Chairman of the jury, Xavier Terlet from XTC World Innovation said,”The 10 products that have been selected truly demonstrate a combination of innovation and modernity.”

The panel of judges was adamant about selecting products with serious market appeal.

In addition, the judges also appreciated the determination of small producers who thought outside the box and let their creativity bring them to a level in which they were able to compete with multinational food giants.

The top 10 products described below will all have the honour of sporting the “SIAL Canada Trends & Innovations 2012″ seal of recognition, though only one will receive the Grand Prize Winner title to be announced May 9, 2012 at the Agri-Food Export gala dinner.

The 10 finalists are:

Line of Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil products in a spray bottle (Maison Orphée – Canada)
Flavored extra virgin olive oil in a spray bottle. Great for basting or marinating poultry, meat and fish. The products ease of use and modern packaging is what caught the eyes of the judges.

Maple Pearls (Citadelle – Canada)
Jellied maple pearls containing pure maple syrup was selected for its contemporary twist on a traditional product.

Gourmet caramel spread in several varieties (Vergers Duhaime – Canada)
Caramel spreads in mouthwatering flavours like butter & rum and maple & sea salt, noted for their originality and sophisticated recipes.

Maple sap water (de l’Aubier – Canada)
Natural still water stemmed from maple sap, that is separated from its sugars to keep only the water. An original and unique concept for a natural product.

Greek-style probiotic yogurt (Skotidakis Goat Farm – Canada)
A fat free, Greek, probiotic yogurt. A good source of protein per serving. A new product on the emerging North American dairy market.

Le Complait without lactose– milk beverage (Nutrinor – Canada)
An enriched dairy product with probiotics and prebiotics that is suitable for the lactose-intolerant. This was selected due to the increasing demand for lactose-intolerant products for the market place.

Basilur Winter Book (Basilur Tea – Sri Lanka, represented by Global Business Network – Canada)
Tea in a book shaped package chosen for its original packaging.

Effet Bleu frozen treat (Opti Bleu inc. – Canada)
Blueberry juice ice bar. The product contains 90% blueberry juice and is rich in antioxidants (pictured above).

Anti +  (Novidev Santé Activ – Canada)
Fruit drink with bioactive compounds intact. No additives or preservatives.

Ninette Ice Cream varieties (Ninette Ice Cream – Canada)
A range of ice cream with original flavours such as thyme & lemon, raspberry truffle, and crunchy gingerbread. Noted for their interesting recipes, intriguing flavours and textures.

These 10 finalists will be showcased at SIAL Canada hosted in the Palais de Congres in Montreal from May 9 to 11, 2012, as well as at SIAL Paris from October 21 to 25, 2012.

Administered by Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (F.A.R.M.S.), the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) expects to link about 15,000 requests for seasonal workers with jobs at Ontario farms this growing season, Ken Forth, president of F.A.R.M.S., said in a release.

Not only does the 46-year-old program provide many benefits to the workers and the farmers, but it also creates two Canadian jobs in the agrifood industry for every worker employed through SAWP at Ontario agricultural operations.

“Governments and agricultural organizations around the world are looking at this program as a model,” Forth said.

“For decades, this program has provided Ontario farmers a steady source of reliable labour as a supplement to local labour. At the same time it gives the seasonal workers well-paying employment, benefits and educational opportunities not available at home.”

Farmers are also able to hire staff that would otherwise be challenging to find because of the ongoing shortage of suitable and available local Canadian workers.

“Ontario farmers pay the highest farm worker wages in North America and face intense competition from low-wage competitors,” Forth said.

“Without this program, many Ontario farmers simply couldn’t continue to grow fruits and vegetables. They’d stop growing altogether or move into less labour-intensive crops.”

Some benefits for seasonal workers employed at Ontario farm operations through SAWP:

-Contracts guarantee them all the protections and benefits that Canadian workers receive, including workplace safety, certain employment insurance benefits and provincial health care coverage.

