July 6, 2007

JoAnne Buth is the new President of the Canola Council of Canada - Stewart Gilroy, an Alberta canola grower and Chairman of the Council’s Board of Directors, says “JoAnne’s strong commitment to the canola industry and her years of experience in the agriculture industry make her especially suitable for the position”.

JoAnne has worked in research, extension, communications and management for both the public and private sector. She has been with the Canola Council of Canada for the past eight years as the Vice-President of Crop Production and Biotechnology. JoAnne holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Winnipeg and a Master’s degree from the University of Manitoba.

JoAnne’s appointment is effective July 23, 2007. She replaces Barbara Isman who will complete five years as Council President on July 20. Barb is joining Canadian Bioenergy Corporation in Vancouver.

The biggest agricultural show in Canada gives the boot to trans fat – This week, The Calgary Stampede kicked trans fat out of all its food outlets and concession stands. Canola Council rep Robert Hunter joined spokespeople for the Stampede and the Calgary Health Region to let everyone know that all the great fair chow is now made with canola oil!

Duane Horpinuk, senior manager for food and beverage at the Stampede, said the organization has been testing different cooking oils free of trans fats since early 2006 and began cooking all its fried products in a canola-based oil in January.

Calgary consumers demanding a healthier eating alternative were behind the move, said Horpinuk. Leanne Dohy, spokeswoman for the CHR, said the Stampede and health region were working on plans simultaneously. "(Trans fats) have no nutritional value and won't be missed," said Dohy. The CHR is developing a policy to ban trans fats from restaurants in the region.

Last year, more than 1.2 million people attended the 10-day Stampede. Year-round, the Stampede’s food and beverage service uses 20,000 litres of cooking oil over the course of 1,100 events.

More U.S. state fairs consider trans ban - It’s already happened in Indiana and now fairs in Middle Tennessee are considering a ban on trans – maybe for next year.

About five years ago, vendors started responding to customers' requests for trans-fat-free foods, said Dave Schlabach, executive director of National Independent Concessionaries Association, which has 12,000 members.

"It's a process that everyone is going through," Schlabach said. "We are in the middle of the change, and it's happening relatively quickly. There's is a demand for it, and I think it is appropriate."

Richard Busse, who works 35 fairs and festivals a year, has been using canola oil, which is trans-fat free, for 10 years. Canola oil is easier to clean, he said. "Maybe because it doesn't leave a residue on the equipment it doesn't leave a residue in you."

"We started using canola oil because the taste is better for the vegetables," Busse said. "It gives it a better, buttery flavor." Busse, who sells fried fresh vegetables, said he has at least one customer ask at each fair what oil he fries the vegetable in.

There’s more than one way to eat broccoli! - A CanolaInfo-sponsored cooking contest, Stick with Canola Oil! Fry it for the Fair, turned up something wild for the recipe books at the San Diego County Fair this month. The winning recipe in Fry it for the Fair - deep fried in canola oil and served on a stick - was a recipe called Broccoli Rockets w. Honey Mustard Sauce. It was created by Michelle who immediately wrote all about it in her blog at http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html. Michelle and the Rockets will appear on one of the top morning shows in San Diego on July 11.

New York City trans fat ban went into effect July 1–The city's ban on trans fat-laden cooking oils, the first of its kind in the nation, went into effect Sunday. Along with the ban, fast-food restaurants in New York City now must post calories on their menu. Few eateries, however, were complying with the calorie rule.

The city Health Department reported that most fast-food chains reversed their initial opposition to the trans fat ban and implemented it ahead of Sunday's deadline, The first phase applies to oils, shortening and margarines used for frying and spreading — not to baked goods or prepared foods, or oils used to deep-fry dough or cake batter. These are covered by the second phase of the regulation, which takes effect on July 1, 2008.

Since New York passed the ban last year, Philadelphia, Montgomery County in Maryland and the Boston suburb of Brookline have followed its lead with similar measures that take effect later this year or in 2008. Several other states and cities including California and Chicago are also considering trans fat prohibitions.

