Protein isolates and concentrates from soy and whey, as well as other plant sources, have been introduced in the market as substitutes for the role that egg albumin plays in baked goods.
The functionality of proteins is often a product of their complexity. In many cases, their structure and configuration play roles biologically and in food systems. For example, enzymes are proteins and their structural configuration determines their ability to attach themselves to substrates they act on as catalysts. Enzymes are widely used in the food industry and are very important tools for baking. They are used to improve wheat flour performance, reduce the effect of staling and replace or reduce unfriendly chemicals. In the baking industry, protein sources such as egg, dairy and soy are used as functional ingredients.
The germ component of the grain normally contains higher amounts of protein and therefore using whole grain flours that incorporate the germ will increase the amount of protein in the final product.
For baking, the most functional are the natural proteins that form the gluten.
Some non-traditional grains such as amaranth contain higher levels of protein and therefore can be used in high-protein baked goods.
the level of nine and 16 per cent, but when refined flour is used from such grains, protein levels are lower. The germ component of the grain normally contains higher amounts of protein and therefore using whole-grain flours that incorporate the germ will increase the amount of protein in the final product.
Proteins play a key role as biological agents in living things and also as components of foods. Proteins provide nutrition enhancement and serve as functional ingredients that allow us to process and produce valuable food products.
Proteins from different sources have different nutritional value. The nutritional value is determined by the combination of the amino-acid composition and the importance of such amino acids as a requirement for humans or animals.
As functional ingredients, proteins provide structure and texture, viscosity, foaming and water binding, colour, and flavour as well as many other attributes. Some proteins, such as egg albumin, have traditionally been important in the
Two major proteins in wheat flour, when combined with water and energy (mixing), will develop the gluten matrix and form the dough. They are gliadin and glutenin and when developed into the gluten they are responsible for the gas retention in the dough and the characteristics of bread and related products as we know them. The functionality of the wheat proteins, which varies from variety to variety and from crop to crop, is influenced by other factors. Although wheat and flour are often sold on the basis of their protein content, a high amount of protein does not necessarily mean their quality is high as well. Manufacturers of flour often resort to other tests and baking tests to determine the quality of the protein before it is sold to the industry.
Many bakery products with higher-protein content regularly appear in the market. The incorporation of protein into baked goods can be carried out using many forms of ingredients. Traditional grains such as wheat, oats and barley contain protein at
Due to the content of high amounts of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, however, the germ will oxidize quickly and become rancid. If stabilized, the germ can boost protein content in baked goods, resulting in longer shelf life.
Some non-traditional grains such as amaranth contain higher levels of protein and therefore can be used in high-protein baked goods. Among these ingredients, protein isolates from soy, pea, whey, canola may boost protein content. They contain protein levels of up to 95 per cent. Protein concentrates from the same sources can also be used but contain lower levels of protein at about 65 per cent.
Newly discovered sources of protein such as algae spirulina, chlorella and red seaweed are available as powders, but as with all new ingredients in the market, we need to ensure they have regulatory clearance before we incorporate them into our food products. / BJ
For more information, contact Dr. John Michaelides of John Michaelides Consulting at 519.743.8956, or j.jmichaelides@gmail.com.
DECISIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS
Hetherington and the BAC have been watching these legislative developments very closely. If the Vermont legislation stands up to current appeals, it would create hurdles for all food manufacturers, he says. Food manufacturers must look at the cost of adjusting their labels and decide whether or not to adjust them for one or all markets. Alternatively, they may decide comply by reformulating their products.
“It’s one continuous run and I don’t have to stop the line and gear up from selling 10,000 widgets into Vermont versus 20 million in the rest of the country,” says Hetherington. There is also a third option of not selling into that market. Costs will depend on how food producers decide to proceed.
While the BAC does not have an official position on labelling of GE foods, its position on the potential entry of GE wheat into the marketplace highlights the principle of choice. The association defers
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to regulators to declare such wheat safe for the environment and for consumption, he says. “But as an industry, we feel very strongly that we need to have choice in the marketplace. So if a GMO wheat were to be introduced, we’d want to have a choice between a GMO variety and a non-GMO variety. We also believe that any segregation costs associated with GM wheat should be applied to the GMO variety.”
Ironically, the result of these processbased labelling initiatives may be less choice for the consumer. A Washington, D.C., study of countries that have adopted process labelling, indicates that where mandatory labelling has been imposed, GE products have been removed from the shelves, resulting in less choice for consumers. Another consideration is that labelling conventional products may effectively raise the price for all consumers and most adversely affect poor and older consumers, the CAST report suggests.
“It’s not just a jurisdictional government initiative,” says Hetherington. “There are consumer-based groups out there making these demands. I think it’s going to be important to all companies to keep this issue very much on their radar.” / BJ
CAST REPORT CONCLUSIONS
The U.S. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology’s report exploring the pros and cons of mandatory GE labelling of food offered five conclusions:
1. There is no science-based reason to single out GE foods and feeds for mandatory process-based labelling.
2. Mandatory labelling based on process abandons the traditional U.S. practice of providing for consumer food preferences through voluntary product differentiation and labelling.
