July 2006

LABELLING CHANGE BOOSTS BUSINESS FOR PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE COMPANY

July 10, 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Best Cooking Pulses, Inc. an agri-food business with international sales headquartered in Portage la Prairie, is breaking into new food markets thanks to a regulatory change made possible with the help of an Agri-Food Research and Development Initiative (ARDI) grant.

Late last month, the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) released modifications to its 2003 Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising which will allow food processors to include Best Cooking Pulses yellow pea fibre on nutritional labels.  This new recognition comes after Best Cooking Pulses, with assistance from an ARDI grant, demonstrated to Health Canada’s Bureau of Nutritional Sciences the nutritional value and physical properties of its specification for ground pea hulls.  'Best Pea Fibre' can now be included in Canadian bakery and meat products.

"The day of the CFIA announcement we received a flurry of inquiries from Canadian companies wanting to produce high fibre bakery products," says Margaret Hughes of the family-owned Best Cooking Pulses.  "They wanted a fibre that was functional, economical and that could be used to make dietary fibre claims.  'Best Pea Fibre' meets all of these needs.  This approval will allow us to build on our American reputation as the fibre of choice."  

The ARDI grant of nearly $10,000, and significant investment from the company itself, allowed Best Cooking Pulses to collaborate with the consultants at the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie to achieve two goals:

• conduct the research and prepare documentation necessary for the Health Canada Novel Fibre approval, and

• develop new food applications for 'Best Pea Fibre'.

Staff at the Food Development Centre developed a mild Italian sausage and a nutrition bar to help Best Cooking Pulses demonstrate that not only does 'Best Pea Fibre' provide health benefits, it’s also a functional ingredient in making desirable food products.  'Best Pea Fibre' has a high fibre content (90%) with a bland flavour profile, fat binding properties, and excellent water binding capacity.  Made from yellow pea hulls, it is gluten, lactose, and cholesterol free.  The hulls are sourced from the Best Cooking Pulses splitting plant at Rowatt, Saskatchewan, as well as other western Canadian splitting operations.

"This project illustrates the strength and potential of Manitoba’s agri-business industry," said Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Rosann Wowchuk.  "Through the expertise available at the province’s Food Development Centre, Best Cooking Pulses received the help it needed to gain a brand new market in the Canadian bakery and meat industries.  This is a Canadian family company with over 70 years experience in splitting peas and exploring potential uses for the leftover hulls, which were originally regarded as waste.  We’re proud to play a supporting role in the future growth of Best Cooking Pulses, a Manitoba-grown success story."

For more information, please contact:

Margaret Hughes Best Cooking Pulses Phone: (204) 297-6146 (cell)	Lori-Ann Kaminski ARDI Program Officer Phone: (204) 745-5637
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