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Meet the Finalists for the Inaugural IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge

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Meet the Finalists for the Inaugural IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge

By Tom Foley, IFT

As part of our mission to encourage entrepreneurialism and innovation, IFT launched the IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge—a new competition designed to help emerging and investment-ready food companies advance the science of food, by providing mentorship and visibility to further the positive impact on our global food supply.
After a months-long process that saw the original field of 65 companies face several rounds of questions and virtual pitch sessions, our panel has chosen six finalists to share their innovations in a high-profile pitching competition at IFT18 in Chicago on Tuesday, Jul. 17, in a featured session hosted by entrepreneur Daymond John of ABC’s Shark Tank. The finalists represent breakthrough solutions across food ingredients, packaging, agriculture, and processing applications. They’ll pitch their businesses to a panel of prestigious judges including Jennifer Bentz, senior vice president of R&D, innovation, and insights for Tyson Foods; Jeff Grogg, founder and managing director of JPG Resources; J. Skyler Fernandes, managing director of investments, Cleveland Avenue; Lenny Lebovich, founder and CEO of PRE Brands; John Ruff, IFT past president and former senior vice president of global quality, scientific affairs, and nutrition for Kraft Foods; and Natalie Shmulik, CEO of The Hatchery.
Here’s a look at the six companies that will be competing for the IFTNEXT Future Food Disruptor of the Year award and a $25,000 cash prize at IFT18:

C-Fu Foods:
C-FU Foods is an ingredient innovation company developing the next generation of insect-based, value-added food ingredients. The company’s goal is to support the emerging insect food sector with high quality functional ingredients that solve the technical challenges that limit the use of insects in food.
How they’ve been preparing for the IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge live pitch event at IFT18 – “I’ve got a lot to say about edible insects and I get really excited whenever I get the chance to talk about our products and technology, but cutting it to just a few minutes can be ambitious. Practice with a timer and working to reduce the pitch to a few core ideas is how I’m preparing. I’ve had some great feedback from our pitch coach, Jagruti Bhikha, and my mentor Dana McCauley. I’ve also been working to take complete advantage of the access to fantastic mentors that IFT has curated for this competition.” – Lee Cadesky (co-founder and COO, C-Fu Foods)

Inductive Intelligence:
Inductive Intelligence is a packaging technology company that makes it possible to safely and conveniently heat foods and drinks in disposable packages, using the same device you use to charge your mobile phone battery.
What has your experience in the IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge been like so far? – “The IFT mentors have incredible experience and have brought greater focus to our strategy. (alprazolam) They’ve built solid businesses before, and have the wisdom of knowing what things matter and what things will be a distraction.” – Greg Clark (co-founder and CEO, Inductive Intelligence)

Nebullam:
Nebullam is a food technology company providing new vertical farmers with High Pressure Aeroponic systems, powered by artificial intelligence.
How they’ve been preparing for the IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge live pitch event at IFT18 – “We’re in the middle of raising our seed round right now. Our roadshow has taken us throughout the Midwest, and to the West Coast on multiple occasions. To go from the private stage with smaller groups, to a public stage with a much larger group, is exhilarating. The more people we can meet with to share Nebullam’s vision and mission of creating the art of future food, the stronger our story becomes. We’re preparing by putting ourselves in as many positions to share our story as we can.” – Clayton Mooney (Co-founder and CEO, Nebullam)

Renewal Mill:
Renewal Mill is a CPG and ingredient company that creates high-value super-food ingredients and foods from the $6 billion of unused fiber and starch byproducts of legumes, vegetables, and fruits produced annually.
What has your experience in the IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge been like so far? – “Through the selection and mentoring process, we have learned even more about how we can leverage the greater food community to improve our business model. The caliber of individuals that IFTNEXT brings together is truly incredible.” – Sumit Kadakia (co-founder, Renewal Mill)