-They receive an hourly wage rate set by Human Resources & Skills Development Canada. The hourly rate is not less than the provincial minimum wage rate or the local prevailing rate paid to Canadians doing the same job, whichever is greatest.

-They earn up to five times more than they could in their own countries, which enables them to support their families, educate their children and buy and operate businesses and farms in their own countries.

Massimo Marcone–who was part of a World Vision team–says many in the West African country lead a “hand-to-mouth type of existence.”

Marcone said the drumstick and monkey bread trees have leaves that are high in protein as well as vitamin C, which growing children need. The foliage can be dried, formed into a paste and added as a flavouring agent to millet, a diet staple that’s generally prepared like porridge.

Millet is high in carbohydrate, but the people also need a source of protein, which usually comes from animals.

“But unfortunately the animals are very few because there’s very little food to feed the animals,” Marcone, 47, said in an interview from Guelph, Ont. “People have chosen not to eat the animals but to sell them in order to buy more millet for them to survive on, so they’re actually buying carbohydrate.”

The trees survived a previous drought because they can grow in arid conditions. Marcone brought back samples of the trees and is researching how the environmental conditions might affect the level of nutrients.

“In the short term my recommendation is to go ahead and use them because there’s no question they would be higher in those nutrients, but I want to know at what level. How are they affected by the environment so that the next time this cycle does occur should we tell them to supplement more in their diet?

“So instead of adding … two tablespoons of this leaf to one portion of their meal should they add four because the nutrient level has decreased by double?”

He said preliminary results show “the protein is slightly lower but very similar to the protein that you would find in the regular plant” grown under non-drought conditions, he said, adding it seems as if the environment has affected the nutrients to some level but not to the level that would cause them not to be useful.

The team travelled east and west of Mali’s capital, Bamako, but not to the northern area of the country where there is civil unrest.

The people he visited usually ate one large meal a day instead of three meals. The children were fed first. Infants were drinking milk from mothers who had not eaten enough. Marcone said he could see signs of malnutrition among the children, many of whom had distended bellies.

Marcone has visited 35 different countries including Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in Africa, and has been able to study how different communities interact with food supplies.

“What I saw in Mali because of what the drought had caused was unbelievable. It was actually much worse that what I’d seen when I travelled in Ethiopia in 2003.”

He said only about half of the people he spoke to were aware the leaves of the drumstick tree and monkey bread tree could be used as food.

“They lost some of the knowledge that they’d had since 1985” when the last drought occurred, he said.

“It’s associated with times of lack so when you have times of plenty these plants become forgotten about and they’re not things that people want to use because they usually remind you of the past, of bad times.”

Drumstick trees grow within a couple of years while monkey bread trees take somewhat longer.

With famines being cyclical, a long-term goal is to plant the monkey bread and drumstick trees in areas that are vulnerable to drought.

“When the next cycle comes by … they would have much more of these plants growing so they could harvest more of these plants to hold them over,” Marcone noted.

Marcone said he was surprised the food situation had become critical so quickly.

Crops are planted in Mali in May and June, when the rainy season starts, and are harvested in October and November.

“When I was there (in February) they should still have had food left from the harvest that they had just finished collecting,” Marcone said. “In many cases they had harvested only about 20 per cent of what they would normally on an annual basis collect.”

Random inspections revealed most granaries were empty. He found that the seed grains needed to plant for the next harvest had already been eaten, “which is extremely scary because that’s what they need and there’s no other way of getting seed.”

He spent more than 40 years in the industry as a wholesaler, broker and importer. He was dedicated to his family, his career and to his many charitable works. John Scott, president of CFIG said: “Charlie was one of the ‘good guys’ in our industry on the West coast. He was a highly respected broker who ensured that everyone in the industry was treated with fairness and respect. He was a true leader and a driving force behind the social responsibility of the industry in western Canada.”

Keith Bray, former president of the Canadian Food Brokers Association, said: “Charlie was truly a gentleman, an innovator and a pillar of integrity. If Charlie said it, you knew it was true. Charlie gave the brokerage industry true credibility.”

