Nestle Canada to wind down frozen meals and pizza business including Delissio

TORONTO - Nestle Canada's decision to pull its pizza and frozen meals from Canada over the next six months could leave a gap in supermarket freezers, a food expert says.

The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.

Nestle said it will work with its retail partners to facilitate the exit of these products from stores.

Still, the move could leave grocers scrambling to replace the popular frozen products, said Sylvain Charlebois, a food policy professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Brunch offers a reservation-free, low-cost way to check out the resto on the river

Long johns, wool socks, a thermal shirt and a fleece sweater. A knitted neckwarmer, toque, gloves, floor-length parka and lined boots. Sunglasses to save my eyeballs from the bright and deceptively warm sun streaming through the windows. Are snow pants overkill?

‘Made-in-Canada system’ keeps egg supply stable. But is it also keeping prices high?

Canada's egg industry appears to be quietly sidestepping widespread shortages and wildly spiking prices affecting other countries, and some say supply management is to thank.

The system, which controls the supply, import and farm price of eggs, poultry and dairy, is often criticized as benefitting Canadian farmers at the expense of consumers. Critics blame supply management whenever prices of eggs and milk in Canada surpass those south of the border.

But as disease, climate change and geopolitical unrest threaten global food supplies, supporters say the upside of supply management is increasingly apparent.

"We have a made-in-Canada system that has never been more critical to food security in Canada," said University of Waterloo history professor Bruce Muirhead, a former research chair for Egg Farmers of Canada.

Ottawa food banks struggling to keep up with demand amid funding crunch

OTTAWA - An Ottawa community organization says it is struggling to meet demand for its food program, and will need to cut back its services if it can't secure more funding.

With COVID-19 supports drying up and food prices skyrocketing, the Caldwell Family Centre is just one group pleading for more support from governments.

"Before COVID, we were doing 85 meals a day. Now, we're doing 500 to 600 meals a day. There's a big difference. We need more help, keeping in mind all the food safety," said Marilyn Matheson, the organization's executive director.

During the pandemic, the centre was able to secure emergency funding from various sources, including from the Ontario government.

Dairy giant Saputo to permanently close 3 U.S. facilities, expand and build others

MONTREAL - Dairy giant Saputo Inc. has announced sweeping changes to its U.S. operations, saying it will permanently close three facilities, build a new packaging facility and expand string cheese operations.

The goal of the capital investments and consolidation is to streamline and enhance its manufacturing footprint in the United States, the Montreal-based company said Thursday.

Saputo said it's spending $240 million on a new cut-and-wrap facility in Franklin, Wis., which is slated to be fully operational in late 2025 and create 600 jobs, while also investing $75 million to expand string cheese operations on the U.S. West Coast.

Once the new and expanded facilities are up and running, the company said it will permanently shutter facilities in Big Stone, S.D., Green Bay, Wis., and South Gate, Calif.

Alcohol-related health care visits spiked during pandemic in Ontario: study

A new Ontario study suggests there was a spike in health-care visits related to alcohol during the pandemic, both among people with a history of problems with drinking as well as those confronting issues for the first time.

The study, which used data from research institute ICES, shows a 22 per cent jump in visits to physicians including family doctors, psychiatrists and addiction medicine specialists.

Lead author and Ottawa Hospital family physician Dr. Daniel Myran said the data, collected between March 2020 and May 2021, also show a six per cent increase in hospitalizations.

“These are people who are being hospitalized with alcohol dependence or withdrawal. Or seizures or problems like that," he said. "Or they’ve drunk enough that you’ve eroded the lining of your stomach, or you’ve given yourself pancreatitis.”

What’s up: 5 things to do this week

Frostbyte @ Raw:Almond

Food prices set to increase — again — as blackout on price hikes ends at some stores

Higher grocery prices are expected to hit stores across Canada as a blackout on price increases over the holiday season comes to an end.

Last fall, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said it would lock-in prices on all its in-house No Name products until Jan. 31, while Metro Inc. said it would hold prices of most private-label and national brand products steady until Feb. 5.

The lifting of price freezes comes amid growing consumer outrage over soaring grocery prices and increasing scrutiny of grocers' record profits.

But grocery chains have argued their food margins have remained flat and they are simply passing along higher supplier prices.

Quick-service restaurants to weather economic storm better than full-service: report

TORONTO - DBRS Morningstar says quick-service restaurants will have an easier time weathering the coming economic storm than full-service restaurants, as rising costs and slowing consumer spending weigh on the already embattled industry.

New commentary by the credit rating agency says restaurants around the globe are still dealing with a pandemic hangover and are now being met with decreasing consumer spending as inflation and interest rates weigh on customers' budgets, as well as increased costs to their businesses.

DBRS Morningstar says restaurant traffic in some countries took more than two years after the pandemic hit to return to 2019 levels, and that as traffic was resuming, inflation and interest rates accelerated.

The company says these economic challenges mean people will dine out less often and spend less when they do, and this is already showing up in traffic data from the U.S. and Canada.

New alcohol recommendations could speed up changing drinking habits, businesses say

TORONTO - New guidance for drinking alcohol could speed up changing consumer drinking habits as younger generations drink less and non-alcoholic beverages become more popular, advocates and business owners in the beverage industry say.

A report released earlier this month by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, funded by Health Canada, stirred widespread attention with guidance that consuming more than two drinks per week constituted a moderate health risk due to evidence linking alcohol to cancer — a significant change from previous guidelines in 2011 that said men could have up to 15 drinks per week with low risk, and women up to 10.

