TORONTO – Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is working to rehabilitate the image of meat with a new video series pumping up the benefits of the much-maligned protein.
“Protein Builds” features four-time Olympic Gold Medalist in hockey Hayley Wickenheiser and Mary Anne Binnie, a nutritionist and manager of nutrition and food industry relations at the Canadian Pork Council, in videos promoting meat as an important nutritional building block on the meat processor’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
The initiative comes a month after the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer said eating processed meats regularly increases the risk of colorectal cancer and that red meat “probably” causes cancer.
“I am passionate about the relationship between high energy sports and nutrition,” Wickenheiser says in the video, beside an ice rink at the recent Canadian Tire World Female Hockey Festival in Calgary.
“One thing we teach the girls is that active bodies need protein,” she says, adding meat helps to build organs, skin and hair and repairs muscles after exercise. “Where possible, I think it is important that kids get their protein from meat and alternatives, not supplements.” She suggests a lean turkey sandwich, a handful of nuts or chicken strips as a good post-game snack, “instead of sugary foods.”
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Maple Leaf, whose product lineup includes bacon, hot dogs and deli meat, does not promote specific products in the videos.
The video featuring Mary Anne Binnie, a nutritionist and manager of nutrition and food industry relations at the Canadian Pork Council, is more overt in voicing doubts about the IARC report, without referencing it directly.
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“Headlines that recommend reducing the amount of red meat in your diet don’t tell the full truth,” Binnie says, citing meat as an important source of vitamin B12 and amino acids. “As a nutritionist I am concerned with blanket statements that suggest people should reduce the meat in their diet. Unfortunately, as a result, young women who most need protein for good health can put themselves at risk.”
Food industry analyst Kevin Grier, principal at Guelph, Ont.-based Market Analysis & Consulting Inc., says consumption of red meat among Canadians had been declining for the better part of two decades until about 2012, when demand started to turn.
“Demand has stabilized in the last three to four years — we are stepping up to the meat case,” he said, despite rising prices. “We have all become aware of protein’s importance.”
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But the IARC report did have an impact, Grier added. “That was big news, and anecdotally, it did impact sales of processed meats. I would say sales declined maybe ten per cent in that first week or so,” according to industry sources. Sales have improved again, Grier said, but not necessarily to prior levels.
David Bauer, spokesman for Mississauga, Ont.-based Maple Leaf, said the meat processor will continue to roll out videos under the “Protein Builds” platform.
“We are exploring other opportunities now with leading independent health and nutrition experts,” he said. “Anyone participating in the series is sharing their own views on the subject.”
In coming days, Maple Leaf will launch a “very thorough” consumer website for consumers about protein and nutrition, he said. “The goal of Protein Builds is broadly about educating consumers about the importance of protein as a whole and the role of protein in a balanced diet. Following the release of the IARC report, there was miscommunication and a lot of criticism from independent health experts globally.”
The latest marketing campaign comes a week after Maple Leaf announced it would cut 400 jobs in order to streamline its operations after years of costly restructuring and the opening of a more efficient meat processing facility in Ontario.
After a costly and image-damaging listeriosis outbreak in 2008 at a Maple Leaf facility in the province, the company began overhauling operations to the tune of $1 billion, closing old plants and selling off non-core assets such as its Canada Bread bakery division. More recently, the company’s free cash flow is set to grow next year and Maple Leaf has said it is ready to grow again and will look at making future acquisitions in poultry processing or meat production.