Milling & Baking News - January 30, 2018 - 12

Business

Toronto's Fiera Foods fined for
environmental compliance violation
TORONTO - Fiera Foods Co., a Toronto baker and frozen food manufacturer, has been fined C$65,000 ($52,000)
under the Environmental Protection
Act (E.P.A.) in Canada. The agency also
imposed on Fiera a C$16,250 ($13,000)
victim fine surcharge.
According to the Canada Ministry of the Environment and Climate
Change, Fiera Foods expanded its Toronto plant without a required environmental compliance approval.
The issue dates to a January 2015
inspection conducted by ministry
staff of the plant located on Marmora
Street in Toronto. The staff became
aware that an expansion of operations to an adjacent site was underway. The new capacity became operational later that year.
The ministry said Fiera Foods in July
submitted an application to amend its
existing environmental compliance
approval for air and noise emissions
but did not complete the application.
In January 2016, the ministry received noise complaints from residents living near the plant, who said
the newly renovated plant was the
source of the noise.
A month later, Fiera Foods received

a Provincial Officer's Order requiring
the submission of a completed environmental compliance amendment
approval application.
"The incidents were referred to
the ministry's Investigations and Enforcement
Branch, resulting in
charges and one conviction, through a guilty
plea," the ministry said.
According to the Toronto Star, neighbors have
lodged about 1,000 noise
complaints.
In a November 2017 statement, Fiera
Foods said it was working to "rectify
the situation" and said the company
"has always strived to be a good corporate neighbor to its surrounding
communities."
The company has operated the Toronto facility since 1999 and said that
as of September 2017 it was operating
within the ministry requirements.
The company said that at an Ontario
Municipal Board hearing an "environmental noise expert showed that the
additional space the company was
seeking through variance applications/
appeals would not add to the noise

Kind Healthy Snacks enters protein bar
market with new product launch
NEW YORK - Kind Healthy Snacks has
entered the ever-expanding protein bar
market with the release of Kind Protein
From Real Food bars.
Available in four flavors - crunchy
peanut butter, white
chocolate cinnamon almond, toasted caramel
nut and double dark
chocolate nut - each
KIND HEALTHY SNACKS
bar contains 12 grams of
protein and has a suggested retail price of
$1.99 per 1.76-oz bar.
While typical protein bars may include
ingredients that can negatively impact
taste, Kind is promising consumers an
appetizing alternative.
"As a brand committed to empowering people to make healthy eating decisions, we saw this as an opportunity to
elevate the current market through a protein bar that meets our high nutritional
standards," said Stephanie Perruzza, registered dietitian and health and wellness
specialist, Kind. "Emphasizing a snack
that delivers on taste but also one that
12 / January 30, 2018

Milling & Baking News

provides protein predominantly from
nuts allows us to differentiate ourselves
from the current offerings."
Attempting to appeal to the clean label
crowd, the company also is promoting the
bars' "real" ingredients -
some of which may or may
not resonate with consumers. They include peanuts,
a variety of nuts, soy protein isolates, chicory root
fiber, honey, glucose syrup and more.
Kind has launched an online taste test
to help consumers decide if the bars meet
their standards for taste and nutrition.
Although all spots already have been reserved, the company offered 10,000 participants the chance to receive and test
a Kind protein bar as well as one of the
brand's competitors against one another.
"We know a bar with a majority of the
protein coming from nuts tastes great;
we're willing to do just about anything
to share that with as many people as possible," said Drew Nannis, vice-president
of integrated communications, Kind. MBN

environment created by the facility."
"The company even invited neighbors to its facility in early 2016 to voice
their concerns, but only one individual
attended," Fiera Foods said. "Further,
in October 2016, Fiera Foods and Marmora Freezing hosted a community
meeting with the goal of providing
updates on noise mitigation measures,
hearing their comments,
and updating the status
of the E.C.A. (Environmental Compliance Approval) application. None
of the neighbors attended
this event.
"To demonstrate its
commitment to the local
residents, the company
supports their petition for the noise barrier along Highway 401 to be replaced.
It was removed during recent construction, and residents believe it impacts the
noise levels in their neighborhood."
The Canada Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change said
Fiera Foods has 90 days to pay the fine.
Established in 1987, Fiera Foods
has 1,200 employees. The company's
products include artisan bread and
rolls, bagels, croissants, Danish, cinnamon pastries, puff pastries and muffins. The company said it exports more
than C$240 million ($193 million) in
product annually. MBN

Minneapolis wholesale
baker ceases operations
ST. PAUL, MINN. - Saint Agnes Baking
Co., a wholesale bakery that has served
Minnesota since 1995, halted production
on Jan. 19, according to an article in the
StarTribune.
The company did not disclose why it is
ceasing operations.
"The bread is a very, very important
thing when you are a sandwich-dominated restaurant like ourselves," Tim Mahoney, owner of the Loon Café and president of the Warehouse District Business
Association, told the StarTribune. "Bread
makes or breaks a sandwich."
In addition to restaurants, Saint Agnes
provides products for U.S. Bank Stadium,
which will host the Super Bowl on Feb.
4, as well as Xcel Energy Center, home of
the Minnesota Wild hockey team.
Saint Agnes' products include artisanal bread and pastries, as well as hamburger and brat buns. The company in its
early years was known as Custom Bakery until current ownership purchased
the bakery on West Seventh Street in St.
Paul in 1995. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - January 30, 2018

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