TRANSFATS. Cholesterol. Polyunsaturated fatty acids. Monounsaturated fats. Oleic acid. Omega-3. Low-density lipoprotein.
What’s it all about? If you guessed that it’s a recipe to make a person’s eyes glaze over, you’re right! Give that reader a litre of canola oil as a prize.
The marketing world works at a much faster pace than the medical research world and it’s increasingly difficult for consumers to keep up with either one.
New diets are developed, medical information is unearthed and essential messages about food and health can easily get lost in the confusing mixture that results.
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Consider that 10 years ago, red meat was considered by some medical professionals and diet gurus to be hazardous to the health. New research proved them wrong. Trends also play a role. The popular Atkins diet, not considered healthy in itself, advocates high protein intake including red meat.
In much the same manner, the humble egg was once anathema. Today, nutritional research tells us eggs are an important part of healthy diets.
The pace of change presents a challenge for consumers, but also for producers of these foods and for their promotional agencies. The barrage of new data and diets essentially means that the battle for consumer attention and information is never won.
Such is certainly the case for Canada’s canola growers and the Canola Council of Canada. At the recent annual council convention, attendees were heartened by professional medical confirmation of canola’s health benefits and dejected by a food media lecturer noting inadequate promotion of their product. They were pleased with news of variety development and alternative uses, but warned about overselling the benefits of the product.
In a sense, the ups and downs of the meeting were akin to the conflicting and contrary information that average consumers receive every day.
All of which is to say that canola growers must continually emphasize a simple, central message to consumers: canola oil is a healthy choice when it comes to dietary fats. It’s healthier than many other sources, including soy oil, corn oil, olive oil and lard. In basic terms, it is low in the bad fats and high in the good fats. It has no cholesterol.
The canola council’s challenge is to support that message with the level of scientific detail desired by various consumers. No easy task.
The council is planning a major sales and promotional blitz in the United States, a separate promotion to target food writers and health professionals and some updates to its website. Those are good ideas worthy of pursuit.
Continued health of canola markets, and thus the industry, will require constant attention to food trends and equally constant responses to those trends.