3. Market-driven voluntary labelling measures are currently providing consumers with non-GE choices.
4. Mandatory labelling could have negative implications for First Amendment rights and trade issues.
5. Mandatory labelling will increase food costs.
BAC Responds to CFIA Regulatory Modernization Consultations
BAC has formerly responded to the CFIA’s Regulatory Modernization Consultations identifying a number of areas of concern to bakers. The following is a highlight of BAC’s comments and questions in response to the five consultation documents.
Licensing
The baking industry is one of the currently unregistered food sectors in Canada. Once the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations come into force in 2015, all bakeries, suppliers, importers, etc. that trade across a provincial or national border will be required to be licensed. BAC asked for clarification regarding:
• The multiple license for each establishment and whether different foods within one facility could have separate licenses;
• The process regarding re-instatement of a license if the Minister chooses to suspend a license;
• The cost of any other user fees for the baking sector in addition to the $250 license.
Preventive Control Plans and Traceability
In order to assist the currently non-registered sectors, especially small- to medium-sized establishments, CFIA is planning to develop a risk assessment to determine level of risk as well as develop guidance documents to help the baking sector prepare. However, BAC is concerned that both the criteria used for the risk assessment process and to develop the guidance documents come from existing registered sectors, most of which are protein based. Since the baking sector has very different risks concerns compared to either protein-based foods or on-farm programs, BAC asked for clarification for sector appropriate information.
Inspections
CFIA has indicated that inspectors will be trained on the risk-based approach and the new regulations with the intent of having improved consistency
during inspections. In addition, they are considering the use of private certification to inform regulatory risk-based oversight. BAC sought clarification on:
• Whether inspectors will get appropriate training and/or documents that incorporate unique issues within our industry;
• Whether industry personnel can also attend training sessions that are given for inspectors;
• Whether the private certification schemes can be used as documentation for importers as part of their preventive control plans.
Foreign Food Safety Systems
In order to facilitate trade, CFIA is prepared to recognize foreign food safety systems where a comparable food safety control system exists. Currently, a reciprocal recognition agreement is being developed with the United States. BAC asked for clarification who is responsible for initiating the foreign food safety systems recognition process and how is the pre-assessment conducted.
Members may obtain a copy of BAC submission by contacting Laura Pasut at lpasut@baking.ca. In addition, members with questions on the Regulatory Modernization initiative should speak with Laura directly at the BAC office 1.866.674.2253 ext 26.
Health Canada Proposes Changes to Nutrition Label
Health Canada has proposed an overhaul of the existing Nutrition Facts Table and the following summarizes some of the changes:
Servings Sizes:
Health Canada is proposing to change the guidelines to foods that currently use a household measure rather than on the reference amount. As an example, the serving size for bread is shown currently as either 1 or 2 slices (along with the weight of the slice[s]). Under the new guidelines, the serving size would reflect that 2 slices of bread at a time.
Sugars:
A number of changes are being proposed related to the listing of sugars:
Ingredient List: Currently, all sugar-based ingredients added directly to a food are listed separately in the list of ingredients and in descending order based on their proportion by weight to the food. Health Canada is proposing that all ingredients that are a type of sugar (for example: sugar, glucose-fructose, honey, fancy molasses) be grouped in parentheses after the common name “Sugars” and be placed in the list based on the total contribution of the sugarbased ingredients to the food as illustrated below. Highlight the amount of added sugar in the Nutrition Facts table: The amount of sugar added to the food would be declared as “added sugars” in the Nutrition Facts table. This could help consumers identify foods with added sugar and choose foods with less or no added sugar. The approach is the same as the one proposed in the United States.
Sugar DV: Health Canada is proposing to establish a Daily Value for total sugar consumption at 100g. A mandatory % Daily Value (DV) would appear in the Nutrition Facts table to help consumers identify the relative amount of sugar in a food compared to the proposed Daily Value of 100g.
Other Changes Include:
• Refreshing the format to make the Nutrition Facts table easier to read and to emphasize certain elements, such as Calories, to help Canadians quickly locate this information.
• Changing the ordering of the nutrients in a way that all of the nutrients that have a % Daily Value (DV) listed in the upper part of the table are the nutrients that Canadians may want less of, and that the nutrients with a % DV listed in the lower part of the table are the nutrients that Canadians may want more of.
• Requiring information about the amount of “added sugars” in a food product and/ or adding a % DV for “total sugars” to help consumers identify if there is a lot of sugars in a food product using the education message on the % DV at the bottom of the table.
• Requiring the declaration of potassium and vitamin D, nutrients. Vitamins A and C would no longer be required on the label, though manufacturers could declare them voluntarily.
