Upcycled Certified(TM) Expands into Canada

Certification for upcycled ingredients and products arrives in Canada 

TORONTO, April 28, 2022 — The Upcycled Food Association (UFA), the premier trade association for the upcycled industry, announces expansion of its Upcycled Certified™ program into Canada after seeing its extraordinary success in the U.S. market. 

As part of the expansion, UFA is partnering with Anthesis Provision, the food sustainability experts within Anthesis Group and COIL (Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad), Guelph-Wellington’s circular business accelerator, to expand the reach of the third-party verified Upcycled Certified^TM Mark to Canadian consumers, raising awareness and providing confidence that the food, beverage, cosmetic, companion pet food, home care, and cleaning products they buy include upcycled ingredients.  

Momentum leading to this expansion of Upcycled Certified^TM Program in Canada, which has already certified over 200 products and ingredients in the United States and is projected to prevent over 820 million pounds of food waste in the next year, has been building for some time. The expansion of the Upcycled Certified^TM Program is a demonstration project of COIL, which is being funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).  

“Our government is proud to support innovative solutions that address climate change while growing Canada’s economy. That’s why the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, is supporting Guelph-Wellington’s COIL initiative as they work to expand the Upcycled Program into Canada, which will help to ensure Canadian consumers are aware of sustainable options for the everyday products they purchase.” says the Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. 

“For the last two years, Guelph and Wellington County have been working to support entrepreneurs and community leaders to reduce food waste and upcycle what can’t be avoided into an economic resource,” said David Messer, manager of COIL. “As part of this commitment to a new way of thinking about food and drink, we are excited to support the expansion of the Upcycled Certified^TM Program and to champion the impact that it can have in growing the circular food economy in our region and beyond.” 

Named as one of the top food trends for 2021 by Whole Foods and one of the most prominent trends at Expo West in 2022, consumer research shows that demand for Upcycled Foods is strong and growing, with 80 percent of consumers saying they would seek out upcycled products.  

“We’re thrilled to see increased investment in the upcycled space by Canadian businesses and from all levels of the government. We are proud to expand the Upcycled Certified^TM program to catalyze even more impact,” says Ben Gray MS, RD, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at the Upcycled Food Association and co-chair of the Upcycled Certified^TM Standards Committee. “We’re confident the certification will further accelerate Canada’s progress towards ambitious climate goals.”  

“Global impact can only be made by collaborating,” says Pablo Perversi, Chief Innovation, Sustainability & Quality Officer and Global Head of Gourmet at Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading chocolate manufacturer. “We drive innovation and then, through partnership with UFA and their Upcycled Certified^TM, we enable consumers to make informed choices and create more impact.” Evocao^TM WholeFruit Chocolate is the first upcycled certified chocolate made from 100% pure cacaofruit that enables brands and artisans to play a role in this movement in the US and Canada. Given that 70% of the 14 million tons of harvested cacaofruit is wasted annually, Perversi remarks, “cacaofruit is the most impactful fruit to fully upcycle.”  

The launch of Upcycled Certified^TM in Canada is supported and made possible by a network of partners, representing the government and the food and beverage industry.

“Canada has made food waste prevention a priority and upcycling is the next stage in helping food and beverage companies become more circular,” says Cher Mereweather, CEO of Anthesis Provision. “Anthesis Provision, part of the world’s largest group of sustainability experts, is delighted to help bring the Upcycled Certified^TM Program to Canadian food and beverage companies, to enable them to showcase their efforts to prevent food waste and use all their resources by creating new upcycled products that meet a growing consumer demand.” 

“Upcycling is on track to sustain its momentum as one of the hottest trends in food through 2022” says Greg Belt, CEO and Co-founder at EverGrain Ingredients (AB InBev).  

Donya Litowitz of ImPASTA is one of the first brands to represent the UFA certified mark in Canada. “Canada and upcycling have been founding parts of our company story: a large portion of our squash is grown right here in Ontario.” 

Upcycled Certified™ is administered by a third party certification body, Where Food Comes From, which ensures that every Upcycled Certified™ product and ingredient meets the rigorous Upcycled Certified™ Standard. To learn more about the Upcycled Certified™ program visit www.upcycledfood.org or contact certification@upcycledfood.org . 

ADDITIONAL QUOTES 

“The expansion of the Upcycled Food Association’s Upcycled Program is great news not only for the City of Guelph but for all Canadians. With the demand for Upcycled Foods strong and growing, the Government of Canada funded COIL project related to Guelph’s federally funded Smart Cities program, continues to make strategic partnerships while supporting southern Ontario’s economy, and, more importantly, the health of our communities and the environment,” says Lloyd Longfield, Member of Parliament for Guelph. 

“The Canada expansion builds on the continued success of the program which has already certified over 200 products and ingredients available in the United States and is projected to prevent over 820 Million pounds of food waste in the next year. For us, having the Upcycled Foods Certification on our packaging and assets tells consumers that our supply chain truly takes food waste out of the system,” says Holly Hurley Feather, Head of Marketing for Take Two Foods who make Barley Milk with upcycled barley.   

ABOUT  

Upcycled Certified™ is administered by a third party certification body, Where Food Comes From, which ensures that every Upcycled Certified^TM product and ingredient meets the rigorous Upcycled Certified^TM Standard. To learn more about the Upcycled Certified™ program visit www.upcycledfood.org or contact certification@upcycledfood.org. 

Upcycled Food Association 

Upcycled Food Association (UFA) – The Upcycled Food Association is a non-profit focused on preventing food waste by accelerating the upcycled economy. With hundreds of Members across dozens of countries, UFA is changing the consumer product supply chain to eliminate food waste by design. Through consumer education and networking, UFA is empowering consumers to prevent food waste with the products they buy. To learn more, visit www.upcycledfood.org. 

Anthesis Provision 

Anthesis Provision is the agri-food team within Anthesis, working across North America to help food and beverage companies grow their businesses in a way that benefits people and the planet, while generating more profit. Our purpose is to help make food sustainably, to achieve our vision of a circular food system.  

At Anthesis, our purpose is to activate sustainable performance for our clients. We believe that transformative action is required to rise to the challenge of the Decisive Decade, and we exist to enable and support that action. 

Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) 

Launched in April 2021 with $5 million in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), COIL is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions across the food and environment sectors in southern Ontario that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy. COIL is a smart cities initiative of the City of Guelph and County of Wellington. 

About FedDev Ontario 

For more than 12 years, FedDev Ontario has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation and growth in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving their productivity, growing their revenues, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the Agency’s impact in southern Ontario by exploring Southern Ontario Spotlight, pivotal projects, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.