Peter Singer, president of Thomas Large & Singer paid tribute by saying: “Charlie was a visionary in the food brokerage industry. He saw where the industry was headed and always ensured he and his firm were ahead of the game. Charlie was fiercely proud of the role that food brokers play in the market and was a vocal and respected advocate that advanced the profession.”

The industry awarded Charlie the Golden Pencil in 1994–a great tribute to a wonderful man who gave so much to this industry, his family and community.

Astro picked up three of the 14 awards for: Astro Biobest Probiotic Drinkable Yogourt with Plant Sterols in the Healthy Choice category, Astro Original Greek Yogourt in the Natural Ingredients category; and Astro Original Yogourt in the Healthy Snacks category.

Parmalat also won in the Dips and Spreads category for its La Crème Cow de la vache product.

Paper products firm Cascades was recognized for two of its products: Cascades Defensia Dry Antibacterial Hand Towel in the Wellness category; and Cascades Enviro Ultra Bathroom Tissue in the Personal Care category.

Product of the Year is a global awards program in which consumers vote on product innovations. This is the third year the awards have been presented in Canada.

Winners are selected by consumers across 14 categories. This year, nearly 5,400 Canadians were surveyed by Product of the Year and Rogers Connect Market Research. (Canadian Grocer is also owned by Rogers.)

“Many winning products are a direct result of the manufacturers listening to what consumers want and delivering creative, innovative solutions,” says Sandra Parente, Product of the Year’s program director.

Other food winners this year include Cadbury Pieces from Kraft, Dole Fruit ’n Crisp, and BlueWater Seafoods Simply Bake.

Winning products are allowed to feature the New Product Award logo and according to the organization’s website winners around the world typically see sales increases of 10 to 15 per cent.

Here is a complete list of the 2012 winners (with company names in brackets):

Dips and Spreads: La Crème Cow de la vache (Parmalat)

Healthy Choice: Astro Biobest Probiotic Drinkable Yogourt with Plant Sterols (Parmalat)

Personal Care: Cascades Enviro Ultra Bathroom Tissue (Cascades Tissue Group)

Wellness: Cascades Defensia Dry Anti-bacterial Hand Towel (Cascades Tissue Group)

Confectionary: Cadbury Pieces (Kraft Canada)

Natural Ingredients: Astro Original Greek Yogourt (Parmalat)

Microwave Meals: Dole Fruit ’n Crisp (Dole Packaged Foods Company)

Dry Snacks: Pepperidge Farms Goldfish Grahams (Campbell Company of Canada)

Healthy Snacks: Astro Original Yogourt (Parmalat)

Frozen Foods: BlueWater Seafoods Simply Bake (BlueWater Seafoods)

Home Gourmet: Dulce Napoleon Cake (La Rocca Creative Cakes)

Personal Comfort: Essilor Optifog Lenses (Essilor Canada Ltd.)

Alcoholic Beverages: Smirnoff Premium Vodka Mixed Drinks (Diageo Canada)

Financial Services: CIBC Petro Points Mastercard (CIBC)

Recently, Canadian Grocer’s publisher Jenn Litterick talked about some of the winners on Toronto’s Breakfast Television show.

Click here to view. Canadian Grocer on BT

The Generation Next Awards recognize the up-and-coming leaders in the grocery and consumer packaged goods industries. “NEXT” stands for New Exciting Thinkers and to qualify for the award individuals must be under the age of 40 as of December 31, 2011 and have demonstrated innovation, leadership and a commitment to the grocery industry.

The 2011 finalists are:

• Marc Viola, senior director of talent at Loblaw Companies in Brampton, Ont.

• Neil Kudrinko, president of Kudrinko’s in Westport, Ont.

• Michael Longo, vice-president of fresh merchandising at Longo Brothers in Vaughan, Ont.

