Congratulations to the 2009-2010 Alberta Food for Health Award Recipients 

Healthy Alberta Food sold at a farmers' market Category

English Bacon: Spragg’s Meat Shop, Rosemary

English bacon was originally developed by Spragg’s Meat Shop to meet local demand for a traditional British cut of bacon with the flavour of back bacon. The English bacon is a boneless rib end pork loin cut that contains a lower sodium and fat content than side bacon products.

English bacon was originally launched in July 2009 at the Calgary Farmers’ Market and is now available at farmer’s markets in Millarville, Bearspaw, Grassroots Northlands and Brooks. The product is derived from free range hogs that are raised on pasture and fed Alberta-grown alfalfa, barley and fababeans. The meat is processed in Rosemary and sold through Government approved Farmer’s Markets.

Healthy Alberta Food sold through a retail outlet Category

Organic Beef: Diamond Willow Organic Beef, Pincher Creek

Located in the picturesque foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Diamond Willow is a collaborative of ranching families that specialize in beef produced from cattle that graze on natural foothills grasslands during the summer months and are wintered close to home. Diamond Willow Range organic beef products are 100 per cent certified organic, free of antibiotics and artificial growth hormones.

Diamond Willow Organic Beef is sold through Save-On-Foods, IGA, Planet Organic outlets, Community Natural Foods and is processed by Sunterra Meats.

Healthy Alberta Food sold through food service Category

Honey Whole Wheat Loaf: Prairie Mill Bread Company, Calgary

The Prairie Mill Bread Company specializes in pioneer-style breads made from 100 per cent prairie wheat that is milled by the company and mixed with seeds, grains and fruits. The Honey Whole Wheat Loaf is made from flour that is stone ground from wheat grown by John Schnieder of Gold Forest Farms in Spruce Grove and honey produced from Golden Acres in Three Hills.

The Honey Whole Wheat Loaf is sold in various Alberta retail locations and restaurants, including the Prairie Mill Bread Company’s stores in Edmonton and Calgary, health food stores, and Calgary restaurants Catch and Janice Beaton’s The Farm.

Healthy Alberta food and nutrition researchers Category

Cereal Betan – Glucans: University of Alberta, Edmonton

Drs. Temelli and Vasanthan; Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science; University of Alberta; are being recognized for a novel process to concentrate a naturally-occurring soluble dietary fibre, beta-glucan, from barley and oat grains and demonstrating its health benefits for improving cardiovascular health and helping in the management of diabetes.

This technology enables the ability to concentrate, without damaging its healthy attributes, beta-glucan, which is not plentiful in wheat but abundant in barley and oat grains. Studies have shown that adding measured doses to food products like bread, beverages, ice cream and yogurt can result in many health benefits such as decreasing the level of risk factors like high blood cholesterol and glucose levels associated with heart disease and diabetes.

Temelli and Vasanthan’s innovative technology resulted in six international patent applications. They were sold in 2007 to the Spanish multi-national Natraceutical Group, leading to the launch of its Canadian head office in Edmonton. The technology holds potential for new business opportunities for grain producers and processors.