Loblaw Companies and parent company George Weston Limited have admitted to participating in "industry-wide" price-fixing of bread for 14 years, dating from 2001 to March of 2015. "Under the arrangement, the participants regularly increased prices on a coordinated basis. The participants included Loblaw and the Weston Bakeries division of George Weston as well as other... Read More
Category: Food
Plant-based "meat" is gaining a new level of mainstream presence, as McDonald's is planning to debut a vegan burger in Europe next week. The McVegan will be added to the menu in Sweden and Finland on December 28th, after testing in a limited number of Finnish restaurants this fall. Produced by Anamma, a subsidiary of... Read More
One of the five publications market analyst and consultant Kevin Grier Market offers is an in-depth look at the Canadian grocery trade. "StatsCan publishes financial data every quarter," explains Grier in the following interview, "and I get them to peel away the food retail data...and once again the gross retail margins are looking very good... Read More
The average Canadian family of four will spend $348 more on food in 2018, according to an annual food price report released on Wednesday. Published by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph, the 8th edition of "Canada's Food Price Report" forecasts higher restaurant spending and La Nina will drive food costs higher next year,... Read More
In the dairy food value chain processors play an integral role in product development. Dairy product development puts dairy components in protein bars, protein powder, ice cream, yogurt and baby formula. to name just a few. At Farm Journal's MILK Business Conference, attendees heard from Micheal Dykes, President and CEO of the International Dairy Foods... Read More
Montreal-based dairy company Saputo has announced another international acquisition — the largest goat cheese manufacturer in the U.S. Saputo says it has entered an agreement to acquire Betin, Inc., which operates mainly under the Montchevre brand, and employs 319 people at its manufacturing facility in Belmont, Wisconsin. Montchevre generated C$150 million in revenues in the... Read More
Some of Canada's largest grocery suppliers and retailers are involved in an investigation by the Competition Bureau over concerns about price-fixing in the bread aisle. The Competition Bureau has received search warrants from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice based on evidence that there are "reasonable grounds to believe that certain individuals and companies have... Read More
Ontario-based Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited announced it's agreement to acquire the shares of Alberta Cheese Company Ltd. this week, effective October 13, 2017. Alberta Cheese was founded in 1976 by Frank Talarico, and remained in the family name for fourty years. “Today’s announcement represents an exciting next chapter for Alberta Cheese, as my family’s... Read More
The global statistics around malnutrition are shocking. According to the World Health Organization, in 2014 more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight or obese, while 463 million were underweight. And, roughly 45 percent of deaths among children under five years of age are linked to undernutrition. Changing those numbers is something Regina Moench-Pfanner is beyond... Read More
In May 2017, the Government of Canada launched consultations towards the creation of a new food policy, something it says is "a way to address issues related to the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food." It's also something the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), and others have been recommending... Read More