December 20, 2007

Book your flights now for the March 2008 Canola Council convention – Help the canola industry Grow a healthier world. Join the Canola Council of Canada and the National Institute of Oilseed Products (NIOP) in Boca Raton, FL March 9-11, 2008.

The joint NIOP and Council sessions feature a luncheon with speaker Daniel Esty, co-author of Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value and Build Competitive Advantage.

But flights to this popular snowbird destination are going fast. We encourage you to book yours today, along with a room at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Visit the Canola Council’s website for more details www.canola-council.org. Click on the big orange CANOLA!

Health Canada trans fat monitoring reveals progress – Today’s release of Health Canada’s first set of trans fat monitoring data shows the food service industry is putting its words into action by eliminating trans fat. Both the government agency and Canadian restaurants have also received kudos from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

For more information on the trans fat monitoring program, visit: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/gras-trans-fats/tfa-age_tc-tm_e.html

UK agency recommends sat fat reductions - The UK Food Standards Agency is gearing up to finalize its strategy for cutting consumption of saturated fat. It is expected to reveal plans for an advertising campaign to encourage people to cut consumption of saturates.

It is also likely to ask manufacturers and retailers to agree to meet voluntary reformulation targets for products containing saturated fat. However, the FSA said it planned to lobby Brussels to make labelling of trans fat content mandatory.

Culinary educators look for trans alternative – Johnson and Wales University announced this month that it plans to eliminate the use of products containing trans fat in cafeterias, owned and operated hotels and its commercial bakeshop and do away with them in the curriculum on its four campuses by spring 2008.

Meanwhile, the Culinary Institute of America says it banned trans fat from the curriculum nearly two years ago. And Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration claims it has used no trans fat for years.

Hubub Down Under after GM ban lifted – So-called “rural interests” in Australia are calling the Victoria and New South Wales decisions to allow planting of genetically modified crops sensible. Meanwhile, anti-GM activists are protesting the decision and warning that non-GM farms will become contaminated. For more, visit: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/furore-as-ban-on-gm-crops-lifted/2007/11/27/1196036892756.html

Happy holidays and a healthy new year from everyone at the Canola Council!

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