Flin Flon-grown lingonberries are part of research into the health benefits of the fleshy fruit.
The Farm Focus of Atlantic Canada website reports that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) researchers are studying genetic improvement and commercialization of the crop.
In 2009, Winnipeg AAFC scientist Dr. Chris Siow began this work with a researcher in Newfoundland and Labrador.
As part of the project, Siow has been gathering lingonberries from the Flin Flon and Lynn Lake areas and comparing them to those grown in Newfoundland, reports Farm Focus.
Adds the website: “The demand for lingonberries currently outstrips the supply from wild harvest, so there is a market opportunity for Canadian producers.”
Northern nutrition
Churchill MP Niki Ashton and other NDP MPs are calling on the Harper government to enhance a food subsidy program for remote northern communities.
A group of six MPs was scheduled to hold a press conference yesterday to announce their party’s proposals to improve the Nutrition North program.
The MPs have also released a petition calling on Ottawa to fully include 50-plus fly-in communities in Nutrition North, designed to improve access to nutritious, perishable food.
The MPs will also table a motion as part of an upcoming Opposition Day, according to an NDP news release.
Be careful
Health officials are reminding Saskatchewan residents to take precautions against hantavirus as the weather warms up.
Hantavirus is transmitted by breathing in contaminated airborne particles from the droppings, urine and saliva of infected deer mice.
Information on preventing hantavirus is available on Saskatchewan Health’s website (Google “hantavirus” and “Saskatchewan”). Residents may also consult their physician.