• Adding a message at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts table that would read: “5% DV or less is a little, 15% DV or more is a lot”. This message is in line with Health Canada’s education campaign and would provide Canadians a reminder on how to use the % Daily Value.
Proposed Changes to the List of Ingredients
• Requiring a consistent look for the list of ingredients, similar to the Nutrition Facts table.
• Requiring the list of ingredients to appear in a distinctive box with a title, using black type on a white or neutral background for contrast, using upper and lower case letters, and having a minimum font size.
BAC will be providing a baking industry response to the proposed changes prior to the September 11th deadline.
BAC Supports Merchant Pledge For Reduced Credit Card Fees
The MerChanT PLeDge IS aS fOLLOwS:
“Members of the Small Business Coalition, representing thousands of businesses across Canada, urge the Government of Canada to reduce credit card swipe fees and to bring fairness and transparency to the Canadian Payments Industry.
In turn, our members pledge that the reduction in credit card fees will be to the benefit of consumers and communities across Canada, through improved competitiveness, increased investment, job creation and reduced consumer prices.”
The BAC-supported Small Business Matters Collation has been making the case that the $ 5 billion in annual credit card fees paid by Canadian businesses are some of the highest in the world, ranging from 1.5 per cent to 4 per cent of a transaction’s value. Several jurisdictions have adopted fee reforms. In Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia in 2002 capped processing fees at 0.5 per cent of a transaction’s value, which produced net annual gains of $100 to $150 million for Australian retailers. Additionally, the EU has recently moved to limit swipe fees at 0.3% of the transaction value.
The Merchant Pledge has recently been shared with Federal Finance Minister Oliver with additional lobbying efforts scheduled for this fall.
Email News Service
This program carries top-of-the-line news on what’s happening in the industry with governments, services, BAC activities, etc.
The E-Bulletin is ONLY available to BAC Member companies and their employees. Don’t miss out on receiving time-sensitive news.
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Baking Association of Canada
Upcoming Events
Bakery Congress 2015
Congrès de la boulangerie 2015
A trade show & conference featuring baking ingredients, baked goods (fresh, proof & bake, par baked, freezer to oven, thaw & serve) baking equipment, services & technologies.
Un salon commercial et une conférence présentant des ingrédients et des produits de boulangerie (frais, à faire lever avant de mettre au four, pré-cuits, à mettre directement du
congélateur au four, à décongeler avant de servir), des équipements, ainsi que des services et des technologies.
Ontario Chapter
September 16
Fall Golf Tournament
Station Creek Golf Club, Gormley ON
BC Chapter
November 7
Festive Night at the Races
Fraser Downs, Cloverdale BC
Atlantic Chapter
September 8
Annual Golf Tournament
Mountain Woods Golf Club, Moncton NB
Debbie Hammell
Bakery Technology Unit III
Susan Morrison
Occupational Health & Safety and Operating a Successful Bakery
Xhevrije Qelaj
Bakery Technology Unit I
Sampath Yaddehi
Bakery Technology Unit I
Certified Bakery Specialist (C.B.S.)
Diploma Recipients:
Anthony Bond
Susan Morrison
Margrit Werner
For information on correspondence courses for baking industry employees and the Certified Bakery Specialist (CBS) program, please contact ext. 21 at the BAC office or check out our website at www.baking.ca.
Anthony Bond Algonquin College
Marcus Cote
GE Capital
Cameron Farruggia
Satin Fine Foods Inc.
Ann Manley
The Ingredient Company
Paul Nicholl
Dobbit Bakehouse
Alon Ozery
Ozery’s Pita Break
David Pigott
Morrsion Lamothe Inc.
Brian Strouts
AIB International
Glenn Tams
Taber IGA
BY ALBERT G. CINELLI
RETAIL BAKERY DESIGN
Should you choose the right equipment for the space – or the right space for the equipment?
Depending upon which side of the fence you sit when it comes to designing your bakery’s kitchen, you will either choose the right equipment for the space or the right space for the equipment.
To determine this, you first need to define who you are as a business. Will you simply buy frozen or par baked and warm sell or will you make from scratch? Or, will you do a mix of both? Each answer will yield a different result and the sort of equipment and size will also differ. This also impacts decisions about things like POS systems, space for stock and type of building and geographic area.
}Once you have determined the sort of bakery you are establishing, the next logical step is selecting the equipment. This is because the suitable location is most often dependent upon the equipment you need to execute your vision of that bakery.
Know your equipment size, know the utility requirements and make yourself a spreadsheet with a tally showing all details.
gas requirements, then start the search for your perfect location. This time spent will save you thousands of dollars and much heartache.
A most convenient way of approaching this does not entail that you leave the comfort of your own home. The Internet
A little time invested in the early stages of exploration will definitely maximize your return on investment and minimize your stress.
