Fungi in Ontario maple syrup

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In Canada, the production of maple products, including maple syrup, sugar and butter, represents approximately $360 million to producers of which 10% is from rural Ontario. It has long been known that some fungi can grow on packaged maple syrup after that has not been sufficiently heated before sealing or stored for a long time after opening. Minimizing the occurrence of fungal growth in maple syrup is a problem of concern to the membership of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association which represents the interests of independent maple syrup producers in the province. This first-time collaboration between Carleton University and OMSPA will produce a sound scientific assessment of the conditions leading to fungal growth in maple syrup produced from a representative cross-section of producers in the region. The potential outcome of this study is enhanced understanding of food quality and/or food safety issues in this industry and will lay the groundwork for further investigation potentially leading to important regulatory changes.