Marc Poulin, CEO of Sobeys’ parent Empire Co. Ltd., says the sales of healthier and easier to prepare foods has attributed to the supermarket’s growing profit.

“They truly understand with the obesity problem we have… they clearly understand there is something broken in the relationship Canadians have with food,” he told Canadian Grocer in an interview after the annual shareholders meeting. “They have decided we are going to be the ones helping them in a transition.”

Among Sobeys’ efforts to promote a healthier lifestyle are a larger variety of breads, pre-marinated meats and ready to eat meals to replace cooking dinner at home, though Poulin did not specify on how much these new products are adding to the store’s revenue.

Sobeys’ same-store sales at locations open for at least one year grew by 1.3 per cent, while the parent company listed a net profit of $123.1 million between May 4 and Aug. 2 of this year. The company’s adjusted net earnings were at $131.7 million or $1.43 per share, which is ahead of estimates.

According to the National Retail Federation, the retail industry in the U.S. (excluding the automotive and gasoline industries) experienced a decline of 17,700 jobs in August. The industry that lost the most jobs was food and beverage stores, which on their own lost 17,000 jobs. “Employment figures for August were undoubtedly disappointing and lackluster,” says Jack Kleinhenz, NRF chief economist. “The weaker job growth in August presents a mixed picture of the economy compared to other positive indicators, including consumer confidence and average hourly earnings, which point to an improving economy.”

According to researchers from Columbia University, children can be taught to control their cravings for unhealthy foods. The study, which was published in the journal Psychological Science, was conducted with 105 subjects between the ages of six and 23, and used MRI brain scans to track their reactions to images of various unhealthy foods.

“These findings are important because they suggest that we may have another tool in our toolbox to combat childhood obesity,” Jennifer A. Silvers, a psychological scientist and the lead researcher, told CTV News.

While most studies involved in the topic look more to changing the availability of unhealthy foods, this one focused on changing the subjects’ reactions to the unhealthy foods. When they did not visualize the flavour of the unhealthy foods, the subjects’ cravings were reduced by 16 per cent.

“Such environmental interventions are clearly important, but sugary sweets and tempting treats cannot always be avoided. If children as young as six can learn to use a cognitive strategy after just a few minutes of training, that has huge implications for interventions,” Silvers told CTV News. “We believe this research has implications for a wide range of people, from basic scientists who are interested in how reward processing changes across the lifespan, to obesity researchers looking to devise interventions to curb childhood obesity, to parents and pediatricians trying to raise healthier and happier kids.”

The Heart and Stroke Foundation says that unhealthy diets cause a risk of stroke, high blood cholesterol, cancer and other illnesses. As a result, the foundation is recommending a tax on sugary drinks to lower consumption.

Canadians get 13 per cent of their daily calories from sweeteners that are added to food and drinks, though the Heart and Stroke Foundation says that a healthy maximum should ideally be five per cent of a person’s daily caloric intake, with a maximum of 10 per cent.

“The bottom line is that Canadians are eating too much added sugar, and this can result in serious health consequences,” says Bobbe Wood, president of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, in a press release.

According to the foundation, sugar sweetened beverages are the cause of 180,000 deaths worldwide per year, including from diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The foundation recommends Canadians prepare meals with fresh and staple foods, limit eating out at restaurants and the consumption of ready-to-eat food and drinks, buying fresh or frozen fruit or fruit canned without artificial sweeteners and reducing the amount of sugar used when cooking in order to reduce their sugar intake.

It has recommended a tax on sugary drinks, which at five cents per 100 mL, would raise $1.8 billion in tax revenue per year. “We want Canadians to focus on reducing added sugars, not the sugar that occurs naturally in vegetables, fruit and other foods that are also packed with nutrients such as vitamins and fibre,” says Wood. “You cannot compare those healthy choices to a can of pop that is loaded with sugar and has no health benefits – just health risks.”

Two family-owned honey producers in Ontario have proposed a lawsuit against pesticide producers Bayer AG and Syngenta AG, which are being blamed for bee deaths.

The two honey producers are seeking $450 million in damages to make up for significant losses by Canadian beekeepers due to the use of certain pesticides since 2006.

Neonicotinoids are a preventative pesticide used on crops or coated on seeds before they are planted, which are then picked up by insects, including bees, when plants absorb the pesticide into their leaves, flowers, pollen and nectar.

“Neonicotinoids are among the most widely used insecticides in Canada and pose serious risks to the bee population primarily because of their persistence in crops and soil, and their potency at low concentrations,” said the statement. “Those properties, coupled with the neonicotinoids’ widespread use in many cropping systems and presence in pollen and nectar, resulted in a chronic, continuing and lethal exposure to the bee population.”

