Canada attracts buyers at International Exhibition

Report:London International Food and[)rink Exhibition

More than three million dollars in on­site export sales were generated byCanadian food and beverage producersand associations displaying their pro­ducts in Canada's first national exhibitat London's International Food andDrink Exhibition.

Additional export contracts worth anestimated $15 million are expected to ac­crue to many of the 22 Canadian par­ticipants in this important British bi­annual food trade fair. Prior to 1983,several companies garnered profitableexport contracts by independently par­ticipating in the London exhibition afterqualifying for special financialassistance under PEMD-Food, a federalgovernment program briefly describedbelow.

Five provincial governments helpedfood companies operating within theirrespective jurisdictions to participate inthe 1983 Canadian exhibit.

The results clearly show that despitefierce international competition for in­creased export sales, Canada's food in­dustry, in concert with the Departmentsof External Affairs (DEA) and Industry,Trade and Commerce, Regional In­dustrial Expansion (ITCIDRIE) can cap­ture significant shares of new marketsabroad and expand existing ones.

Thousands of British, Western Euro­pean and Middle Eastern buyersthronged the DEA sponsored Canadianexhibit. Favourable reactions confirm­ed that Canadian foods are becomingWidely accepted and making note­worthy gains in the huge EuropeanCommunity's markets. Since the ex­hibition's closing a substantial numberof food export contracts have beenreceived as well as those negotiated onsite.

PEMD-Food, the federal govern­ment's Program for Export MarketDevelopment, jointly administered byDEA and ITC, encourages and finan­cially assists small and medium-sizedCanadian-owned, incorporated com­panies with export experience or poten­tial to undertake foreign market evalua­tion trips, participate in foreign foodtrade fairs, establish export facilities, orarrange representation overseas. Com­panies qualifying for PEMD assistancereceive up to 50 per cent of expenses in­curred in penetrating new markets.Contributions are repayable if worth­while sales are made.

Information on funding throughPEMD-Food is available from DENsTrade Development Bureau, Ottawa,

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and ITC/DRIE, Ottawa and its officessituated in cities across Canada. Otherforms of assistance, specifically for ex­port purposes, are available.

Emphasizing the federal govern­ment's drive to increase Canada's foodexports is DENs sponsoring of exhibitsin major international food trade fairssuch as Japan's giant FOODEX'84,Tokyo, March 14 to 18; West Ger­many's ANUGA 83 World Food Mar­ket, Cologne, November 15 to 20; andother food trade fairs in Europe, PacificRim Countries, and the United States.

In 1983/84, Canadian food trade mis­sions will visit Japan, Korea and theMiddle East, while incoming foreignbyyer missions and buyer visits are alsoscheduled. In-store promotions inJapan and the U.S. are an importantsegment of the federal government'sconcentrated, and continuing push fornew export markets. DENs Promo­tional Projects Program organizes andimplements all aspects of Canada's ex­hibits in foreign trade fairs, andorganizes trade missions and buyervisits. For information contact eitherDEA, Ottawa, ITCIDRIE, Ottawa, orany of its regional offices.

Canada's exhibits in upcoming foodtrade fairs will include DENs AlphaPlus 12 word processor system whichprovides complete details of Canadianproducers or consortia able to exportthe entire range of foods in specificcategories. Installed at Japan's hugeFOODEX'83, France's famous SIAL'82(Salon International de I'Alimentation)and the London exhibition, the systemcontains information on all facets of

Canada's food industry. Its value alsolies in extending valid export oppor­tunities to other established Canadianfood exporters and providing broadcoverage of the industry's scope andcapabilities.

The exhibit was visited by DonJamieson, our High Commissioner toBritain, accompanied by MaxwellForsythe-Smith, Minister (Commercial),Canada's High Commission head­quartered in London. DENs foodspecialists and the High Commission'strade officers who staffed the exhibit aremaking follow-up calls on the manyprospective buyers. Trade officers ofCanada's consulates in continentalEurope will follow suit.

Following is a list of organizationsthat participated in the Canadianexhibit.Atlantic Fish Specialties, Charlot­tetown, Prince Edward Island:- Smoked fish.Ault Foods Limited, Winchester,Ontario:- Cheddar cheese, milk and whey

powder, infant formula.Bee Maid Honey Ltd., Edmonton,Alberta:- HoneyBow Island Bean Growers, P.O. Box96, Bow Island, Alberta:- Dry edible beans.Canada Packers Inc., InternationalTrade Division, Toronto, Ontario:- Canned fruit and vegetables; cann­

ed and frozen meats; frozen fish;cheese; peanut butter.

Institute Affairs / xxix

Canada Safeway Export DevelopmentDepartment, Edmonton, Alberta:- Alberta beef.Canadian Association of Fish Ex­porters, Ottawa, Ontario:- Smoked, frozen and canned Atlan-

tic fish.Canadian Pizza Crust Company Ltd.,Mississauga, Ontario:- Pizza crusts, frozen pizza.Cambra Foods Ltd., Lethbridge,Alberta:- Refined canola oil.Clouston Foods Canada Ltd., Lachine,Quebec:- Frozen fish, canned seafood.Comeau's Seafoods Limited, Saulnier­ville, Nova Scotia:- Frozen fish and seafood, smoked

fish.

