By: Kristiner Taylor, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Cimcorp

Every year, an estimated 600 million people around the world get sick from eating unsafe food. In Canada alone, 4 million people are affected by food-borne illness. These cases range from mild to severe, and they can result in hospitalizations or even death. With Canada among the top 10 food exporting countries, the nation’s food processors are on the front lines of protecting the health and safety of consumers domestically and across the globe.

A key pillar of food safety is traceability, the ability to track raw ingredients and food products from their origins to final destinations. For food processors, maintaining accurate and detailed traceability records is more than a regulatory necessity. It’s a must for protecting consumer safety, upholding brand reputation, and building a trustworthy and resilient food supply chain.

Traceability: A critical responsibility

Canada is known globally for its high food safety standards. The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations require food businesses to maintain robust traceability records. Traceability documents must:

• Identify the food item, as well as the party who manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, packaged or labelled the food
• Provide a lot code or unique identifier to trace the food
• Trace the food one step back to the immediate supplier
• Trace the food one step forward to the next destination

Food businesses must maintain traceability records for two years. Plus, the records must be easily accessible for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency when requested. When a food safety incident occurs, regulators and businesses use the documents to quickly identify and remove unsafe food from the supply chain.

Beyond adhering to Canadian standards, food processors must also understand and comply with the food safety regulations of their export destinations. When exporting to the United States, for example, processors must comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act, particularly the Foreign Supplier Verification Program. They need to meet the same U.S. food safety standards as domestic producers, including maintaining detailed records of every product’s journey through the supply chain.

For food processors, these stringent food safety regulations mean tracking the movement of ingredients and finished products through complex, high-volume operations. Compliance can be especially challenging for processors that rely on manual distribution processes. When workers handle, track, and document all product movements by hand, there’s a much greater risk of data entry errors, missing records, and delays in responding to food safety events.

To overcome these challenges, more food processors are introducing logistics automation into their processing facilities and distribution centers (DCs).

The automation advantage

Automated order fulfillment solutions can manage the distribution end of food processing operations, taking over product handling tasks as soon as food comes off the processing line or enters the DC. Robots and intelligent software work together to optimize the movement of food through storage, order picking, and shipping, while enhancing data collection and traceability along the way.

Here’s how it works:

• All food products are tagged with unique barcodes linked to important data such as lot codes, production dates, and origin.
• Robotic systems then transport these products through each stage of distribution with high speed and precision.
• Automated software captures and logs critical traceability data at every step, building a complete digital record that accurately tracks every product’s journey.

With logistics automation, food processors remove human error from the equation. They gain an efficient, consistent, and highly accurate approach to capturing and maintaining traceability data. When needed, food processors can easily retrieve necessary documentation to demonstrate compliance with food safety standards.

In the event of a contamination issue or recall, automated systems enable processors to act fast. They can immediately access detailed product histories, identify affected batches, trace their distribution paths, and remove those products from the supply chain and store shelves.

This fast and targeted response minimizes the costs and negative effects of a food safety incident. Food businesses can avoid unnecessary product waste, protect their brand reputation, and prevent unsafe food from harming consumers.

Enhancing consumer confidence

The benefits of automation-enhanced traceability extend beyond tackling food safety incidents.

Today’s consumers are increasingly concerned about where their food comes from and how it’s produced. Processors can share detailed product information such as:

• Farm or supplier of origin
• Certifications for attributes like “organic” and “non-GMO”
• Production and distribution dates

With access to comprehensive information about the food on store shelves, shoppers can make informed purchasing decisions that align with their personal values. This level of transparency builds consumer confidence in specific brands and products, as well as strengthens the public’s trust in the food system as a whole.

Strengthening supply chain partnerships

Enhanced traceability also fosters stronger relationships between supply chain partners. When growers, processors, distributors, and retailers alike have access to the same data, it drives trust and accountability across the entire supply chain. Everyone can verify that safety standards are being met, that products are what they claim to be, and that each party is doing its part to protect consumer health.

Upstream suppliers and processors are held accountable through documented records, encouraging honest and responsible practices. Downstream food retailers can make sure they select suppliers whose practices and products align with their own priorities. This traceability-backed assurance supports long-lasting business relationships, which are essential for thriving in today’s complex and competitive food industry.

Supporting sustainability goals

With greater visibility across their supply chains, food processors can make decisions and improvements that align with their broader sustainability goals. When it comes to reducing food waste, for example, companies can minimize overproduction and rotate stock more effectively to prevent spoilage.

Traceability also helps create more responsible supply chains. Food businesses can avoid sourcing from regions where worker rights violations are common and make sure they only work with suppliers that follow ethical practices.

