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Food Available for Consumption in Canada – 2007

This release is based on food available for human consumption from the Canadian food supply, adjusted for losses. The data have been adjusted for retail, household, cooking and plate loss. The results of intercensal revisions for data from different surveys that feed the Food Statistics program have been incorporated in this statistical release.

On a per capita basis, the Canadian diet includes more fresh fruits, yogurts, cheeses, creams, red meats, exotic juices, low fat milk, wine and spirits according to the 2007 snapshot of food available for consumption.

Canadians also prefer less cereal and sugar, fewer oils, fats and eggs in their diet.

These estimates on food availability have been adjusted to account for losses in cooking, storage and waste that occur in homes, restaurants and institutions while preparing and processing food.

Fruits – More fruits in the diet

The total fresh fruits available, including citrus, set a new record in 2007, reaching 38.2 kilograms (kg) per person. The availability of blueberries at 0.6 kg per person and cherries at 0.5 kg in 2007, are at record levels. The popularity of guavas and mangoes is increasing and their availability has reached 0.6 kg per person in 2007. This is 88 % higher compared to a decade ago. Although the availability of pineapples went down by 2.7 % in 2007 compared to 2006, it is still almost four times more a part of our diet in comparison to a decade ago.

There were, however, fewer oranges available for consumption, down to 4.4 kg per person in 2007 from 4.9 kg per person in 2006, a drop of 9.4 %. This was largely due to a sharp drop in imports of oranges in 2007, the consequence of a severe frost early in the year which damaged the US orange production. The decreased availability of oranges was partly compensated by an increased availability of grapefruit and of the mandarins group (including mandarins, clementines and tangerines). Thus, total citrus went from 6.2 kg per person in 2006 to 5.8 kg in 2007, a drop of 6.5 %.

Canadians have also been increasing their intake of processed fruits, either canned, frozen or dried. In 2007, the amount of processed fruits available in the diet was 37.7 % higher than 20 years ago. Frozen blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, known to be rich in anti-oxidants, all have shown increases as well.

Canadians are having more exotic fruit juices such as passion fruit in their diet. There has also been an increase of lemon juice and pineapple juice. Pineapple juice reached a new record in 2007 at 0.9 litres per person. Among all juices, orange juice still remains Canada’s juice of choice, at 11.8 litres per person in 2007 followed by apple juice at 6.0 litres per person.

Dairy – More yogurts, creams and cheeses

Canadians enjoy eating more yogurts; the availability increased by 2.4 %, setting a new record at 5.0 litres per person in 2007, while ice cream continued to be less popular, falling 2.6 % to reach 5.7 litres per person in 2007. Iced milk plunged by 5.9 % in 2007.

Standard milk and 2% milk continued to be less favoured by Canadians. This decline was replaced partly by increases in the availability of 1% milk and skim milk in the diet.

Although there is less fat intake from the milk they drink, Canadians are eating more fat from cheese and cream products. They continued to have more cream products in their diet, rising from 6.0 litres per person in 2006 to 6.2 litres in 2007. Total cheese continued its ascending pattern to a new record, where Canadians had 10.1 kg per person in their diet in 2007.

Red Meats – More meat on the plate

Total red meats available for consumption, including beef, pork, mutton and veal, had been slowly declining since 1999. However, in 2007 there was a deviation from the trend from the previous year as availability increased by 0.7 kg to reach 24.5 kg per person. All types of red meat contributed to the increase.

The amount of pork available rose from 9.7 kg in 2006 to 10.2 kg in 2007. Exports have been declining since 2005, the historical peak year for Canadian pork exports. However, pork imports increased 18.8% from 2006 to 2007, suggesting that demand for pork has been on the rise. Domestically, pork faces competition from both the beef and poultry sectors.

Despite this, the amount of beef on Canadians’ plates also rose by 0.4 kg from 2006 to reach almost 13.0 kg per person. In addition, the intake of mutton and lamb has been increasing slowly in the last 10 years, reaching 0.5 kg per person in 2007.

Poultry and Eggs – Canadians still like chicken

Canadian chicken farmers produced more chickens in 2007 than the year before. The extra production went mostly for export as two thirds of it was sent out of the country. Thus, the per capita intake of chicken remained about the same as 2006, resulting in about 10.6 kg per person in 2007.