Rise Products:
Rise Products is a food technology company that uses a patent-pending process to convert organic by-products into healthy, tasty, and sustainable food products, starting by turning spent barley from brewers into flour.
How they’ve been preparing for the IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge live pitch event at IFT18 – “We are so grateful to have Jagruti and Kantha as coaches for our pitches. Jagruti is always helping us with new tools of how to tell a compelling story. Since we’re engineers, we’re grateful for the opportunity to learn about the different aspects of the food industry from Kantha. This will help us refine our pitch to the diverse group of judges, as well as the audience who represent different facets of the food tech industry. After storyboarding our pitch, we received feedback on it, and refined it to create a rough draft of the pitch. We take turns pitching it to each other, and try to tweak the story each time to find out what works. In the end, we’re looking to tell a balanced story that clearly explains what we do and what motivates us, and hopefully that resonates with the audience.” – Bertha Jimenez (CEO and co-founder, Rise Products)

Re-Nuble:
Re-Nuble is an agricultural technology company that uses an inexpensive, patent-pending process to transform food waste into chemical-free, organic nutrients for both soil-based and hydroponic cultivation.
How they’ve been preparing for the IFTNEXT Food Disruption Challenge live pitch event at IFT18 – “We have been fortunate to receive pitch coaching and reviews in the past. A pitch deck is never truly final, but IFT has helped us to further refine it with the lens of the perspective related to food innovation. The mindset used to prepare Re-Nuble’s pitch deck to date incorporated aspects of food and the resources required for its cultivation, distribution, and harvest. However, IFT helped us to reflect our value that is of importance to its consumers and the brands that prioritize and invest in food transparency and sustainability.” – Tinia Pina (founder and CEO, Re-Nuble)

Beating drug use with blue

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Beating drug use with blue

By Monica Rodriguez, Fortune

As the nation grapples with the harrowing effects of its massive opioid epidemic, many companies are trying innovative ideas to help solve the problem.

A handful of convenience stores and supermarkets are experimenting with an unusual strategy: installing blue lights in bathrooms in order to quell drug usage, by making it more difficult for people to inject themselves. The theory is that drug users, who often use the privacy of bathroom stalls to shoot up heroin and other drugs, would have difficulty finding their veins.

Turkey Hill Minit Markets, a 260-store chain in Pennsylvania, is one of two convenience store chains that have teamed with University of Florida’s Loss Prevention Research Council to field-test the bulbs’ effectiveness.

“The hardest-core opiate user still wants to be accurate. They want to make sure the needle goes in the right spot,” Read Hayes, director of the loss prevention group, told ABC News.

Although the study is still in its initial stages, Hayes reported that early feedback from stores with blue lights has been positive, with reports of theft and violent crime seemingly declining.

However some warn that the lights may do more harm than good.

A study done in 2013 conducted by the Harm Reduction Journalwarned that the benefits of blue lights were minimal at best and detrimental at worst, as it raised the risk of an injection-related injury significantly.

“While there was general agreement that blue lights do make injecting more difficult, a small number of participants were entirely undeterred by them,” the study said. “Half would use a blue-lit washroom if they needed somewhere to inject urgently.”

Despite the risks, Turkey Hill remains that blue lights have the potential to deter drug use in their stores.

Speaking with the Associated Press, Matt Dorgan, the chain’s protection manager, insisted that the lights were effective in the stores where they had been installed.

“It’s a pretty dramatic reduction,” he said. “We haven’t had a single overdose.”

Inside the Shoppers Drug Mart store that replaced a Hard Rock Café

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Inside the Shoppers Drug Mart store that replaced a Hard Rock Café

By Craig Patterson for Retail Insider

Shoppers Drug Mart has opened a three-level, 16,000 square foot store in Toronto where the city’s iconic Hard Rock Café was once located, and the new store includes some features not found in other Shoppers Drug Mart locations.

We [Retail Insider] were first to report in March of 2017 that Shoppers Drug Mart had leased the building in which Hard Rock Café was located, with plans to convert the 22,000-square-foot building to a flagship drug store to serve the busy area. Hard Rock Café occupied the site for about four decades and prior to that, the building housed the Friar’s Tavern from the years 1963 to 1976. Celebrity visitors included Bob Dylan. In the 1980’s, part of the second level served Toronto’s Queer community, including drag shows and a dinner theatre called “Evening at La Cage”.

