Oats face cancer-causing questions

Oats are often touted for boosting heart health, but scientists warn that the grain and its products might need closer monitoring for potential mold contamination.

A report in American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that some oat-based breakfast cereals in the United States contain a mold-related toxin called ochratoxin A (OTA) that's been linked to kidney cancer in animal studies.

The findings could have implications for consumer health.

Dojin Ryu and Hyun Jung Lee note that OTA is one of the most common toxic products released by molds in the world.

Previous studies have found the toxin in samples of pork, dried fruits, wine, coffee and other products.

Scientists don't yet know how the toxin affects human health, but the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classifies it as a possible human carcinogen.

On the basis of analysis of 500 samples of breakfast cereals, the researchers conclude that oat production, storage and processing need careful review to better protect consumer health.

                           

Blue Menu Bran Flakes recalled

Loblaws is recalling its Blue Menu Bran Flakes because the breakfast cereal may be contaminated with plastic.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has posted the recall on its website.

It says there have been no reports of customers being sickened or injured.

It does indicate how many packages are involved, but the recall is nation-wide.

The recall applies to packages with a best before label of 2016 JA 07 and a universal product code 0 60383 74782 4.

Food waste could be cut by $220 to $300 billion per year

Reducing consumer food waste could save between $120 and $300 billion US per year by 2030, claims a new report from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, both based in London, England.

That much money could be saved simply by reducing food waste by 25 to 50 per cent.

And refrigeration, alone, could cut food waste In developing nations by 25 per cent, the report says.

Other significant gains can be achieved through better packaging.

One third of all food produced in the world ends up as waste, while the value of global consumer food waste is more than $400 billion US per year.

“As the global middle class expands over the course of the decade, the cost could rise to $600 billion US,” the report says.

It’s titled “Strategies to achieve economic and environmental gains by reducing food waste”.

It identifies significant opportunities to improve economic performance and tackle climate change by reducing the amount of food that is wasted in agriculture, transport, storage and consumption.

It has the twin benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to global warming.

Olymel may partner with ATRAHAN

Olymel and ATRAHAN Transformation Inc. say they talks to establish  a “business partnership” sometime this spring.

ATRAHAN currently has the capacity to slaughter almost one million pigs a year and exports its pork products to more than 50 countries.

The partnership would deal with pork processing.

Olymel has processing plants in four Canadian cities and collects about one-third of its annual sales from pork and poultry products exported to the United States, Japan and Australia.

The new partners expect to announce a more formal agreement by May 2015.

Olymel recently invested  $10 million to expand poultry processing.

Ritz claim of no BSE trade bans crumbles

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s claim that the recent discovery or of another Alberta cow with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cows’ disease) would not affect exports has crumbled.

In fact there are now five countries that have banned Canadian beef, starting with South Korea and most recently adding Taiwan. Belarus and Peru have also banned Canadian beef and Indonesia has placed temporary restrictions on some forms of beef.

Ritz tried to dismiss the severity of the situation by saying those countries account for three per cent of Canadian beef exports.

But is that on an annual basis and before South Korea lifted its earlier ban on Canadian beef, or on a monthly basis for the most recent two or three months?

And are these not the most lucrative export markets, more valuable per kilogram than hamburger and offals exported to the U.S. and Europe?

And how did a cow that was born in 2009 contract BSE via feed, as the CFIA has said about the probably source?

Was the CFIA lax in enforcing a ban on incorporating rendered remains of BSE-infected cattle in cattle rations?

And if the CFIA is partly to blame, can it be held liable for compensation for the loss of export markets?