Turkey and stewing hen intake rose slightly in 2007.

The amount of eggs in the average diet of Canadians decreased by 4.7 % in 2007, reaching 11.5 dozens per person per year.

Cereals – Less wheat but more rice in the diet

Total cereal availability from the food supply, adjusted for the loss factors, declined to 56.9 kg per person in 2007, down 0.9 kg from 2006. This was mostly influenced by a decrease in the availability of wheat flour, down 1.4 % from 2006 to 2007.

Droughts in the US and Australia during 2007 led to low international wheat inventories. Further to this, 2007 was marked by a 20% decrease in the Canadian total wheat production. The lower inventories as well as the development of the bio-fuels industry created an upward pressure on the price of wheat.

According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of wheat products such as pasta and bread has increased 6.4% and 7.1%, respectively from 2006 to 2007. These increases are much higher than the combined increase of food products purchased from stores, which was only 2.7%. Consequently, higher prices and lower availability reduced the demand for wheat flour products in 2007 as Canadians used 45.4 kg of wheat flour per person in 2007 compared to 46.1 kg the year before.

Rice available for consumption, on the other hand, is increasing and set a new record in 2007, reaching 5.2 kg per person. According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of rice increased 2.5% from 2006 to 2007.

Sugar – Less natural sugar in the diet

Overall, people are eating less sugar from honey, maple and refined sugars. This decline might be counterbalanced by the greater use of glucose and of high fructose corn syrup which are used in the manufacturing of many food items. However, with the exception of their content in soft drinks, the statistics presented in this release do not take them into account.

There was a sharp decrease in Canadian honey production in 2007. Preliminary data indicated production at 27.9 thousand tonnes, over 40% less than 2006's record production of 48.4 thousand tonnes. This decrease was due to high losses of bees because of a difficult winter and pests. The domestic stocks leftover from the 2006 production year were, however, able to meet some of the demand for honey.

Vegetables

The amount of fresh vegetables (excluding potatoes) in the Canadian diet has been about the same since the late 1990’s. However, compared to 20 years ago, Canadians now have 10.9% more fresh vegetables, excluding potatoes, on their plate; four times more garlic; more than twice as much asparagus; and close to twice as much cucumbers, to mention a few.

Although manioc, eggplant, kohlrabi and okra are minimal in the total vegetable intake of Canadians, there is an historical trend showing an increased use of these exotic vegetables in their diet.

Canadians have been eating 19.5 % less potato products, fresh and processed, than ten years ago, down to a level of 28.2 kg in 2007. Compared to 2006, Canadians had 0.6 kg less of fresh potatoes but they continued to enjoy processed potatoes, which includes chips, frozen and other processed potato products, at roughly the same level.

Canadians have been steady in their eating of processed vegetables for the last 10 years.

Oils and Fats

Canadians continue to use less butter in their diets, reaching 2.0 kg per person in 2007 compared to 2.1 kg in 2006. Margarine, salad and shortening oils have also each declined. Since the record year in 1998 at 21.4 kg per person, the intake of all oils and fats has decreased by 14.9 % to reach 18.2 kg in 2007.

Alcohol – More wine and spirits in the glass

Canadians were drinking more wine and spirits in 2007. Wine availability adjusted for losses in 2007 climbed to a new record at 14.6 litres per person for Canadians aged 15 years and older. This represents an increase of almost 46 % compared to a decade ago. Beer available for consumption, on the other hand, has remained fairly stable over the same period.

These levels may be understated since these statistics do not include homemade and brew-on-the-premises wine and beer or contraband alcohol.

Fish – Tastes are diversifying

Seafood available for consumption has remained fairly stable across the last decade. However, there appears to be a shift in the type of fish preferred by Canadians. Shellfish products available for consumption peaked in 2000 and over the past seven years have decreased by 29.3 %. In comparison, in 2007, Canadians were eating 47.8 % more freshwater fish than 10 years ago.

Nutrients – Less energy in the diet

Overall, the total amount of calories from the diet has declined 124 kcal since 2001 to reach 2390 kcal per person per day in 2007.