The food product awards are open to food processors and producers. Only one submission will be accepted per company.

Eligible food products must contain Alberta ingredients and have been processed in Alberta.  Condiments are not eligible and food products must be for human consumption. The food product being submitted must meet the nutrition criteria noted below.

Food products in each respective category must be commercially available in Alberta by January 1, 2011. Food product applications are subject to verification of compliance to the applicable acts and regulations governing the facility where the food product is processed.  

Applicants are required to complete the award application form and answer the questions identified within the written submission.  Scoring of each submission by the selection committee will be based on the following: 

• health attributes based on nutrition criteria;
• consumer demand-how does the product meet a need;
• packaging, manufacturing, marketing;
• innovation and collaboration; and
• overall product quality.

Detailed questions can be found on the application form.

If chosen food product samples will be requested approximately three weeks prior to the convening of the selection committee.  Food product samples sent must be in consumer-ready packaging and include a nutrition fact label and best before dates(if applicable). Product labels must be in compliance with the nutition labelling regulations within Canada's Food and Drug Act. Delivery details will be provided at that time.  All food products that pass the pre-screening will be evaluated for eating quality (taste, aroma, texture, visual appeal and overall eating quality) by the selection committee.

Nutrition Criteria

Please be advised that minor changes have been made to the Nutrition Criteria. Updated September 20, 2010.

Nutrition Criteria

The food product being submitted must meet the nutrition criteria for either the Choose Most Often or Choose Sometimes categories. Understanding the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines: quick reference tool for developing, producing and choosing healthy food choices is a tool that defines the nutrition criteria for each food award category.

The Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth:  A Childcare, School and Recreation/Community Centre Resource Manual has set the foundation for the Nutrition Criteria for the awards.   The guidelines were designed specifically for children; however, the nutrition criteria for each food category are also applicable for adults.  It is important to note that adults would require a greater number of servings as identified in Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide found at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php.

The Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide was used within this resource to identify which foods should be placed into each category.  Wherever possible the serving sizes, recommended in the food guide, have been used as the suggested serving size for the rating system.  For those food products that had no food guide serving size listed, the suggested serving size was taken from the 2007 version of the online Canadian Nutrient File (CNF) posted on the Health Canada website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/.  For assistance, please email Food.Awards@gov.ab.ca.

Only one submission by each company will be accepted. There will be one winner per category.

Researcher award category

The researcher award is open to all Alberta-based research projects that focus on increasing the understanding of the relationship between food and human health; this can include basic research, applied research, or clinical research. 

Research can also include:

• innovative studies that lead to a better understanding of consumer food and health values;
• research that support the development of programs that promote and encourage consumers to make healthier food choices; or
• improvement to food processing/manufacturing techniques that improve the nutritional quality of food.

A completed application form, current resume and a written submission addressing the detailed questions on the application are required.  Scoring of each submission by the selection committee will be based on the following:

• overall impact of your/your team’s contribution to science;
• solution of novel or practical problems; and
• demonstration of societal and economic impact.

Only one application per research lead will be accepted.

Selection Process

The selection committee will review all submission packages and food products (if applicable) in February 2011.