As a tribute to the building’s musical past, Shoppers Drug Mart has dedicated a 140-square-foot space on the store’s upper level to showcase artifacts from these venues as well as memorabilia from some of Toronto’s music legends, in addition to an interactive timeline that allows visitors to see historical highlights come to life through photos and video.

The retail space itself looks like a typical Shoppers Drug Mart store, though its street-facing windows overlook the visually stimulating surroundings which characterize Yonge-Dundas Square — Canada’s answer to New York City’s Times Square. The new store’s 5,000 square foot street-level is dedicated primarily to beauty items with an expansive beautyBOUTIQUE that is larger than any we’ve seen. Included is a digital ‘beauty wall’ for the Quo brand, which provides consumers with beauty information, tailored to their selections and preferences. There are plenty of recognizable international brands, and the space also offers a rotating selection of unique indie beauty brands for consumers to discover. Shoppers Drug Mart beauty experts were on hand to assist customers with selection and purchases.

A vibrant red stairway with a large LED screen on one side connects the street level with the second level. An elevator connects the store’s three levels.

Much of Shoppers Drug Mart’s typical retail offerings can be found on the upstairs level of the store, with expansive walls of glass providing a view of the very busy area — CBRE marketing materials claim that more than 60-million people frequent the area annually. Following an acquisition by grocery behemoth Loblaw in2014, Shoppers Drug Mart has been expanding food offerings in its stores. The Yonge-Dundas Shoppers Drug Mart features fresh food that can be purchased on the go, including fresh produce, PC Kabobs, pork chops, ground beef, burgers, chicken breast, sausages, and salmon. Grocery offerings include cereals, soups condiments, ice cream and various frozen foods, ready-to-eat food such as sandwiches, wraps, sushi, as well as fresh pastas, sauces, quiche and meat pies.

The store’s basement level, with lower ceilings and less natural light than the other two floors, houses the store’s pharmacy area as well as a full-service Canada Post outlet. The store is owned and operated by Andrew Yeh, who has been a pharmacist in the area for the past 10 years. The store also offers Shoppers Drug Mart’s digital pharmacy, where patients can manage their prescriptions online. The Canada Post concession offers staffed counters as well as a self-serve shipping station to make purchases and send parcels. The self-serve technology allows customers to print shipping labels or stamps, drop off parcels in a secure drop box and pay by debit or credit before receiving a receipt with the tracking number, according to Shoppers Drug Mart.

Despite being three levels, the new store doesn’t feel ‘gigantic’. Aisles feature the typical displays found in most Shoppers Drug Mart locations, and some parts of the store almost felt crowded. When the building was being marketed for lease last year, brokerage CBRE noted that the building encompassed about 22,000 square feet of space. A source that tipped us off last year that the lease had been signed also said that the asking rent for the building was $2 million annually — or about twice what Hard Rock Café was paying when it occupied the building until the summer of 2017. The building boasts frontage of about 60-feet along Yonge Street, with a further 125-feet facing onto Dundas Square.

The same source told us that the landlord wished to lease the space to one large tenant, hence why Shoppers Drug Mart got the space.

The Yonge-Dundas intersection is the busiest pedestrian area in Canada, and is anchored by North America’s busiest shopping mall — the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, which sees an estimated 50 million annual visitors. Neighbours include a 220,000 square foot Nordstrom flagship, Uniqlo’s first Canadian store, Saks Fifth Avenue’s Canadian flagship, and an expanded H&M flagship that is the chain’s top-selling unit in the country. Samsung also opened its largest Canadian retail space across the street at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in a highly experiential 21,000 square foot premises.

Shoppers Drug Mart, which has more than 1,300 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores coast-to-coast, continues to expand its operations into categories including pharmacy, beauty and food. The company’s beautyBOUTIQUE concept competes with the likes of Sephora and Hudson’s Bay, and Shoppers Drug Mart also operates four beauty stores under the ‘Murale’ banner. Last year, sources were saying that Shoppers Drug Mart was looking to shutter the Murale banner and open standalone beauty stores under a yet-to-be-determined name, though it’s unclear if the idea has since been scrapped, or if the company will continue with potential plans for standalone beauty BOUTIQUE in Canada. The company also owns and operates 43 corporate Shoppers Home Healthcare stores, two new Wellwise by Shoppers Drug Mart stores and an e-commerce site Wellwise.ca, making it the largest Canadian retailer of home health care products and services.