The statement of claim alleges that the two pesticide companies were negligent when developing and distributing the pesticides, and they did not prevent damages to beekeepers. The statement also says the companies should have known the pesticides would pose a risk to the bee population. However, the federal government has conditionally approved several pesticide products that contain neonicotinoids made by Bayer and Syngenta. The allegations have not been tested in court.

According to the National Retail Federation, August retail sales have grown by 0.5 per cent seasonally adjusted month-to-month and 2.7 per cent unadjusted year-over-year and excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants.

“The rise in consumer confidence, labour markets and retail sales is encouraging,” says Jack Kleinhenz, NRF chief economist. “August sales figures signal that consumers are willing and ready to spend as the economy improves. However, until the pace of income picks up, we should not expect a sustained surge in spending.”

Health and personal care stores in particular had a 0.6 per cent growth month-to-month, and 6.4 per cent year-over-year, while numbers at online stores grew 0.1 per cent month-to-month and 4.2 per cent year-over-year.

The NRF believes employment and payroll numbers will grow by next month. “My overall impression is that the economy is moving in the right direction but that other factors, including rising concerns over the uncertainty in the Middle East, may produce some drag. We remain hopeful but cautious,” says Kleinhenz.

SmartCentres mall owner Mitchell Goldhar is embracing the cyberselling trends of the digital world and hoping to attract customers to the mall’s bricks-and-mortar stores by setting up drive-through pick-up depots in three of its shopping centres. Three SmartCentres locations in the Toronto area will have Penguin Pick-up spots that serve retailers and other e-commerce customers.

“We know the writing is on the wall,” Goldhar said to The Globe and Mail. “But it’s also an opportunity. It’s also going to be a good business to be in. And it could very well be a way to make our existing shopping centre business busier than it ever was.”

Researcher eMarketer is predicting that e-commerce sales will soar from making up 4.5 per cent of total Canadian retail sales to 8.2 per cent in 2018. Other retail giants like Wal-Mart and Australian shopping centre company Westfield are also joining the trend of offering stations to pick up online orders at their stores.

Toronto-based grocery store Longo’s has a new 47,000-square feet store in Woodbridge. The new expanded store offers a variety of services and fresh food, along with a full service meat and seafood service counter, deli and cheese section, a Starbucks shop, and a Wine Shop. The launch event last week offered free cooking classes and taught guests how to cut prosciutto and stretch mozzarella.

“We’re very excited to be opening the largest Longo’s in the area,” said President and CEO Anthony Longo in a release, reported by Canadian Grocer. “Woodbridge residents are some of our most enthusiastic shoppers.”

The new location will also serve the community by hosting a Loft Cooking school, classes and information seminars. There will be a chocolatier program available for the bakery section.

Toronto-based Dufflet Pastries is preparing for a gluten-free line of desserts to launch this Fall, available in Ontario and Quebec for customers with gluten-free diets to enjoy. The company previously experimented with offering gluten-free desserts and the effort was met with success. Sales for gluten-free treats at the store has doubled since last year.

“Company feedback at all three of our retail cafes and from our wholesale customers indicated that there was a growing demand for products made without gluten—not only from our consumers with celiac disease but also from those who prefer to follow a gluten-reduced diet to promote health,” company founder Dufflet Rosenberg told Canadian Grocer. The company has converted their famous recipes into gluten-free versions that are free of artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. The desserts are also certified by the Canadian Celiac Association.

The gluten-free line of desserts include cakelets, tarts, cupcakes, brownies and macaroons.

Empire Co Ltd., parent company of Sobeys Inc., has announced a big first quarter profit that surpassed analyst expectations with a 35 per cent increase in revenue. The numbers were a result of the company recently acquiring Canada Safeway. Consolidated net earnings were $123.1 million, up from $65 million the year before. Adjusted net earnings were $131.7 million, which surpassed analyst estimations of $1.43 per share. Revenue increased to $6.22 billion from $4.6 billion from last year.

“Growth in consolidated sales in the first quarter of 35.4 per cent and in adjusted net earnings of 46.8 per cent largely reflects the impact of the acquisition of Canada Safeway combined with Sobeys’ sales and merchandising initiatives . . . ” President and CEO Marc Poulin said in an official statement. “Going forward we remain focused on completing the successful integration of the Canada Safeway business and on the ongoing promotion of our Better Food for All culture, while continuing to secure operational efficiencies and cost reductions across the organization.”