au courant
A regular update on issues, events and activities.
Volume 11, No.4, April 2007
Top Stories
FCPC and members of Canada's supply chain partake in pandemic exercise
On March 26-27, members of Canada's food and beverage supply chain, including food producers, manufacturers, retailers and government agencies, met to participate in a table top Pandemic exercise sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in conjunction with the Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition (CSCFSC). The workshop saw participants work through a series of influenza pandemic scenarios with the goal of helping to pinpoint key vulnerabilities along the supply chain and areas where industry and government must focus their efforts as part of preparedness planning. A report from the session is forthcoming.
FCPC will continue to participate in the Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition (CSCFSC) and liaise with trading partners on behalf of the association's members.
Health Minister joins FCPC and Canadian food and beverage companies who unveil integrated children-focused advertising initiatives
The Hon. Tony Clement, Minister of Health, joined representatives of Canada's food and beverage industry as they announced three significant initiatives that will affect the landscape for advertising directed to children under 12. The Ontario Science Centre played host to the April 16 event where the following three announcements were made:
15 leading Canadian food and beverage companies unveiled the new Canadian Children's Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative which will see them devote at least 50 per cent of their ads directed to children under 12 toward the promotion of healthy dietary choices and/or active living messages. Participating companies include: Cadbury Schweppes, Campbell, Coca-Cola Ltd., General Mills, Hershey, Janes Family Foods, Kellogg, Kraft, McCain Foods, McDonald's, Nestle, Parmalat, PepsiCo, Unilever and Weston Foods. Under this initiative, beginning Q1 2008, each participating company will formalize and publish an individual plan that sets out how their commitments to the Canadian Children's Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative will be achieved. Advertising Standards Canada (ASC), the independent advertising self-regulatory body, will publish the commitments made by the participating companies, audit their compliance and publicly report on the results on an annual basis. For information see news release [newswire.ca]
Concerned Children's Advertisers (CCA) unveiled two new Long Live Kids television PSAs addressing healthy eating and physical activity which are part of a larger social marketing, education and media literacy program. CCA also announced a new online workshop for parent, school and community educators. See the PSAs live [longlivekids.ca]
New interpretation guidelines for children's food and beverage advertising have been added to the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children and the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. For more on Canada's system regarding advertising to children visit: [adstandards.com]
See FCPC in the News for coverage of the announcement. Industry has also created a splash page which includes details of the announcement and live interviews from ASC, CCA and FCPC. [fcpc.ca]
Other News
Student wage subsidy programs available: Deadline for applications approaching
Under the Rural Summer Jobs Service program the Ontario government is offering a $2.00 per hour wage subsidy to eligible companies who hire a student/students this summer. The program is open to employers who hire students for up to 16 weeks, between April 1st and September 30th, 2007 for a maximum of 560 hours. The deadline for applying is May 31, 2007. For more information see [omafra.gov.on.ca] or contact OMAFRA at1-866-306-7827 or rsjs.omafra@ontario.ca.
Value chain DVD to be released
A DVD which explains the concept of Value Chain Management (VCM) to farmers and the wider agri-food industry in an 'easily interpretable' fashion is now available for order from the George Morris Centre. It features international experts in Value Chain Management including Ray Collins and Tony Dunne (Australia), David Hughes and Andy Fearne (UK) and Canadians Nick Jennery, John Scott and Lyle Vanclief, among others. The DVD which includes case studies involving producers and agri-food businesses provides insights into common causes for value chain failure. The DVD is slated to be released in June 2007 with a French version to follow. Interested parties are asked to contact Martin Gooch, MAgribus Phone: (519) 822-3929 ext. 216 martin@georgemorris.org.
Upcoming Events
National Grocery Conference, presented by FCPC and CCGD has it's "I" on the World: May 26-28, 2007 at the Ottawa Congress Centre
Insight, innovation, international and inspiration are key areas which will be explored at this year's National Grocery Conference building on the overall conference theme An "I" on the World. Details of the conference program including the line-up of expert speakers from across Europe, the US and Canada are now available online. For program information and to register visit:
ccgd.ca.
FCPC's Exclusive CEOs' Conference offers unique, targeted sponsorship
Each September, FCPC holds its premier CEOs' Conference attended by leaders from Canada's food, beverage and consumer products industry. The event provides excellent sponsorship opportunities. Among the sponsorship benefits are two complimentary tickets to the by-invitation only event. Find out more about this unique opportunity to network with industry leaders and hear from content experts on key trends and global influences shaping the industry's future. Interested parties are asked to contact Andrea Holmes at FCPC at andreah@fcpc.ca or at 416-510-8024 x 2236.
Welcome to FCPC
FCPC is pleased to welcome Aeroplan as a new partner affiliate
Aeroplan's millions of members earn Aeroplan Miles with its network of more than 60 world-class partners, representing more than 100 brands in the financial, retail and travel sectors. Miles earned may be redeemed for Aeroplan's industry-leading ClassicFlight Rewards, innovative ClassicPlus Flight Rewards and global Star Alliance Flight Rewards, offering travel to more than 850 destinations worldwide. In 2006 alone, more than 1.4 million round-trip flight rewards were issued. Aeroplan's roster of non-flight rewards includes more than 400 exciting specialty, merchandise and experiential rewards, as well as hotel and car rental rewards. For more information about Aeroplan, please visit www.aeroplan.com.
FCPC is also pleased to announce the following new Associate Members:
Rogers Business Solutions
rogers.com
Teradata Canada teradata.com
MTI (Market Techniques Innovations)
markettechniques.com
Elopak Canada Inc.
elopak.com
To find out more about membership in FCPC, contact Heather Spencer at heather.spencer@fcpc.ca or 416-51-8024 x 2237.
FCPC in the News
FCPC asked to comment on functional food regulations
Functional Foods and regulations governing them is an area of great interest to Canada's food and beverage industry. Read a recent interview with Nancy Croitoru, President and CEO of FCPC which appeared in the Globe and Mail.
workopolis.com
Integrated Children-Focused Initiatives Draws National News Coverage
Widespread print, broadcast and Internet stories were generated as a result of Canada's food and beverage integrated children's advertising announcements on April 16. Canadian Press, CBC, Global, CTV as well as countless local and regional news outlets helped to communicate to Canadians what industry is proactively doing to help address the issue of obesity. Samples of stories can be found here:
cbc.ca and
thestar.com
Member News
- Iams and Eukanuba Employees Publish Open Letter Today To Reassure Pet Owners
- Help Natrel Ultra'milk fight cancer!
- Campbell's Soups with Less Salt Give Canadians Choice and Satisfying Taste
- Kimberly-Clark Corporation Announces New Global Marketing Structure