Building a safer, smarter food industry

Today’s food processors have a responsibility to lead the way in safety. By integrating automation into their distribution processes, they can enhance traceability, protect public health, and support a stronger food system.

As the food industry evolves, processors equipped with automation will be ready to adapt quickly, work efficiently, and continue to deliver safe, high-quality foods.

Yorkton, SK, July 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The growth of the plant-protein sector has led to rising demand for Canadian-made protein alternatives that meet the flavour and nutrition profiles of their traditional counterparts. Today, Protein Industries Canada is announcing a new pilot project focused on meeting that demand, through the development of new pea protein ingredients and finished food products in partnership with global merchant and processor of agricultural goods Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), and Seven Oaks Hospital Chronic Disease Innovation Centre (CDIC). A total of C$48.7 million has been committed to work within the project.

LDC and CDIC are combining their expertise to bring new ingredients and food products to market. With a focus on taste and nutrition, the new products have the potential to help provide a wider selection of nutritious protein options for Canadian families, particularly seniors looking to manage muscle loss and sarcopenia. The ingredient’s use in other food and feed products will also help strengthen Canada’s domestic food supply chain, while increasing market access potential for Canadian pea crops.

“This project, supported through Canada’s Protein Industries Cluster, provides yet another example of how Canada’s investments are spurring Canadian innovation and driving economic growth across the country,” said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. “These investments are not only empowering Canadian farmers and companies to lead in the global plant-based market but also helping capture the full potential of Canada’s agri-food sector.”

LDC has developed a pea protein isolate that will be produced in its new facility, currently under construction in Yorkton, Sask. Expected to be operational by the end of 2025, the new facility will strengthen the local economy by creating jobs throughout the sector and generating new market opportunities for Canadian farmers, increasing investment in rural Saskatchewan.

“Canada has the opportunity to lead the global market in value-added agrifood. This investment, with its focus on turning our high-protein pea crops into ingredients and food products with the nutrition and health benefits Canadians are looking for, is the latest example of how we can leverage our sector’s potential to reach our C$25 billion opportunity,” Protein Industries Canada CEO Robert Hunter said. “With a continued focus in this area, we can create a stronger food supply chain for Canada, built on innovation and a dedication to providing Canadians with a wide range of nutritious, sustainable food options.”

LDC’s pea protein isolate will be tested on a range of food products developed by CDIC, with a focus on the ingredient’s sensory properties and potential health benefits for an older, free-living population. The partners will work together to ensure the ingredient helps make CDIC’s finished products more digestible for an aging population.

“We are excited to work alongside CDIC to help meet growing demand for plant-based products, thanks to the investment of Protein Industries Canada, that will further contribute to the development of our unique clean-taste pea protein isolate, evaluating and valorizing co-products such as pea starch and pea fiber for use in food, animal feed ingredients and other by-products,” said Thibaut Ferté, LDC’s Head of Plant Proteins.

“Through partnership and collaboration, we have the unique opportunity to combine cutting-edge research with industry innovation to create sustainable, plant-based food solutions that are designed to meet the needs of an aging population at risk or experiencing chronic disease,” said CDIC Executive Director Michelle Di Nella.

Protein Industries Canada is one of Canada’s five Global Innovation Clusters. Protein Industries Canada and its members are working to embrace the C$25 billion opportunity presented by Canada’s ingredient manufacturing, food processing and bio-product sector.

Pilot projects and partnerships like this one add value to, and create new markets for, Canadian crops, generating local jobs and supporting new economic development in locations across Canada. More information can be found at theroadto25billion.ca.

Regina, Saskatchewan, July 9, 2025 – Farmers and food producers will soon have access to faster, smarter support thanks to Root — a free generative AI tool built by Farm Credit Canada (FCC). Root is designed to close critical information gaps and give producers fast, reliable support anytime, anywhere, helping them work more productively and make better decisions on the farm. FCC is expanding the tool’s capabilities through a new partnership with Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), strengthening its capacity to serve Canada’s ag and food industry.

Root fills the growing gap in Canada’s extension services by delivering accessible, expert-backed guidance to producers without requiring complex data inputs. It translates decades of research, field experience and proven practices into practical, timely advice producers can use immediately. By simplifying decision-making and increasing confidence on the farm, Root helps accelerate productivity, reduce trial-and-error and empower Canadian producers to adopt better practices with less risk, right from their phones.

Now, through a new memorandum of understanding, RDAR will work with FCC to strengthen the tool’s capabilities. The partnership will connect Root to relevant data sources and support testing efforts to ensure it continues to meet the evolving needs of Canadian producers.

