Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian wing of U.S. burger chain Wendy’s is going strictly indoors, in southern Alberta, to supply all the lettuce for its salad, burger and chicken sandwich offerings across the country. Whole Leaf, based outside Coaldale, about 20 km east of Lethbridge, was announced last week as the lettuce supplier for the chain’s 384 stores […] Read more

Wendy’s secures Canadian greenhouse lettuce supply
Alberta grower to provide sandwich, salad lettuce nationwide

Major Quebec hothouse grower seeks creditor protection
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of Quebec’s best known greenhouse propagators, who in recent years launched an aggressive expansion into organic vegetables, is seeking creditor protection. Les Serres Lefort, which operates almost 50 acres of greenhouse facilities at Sainte-Clotilde in Quebec’s Monteregie, announced Sept. 10 it had filed a notice of intention on Sept. 6 to file a proposal […] Read more

Romaine-related E. coli outbreak appears over
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The multistate outbreak of E. coli infections linked to romaine lettuce from the Central Coastal growing regions in northern and central California appears to be over, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday. Sixty-two people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli were reported from 16 states […] Read more

Major grocers pull romaine lettuce nationwide
Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite seeing no evidence yet of nationwide contamination, several major Canadian grocers are pulling romaine lettuce from sale across Canada in the wake of E. coli-related illness outbreaks in three provinces. Loblaw Companies announced Wednesday it was recalling and removing from its store shelves across the country all romaine lettuce products “out of an abundance […] Read more

Abstain from romaine: Canada, U.S. warn on E. coli in lettuce
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Public health officials in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday warned against eating romaine lettuce while they investigate an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened 50 people in the two countries, including 13 who were hospitalized. The alerts, issued as millions of Americans plan their Thanksgiving Day menus, covered all forms of […] Read more

BASF in talks to buy Bayer vegetable seeds arm
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bayer has entered “exclusive talks” toward a deal to sell its global Nunhems vegetable seeds business to German chemical firm BASF, to help clear the aisle for a Bayer/Monsanto marriage. Nunhems, which has a portfolio of about 1,200 seed varieties in over two dozen different vegetable crops worldwide, sells seeds in North America for tomatoes, […] Read more

Report sees Canadian meat prices rising at faster pace
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Canadians will be paying more for meat than earlier thought in 2017, according to a new report from Dalhousie University. Expected price declines for other foods, however, will limit the impact on the total grocery bill in the country. In the mid-year update for Canada’s Food Price Report, researchers at Dalhousie in […] Read more

Leafy greens eyed in E. coli outbreak
Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal health officials suspect leafy greens as a possible culprit in sickening 12 people in Canada, mainly in Alberta, with E. coli poisoning. The Public Health Agency of Canada on Wednesday said it’s considering a “possible link” to greens, such as lettuce, spinach, chard, kale or arugula, in 12 cases of E. coli O157:H7 poisoning […] Read more

FoodShare provides fresh vegetables, food security
Farm groups are getting on the inside with Toronto’s world-class food outreach program
Reading Time: 6 minutes When I fire off a last-minute email to confirm the details of my scheduled visit, I mention that I have never before seen a food bank. Debbie Field, executive director of FoodShare, politely responds, “We are not a food bank,” she tells me. “We’re a community food hub.” Food bank, food hub. But the next day, […] Read more