But the new guidelines aren’t a nail in the coffin for the beverage industry, businesses say — though they may hasten the shift in consumer habits that were already underway.

“I mean, the study really just reports what is obvious, which is there's a risk to drinking,” said Nick Kennedy, owner of Civil Liberties, a cocktail bar in Toronto.

Stonework’s owner takes page from Mick Jagger’s playbook and applies culinary twist

Mike Publicover calls it his “Mick-time.”

Publicover is the owner of Stonework’s Bistro, which opened in the Shops of Winnipeg Square in May 2022. While you’ll usually find the veteran chef in the kitchen, turning out homestyle soups and fire-baked sandwiches, he still enjoys greeting customers in person, as much as possible. That means doffing his apron for a spell, to head to the front counter, where the action is.

Flower power: city bakery’s goodies off to the Grammys

Grammy Award nominees Beyonce, Lizzo and Adele will likely receive goody bags containing items from Winnipeg-based online boutique bakery Flour &Flower when the 65th Grammys take place Feb. 5 in Los Angeles.

Milk prices in New Brunswick set to increase four cents per litre starting Feb. 1

FREDERICTON - Milk prices in New Brunswick are set to increase by four cents per litre starting Wednesday.

A news release from the New Brunswick Farm Products Commission blames the increase on rising production costs faced by dairy producers and processors.

It says dairy farmers are paying more for feed, machinery and equipment repairs, fuel and oil, custom work and hired labour.

The commission says the price adjustment also covers increased costs borne by dairy processors, including for packaging, manufacturing, transportation and distribution.

South Asian community health workers welcome new low-risk alcohol guidance

A doctor who treats addiction at a clinic specifically for South Asian patients says Canada's new guidance on alcohol bolsters his efforts to convey the message about associated harms to a community that is at higher risk for conditions such as heart disease.

"I'm really happy to finally hear that there is support from objective guidelines for the information that we already knew," said Dr. Parm Brar, who works at the Roshni Clinic in Surrey, B.C., which opened in 2017 and provides services in Punjabi and Hindi.

"This is something that we can use as part of our resources as far as being able to say to people, 'Well, look, there's this objective evidence for this, that it's harming you,'" Brar said of updated guidance by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.

The CCSA overhauled recommendations on alcohol use this month, saying no amount of booze is safe and that more than seven standard drinks per week puts people at higher risk of cancer and heart disease.

Tips for finding cheaper protein in the meat aisle and beyond

TORONTO - Widespread inflation has led to some eye-popping meat prices, but dietitians say there are budget-friendly ways to get enough protein.

Saving money on these essential building blocks could involve both considering a wider variety of sources, and being more strategic when sticking to old favourites, but either way it’s key that everyone gets enough, said registered dietitian Desiree Nielsen.

“With everyone still getting sick all of the time, it is really important that you get adequate protein in your diet."

Protein is responsible for the growth and repair of all human cells and it is critical to the proper functioning of the immune system, she said.

Low-risk alcohol guidance sparks debate as drinkers start examining habits, evidence

Canada's new guidance on alcohol is sparking plenty of debate, and while some experts say it could lead to frank conversations with health providers to help drinkers make informed choices, others are questioning the advice to imbibe fewer than two drinks per week.

Heidi Tworek, associate professor of public policy at the University of British Columbia, said the guidance aimed at changing people's behaviour to reduce their risk of alcohol-related cancer or heart disease should be accompanied by other strategies that help them assess their own situation based on family history or alcohol-use disorder, for example.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction said in a report released last week that no amount of alcohol is safe and those who consume up to two standard drinks per week face a low health risk. This increases to moderate risk for three to six weekly drinks, and is high beyond that.

The guidance is more like a dial rather than a light switch that some people will find helpful as they monitor their consumption, said Tworek, a Canada Research Chair in health communication.

Discount grocers to outperform conventional stores as food prices surge: Report

Discount grocery stores are expected to outshine their conventional counterparts in 2023 as shoppers seek out cheaper food to cope with staggering price increases, a new report released Monday said.

The DBRS Morningstar commentary said surging inflation and interest rates are shaping consumer behaviour and increasing sales at lower-cost grocery stores.

Consumer efforts to curtail spending are expected to encourage more home cooking, benefitting the grocery industry in general as people forgo restaurant dining to cut costs, it said.

Yet discount grocers are expected to see the biggest increase in sales, the report said.

Missing your favourite lunch spot? How food courts are emerging from the pandemic

TORONTO - As workers in Toronto's Financial District scurry through the Brookfield Place food court on their lunch breaks, the darkened Starbucks at the space's far end looms large.

The coffee shop's stainless steel coffee machines have sat lifeless and its shelves empty since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the building's denizens to work from home. Adjacent to the Starbucks, a closed Marché's is boarded up, but lines snake in front of McDonald's and Jimmy The Greek, and the building's property owner boasts of rising sales.

The scene is a sign of the crossroads at which food courts have found themselves since the pandemic upended work and shopping habits and stubbornly high inflation and labour shortages began rankling consumers.

Commercial landlords say they are slowly watching demand for their offerings tick upwards again, although the must still contend with vacancies from tenants that fled during COVID-19 shutdowns and with lower foot traffic due to fewer people in downtown cores amid the rise of remote and hybrid work.