Besides its expansive retail operations, the company also owns Shoppers Drug Mart Specialty Health Network Inc. — a provider of specialty drug distribution, pharmacy and comprehensive patient support services — as well as MediSystem Technologies Inc., a provider of pharmaceutical products and services to long-term care facilities.

Shoppers Drug Mart’s Yonge-Dundas location is the latest example of a former restaurant/food venue being turned into a drug store. Last year we toured a Rexall store on Toronto’s Bloor Street West that was once ‘the Brunswick’ bar, popular with university students.

Pipe up with Nature’s Path

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Pipe up with Nature’s Path

Nature’s Path Foods, North America’s largest organic breakfast food company, is turning off its worldwide website, and replacing it with a message for urgent change.

The goal is to voice its opposition to the proposed pipeline expansion in western Canada, and to raise awareness for the importance of investing in infrastructure to support a low-carbon economy. The company wants to urge the government and welcome all to join them on the path forward to renewable energy.

“We believe businesses can be a force of good and have a critical role today to drive our future towards a low-carbon economy,” said Jyoti Stephens, Nature’s Path VP of People, Culture and Mission, and second generation of the family-owned company. “Unless we pipe up and collectively push for change, the planet we love remains at risk. We are asking people to help raise awareness for the need for renewable energy and petition the federal government to say no to the proposed pipeline expansion.”

Nature’s Path believes access to clean water and food free of contaminants is a basic human right, and the future of humanity depends on alternative solutions to fossil fuels. The proposed pipeline expansion means a seven-fold increase in coast-to-port tanker traffic in Vancouver, increasing the risk of an oil spill disrupting sensitive aquatic and animal habitats plus B.C.’s coastline, while leaks along the pipeline path can contaminate farmland impacting food production and the livelihood of many.

Nature’s Path has a long and proud history of doing what we believe is right for the planet,” added Stephens. “We believe the expanded pipeline deepens our dependency on fossil fuels and further contributes to climate change, plus it presents an increased risk of a catastrophic leak impacting the health of our precious agriculture land and water systems.”

Nature’s Path operates with a commitment to sustainability and the goal to be climate neutral by 2020. The company’s path to contribute to a future low-carbon economy ranges from supporting green energy projects throughout North America by purchasing renewable energy credits, to using all organic ingredients in its products preventing over 19,000 tons of synthetic fertilizers from being used on farmland over the past two years alone. Every one of the company’s manufacturing plants are zero waste certified, and Nature’s Path was the first cereal company in North America to receive this designation in 2016.

People can visit NaturesPath.com to help raise awareness for renewable energy by downloading call-to-action artwork created by BC artists to share on their social channels (#pipeup), and to sign a petition asking the Canadian government to walk away from investment into fossil fuels and rather, invest in renewable energy to help solve climate change.

iLevel Management welcomes new account manager

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iLevel Management welcomes new account manager

iLevel Management Inc. was excited to announce that Ryan Martins is the new account manager for SW Ontario, as of Monday, Jun. 4, this year.

Martins has a diverse background of experience, spanning both retail and sales. He spent nine years in the organic dairy industry, starting out with the company as a territory sales representative and growing into the territory manager. Martins has also spent nearly 14 years working in retail, most recently as the grocery manager at a fine foods emporium specializing in luxury brands. This combined experience gives him very well rounded knowledge of the industry and uncanny customer service.

Martins will assume responsibly for accounts West of Hwy 427. Gloria David remains responsible for accounts East of Hwy 427.

Food company welcomes new policy with open arms

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Food company welcomes new policy with open arms

Laurent Lessard, La Coop fédérée’s minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, announced that the company is welcoming the Quebec government’s new bio-food policy.

