VANCOUVER — The world’s leading french fry manufacturer wants even healthier canola oil.
“Keep pushing the bar,” McCain Foods Canada president Darryl Rowe told the Canola Council of Canada’s annual convention.
“Keep finding new ways to make oils better and better because that’s going to have a very powerful impact on our ability to be successful for many, many years to come.”
Rowe estimates McCain buys three percent of North America’s annual canola oil production, but its consumption has been falling because of slumping french fry sales.
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Servings of french fries at restaurants are down 10 percent since 2006 as health conscious consumers avoid one of North America’s favourite fast foods.
Fries have garnered a reputation as an empty calorie white food that is fattening, heavily processed and extruded. The snack food is under attack in ads produced by groups such as the Ontario Medical Association and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
McCain has switched to using 100 percent canola oil because consumers recognize it as a healthy oil. He encouraged the industry not to rest on its laurels.
“I really want to emphasize the importance of continued innovation in oil,” he said.
He also wants the canola council to work with the potato industry on its Alliance for Potato Research and Education (APRE) initiative, which uses science to address some of the health and wellness concerns surrounding potatoes.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization has recognized that potatoes are rich in carbohydrates and vitamin C and contain the highest protein content of any root or tuber.
Rowe said the canola industry has a vested interest in helping the potato industry polish its tarnished image because the french fry industry buys 10 percent of North America’s annual canola oil production.
He emphasized the importance of rapidly addressing the mounting health and wellness concerns.
“We need to do what we need to do faster. We haven’t been quick enough to respond.”
He said there is plenty of misinformation that needs to be corrected. For example, a recent survey of British parliamentarians discovered that half of them didn’t know french fries come from potatoes.
“That’s what we’re up against,” said Rowe.
“What they hell did they think they came from?”
However, it’s not a lost cause. Chicken wings are a fried food that is showing up on more menus in more restaurants across North America at escalating prices.
“To me, it’s a great example of how we need to keep working our particular agenda,” he said.
Consumers are time-starved and seeking more convenience.
“I don’t know how you’re going to get food fast if you decide that frying is not going to be part of the process,” said Rowe.
McCain is attempting to respond to the push for healthier food by introducing new product lines such as red skin wedges, sweet potato fries and potato-vegetable combos.
However, the company’s long-term success depends on restoring the french fry business.
One company initiative is to respond to the trend toward homemade food. It is a growing fad among younger consumers, even though many of them have never cooked anything in the kitchen before.
After 50 years of processing for regularity and uniformity, McCain is adjusting its processing operation to create fries that appear to be hand-cut and homemade.
“Our manufacturing folks are going crazy,” said Rowe.
“They’re going, ‘how do I have a spec to do something irregular every time?’ ”