• Jay Klein, president of Pur Gum in Toronto

• Fraser DeWalle, Canadian sales manager for Voortman Cookies in Calgary

• Toby Berkel, general manager of Allied Reclamation Services in Toronto

• Matthew Feaver, shopper insights manager for Campbell Company of Canada in Toronto

• Brian Johns and Giancarlo Trimarchi, managers of Vince’s Market in Sharon, Ont.

Finalists were chosen by the editorial team of Canadian Grocer from nominations submitted by people in the grocery industry from June through September.

The winners of the Generation Next Award, one from the retail grocery side of the business and another from the supplier side will be announced at the Golden Pencil Awards, which are being held on Nov. 28th at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. For ticket information for the Golden Pencils click here.

The Top 10 Innovative Products were chosen by grocers and delegates to the show and were evaluated on three criteria: uniqueness, buzz-worthiness and consumer response.

The grocery industry is often at the forefront of innovation and this year was no different,” said John Scott, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, which runs the show. “Our members and delegates had a tough decision before them and have chosen some truly outstanding products.”

The top 10 products are as follows:

Natrel Dark Chocolate Milk; from Agropur Co-operative

Toschi Gelato; Alfa Cappuccino Imports

Bisquick Shake ’n Pour pancake mix; General Mills Canada

IslandWay Sorbet; Islandway Sorbet Canada

AquaHydrate Purified Water; Les Aliments Unique Foods

Nestle Personal-Sized Ice Cream; Nestle

Ntake EcoDurable Bags; ntake EcoDurable Products

Gatorade Recover; Pepsico Canada

Country Comfort Grilled Cheese Sandwich; Dunbar Food Group

Visionlink Security Monitoring Systems; Visionlink Security

What is usually an appreciation dinner for suppliers, this year’s annual UGI dinner was a “farewell for Michael” who, after 14 years with UGI, and a career in grocery that spans over nearly five decades, hands over the reigns to Denis Gendron.

Steve van der Leest of Overwaitea Foods and current UGI chairman, acted as master of ceremonies and called Marinangeli the “heart and brains of UGI.”

Marinangeli, a third generation grocer, has worked in various positions with Miracle Food Mart, Oshawa Foods, and ACT Media. In 2004, he was honoured with the industry’s highest recognition, the Golden Pencil Award.

Under his guidance, UGI managed several firsts, among them a lump sum for in-ad coupons, helping to turn UGI into one of the country’s largest buying groups through partnerships with supplier organizations to grow the business.

Among those who spoke at the event were a collection of industry leaders: Marinangeli’s first boss, Al Mattison; his mentor, Earl Near; Mike Adcock of Ault Foods; Jim Slomka of Clorox and Anthony Longo, of Longo’s.

Longo said that grocery was in Marinangeli’s blood having grown up in the industry when his grandfather first opened a grocery store in 1918.

A clearly emotional Marinangeli said that during his 48 years in the food industry he’s seen a lot of ups and downs; most notably when UGi lost 40 per cent of its business when Sobeys and A&P left in the late ’90s, only to see that by 2005 the organization recovered stronger with the addition of companies like H.Y. Louie, and the North West Company.

But the ever modest Marinangeli said that his greatest accomplishment in life was his 35 year marriage to his wife, Debbie, whom he met when she was a cashier and he was working in produce at Miracle Food Mart, and their three boys.

UGI’s new president, Denis Gendron, said that he’ll never be able to replace Mike, but instead he’ll follow him. “He’s put together a lot of good processes to make things work efficiently. I hope I’ll be able to go further with what he’s put in place.”

Marinangeli told Gendron, “Be yourself; UGI is in good hands.”

UGI currently represents 34 per cent of the food industry sales in Canada.

Next year UGI will celebrate its 40th anniversary.

The 10 stand-out stores cover the country, from Thrifty Foods in Courtenay, B.C., which raised money for cancer charities in memory of an employee who had passed away from the disease, to Clarenville Co-op in Newfoundland, whose store manager acted quickly to get food to residents stranded after a hurricane hit the province.