Most people encounter problems when they select a location based upon a wish list that does not account for the cost to install equipment. For example, an oven installed in a downtown high-rise can cost three times as much to install and supply utilities as it would for that same oven in a single story retail unit. This can translate into thousands of dollars you may not have accounted for. Similarly, some will select a location based upon price alone, only to discover that there is not enough electricity to operate the equipment they need. Then they can face exorbitant, unforeseen costs installing utilities that can also cost many thousands of dollars. Those sorts of unexpected costs put your start-up in jeopardy, even before you sell your first brioche!
Know your equipment size, know the utility requirements and make yourself a spreadsheet with a tally showing all details. Then sum up the amperage you require and
has proven to be an invaluable research tool in almost every way (arguably too many ways). Here you can choose to become part of forums with people of similar interest and gain from their knowledge, success and failures. You can research equipment that may suit your needs and visit the websites of businesses similar to yours, half a world apart, to glean information. This is a valuable tool, but it is impersonal and the information can be arbitrary. And, of course, the source must be a valid one. If you have ever researched a mysterious body ache on the Internet, you know exactly what I mean.
A more personal and tailored way of exploring your options for equipment is by working with long-standing, reputable local equipment dealers and/or manufacturers. This helps to focus your search while shortening your learning curve; tapping into expertise and knowledge gained from years of serving clients with a similar business model. A good vendor can and should be a vital part of your team by advising you about the pros and cons of your various choices. They can do site visits with you and offer objective opinions of a given space for the
equipment you need. Advice should also include the size, the type of equipment, and energy source required to achieve the optimal end product. You may select a piece that is larger or costlier to install or a different configuration than you had in mind initially for the sake of benefitting your product quality. Some vendors also offer design services with your best interest in mind rather than a designer’s aesthetic perspective -- these are two very different worlds.
The important thing to remember is that all viable options should be presented and fully explained to enable you to make the best possible decision for the criteria you deem important.
Choosing the space around your equipment will enable you to better execute your product. Choosing the equipment to match the space often leaves you in a compromising position. For the most part, the important factors will always remain knowing what direction your business will take from a product point of view and then learning what equipment options are available to execute your vision. This will ultimately dictate the sort of space required. With the proper guidance, many complications and wasteful expenses can be avoided. A little time invested in the early stages of exploration will definitely maximize your return on investment and minimize your stress. / BJ
Albert G. Cinelli is a Managing Director and Sales and Marketing Manager at G. Cinelli - Esperia Corporation in Woodbridge, Ont. He can be reached at (905) 856-1820 or albertg@cinelli.com.
BY MARK BORKOWSKI
PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS
Today’s private equity firms are looking to buy or invest in your company
Private Equity Groups have not been hard-hit by the credit crunch or the stock market decline. They have capital to invest and are looking for business acquisitions. One of the major market shifts for the acquisition of privately held companies has been the growth in the number of Private Equity Groups (PEGs) over the last decade. These organizations number in the thousands in the U.S. and Canada. Private Equity firms generally manage money for insurance funds, pension funds, charitable trusts and sophisticated investment groups. They have money to invest. Despite the downturn in the Canadian economy, the buyout and investment market for automotive-related businesses is very active.
}transaction structure preferences. Some prefer complete ownership, while others are happy with a majority or minority interest in acquired companies. Some limit themselves geographically while others have a global strategy. PEGs also tend to have certain things in common. They typically target companies with relatively stable product life cycles and a strategy to overcome foreign competition. They avoid leading-edge technology (this is what venture capitalists want) and have a preference for superior profit margins, a unique business model with a sustainable and defensible market niche and position.
Other traits that appeal to PEGs are strong growth opportunities, a compelling track record, low customer concentrations, and a deep management team. Most prefer a qualified management team that will continue to run the day-to-day operations while the group’s principals closely support them on the Board of Directors level.
PEGs have become key players in business acquisitions, offering flexibility as a liquidity source, giving entrepreneurs the ability to take some cash off the table, recapitalize their company or simply sell and move on.
PEGs have become key players in business acquisitions, offering flexibility as a liquidity source and giving entrepreneurs the ability to take some cash off the table, recapitalize their company or simply sell and move on. Private equity refers to buyout groups that seek to acquire ongoing, profitable businesses that demonstrate growth potential.
The private equity market had traditionally been restricted to acquiring larger companies. But increased competition for those larger operations, the greater growth potential of smaller firms, and an easier path to exiting the investment of smaller firms in the future, have played a role in attracting PEGs to smaller companies. PEGs are typically organized as limited partnerships controlled and managed by the private equity firm that acts as the general partner. The fund invests in privately held companies to generate above-market financial returns for investors.
The strategy and focus of these groups vary widely in investment philosophies and
Private equity buyouts take many forms, including:
Outright sale: This is common when the owner wants to sell his ownership interest and retire. Either existing management will be elevated to run the company, or management will be brought in. A transition period may be required to train replacement management and provide for a smooth transition of key relationships.