“With regards to vision and strategic objectives, the bio-food policy demonstrates a willingness to work with the sector to take on challenges in the bio-food industry. Those challenges were raised by La Coop fédérée during the numerous consultations held in previous years,” said Ghislain Gervais, president of La Coop fédérée. “Moreover, the inclusion of additional amounts intended for the bio-food policy announced in the last provincial budget, shows a willingness to make it a reality.”

The bio-food sector, ranging from processing to distribution, food services and production in farming operations, is diversifying itself at a steady pace, which is in line with consumer expectations.

Today, the challenge La Coop fédérée faces, is to meet these expectations while preserving the basic elements that currently make the bio-food sector in Quebec, a success. On this issue, the new bio-food policy recognizes the importance of maintaining a collective approach, as well as the emergence of multiple value chains to meet the various consumer needs.

“Farming is a human activity that requires coherence to prosper and develop in a responsible manner. For nearly 100 years, the cooperative movement has been contributing to the development and success of the Quebec bio-food sector,” Gervais explained. “As leader in this industry, La Coop fédérée intends to continue its important work in terms of supplying and marketing agricultural products, land development, manpower, succession, innovation, research and development, and to also contribute to reaching the objectives stated in the new bio-food policy.”

The new bio-food policy opens new promising horizons with regard to the expectations of the various stakeholders of the sector.

In addition, La Coop fédérée hopes that the debates surrounding the new bio-food policy go beyond the scope of the upcoming provincial elections. For it to be durable, all of the Quebec political parties should adopt the orientations contained in this policy, which is the result of numerous previous consultations, and commit to its implementation.

“The new policy represents a step in the right direction. The importance of the Quebec bio-food industry, which contributes $25.4 billion to the Quebec economy and generates more than 500,000 jobs, most certainly deserves the attention the government is giving it today,” Gervais concluded.

Cannabis research is looking up

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Cannabis research is looking up

EVIO Inc.,a leading North American provider of cannabis testing and scientific research for the regulated cannabis industry, has announced the launch of its EVIO Biosciences Division, which will be led by EVIO’s chief science officer, Dr. Anthony Smith. This allows EVIO to leverage its scientific and human capital expertise to focus on development of intellectual property and research. The division’s goals encompass emerging health benefits and advanced delivery modes for cannabinoids and cannabis products to the human endocannabinoid system.

“We are expanding the life sciences part of the company to focus on the need for bioscience applications in cannabis, in addition to analytical testing services. We are focusing on scientific research to support biotechnology and IP development for advanced formulation, manufacturing and delivery processes,” said Smith, who brings more than 15 years of natural product research, quality assurance, product development and more to EVIO Labs and EVIO Biosciences.

EVIO Biosciences will explore combination drug therapeutics through in vitro and clinical research.  The new division reflects the growing need for education and broader dissemination of cannabis and cannabinoid biotechnology research in the scientific and medical community, particularly in the face of the widespread changes to cannabis regulation worldwide.

“One exciting project is developing cannabinoid receptor biochemistry models aimed at discovering the future of cannabis medicine.  The real benefit will be leveraging our research and development, in partnership with medical and healthcare providers to bring solutions to real world health problems,” Smith concluded.

B.C. puts primary health care first

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B.C. puts primary health care first

The B.C. government has announced a major investment in the new primary health care strategy to improve access for British Columbians. Team-based care is central to the new primary health care strategy. This announcement indicates a change of approach and a system-wide transformation of primary care.

“Primary health care is not ‘one size fits all’. People need to be able to access the type of health care worker that can best address their needs; this might be a physiotherapist, a social worker, a pharmacist, or a doctor,” said Edith MacHattie, a B.C.  Health Coalition (BCHC) co-chair. “Providing team-based care will better meet the needs of British Columbians.”

Primary health care is a major priority for BCHC members. During the past few months, the members have been actively working with the Ministry of Health on primary health care. The BCHC has been a strong advocate for community and patient participation in health care development.

As part of the new strategy, the B.C. government is implementing primary care networks, urgent care centres, and community health centres.

At the heart of this new vision, team-based care will be rolled out through primary care networks. Burnaby, Comox, Prince George, Richmond and South Okanagan Similkameen are the first five communities where they are rolling out this new initiative. The networks will be across 70 per cent of B.C. communities, including many smaller and rural populations.

