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FROM THE EDITOR<br />

THE NEED<br />

TO KNOW<br />

In recent years, restaurants have been forced to become all<br />

things to all people. To draw more customers in, operators<br />

have added new menu items, appealed to a wider net of customers<br />

and taken advantage of new technological advances<br />

(see Hospitality Market Report on p.26). Today, competition<br />

is tougher than ever and stealing market share has become the<br />

number-1 game in town.<br />

In many cases, the need to know has played a dominant<br />

role in the changing face of the landscape. Increasingly, customers<br />

want to know where their food comes from and who’s producing<br />

it. It’s all about provenance and transparency —<br />

whether we’re talking about meat, fish and seafood, or our<br />

vegetable supply.<br />

New research released by the Calgary-based Canadian Centre<br />

for Food Integrity (CCFI), studying consumer concerns and<br />

expectations surrounding food transparency and the overall food<br />

system, shows Canadians feel the food system is headed in the<br />

right direction, proven by an increase from 30 per cent in 2016 to<br />

43 per cent of Canadians this year.<br />

But while consumer confidence in food transparency is<br />

increasing, an equal number of Canadians (43 per cent) say they<br />

aren’t sure if the food system is on the right<br />

track, down from 50 per cent in 2016.<br />

The 2017 CCFI Public Trust Research study<br />

was undertaken in June 2017 and surveyed<br />

1,307 Canadians about top life concerns, specifically<br />

their level of concern, trust and transparency<br />

expectations related to food and how<br />

it’s grown. Those polled clearly identified food<br />

companies as the most responsible for providing<br />

information. Other food-system partners,<br />

including farmers, government, restaurants<br />

and grocery stores, also ranked high as being<br />

responsible for transparency.<br />

According to a release by the CCFI, the study<br />

reinforces that “Canadians are looking for credible<br />

information to make informed decisions<br />

about their food,” says Crystal Mackay, president,<br />

CCFI. “This research reinforces that everyone<br />

in the Canadian food system...should engage in<br />

conversations about food.”<br />

Consumers are hungry for information on food transparency and<br />

they’re scouring company websites to find third-party audits, track<br />

records and practices and policies that demonstrate a company’s values.<br />

The study found when reviewing these elements of transparency,<br />

accuracy was the most important attribute to Canadians.<br />

While many Canadians may be unsure about their food or<br />

how it’s grown, they clearly want to know more. And, for the second<br />

year in a row, Canadians ranked the rising cost of food and<br />

keeping healthy food affordable as their top two life concerns —<br />

above rising energy costs, healthcare and the economy.<br />

ROSANNA CAIRA rcaira@kostuchmedia.com<br />

@foodservicemag<br />

facebook.com/foodservicehospitalitymagazine<br />

instagram.com/rosannacaira<br />

NICK WONG, LOCATION PROVIDED BY VIA CIBO<br />

2 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2017 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM

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