Employee buyout: PEGs can partner with key employees in the acquisition of a company in which they play a key role. Key employees receive a generous equity stake in the conservatively capitalized company while retaining daily operating control.
Family succession: This type of transaction often involves backing certain members of family management in acquiring ownership from the senior generation. By working with a PEG in a family succession transaction, active family members secure operating control and significant equity ownership, while gaining a financial partner for growth.
Private Equity Group buyouts can take many forms, including partnering with key employees in the acquisition.
Recapitalization: This is an option for an owner who wants to sell a portion of the company for liquidity while retaining equity ownership to participate in the company’s future upside potential. This structure allows the owner to achieve personal liquidity, retain significant operational input and responsibility, and gain a financial partner to help capitalize on strategic expansion opportunities.
Growth capital: Growing a business often strains cash flow and requires significant access to additional working capital. A growth capital investment permits management to focus on running the business without constantly having to be concerned with cash flow matters.
PEGs have become a major force in the acquisition arena. They can also be thought of as strategic acquirers in certain instances, when they own portfolio companies in your industry or a related area that addresses the same customer base. These buyers may be in a position to pay more than an industry or strategic buyer that does not have this financial backing. / BJ
Mark Borkowski is president of Toronto-based Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions Corp. Mercantile specializes in the sale of midmarket companies sold to strategic buyers or private equity firms. He can be contacted in confidence at mark@mercantilema.com or (416) 368-8466 ext. 232 or www.mercantilemergersacquisitions.com
¦ concepts for success ¦
BY DIANE CHIASSON
DIRECT MARKETING
Here are five easy steps to create a direct marketing campaign that really works
Direct marketing is one of the most effective and inexpensive methods of advertising. It targets a specific group of people to generate a specific response. Your bakery should already have a database with your customers’ names, phone numbers, addresses and email addresses, so you know you are targeting those who have visited your store.
Forms of direct marketing include direct mail, email marketing, telemarketing and even text-message marketing. The idea is that you contact potential customers directly.
Direct marketing is also beneficial because it can help you build brand awareness, increase the credibility of your bakery, and help build customer trust, loyalty and repeat business. Another major benefit of direct marketing is that you are able to track your campaign and see the results first-hand.
Here’s are five steps to launching a successful direct marketing campaign.
1. CHOOSE A PROMOTION
Decide what event or promotion you want to run in your bakery, how long your promotion will last, and the sales goal you have in mind for it. Also, decide your budget for running the direct marketing campaign. Ideally, you want to begin sending your direct marketing at least four to six weeks ahead of the date of the start of your promotion.
2. DON’T SEND JUST ONE MAILING
A major mistake many people make with their campaigns is that they send out only one mailing. You need to send at least four to six mailings for the same promotion before you make a memorable impression on your customers. Be sure to send something different every time, but reference the last mailing so your customers remember you. You can also switch up the way you contact your customers. For example, send a postcard on the first mailing, an email on the second, a letter on the third, and a text message on the fourth.
3. HAVE A CALL TO ACTION
When you are creating your campaign, make sure you make an offer that will force your customers to act immediately. Don’t just send them a brochure of your menu or your specials. Offer a discount or incentive with a short deadline that will get those customers in your door within a few weeks of receiving your message. If catchy writing is not in your skill set, hire a marketing expert to write some savvy text for you. The expense is justified, as it if you send out an ineffective campaign will be a waste of money.
4. PERSONALIZE YOUR MESSAGE
People receive piles of junk mail in their mailbox and email inboxes every day, so you must make sure they open your message. Always send direct mail to your customers addressing them by their names. If you are sending a postcard or a
letter in an envelope, consider handwriting the name and address. People are more likely to open a handwritten envelope than a printed envelope. For email marketing, it’s a good idea to put the customer’s name in the subject line.
5. EVALUATE THE RESPONSES
A big benefit of running a campaign is that it lets you track your results, so ensure that you do. This way, you can see which of your customers responded to your messages and how many did not. The more data you collect and analyze, the more you will learn about your own bakery and the habits of your customers. The more you know, the more successful you will be in your next campaign. / BJ
Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., may be reached at 416-9261338, chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com or via www.chiassonconsultants.com.
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JULIE FITZ-GERALD
THE BIG FAT DISPUTE
Who knew that saturated fats could cause such a commotion? A recent study published in the March issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, has caused quite a stir in the media among scientists and nutrition experts.
The meta-analysis included 45 observational studies and 27 randomized trials on coronary heart disease risks compiled from data of more than 600,000 people across Europe, North America and Asia.
The study’s researchers concluded that, “Current evidence does not clearly support guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats.” This summation flies in the face of widely accepted nutritional guidelines that warn consumers to limit their saturated fat intake.
Almost immediately, the study was called into question with other scientists pointing out errors and omissions in the original report.
}Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, quickly responded in writing, warning that the study’s conclusions are misleading and should be disregarded.