New UW Research Institute

The University of Waterloo hasestablished an Institute forBiotechnology Research (IBR) oncampus.

The IBR will co-ordinate the widerange of biotechnology-related researchunder way at Waterloo, and promote itsfurther development. In the process, itwill seek research contracts and supportfrom industry, government and publicagencies, and promote the transfer ofcampus-generated knowledge in thebiotechnology area to help keepCanadian industry competitive.

The Institute will also conductworkshops and seminars on newaspects of biotechnology, willencourage the development of expertisein biotechnology areas among UWstudents and staff, and providemanpower training for Canada'sgrowing bioindustries.

To date, the most conspicuous bio­technology achievement at Waterloohas been the process developed by Dr.Murray Moo-Young, chemical engi­neering professor, to convertagricultural and forestry wastes (suchas crop residues, manure, sawdust, orpulp mill sludge) into either protein orgasohol. Dr. Moo-Young, who has beennamed interim director of the IBR, usesmicrobial life forms to change onesubstance into another. These microbeshave been specially selected and aregrown in specially-designed fermen­ters. The process has been licensed toa Canadian company that hopes todevelop it further and market itinternationally. It has also been licensedin Common Market and Iron Curtaincountries.

xxx I Affaires de l'Institut

Ernest Carriere Inc., St. Denis surRichelieu, Quebec:- Canned vegetables, maple spread.Fin d'Hiver Inc., St. Hippolyte,Quebec:- Maple syrup, maple butter, honey.IMO Foods Limited, Halifax, NovaScotia:- Smoked and canned fish.Mo-na Enterpises Ltd., Edmonton,Alberta:- Dried and brined wild gourmet

mushrooms.Nanton Pure Water Co. Ltd., Nanton,Alberta:- Spring water, sparkling flavoured

water.National Sea Products Ltd., Halifax,Nova Scotia:- Fresh, frozen, smoked, dried fish;

Although the Moo-Young process hasbeen widely reported by news media,other promising biotechnology researchis also under way at Waterloo. Thisresearch may make it possible to usemicrobes to remove sulphur from coal(minimizing the acid rain problem),extract metals from ore, preserve foodbetter, degrade toxic wastes, combatinsect pests more effectively, or preventblights or rusts from destroying crops.

Campus expertise affiliated with thenew Institute will also make it possiblefor computers to automate biotechno­logical process so they can be controll­ed with great precision at minimumcost. IBR expertise will permit newmicrobes to be genetically engineeredand new materials deliberately created.There is also expertise in "downstreamprocessing" ... the extraction of usefulproducts economically, be it food, adrug or a metal from a slurry of micro­organisms living in a fermenter.

Initially, up to 35 UW faculty mem­bers will be involved in the Institute.They are in five academic departments(biology, chemical engineering, chem­istry, civil engineering and physics).These faculty members have been in­volved as consultants with dozens of in­dustries, government departments andagencies. Several hold patents on in­ventions. A number of them have writ­ten books on various aspects ofbiotechnology, and a number areeditors of scholarly journals in thebiotechnology area.

Though the Institute has been form­ed on the UW campus there are closerelationships with faculty members atthe University of Guelph where asimilar institute is in the process of be-

fresh and frozen seafood.Northumberland Seafoods, WestRoyalty, Prince Edward Island:- Frozen and canned lobster, frozen

fish and shellfish.Produits Belle Baie Ltee., CaraquetNew Brunswick: '- Frozen and canned fish and

vegetables.Rich Products of Canada Limited, PortErie, Ontario:- Frozen non-dairy products, frozen

bakery products, icings and fillings.Rocky Mountain Breweries Ltd., RedDeer, Alberta:- Beer.Wild Blueberry Association of NorthAmerica, Fredericton, New Brunswick:- Processed and frozen blueberries.

ing formed. According to Dr. Moo­Young the close co-operation betweenthe two campuses is expected to con­tinue and may lead to a union of thetwo institutes at some future time.

Dr. Moo-Young feels the IBR will alsowork closely with the existing Institutefor Computer Research (lCR) at Water­loo, with the latter helping to developthe computer software needed to per­mit the control and automation of avariety of biotechnological processes.

In addition, continuing collaborationwith the Waterloo Centre for ProcessDevelopment (WCPD), also located onthe UW campus, will permit pilot plantscale demonstrations of inventions,necessary preliminaries to industrialapplications.

CFPD Centre ExpandsThe Can'adian Food Products

Development Centre at Portage laPrairie is expanding with $491,000 inassistance from the federal and provin­cial governments.

The funding will be provided underthe federal-provincial EnterpriseManitoba agreement.' The ManitobaJobs Fund will provide the total fundingassistance initially, and will recover$306,875 from the federal government.Revenues generated by the Centre aredesignated to cover the remaining costof the nearly $1 million physicalCFDD Centre Expands

The project, an addition of about 350square metres, will greatly expand theCentre's product development area,where testing of food production pro­cesses is carried out. The expansion willmean increased freezer and foodstorage capacity, enlarged dry mix, pro-

J. Ins(. Can. Sei. Teehnol. Alimenl. Vol. 16, No. 4. 1983