Trans fats not top issue for Canadians - A report by Health Canada has found that Canadians don't view trans fats as a top health concern and knowledge about the fat is "wide but not deep," reported the Ottawa Citizen.
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=
95619e58-96b9-4b58-a38a-45768524bb5f&k=4589

Fifteen foodies camp out with canola – The annual CanolaInfo Canola Camp for food professionals - food stylists, recipe developers, food writers, dietitians, chefs – is underway in a canola field near Saskatoon this weekend. Actually, the stop at Joan and Corey Heath’s farm is only a few hours of the three day canola experience. Other highlights include meals at Saskatoon restaurants whose canola-committed chef go all out to impress as well as cookinars, canola oil tastings and a hands-on introduction to ag biotech. Among the campers this year is a food writer with Better Homes and Gardens magazine who developed a special recipe featuring canola oil for the next issue – and its front cover photograph! For stories of the 2006 Canola Camp, check out http://www.canolainfo.org/html/media/canolacamp.html.

Med Mark packaging symbol launched - A symbol identifying foods that meet the nutritional standards of a Mediterranean diet has been launched in the U.S.. Check the story at http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=77107-oldways-med-mark-mediterranean-diet.

Will that be omega-3s with your fries? McCain Foods thinks Aussies will say too right mate! McCain has launched Australia's first oven baked French fries with omega-3 fatty acids in supermarkets nationally. McCain Foods innovation director, David Boyle, said the launch was a big step forward in McCain's quest to provide consumers with a healthier French fry without sacrificing taste or quality.

SuperCrunchy with Omega 3 Fries are par-cooked in canola oil and contain no cholesterol or animal fat. Boyle said the move to a new oil blend was also part of a long-term strategy by the company to improve the nutritional characteristics of its products.

McDonalds UK goes full circle - McDonalds has committed to running its UK delivery fleet on 100% biodiesel made with its own used cooking oil. The announcement, made earlier this week will mean oil from around 900 McDonald’s UK restaurants will be combined with pure canola oil to make high-quality biodiesel to fuel the company’s 155 delivery vehicles.

Chef Wolfgang Puck launches canola cooking and baking sprays - Wolfgang Puck says he uses them himself because the new sprays “prevent sticking and contain less calories and fat than butter or margarine." A one second spray of Wolfgang Puck All-Natural No-Stick Cooking Sprays contains less than one gram of fat and less than 15 calories; while one tablespoon of butter or margarine contains more than 10 grams of fat and more than 100 calories. Two of the three new products are based on canola oil - one is billed as all-purpose, the other features a butter flavor. The third spray is made with olive oil.

"Party Hearty" snack uses canola oil - Corazonas Foods uses the Party Hearty line to promote its new line of Heart-Healthy Tortilla Chips cooked in expeller-pressed sun, safflower and canola oils. The company reports that the all-natural chips, which are made with whole oats and plant sterols, are clinically proven to reduce LDL ("bad") cholesterol by up to 15 percent.

Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski fuels up state biofuel industry – This week, Kulongoski signed legislation aimed at increasing the production and use of the alternative fuels in Oregon. The measure requires gasoline sold in the state to be mixed with 10 percent ethanol after in-state production of ethanol reaches 40 million gallons per year, in order to support the change.

A similar production target for biodiesel crops used for biofuel production will trigger a mandatory 2 percent blend in all diesel fuels sold in Oregon.
The biofuels’ package includes tax incentives for both growers and producers of feedstocks that include crops such as canola, grass and wheat straw.

Scientists make edible films from biodiesel byproducts - According to a story in Science Daily this week, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in the U.S. have used byproducts from biofuel production to create biodegradable protective films.

They found that combining milk protein casein with water and glycerol, a byproduct of biofuel production, produces a water-resistant film that can be used as an edible coating for food products.

Food, fuel, film – and plastic – there’s no end to canola innovation! – The American Chemical Society reports that an intensive world-wide effort to develop technology for manufacturing plastics from vegetable oil, rather then petroleum, has led researchers in Canada to a process for making polyurethane (PUR) plastic sheets from canola oil.

In a study scheduled for publication in the July 9 issue of ACS’s Biomacromolecules, Suresh S. Narine and Xiaohua Kong report on the properties of their vegetable-based PUR sheets. The PUR sheets were produced with an improved version of a process in which canola oil is treated with ozone to make the chemical raw materials for PUR. Researchers described the process as low-cost without the need for complicated technology, and said that it produces PUR sheets with “excellent” mechanical properties.

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