The Turkey Farmers of Ontario is involved in a new project: Building a Value Chain Partnership for the Development of New, Healthy, Turkey Sausage for Foodservice. The main objectives of this project are to create a new, healthy Ontario turkey sausage for the foodservice industry, conduct taste panels to evaluate the product, and pilot the product in a foodservice environment. Sustainable packaging will also be explored.

The project is divided into six activities which started in late May 2012 with a targeted completion date of June 2013.

Activity One: a market study to identify the current healthy protein options available and suitable for the Ontario foodservice market, including schools, and to identify the novel elements of this product to meet the market demand.

Activity Two: a trends analysis to understand the best format in the market, including size, flavour, and sustainable packaging (materials and size), specifically considering the foodservice sector (i.e. schools), and to identify the "top three" formats.

Activity Three: details of the process of creating three healthy sausage prototypes to be tested in Activity Four and piloted in Activity Six.

Activity Four: an overview of the results of the taste panels conducted to collect feedback and determine preferences amongst the sausage prototypes developed in Activity Three.

Activity Five: a literature review and recommendations for sustainable packaging options to offer the best quality product to the foodservice sector.

Investment in this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). In Ontario, this program is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council.