“Improving access to primary health care for British Columbians outside of the Lower Mainland and in rural communities is overdue and we’re looking forward to the rollout of these programs,” said Rick Turner, a BCHC co-chair. “We’re thrilled that this government is doing the hard work to transform primary health care.”

Additionally, the government is creating opportunities for doctors to work in team-based care models. Funding will be provided for up to 200 new general practitioners to work in team-based care.

Aleafia Health Inc. heads to Niagara

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Aleafia Health Inc. heads to Niagara

Aleafia Health Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire a 160,000 sq. ft. modern, fully automated greenhouse facility in the Niagara region, including its advanced growing equipment ‘acquisition’ for $9.6 million. The transaction is expected to close on Sunday, July 4 this year.

“This latest Aleafia acquisition is a major strategic achievement for the company that strongly positions us for success as we continue to execute on the next phase of our operations,” said Julian Fantino, Aleafia’s executive chairman.

Aleafia is one of Canada’s leading vertically integrated medical cannabis companies focused on ‘patient-centric’ medical cannabis care.

“We, at Aleafia want to ensure that the strains required by our patients are available to them when they need them,” Raf Souccar, Aleafia’s chief executive officer, explained. “With its automated moving container bench system, precision irrigation and highly efficient LED lighting for plants in their vegetative stage, we will have one of the most efficient cultivation greenhouses in the medical cannabis industry, capable of producing up to seven crops per year,” said Lucas Escott, Aleafia’s production specialist.

Key Facts:

  • The 160,000 sq. ft. Niagara facility has an immediate expansion capability of another 20,000 sq. ft.
  • Both the 160,000 sq. ft. Niagara facility and the 150,000 sq. ft. Scugog expansion plan are fully funded.
  • Given the modern state of the Niagara greenhouse, Aleafia is expected to accelerate its production capacity and in turn respond more quickly to its patients needs.
  • A second site licence application will be submitted to Health Canada under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR)for the newly acquired Niagara facility.
  • The advanced automation and strategic layout at the Niagara greenhouse facility requires minimal retrofitting and it is expected that Aleafia will achieve a greater production capacity at a lower cost.

GETDOWN with the new Hypertension Management app

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GETDOWN with the new Hypertension Management app

Servier Canada, in collaboration with Hypertension Canada, is proud to launch the GETDOWNBP Hypertension Management mobile app.

The launch of the GETDOWNBP mobile app will offer members of the GETDOWNBP online social network, as well as new members who wish to join, a new way to engage and help them prevent or control their high blood pressure (hypertension). The arrival of the app is a key step that completes a series of launch initiatives for the GETDOWNBP awareness campaign, which have recently been rolled out across Canada.

“The GETDOWNBP campaign, including the launch of the app, represents an opportunity to increase awareness around hypertension, as well as support patients in the management of their condition, and GETDOWNBP is directly in line with Servier’s commitment to place the patient at the heart of all its actions,” stated Frederic Fasano, the CEO of Servier Canada.

The objective of the GETDOWNBP campaign is to raise awareness about hypertension and build a community that will be able to discuss and share success stories about controlling or preventing this condition. This app also features a series of easy, fun and rewarding activities that are done daily, and provides positive communication and recognition for the efforts made in order to achieve these goals. The tagline for this campaign is, Lowering your blood pressure has never felt so good!”

“We are especially proud of our collaboration with Hypertension Canada, the producer of Canada’s clinical practice guidelines for hypertension management,” said Fasano.

Canadians are encouraged to measure their blood pressure at participating pharmacies across Canada, and to know their numbers as the first step in hypertension prevention and control. “When not controlled, hypertension can lead to serious chronic and deadly conditions like dementia, heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease,” Angelique Berg, CEO of Hypertension Canada explained. “Hypertension is highly sensitive to lifestyle changes and medications but it takes work, and that is why we are thrilled to support the GETDOWNBP campaign, which shares the know-how and provides encouragement for Canadians to get their high blood pressure down for lifelong health.”

Canadians can join the community by visiting www.getdownbp.ca,where they can also access more information concerning hypertension, and learn about associated risks as well as ways to help manage it.