While the scientific community continues to discover the truth on saturated fats, there has been a watchful industry eye on whether the desire among consumers to return to full-fat foods of the past is growing.
The study’s researchers concluded that,
“Current evidence does not clearly support guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats.”
“This paper is bound to cause confusion. A central issue is what replaces saturated fat if someone reduces the amount of saturated fat in their diet,” Willett wrote in a letter posted on the Annals of Internal Medicine website. If it is replaced with refined starch or sugar, which are the largest sources of calories in the U.S. diet, then the risk of heart disease remains the same. However, if saturated fat is replaced with polyunsaturated fat or monounsaturated fat in the form of olive oil, nuts and probably other plant oils, we have much evidence that risk will be reduced.”
Full-fat dairy foods like butter, yogurt, cheese and milk, as well as red meat and coconut oil, are known for being high in saturated fat, which has been shown to raise LDL cholesterol (also known as “bad” cholesterol),increasing one’s risk of cardiovascular disease. Or so we believed. The entire notion has become a contentious issue for scientists and diet experts who are now vigorously debating the science that backs up this school of thought.
SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT
While the scientific community continues to discover the truth on saturated fats, there has been a
watchful industry eye on whether the desire among consumers to return to full-fat foods of the past is growing.
The most obvious example is watching whether or not there will be a return to butter from margarine. Centuries-old ingredients may appeal to consumer desire for authenticity, tried and true recipes, and getting back to basics.
This desire has also fuelled the slow food movement that began in the 1980s and now involves thousands of projects spanning more than 160 countries. According to Slow Food’s website, the movement’s original aim was, “to defend regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life.” With more than 100,000 members in communities across the globe, the organization is bringing the slow food philosophy to the forefront through events and activities they organize in their
communities, educating on the benefits of family farming, local grass-fed meat, and traditional and raw milk cheese. Slow Food has been active in Canada for more than 10 years and has approximately 1,300 members from coast to coast.
Jennifer Sygo, registered dietitian and sports nutritionist at Cleveland Clinic Canada and author of Unmasking Superfoods, believes consumers are looking to slow things down in the kitchen and renew (or begin) an enjoyment of cooking and baking.
“It’s part of the slow food movement and I think that’s part of the return to butter too. It’s that emotional connection with the kitchen,” she explains. “You’re bringing your kids in and you’re baking with them instead of buying something that’s manufactured and packaged. There is something about this that goes back to what we need to be focusing on more: that notion of eating around the table, whole foods, local foods, pure ingredients, that sort of thing.”
NEW APPRECIATION OF FATS
This back-to-basics, whole food approach could be spawning a greater appreciation for foods like full-fat dairy products and grass-fed beef, despite their saturated fat content.
“It’s easy to label saturated fats as being “bad” and I think that’s not entirely accurate,” says Sygo. “The big missing link here is the convenience carbohydrates that have become so popular and convenience food in general... With synthetic foods, we want to believe we can re-synthesize what nature made.
“Well, we can’t. There are thousands of compounds and we barely under stand how any of them interact together, but we know whatever that interaction is, it’s profound.
The Weston A. Price Foundation is a non-profit charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutritionist Dr. Weston Price. His studies of isolated non-industrialized people in the early 1900s found that humans can achieve perfect physical form and health for generations when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and crucial fat-soluble activators found only in animal fats.
“Saturated fats from animals carry
very important vitamins that we get from few other places in the diet,” says Fallon Morell.
“Saturated fats actually support the heart because they’re the fats with the most energy and they’re the most stable fats. The brain also needs saturated fats. At least 50 per cent of the brain has to be saturated for everything to work right. The cholesterol that saturated fats contain is absolutely critical for the digestive
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“So, cheese as an example, is some thing that contains the important vitamin D2. It’s been largely dismissed and underappreciated in the research, but it seems to actually protect your heart from heart disease while also strengthening your bones...The notion of whole foods and foods as medicine, I think we’ve really underappreciated it.”
Sally Fallon Morell, founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions, believes saturated fat is a critical component in a healthy body.
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tract. We’ve gone the complete wrong direction by choosing industrial oils and industrial fats. We need to go back to the fats of our ancestors.”
POLYUNSATURATED VERSUS SATURATED
When it comes to saturated fats, Sygo notes polyunsaturated fats are clearly better for your heart than saturated fats, but when compared to carbohydrates, saturated fats win out in the health department.
“When you look at data comparing saturated fats to carbohydrates, especially carbohydrates that raise blood sugar quickly, it’s quite clear that if you have the choice, saturated fats are actually better for you than choosing junky carbohydrates,” she says.
“So if the choice was to use coconut oil or butter on something or to eat a piece of cheese, these are better options than a granola bar or can of pop. The granola bar and can of pop probably does more damage to your heart than the saturated fat does.
“If you’re doing a rank order list it would be polyunsaturated fats first and saturated fats in the middle, with refined carbohydrates being the worst for your heart.”
