Maple syrup producers in Waterloo and Wellington are
determined to pull up their socks after their reputation was besmirched by
low-brix-count batches offered for sale at two auctions last year.
The first auction in April left a bad taste in the air
because a number of the first pails for sale tested below the minimum 66 brix
to qualify as maple syrup.
Bidders were cautious and prices remained
disappointingly-low throughout the auction.
Things were better, but still not perfect, for the next
auction in September. There about three per cent of about 600 samples drawn for
testing by an independent third party at the auction fell below 66 bris.
The issue was the hottest topic and got a thorough
examination during the annual meeting that drew more than 100 producers to the
annual meeting of the Waterloo and Wellington Maple Syrup Producers
Associations at St. Jacobs Thursday.
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| Paaul Bailey |
Paul Bailey, risk identification and management co-ordinator
for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Foods program for foods of plant
origin, said it could have simply been an issue of how producers drew samples
to submit for the testing.
He said official testers in Quebec and Vermont draw their
samples from the middle of barrels to overcome the issue of “layering” of syrup
that sinks the sweetest to the bottom and the lowest-brix-count syrup rises to
the top.
He said Vermont officials use a turkey baster to draw
samples from the middle of containers. Quebec officials turn the barrel on its
side and take the sample from the bung which is located at the mid-point.
Lorne Brubacher who bought some of the low-brix product at
the auction said when he took it home and mixed the contents, he found the brix
count topped 66.
Bruce Gillilian of Vermont said there are many unintentional
mistakes producers can make that result in syrup that is either not sweet
enough or too sweet.
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| Bruce Gillilian had producers' attention |
Many relate to the reliability of the testing equipment
producers use. For example, he said hydrotherms are so notoriously unreliable
that he doesn’t sell them from his Leader equipment stores.
The paper inside hydrometers can slip up or down to result
in a faulty reading; he recommended creating a benchmark line inside the
hydrometer case, or somewhere in the sugar shack, so producers can check
whether the paper has slipped.
Temperature adjustments are also important; he offered to
send a laminated chart to anyone who asks, a chart that shows the minimum brix
level required at every temperature.
He said simply taking a reading from a pail 10 or 15 minutes
after the syrup has run out of the evaporating pan could throw the reading off
because the syrup may have cooled from 212 (boiling heat) to 185 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Whatever the reason, Waterloo-Wellington president Fred
Martin said producers and the directors and staff of the Elmira Produce Auction
Co-operative are determined to ensure top quality for upcoming auctions.
The manager of the auction warned producers that any syrup
that falls below 66 brix will not be sold as maple syrup, but as a maple
product.
The organizers might also allocate low-scoring pails for
sale at the end of the auction when there will be less impact on bidders’
willingness to bid.
Martin also urged the producers to offer their syrup in
stainless steel containers. A large percentage at last year’s auctions were in
food-grade plastic pails.
The syrup was auctioned at wholesale, not in consumer-ready
retail packaging. Many of the buyers were dealers who will probably blend and
further process what they bought before putting it into retail packages.
The Elmira auctions began after the first-ever auction in
2012 at Lucknow proved popular with both producers and buyers.
Martin said if producers do a good job of developing
standards and meeting them, the Elmira auction could become “a big win-win for
both producers and buyers.”