“Root is more than a technology solution, it’s part of a broader effort to bring back something Canadian agriculture has lost: accessible, trusted and timely insight,” says Justine Hendricks, FCC president and CEO. “With the decline of local advisory networks [extension services], too many farmers and ranchers have had to rely on fragmented information or go at it alone. By partnering with RDAR, we’re helping producers access the kind of expertise that once came from decades of community-based knowledge sharing and we’re doing it in real time, at the pace of modern farming with trusted advisors.”

RDAR invests in results-driven, producer-led research to improve productivity in Canada’s agriculture sector. With over 500 projects in its portfolio, the organization brings deep knowledge of the issues producers face and a shared commitment to innovation.

"We are especially keen on incorporating RDAR materials into Root, FCC’s AI / Large Language Model Pilot and making our materials accessible to producers and ranchers," said Dr. Mark Redmond, CEO of RDAR. "We are pleased to formalize our partnership with FCC; in the past, we have worked on initiatives concurrently, but now we will collaborate more closely. This alliance aims to foster innovative solutions for the agricultural sector," he added.

Root is built on a privacy-first principle, ensuring no personal user information is required to use the assistance. This protects producer confidentiality and builds trust as they explore the tool. Since its launch, Root has supported more than 2,900 conversations, with 91% of users reporting helpful results. It has analyzed nearly 400 images submitted by producers, helping identify parts and troubleshoot equipment issues. Producers are already using Root to get real-time support on farm management, all through a simple, mobile-friendly interface.

Launched earlier this year, Root is available in English and French and includes voice-to-text and image recognition, making it easy to use from anywhere, even in the field.

As demand grows for smarter, more accessible ag support tools, future versions of Root could offer additional functions to support producers, as well as agrifood and agribusiness operators, in making decisions about operations. The long-term goal is to give FCC customers and the Canadian ag and food industry personalized insights at their fingertips. There’s no sign-up or registration required. Farmers and producers can start using Root right away. To use the tool, visit: Root, your virtual farm assistant.

Food safety heavyweight Fortress Technology will debut a compact combination metal detector and heavy duty checkweigher with an innovative reject conveyor. This exhibit at Pack Expo Las Vegas 2025 shows how to inspect larger and heavier products in a compact footprint.

The Raptor BBK Combination system is engineered for precise inspection of heavier products such as cases and large 25kg bags. Utilized by millers, ingredient suppliers and wholesalers, Fortress Technology demonstrates how the robust Raptor BBK Combination system equipped with a Stealth BBK metal detector accurately detects metal contaminants and performs weight checks on various large pack sizes, minimizing product giveaway and false rejects.

Suitable for large bags containing dry product like pet food, grains, ingredients and any cases weighing up to 25 kilograms (55lbs), the Raptor BBK Combination system is easy to operate, clean and maintain. For even larger product application Fortress offers the extra heavy-duty option for inspection of products up to 50 kilograms (110lb).

Providing valuable insights into operational efficiency, minimizing giveaway and delivering industry leading metal detection performance, the Raptor BBK Combination system can seamlessly integrate into existing production lines and plant monitoring systems. Its robust and hygienic construction ensures long-term reliability and performance in demanding processing and packaging environments. The modular plastic chain conveyor belting and AC induction motor supports efficient cleaning and maintenance.

Big capacity, small footprint

Always prioritizing food safety, the Stealth BBK metal detector easily detects 2.0 mm stainless steel in the aperture center in large packs of dry product. It also reliably detects ferrous and non-ferrous metal smaller than 1.5 mm in the aperture center.

Inspecting and checkweighing up to 60 product units per minute, processors can choose from various reject system configurations based on available space, factory layout and product specifications. The exhibit at Pack Expo 2025 showcases the machine's compact design with an innovative roller ball reject conveyor. Enhancing user safety by eliminating hazards common for traditional reject devices, the Raptor BBK Combination system with the roller ball conveyor measures less than 2.5 meters long.

Alternative reject options include belt stop alarms, overhead sweeps, kickers and custom reject stations. Efficiently removing heavy weight packages from each line ensures weight rejects stay uncontaminated, allowing them to be segregated, repacked, reworked and re-inspected to minimize food waste.

Integrating data capture and reporting, an industrial-sized touch screen HMI panel enables processors to view business critical statistics from one interface offering valuable insights into upstream efficiencies including product giveaway. Optional OPC UA or Ethernet/IP communication adapters allow for customized integration and fully networked data collection. Alternatively, Fortress Technology’s own Contact 4.0 data collection and reporting tool is compatible with the entire array of Fortress weighing and inspection equipment. This web-based interface can provide data from high level system monitoring of all Fortress equipment, or drill down to individual events including live and historical batch data on individual systems.

For a full demo of the Raptor BBK Combination metal detector and heavy duty checkweigher, visit the Fortress Technology booth, W-3670.