Cuisine on the small screen

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The third season of The Bear dropped on Disney+ late last month. To say that fans of the Emmy Award-winning television series had been hungering to catch up on the goings-on at the oft-chaotic Original Beef of Chicagoland, the fictional restaurant that serves as the show’s primary setting, would be an understatement.

According to Variety magazine, the first episode of Season 3 of The Bear, which stars Jeremy Allen White as chef Carmen (Carmy) Berzatto and Ayo Edebiri as sous chef Sydney Adamu, registered 5.4 million views in the four days following its June 26 release, a 24 per cent increase over the second season’s debut episode in June 2023.

While it’s true The Bear has been a runaway hit since its debut two years ago, with audiences and critics alike, it’s far from the first time a dining spot has played a starring role on a TV screen.

Grocery code could spur investment, stabilize prices: Kraft Heinz Canada president

TORONTO – A grocery code of conduct could stabilize food prices in the future and encourage more investment in the Canadian food industry, according to the president of Kraft Heinz Canada. “It creates a better trade environment for both the supplier and the retailer, but I think at the end of the day, the consumer is winning,” said Simon Laroche in an interview with The Canadian Press. Laroche thinks the code of conduct, which sets out guidelines for fair dealing between grocers and suppliers, could bring some stability to an industry emerging from a difficult four years marked by empty […]

Government to provide $1.2 million to establish office of grocery code of conduct

WHITEHORSE – Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay says the government, along with its provincial and territorial counterparts, will provide $1.2 million in one-time funding to support the creation of the office that will oversee the grocery code of conduct. MacAulay made the announcement one day after news that all of Canada’s major grocers had agreed to sign on to the voluntary code. The industry-led code is meant to set out guidelines for fair dealings between grocery retailers and suppliers. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa […]

Recalled plant-based milk brands must rebuild trust by apologizing: marketers

TORONTO - Marketing experts say two brands that recently had to recall plant-based milk contaminated with Listeria can come back from the deadly outbreak, but they must move quickly to regain consumer trust.

They say both Danone and Walmart should apologize swiftly for their recalled Silk and Great Value products, respectively, and specifically outline to the public what they are doing to rectify the situation.

“I have yet to see an apology from Danone, which means they're already behind from a crisis management perspective,” David Pullara, a marketing instructor at York University's Schulich School of Business, wrote in an email.

Pullara’s advice comes a day after Ontario's health ministry revealed the province has seen two deaths linked to 18 plant-based beverages, including oat, almond and coconut milks. Fifteen carried the Silk name and three were branded Great Value.

Retail sales down 0.8 per cent in May led by decreases at food and beverage retailers

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says retail sales fell 0.8 per cent to $66.1 billion in May, weighed down by decreases at grocers and alcoholic beverage retailers.

The agency says sales were down in eight of the nine subsectors it tracks led by the 1.9 per cent decline in sales at food and beverage retailers.

Sales at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers fell 2.7 per cent and sales at general merchandise retailers declined one per cent.

Core retail sales — which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers — fell 1.4 per cent in May.

Saskatchewan food bank says it’s prepared to reduce hampers by half

MOOSE JAW, SASK. - Jason Moore recently took stock of the inventory at the food bank in Moose Jaw, Sask., and realized nothing would be left in two weeks.

To keep the shelves from going bare, the food bank's executive director says it's prepared to cut its hampers in half. That means one hamper per month for clients instead of two, starting in August.

"By still giving out two hampers for the remainder of July, we'll be bare bones by the end of the month," Moore said Thursday.

"We get to know our clients, and we know the struggles they're facing. Not being able to help them is absolutely devastating."

Final hurdle clears for grocery code of conduct as Walmart, Costco sign on

All the major Canadian grocers are now on board for a grocery code of conduct, paving the way for industry guidelines that have been several years in the making.

The federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers made the announcement Thursday during their annual meeting in Whitehorse, saying the remaining holdouts Walmart and Costco have now agreed to sign on to the code.

"This is a positive step toward bringing more fairness, transparency, and predictability to Canada’s grocery supply chain and for consumers," the ministers said in a statement.

Confirming the support of the five major retailers — Loblaw, Walmart, Costco, Metro and Empire — is an "important milestone," said Michael Graydon, CEO of the Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada association.

What is listeriosis, the illness recently linked to a recall of plant-based milks?

Two people have died and several others are sick with listeriosis in an outbreak that triggered a national recall of certain plant-based milk.

WHAT IS LISTERIA?

The Listeria bacterium is found in soil, sewage and untreated water. It can also be found in foods such as meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

HOW DOES THE BACTERIUM GET INTO FOOD?

Ontario restaurants struggle to procure booze as the LCBO strike continues

TORONTO - When Larry McCabe learned of a looming strike by the province's liquor store workers, he picked up just a few extra bottles for his two restaurants, thinking he would find other ways to keep the booze supply running.

But nearly two weeks later, the Stratford, Ont., restaurateur said he's struggling to serve his customers. His establishments have already run out of house wine, and by the end of the week, he said they will drain the supply of key ingredients needed for cocktails.

McCabe said he's now in "a bit of a limbo state" as he tries to procure alcohol from other sources.

“It is a very frustrating situation to be put in," he said.

Just 15 per cent of Ontarians say they’re affected by the ongoing LCBO strike: poll

A new poll suggests that just 15 per cent of Ontarians are personally affected by the LCBO's ongoing strike, as the provincial government expands access to alcohol at other retailers.

That's despite nearly 90 per cent of respondents in a new Leger poll saying they are aware that the job action is happening.

Fewer than one-third of Ontarians say they want the provincial government to intervene to end the 12-day strike at Ontario’s main liquor retailer, while about half are supportive of the striking union’s demands.

The Leger poll of 601 residents can’t be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.

LCBO bargaining to resume Wednesday, union says

TORONTO - The union representing about 10,000 striking workers at Ontario's main liquor retailer says they're heading back to the bargaining table Wednesday.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario unionized workers walked off the job July 5 in a dispute their union has said is largely about Premier Doug Ford's plan to allow convenience and grocery stores to sell ready-to-drink cocktails.

The LCBO has said its latest contract offer included improvements on wages, benefits and job security, but that the Ontario Public Service Employees Union announced the strike instead of responding to the offer.

The LCBO has said the public policy is not a matter for the bargaining table, but OPSEU worries that expanded sales of ready-to-drink beverages will threaten their jobs, as previous rounds of alcohol market expansion in Ontario have kept spirits sales exclusively in the LCBO.

Alberta, B.C. toast wine deal after tiff over taxing direct sales to consumers

EDMONTON - The Alberta-British Columbia wine fight appears to be coming to an end.

The premiers of both provinces announced Tuesday a one-year deal to again allow Albertans to directly order wine from more than 300 B.C. wineries in exchange for the Alberta government getting its share of applicable taxes.

“The markup was not being collected, and we think you need to have fair treatment,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters in Halifax, where all of Canada’s premiers were meeting at the Council of the Federation.

“We’re just trying to close that loophole.”