News File – November 4, 2022

Each Friday we’ll bring you a roundup of news from CFIN, YODL and around the food world.

As seen on YODL

Check out this week’s most viewed discussions:

• Access $12K in non-equity funding for your food sustainability startup!
• Food Safety Innovation
• Une journée sur le numérique présentée par le Carrefour de l'Industrie Bioalimentaire de l'île de Montréal (CIBÎM)

Around the Food World

• CFIB’s latest Business Barometer shows that only 38% of small Canadian businesses believe they are in good financial shape.
• Bioengineering company The Cultivated B. has opened a 130,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Burlington, ON.
• Researchers in France are looking at banana DNA to help future-proof the sector.

Did you Know?

According to a recent Equifax Canada consumer survey, inflation and rising interest rates have led more Canadians to rely on credit to get by. Yet only 50% of those surveyed said they feel comfortable about their personal economic outlook.

Other findings include:

• The average credit card balance was $2,121, a record high, at the end of September 2022.
• Average non-mortgage debt per consumer was $21,188.
• 59% of Canadians surveyed said they’re looking for deals at grocery stores more than last year, and 54% said they’re cutting back on groceries altogether.
• 52% of all respondents said they are worried about paying their bills, but 73% of consumers aged 65 and older say they are worried.

• 53% of respondents said they have a lot of anxiety about their personal debt levels.
• Although average credit card debt decreased during the pandemic, credit card usage has increased for six consecutive quarters and is reaching “historic highs.”