CDC Meredith Barley - Barley That Makes More Beer
A new high-yielding barley variety with the potential to make more beer is grabbing the attention of the malting and brewing industry. With the emergence of CDC Meredith from the barley research pipeline, there is hope the variety can restore some of malting barley's lost lustre for farmers, help increase supply, and provide added benefits for the malting and brewing industry.

While cautioning that more testing is required, Richard Joy, technical director for Alberta-based Rahr Malting Canada Limited, says early results show the variety has the potential to consistently deliver low protein – under 12 per cent – which is desirable for the brewing industry. "The lower protein provides additional starch which translates into higher brew house yields or a higher number of beers from the same tonnage," Joy explains.

The new variety is a direct result of Canada's Certified Seed system. A portion of the royalties collected on Certified seed sales is reinvested in plant breeding and innovation at research centres such as the University of Saskatchewan's Crop Development Centre, the developer of CDC Meredith.

While brewers get more beer, CDC Meredith also gives farmers more barley. Testing shows it yields 13 per cent higher than the current standard. "It's a win-win situation," says Todd Hyra of SeCan, the company that markets the variety. "Farmers get a variety that has stronger field performance and delivers higher yields while end users get the protein levels they're looking for and more production."

For more information on CDC Meredith Barley, please contact Todd Hyra at SeCan at (204) 489-9126.

Warburton’s Foods - Making A Special Loaf
When it comes to food ingredients, few food manufacturers can match the quality assurance and traceability claims of Warburtons, the United Kingdom's largest independent baker. The company's commitment to quality breads, bakery products and rolls starts with relationships it's cultivated with farmers and the required use of Certified seed.

"High quality, premium bread products is Warburton's business," says Adam Dyck, Warburton's Canadian program manager who notes that 50 per cent of the company's wheat is grown in Canada. "We're not millers, we're strictly bakers. In order to achieve this, we require high quality CWRS (Canada Western Red Spring) wheat as part of our grist.

"We did a lot of research and found out that not all CWRS varieties perform the same in the Warburtons baking process. Specific attributes contribute to shelf life, colour, freshness, and overall appearance of the bread," explains Dyck. "We know the varieties we're contracting make that loaf special and stand out from our competition."

Warburtons also knows these valuable attributes can be lost if preferred varieties are comingled with other wheat. That's where Certified seed and IP make a difference, says Dyck. "We have selected these varieties for specific reasons and if we didn't have Certified seed, we wouldn't know what we were getting. Those excellent bake characteristics that are in our selected varieties would be lost."

Warburton´s specifies the varieties grown and the optimum protein levels that they require for baking their bread to the correct taste, softness and freshness. By using an IP system requiring Canadian Certified seed, wheat grown for Warburton’s is kept separate from other wheat and grains the farmer grows, is milled separately and provides traceability from the final loaves back to farms. (Source: www.warburtons.co.uk)

Sunrise Soya Foods
Sunrise Soya Foods, established in 1956 in Vancouver, is Canada's leading tofu manufacturer, providing top quality soya products to consumers across the country. Since 2000, Sunrise has used soybeans grown from Canadian Certified seed for the production of its tofu and soy food products.

The production of quality tofu requires a quality soybean; one that is large in size with a high protein content and a clear hilum. To meet these bean specifications, Sunrise Soya Foods works directly with plant breeders to refine the new varieties. This ensures that the farmers have access to the best seed varieties, which in turn serves Sunrise´s processing needs. Thanks to this close relationship, Sunrise has identified the best soybean varieties for both its tofu and soymilk production.

"Today, we now have a much better understanding of how protein, moisture and oil, as well as bean size and percentage of splits, affect yield and the quality of the final products we produce," says Paul Mitchell, VP of Sales and Marketing at Sunrise. "Using identity preserved (IP) varieties grown from Certified seed gives us a product quality advantage. Not only do we get better control of textures, flavours and appearance but we get consistency in our extracts and a higher processing yield."

Pavena™ Certification Program
The Canadian Celiac Association (CCA) launched PAVENA™ – a trademark program used to identify "pure uncontaminated oats" that people affected by celiac disease can consume with confidence.

Celiac disease is a medical condition in which the absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by a substance called gluten. This results in an inability of the body to absorb nutrients – protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals – which are necessary for good health. Through several years of extensive research, the CCA determined that "uncontaminated" oats do not produce a reaction for most people affected by the disease.

The PAVENA™ program is based on the premise of growing pure oats in a manner that eliminates the contamination by offending materials, such as wheat, barley or rye, and manages the product throughout the chain of custody, during preparation. The PAVENA™ system is based upon strict purity standards of pedigreed seed. This ensures that all food products such as rolled oats, breads, baked goods and other snack foods that carry the PAVENA™ label meet the specific food safety requirements that celiacs need.