Fallon Morell points out another benefit of saturated fats: They are extremely satisfying, helping people curb cravings and making it easier to say no to carb-laden junk food. “Saturated fats really stick with you,” she says.
Sygo says saturated fats have earned a place in our diets when used in moderation and as part of a balanced diet, noting that while they can increase LDL cholesterol if consumed in excess, there is actually a fraction of bad cholesterol that is beneficial to the body.
“There is a fraction of bad cholesterol that is worse for you and there’s a fraction of bad cholesterol that is better for you,” she notes. “One is called small, dense LDL and the other one is called large, fluffy LDL. Small, dense LDL is particularly harmful for your heart; it’s the stuff that really sticks to the arteries and triggers the early stages of cardiovascular disease. Large, fluffy LDL seems to be pretty benign; it doesn’t seem to do much at all. What seems to be the case is that saturated fats like coconut oil and possibly also butter raise the large, fluffy LDL. So in other words, you’re not actually raising
the small, dense LDL that’s more damaging; that’s the stuff that refined carbohydrates tend to raise more so than the saturated fats.
Despite the data and the potentially growing movement for a return to whole – and, in some cases, full-fat – foods, many government entities, including Health Canada, continue to warn consumers to limit their intake of saturated fats.
It will require further scientific
evidence for these groups to consider changing their position. For now, it’s a personal choice based on how you choose to view the subject. / BJ
Julie Fitz-Gerald is a freelance writer based in Uxbridge, Ont., and a regular contributor to Bakers Journal.
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EASING LABOUR PAINS
The Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program and the lack of young Canadians trained to work in the food industry has made plenty of news headlines recently. As a trainer in the baking and pastry arts, I have had many conversations with bakery owners looking to fill qualified positions. A few have taken advantage of the advanced skills of non-Canadian tradespeople, and we have welcomed their talents to our shores.
In decades past, the Canadian baking industry saw a shift from small and medium “scratch” bakeries, where everything was made on site by traditionally trained Red Seal journeyman and apprentice bakers to volume in-store and mega-industrial bakeries that use pre-made convenience products. We embraced the convenience 30 years ago, when many bakers were looking for ways to reduce hours and make the job a little easier.
}Over the last few years, there has been a shift in consumer demand. A more discerning public is looking for fresher, less generic and more wholesome bread and pastries. This demand is being met by emerging specialty businesses, as well as “convenience” and mainstream bakeries that are now required to employ talented bakers that can perform more complicated tasks. In order to meet this new demand for old-fashioned baking, we need workers skilled in the traditional methods used to produce these staples and delicacies. On the one hand, we now have sophisticated machinery, ovens and refrigerators that can make a baker’s job so much easier. On the other hand, we need to train our staff, either in-house or in partnership with our trade colleges.
The B.C. chapter of the BAC is in the process of getting a new Junior Affiliate Program off the ground to match mentees with mentors and improve baker training.
In order to meet this new demand for old-fashioned baking, we need workers skilled in the traditional methods used to produce these staples and delicacies.
In response to these training needs, the government has identified the baking
and pastry trade as an area to support through its Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program. The Red Seal program has traditionally seen qualified journeymen and journeywomen indenture new apprentices. Yet, with the current shortage of qualified tradespeople to carry out this task, registering new trainees and navigating the paperwork has been difficult for employers. Colleges in Canada are successfully recruiting many students to the one-year Baker certificate and two-year diploma programs, and these students are filling the vacancies to some degree, but more must be done. We have had a number of discussions at the national and provincial
levels on how to bolster the apprenticeship program to meet the gap in qualified tradespeople, while acknowledging that the typical, all-embracing “scratch bakery” has changed focus and does not have the journeypersons to fulfill indentureship demands.
An interesting idea has been floated to involve mentors in the trade who can coach trainees in areas that are lacking in the shops where they are employed. One initiative being discussed would entail the local Baking Association of Canada (BAC) chapter signing up these mentees as junior affiliates, and then forming a network of participating members wishing to share their skills. These juniors would have their training enriched in order to complete their studies. An appropriately qualified baker and employer would then check their competencies and make a recommendation that the individual be awarded the
Red Seal after completing the written exams and the work-based hours. The BAC’s B.C. chapter has been supported by the Industry Training Authority (ITA) through its human resources contractors, go2, who look after the hospitality trade’s
training initiatives to explore this challenge.
As far as we can tell, there doesn’t seem to be any downside to this project. We inject the workforce with formally trained bakers, proudly holding their
Red Seal certificates, and we have a potential influx of new, enthusiastic young members for the BAC who can move up the ranks and take the reins when the old guard, including this writer, gets put out to pasture. The cherry on the top of this idea is that once the work force is repopulated with qualified journeypersons who can indenture an adequate number of new trainees, the system can revert to its original structure.