“We were absolutely amazed by all the entries we received this year and how much effort grocers put into giving back to their towns,” said Canadian Grocer’s editor, Rob Gerlsbeck. “Time and time again, we are seeing grocers step up when there is a need in their community.”

The CSA awards were launched last year by Canadian Grocer to recognize retailers who support causes such as kid’s charities, raise money for local hospitals and food banks, or lend a helping hand in some other way.

Every spring we invite retailers to submit their community service initiatives. The entries are judged by a four-person judging panel made up of retail, business and philanthropic experts.

This year’s panel is: George Condon, Canadian Grocer’s consulting editor; James Fraser, partner at retail branding agency Hunter Straker; Agnieszka Rum of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility; and David Soberman, marketing professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

The 2011 awards are sponsored by Campbell’s, General Mills and Chatelaine magazine.

The 10 finalists are listed below. You can read the complete story on their community service initiatives in the September issue of Canadian Grocer, out now.

And stay tuned! We’ll announce the four winning stores (who’ll also be featured on a page in Chatelaine) in the November issue of Canadian Grocer.

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MaGrath Save-On Foods, Edmonton. Store manager Tony Klyne spent a week living on the roof of his store to raise money for Edmonton’s Food Bank. He endured heat, rain and a windstorm, to raise $60,000 in food and donations.

La Coopérative Régionale de la Baie, Tracadie-Sheila, N.B. The co-op raised $200,000 to help the local hospital purchase a state-of-the-art ER trauma room. It’s just the latest donation the co-op has made to the hospital. In the last eight years it has raised an astounding $1.5 million through 50/50 draws.

Battistelli’s Your Independent Grocer, Lively, Ont. Brent Battistelli was appreciative of the care a local hospice gave his wife while she was dying from cancer. To give back, Battistelli, his family and staff took part in fundraising events and raised money for the hospice in-store.

MacPhee’s Market Save Easy, Souris, P.E.I. One of the biggest events in P.E.I. each year is the Souris Village Feast. Store manager Alan MacPhee, along with celebrity chef Michael Smith, spearhead the event, which feeds 1,300 people and raises money for a number of local and global charities.

Clarenville Area Co-op, Clarenville, N.L. When Hurricane Igor smashed through Newfoundland last September, many small villages were cut off. Clarenville’s general manager, Kevin Jacobs, quickly jumped in to help, organizing boats to deliver food to these communities.

La Coopérative de Dieppe, Dieppe, N.B. To raise money for a variety of causes in the local community, the four-year-old co-op has set up a regular 50/50 draw. Not only are the draws popular with customers, they’ve raised thousands of dollars for everything from the local hospital to kids’ recreation programs.

Thrifty Foods, Courtenay, B.C. In memory of one of his employees who passed away from cancer, store manager Rick Gaiga took part in Tour de Rock, a grueling 1,100 kilometre bicycle ride from one end of Vancouver Island to the other. As a result, he raised $27,000 for Tour de Rock cancer charities.

Real Canadian Superstore, Kelowna, B.C. In a country as affluent as Canada, kids should never go hungry. This powerful insight led managers at this Real Canadian Superstore to start serving breakfasts to kids at disadvantaged schools.

Colemans, Corner Brook, N.L. Community service is part of the fabric at Colemans, which gets involved in a host of events to help the community, from raising donations on Alzheimer’s Day to staff getting involved in the local Cancer Relay for Life.

Zehrs Great Food, Stratford, Ont. To raise money for the local Easter Seals, this Zehrs store puts on a road hockey tournament in its parking lot every June. In six years, the tournament has raised some $60,000.

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Making the top 100 list this year were: PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi (No. 4); Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld (No. 10); Archer Daniels Midland CEO Patricia Woertz (No. 45); and Campbell CEO Denise Morrison (No. 80).

Among retailers, Walmart heiress and art patron, Alice Walton, was ranked 85, with her estimated net worth rising by $2 billion in the past calendar year.