Two new crushing plants planned for Yorkton - On the same day, within hours of each other, two major players in the canola industry announced they plan to build canola crush plants in Yorkton. JRI International and Louis Dreyfus Canada will each build high capacity plants in the eastern Saskatchewan community. The JRI facility will be capable of processing 840,000 tonnes of canola per year and its construction cost is estimated to be in the range of $100 million. Construction is planned to begin next year. The Louis Dreyfus plant will require 65 truckloads of canola daily and will crush 850,000 tonnes of canola per year. Construction is expected to get underway in October. Both plants are expected to be operational in 2008.
Stats Canada pegs canola stocks at 2 million tonnes - Stats Can says at the end of the 2005-06 crop year, total on-farm stocks of canola were 2.0 million tonnes, up 27.2% from 2005 and not far off the record high of 2.2 million tonnes set in 2000. Increases were reported in commercial stocks and at the Canada farm level, the result of record production in 2005. See report " StatsCan Canadian Grain Stocks as of July 31st"
One step closer to the EU market - On September 18, the European Union will vote on whether or not seed of the current InVigor varieties will be allowed to enter its member countries. Invigor oil and meal are already approved. If approved, this would mean Canadian canola seed is one step closer to accessing the European market. The EU has already approved seed from Roundup Ready varieties and from some dis-continued varieties but we still need approval for low levels of other dis-continued varieties. As harvest finishes in Canada and growers start looking at varieties for next year, they are reminded to check out the Canola Export Ready list of varieties that should not be seeded. These varieties are no longer commercially sold and must be cleared out of the system in order for us to access the EU market when the last approval is granted. Here is the link for Canola Export Ready: http://www.canola-council.org/seed/export-ready/export-ready.shtml
Canola oil featured at foodie convention in Winnipeg this weekend - Canadian chefs and food writers will meet in Winnipeg September 16 -19 for the seventh Cuisine Canada National Culinary Conference presented by CanolaInfo. The theme of this year's event is The Future of Food in Canada - Cultural and Culinary Diversity. The conference is billed as "an exceptional opportunity to network with food media and culinary professionals, as well as to experience the best of prairie cuisine." Canola oil will featured at all organized meals and in a culinary competition at Kelburn Farm Monday afternoon where chefs Michael Schafer and Craig Guenther will lead competing culinary teams to highlight canola oil in a salad, appetizer and main dish. Watch for the recipes and photos on the Canolainfo website next week.
Personalize cake mix cakes with new recipe brochure from MCGA - For your free copy of Canola Cooks Sweet and Simple Desserts, go to www.canolarecipes.ca.
Church's "trans free" Chicken has customers flocking through the door - Church's Chicken 17 stores in BC have switched to high stability canola oil to fry their signature chicken. Church's Chicken owner Mono Moitra says a 20-week customer count following the switch shows an average increase of over 3500 cutomers a week and double digit revenue growth. Moitra believes the jump was the direct result of advertising the healthier frying oil on store windows, on coupons and through direct mail. During the testing phase, Moitra worked with Canbra Foods to ensure the oil met his operation and customer requirements.
KFC hit with a suit over trans fats - The fast food chain KFC is being sued for the fat content in its fried chicken, which the Center for Science in the Public Interest says contains "staggering amounts" of trans fat. CSPI says "One three-piece Extra Crispy combo meal has 15 grams of trans fat, which is more trans fat than a person should have in one week". In a media release, the CSPI explains the class-action suit asks that the court prohibit KFC from using partially hydrogenated oil, or that at the very least, signs be posted in KFC outlets notifying customers that many KFC foods are high in trans fat. The suit was filed in Superior Court of the District of Columbia. KFC spokesperson Laurie Schalow issued a statement saying that the suit was frivolous and lacked merit. She says the company is "reviewing alternative oil options, but there are a number of factors to consider including maintaining KFC's unique taste and flavor of Colonel Sanders' Original Recipe, supply availability and transportation, among others".
Butter butts margarine in national media - The butter 'information supplement' in the Globe and Mail this past Saturday attempted to decrease the nutritional gap between butter and margarine, admitting butter's high saturated fat level but recommending moderate intake while downplaying its trans fat content. BUT - here's what the US Food and Drug Administration says on its website at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html.
Q: Is it better to eat butter instead of margarine to avoid trans fat?
A: No, because the combined amount of saturated fat and trans fat (the cholesterol-raising fats) and cholesterol for butter is usually higher than margarine, even though some margarines contain more trans fat than butter.
It is better to eat softer or liquid margarines that contain a lower combined amount of saturated fat and trans fat and a lower amount of cholesterol.
For the latest information about Trans Fats and Coronary Heart Disease, check the revised canola oil factsheet at http://www.canola-council.org/PDF/transfat.pdf#zoom=100.
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Canola Ink is your biweekly update from the Canola Council of Canada. Please copy, reprint or transmit any portion of this report. If you have questions or comments, contact Diane Wreford at (204) 982-2108 or e-mail wrefordd@canola-council.org.