The BAC at the national level has embraced the concept and supports the pilot project in B.C., which is now in the process of signing up affiliates and mentees. Information has been shared informally with BAC’s Ontario chapter, as they too wish to attract and train more bakers. Should anybody wish to sign up as an affiliate or mentor in B.C. or for more information, please contact the chapter chair, Gary Humphreys at garyhumphreys.11@gmail.com.
Martin Barnett is a program chair and professor in the professional baking and pastry arts program at Vancouver Island University.
Registering new trainees and navigating the paperwork has been difficult for employers.
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BY STEPHANIE ORTENZI
GLUTEN-FREE GROWTH
Perception, reality and a burgeoning “windfall” market: how the gluten-free sector is raking it in
The gluten-free market is feasting on a whopping, five-year growth of 156 per cent. Canadian retail sales of gluten-free products have gone from $179 million in 2008 to $459 million in 2012, according to a report presented at the Future of Gluten-Free Marketing and Certification conference in Toronto this June.
The report attributes the growth to an increased awareness of celiac disease and allergies, the increased availability of glutenfree products in mainstream markets, and the general perception that gluten-free foods are healthier choices.
}gluten sensitivity is the main reason.” By this account, 75 per cent of the glutenfree market does not have celiac disease or related sensitivities.
To the delicious benefit of the glutenfree industry, perception has become a profitable reality. But this powerful windfall begs a key question. Will these perceptions last, especially with this market’s two main peeves about glutenfree products as outlined in the NPD report: flavour and price?
An important issue raised at the Toronto conference is that gluten-free is really a food-safety issue. Health perceptions aside, celiacs need surety in their food. Producers who can’t deliver on safety won’t have a market. Certification
Will the gluten-free money tree last?
I worry that the gluten-free windfall market hangs a little too precariously on perception, in particular, that the gluten-free diet is healthier than a diet with gluten.
Looking at why people are buying gluten-free, 14 per cent of consumers surveyed said that a household member has celiac disease and 27 per cent have a household allergy and dietary sensitivity. Who else is buying gluten-free?
Here is the gluten-free sector’s windfall market: 34 per cent say that they perceive gluten-free products to be healthier; 18 per cent perceive that gluten-free products are of higher quality; 24 per cent said “weight management is important” (more on that later); 11 per cent are using gluten-free foods as part of treatment for neurological conditions such as autism and ADHD (more on this later, too); and 31 per cent said, “I buy products and they just happen to be gluten-free,” which sounds vaguely like a brag, as if products are plucked from the shelves and only at the check out does it turn out that they’re gluten-free.
The Americans are making similar findings. A report released in May by U.S. market research firm NPD Group found that only 11 per cent of American households follow a gluten-free diet, while one in four people believes that a gluten-free diet is good for everyone. Drilling down, the report continues: “Only 25 percent of those living in a gluten-free home say celiac disease or
keeps the celiac consumer safe from debilitating symptoms and has the important side benefit of being a product’s strongest marketing boon. Large retailers are increasingly looking to stock more gluten-free products, and certification is an important differentiator. And it doesn’t stop there. The spread of certification requirements now extends to a producer’s suppliers, and rightly so. Certification isn’t perception. It’s science.
Looking at “weight management” from a gluten-free point of view, consider two things. One, I hear the ghost of the once mighty Wheat Belly, the powerful book that, some say, contributed to an international crisis in plummeting bread prices a few years back. It has since been effectively debunked. Two, weight management is ruled by the law of thermodynamics: to lose weight, we need to consume less than we expend, a hard-to-swallow nugget of fact.
In terms of a special diet for neurological conditions, the gluten-free-caseinfree diet for autism is controversial. Little research has been done, but according to CeliacCentral.org, it’s part of the first line of treatment and two-thirds of individuals “show at least some improvement” from the so-called GFCF diet. A little can, significantly, be a lot.
A lot of perception is an entirely different thing. I worry that the gluten-free windfall market hangs a little too precariously on perception – in particular, that the gluten-free diet is healthier than a diet with gluten. It’s simply not true.
A notable proponent of this idea is Peter H.R. Green, MD, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. In a peer-reviewed report on WebMD.com, he says that any time you eliminate whole categories of food, you run the risk of nutritional deficiencies, that a gluten-free diet can lack essential vitamins and minerals, that gluten-free products tend to be low in a wide range of important nutrients, including B vitamins, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and fibre.
Word is going to get out, and it will spread like a Googled factoid in the hands of a showboating dinner party guest. We have to get in front of the facts, add those nutrients if they haven’t been already, and say so in the marketing.
On a good-news note, science-wise, clinical trials are currently under way for drugs that may help ease celiac disease, and a vaccine for celiac disease is also under investigation. The beauty of science is that it’s never done, just like the business of hanging onto our market. / BJ
Stephanie Ortenzi (www.pistachiowriting.com) is a food-marketing writer.
PHOTO: FOTOLIA
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