File photo of elderberries. (DedMityay/iStock/Getty Images)

Smoothie cubes pulled for raw elderberry use

Quebec company's 'Immunity' smoothies under recall; illnesses reported

Reading Time: 3 minutes Federal food safety officials say a Quebec company’s new line of frozen smoothie cubes, sold online, is being recalled over its use of raw elderberries and a resulting potential risk of cyanide poisoning. Montreal-based Evive Nutrition, known in part for its pitch on CBC TV’s Dragons’ Den in 2019, is recalling its Evive brand Immunity […] Read more

(FotografiaBasica/E+/Getty Images)

Study finds no data to show change in butter consistency

Not enough data to link to palm supplement use, either

Reading Time: 4 minutes Updated, Jan. 24 — A panel tasked with reviewing complaints of changes in Canadian butter’s consistency has found there’s not enough data out there to support those complaints — nor to support the allegation that palm byproducts in cows’ rations were the cause. The Expert Working Group on Feed Supplementation, set up by Dairy Farmers […] Read more


(Andreus/iStock/Getty Images)

Farm cybersecurity campaign seeks farmer input

CSKA online survey open until Feb. 18

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian farmers are being asked for their input on a federally-backed project to assess and improve cybersecurity in Canada’s ag sector. The Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, the lead organization on the Cyber Security Capacity in Canadian Agriculture project, has put up a voluntary online survey for farm operators, running until Feb. 18, “to look at […] Read more

Lucy Waverman has an endless appreciation for the Toronto food scene.

Food writer’s focus on local gets consumer attention

Why do Canadians love to read what Globe & Mail food editor Lucy Waverman thinks about their food and who grows it? Because her love for food is so irresistible

Reading Time: 4 minutes As we talk, Lucy Waverman is listing ingredients she always keeps in her kitchen. “Olive oil and chilies — I always like to have dried chilies or some fresh birdseye or banana peppers — just a pinch of something a little spicy brings out flavour,” she says. Then there’s salmon. Butter. Salt. “Salt is one […] Read more


Galbi, a Korean dish made with beef short ribs. (JaysonPhotography/iStock/Getty Images)

South Korea lifts temporary suspension of Canadian beef

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — South Korea is lifting its temporary suspension of Canadian beef imports that it imposed after Canada detected a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in December, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Wednesday. South Korea halted the shipments after Canada last month reported its first BSE case in six years. China and the […] Read more

(M+M Food Market video screengrab via YouTube)

On The Run operator to buy M+M Food Market

Parkland Corp. to pay $322M for frozen-food retailer

Reading Time: 2 minutes A well-known Canadian food retailer selling flash-frozen meals, entrees, side dishes and desserts direct to consumers is headed to expansion-minded new owners. Calgary-based Parkland Corp., which operates fuel and convenience retail chains and bulk fuel distribution businesses in Canada and elsewhere, announced Tuesday it’s signed an agreement to buy M+M Food Market for about $322 […] Read more


“The appetite for Canadian products is significant,” says Senator Rob Black. “To take advantage of that, we need to invest more.”

Missing the market

Farmers like the Thatchers are succeeding, but what happened to the promise that industry would make us a world leader value-adding?

Reading Time: 11 minutes Five years ago, the spotlight was shining bright on a report from the federal government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth. Few federal reports get much attention, but this report, named after council chair Dominic Barton, generated headlines as it predicted that a new era of value-adding would not only transform the country’s ag and food […] Read more

CBOT March 2022 oats (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, brown and dark green lines). (Barchart)

Oat prices, acres to rise in 2022, analyst says

Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — An independent crop market analyst told Saskatchewan oat growers he is bullish for the crop in 2022. Brennan Turner, founder and former CEO of online crop marketing platforms FarmLead and Combyne Ag, delivered a presentation at the Saskatchewan Oat Development Commission’s (SaskOats) annual general meeting in Saskatoon on Wednesday. Turner, a Foam Lake […] Read more


Seeding in southwestern Manitoba in the spring of 2021. (Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Alexis Stockford)

Last year was world’s sixth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say

Heat content of oceans at record level, NOAA says

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Last year ranked as the sixth-warmest year on record, causing extreme weather events around the world and adding to evidence supporting the globe’s long-term warming, according to an analysis on Thursday by two U.S. government agencies. The data compiled by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA also revealed that […] Read more

U.S. grain firm Scoular is expanding its reach in the flax market with a new processing plant just outside Regina. (Scoular.com)

Scoular fires up flax processing near Regina

Plant to process flax for food- and feed-grade markets

Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. grain handler Scoular’s Canadian arm has opened a new flax processing operation at its site just southeast of Regina, into what it describes as a record-strong flax market. Scoular Canada on Wednesday announced the opening of its “high-speed” flax line at Richardson, Sask., where it already processes and cleans lentils, peas and canary seed. […] Read more