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Milk truck
Raw facts about raw milk
Raw milk has not been pasteurized, meaning it could still contain harmful bacteria and other pathogens that can cause severe, or in some cases fatal, illness119. It is illegal
to sell raw milk or cream products in Canada (with the exception of certain raw milk cheeses), so all milk has to be pasteurized before being sold. The milk is heated to a high temperature, which kills any bacteria, but pasteurization does not affect milk quality.
Milk is sampled and tested at every farm before it’s picked up by the milk truck, to ensure safety and quality. And every milk truckload is tested again at the processing plant, so if there’s a problem, the entire load is rejected. It’s something dairy farmers take very seriously.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario
The barcode reveals all
DNA barcoding is a Canadian innovation that helps identify plant and animal species, including pests. DNA from a species is extracted and sequenced for identi cation, similar to how a supermarket scanner reads a product bar code. Accurate identi cation is critical to choosing the right pest management strategy. Besides identifying pests, this University of Guelph technology also helps expose cases of food fraud—products being sold as something they’re not. Mislabelling sh is common—for example, passing off cheaper tilapia or rock sh as red snapper, which is more expensive120.
Career Pro le
Food Scientist
Sanjay Tandan
When Sanjay Tandan was young, he wanted
to be a doctor. That dream didn’t happen as he’d planned, exactly, but he sees a lot of similarities between his original goals and his role as an operations manager/food scientist for a dairy processing company because both rely on science. As a food scientist, he says there’s a huge amount of responsibility and accountability to ensure that customers get a safe product. “In one way, I still look after the health of people through the food they consume on a daily basis by ensuring they get safe, healthy and nutritious products.”
Nancy French Photography
DID YOU KNOW?
Using just your smart phone and a DNA testing kit, you can authenticate your food, identify the bug that bit you, or learn about bugs in your garden121?
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The Real Dirt on Farming
Grieg Seafood BC