From 24 to 28 April the International Sprout Growers Association (ISGA) will meet in Victoria, B.C., for the 27th edition of their annual convention. The association represents members from all over the world and during the convention the board members will discuss current trends, opportunities and challenges that the international sprout sector is facing. Furthermore, growers, suppliers, scientists and government regulators from a dozen countries worldwide will have the opportunity to follow an extensive offer of training courses and presentations that will provide a deeper dive into sprout growing and everything surrounding it. Rich Wolfe, Executive Director at the ISGA, highlighted that food safety will be an important topic during the presentations and short courses. "The sprout industry has had many food safety issues that they had to overcome. We have become very innovative to overcome our issues and there are interesting things happening at many levels with outcomes that could benefit other sectors as well. For this reason I would encourage other industries to look toward the sprout producers as a model for overcoming hurdles."
Furthermore, Wolfe explained that microgreens are a current trend which are much in demand at the moment. He said that sprouts are among the top 5 food trends for 2017 according to the Canadian Health Food Association, (CHFA). "As well as this, home sprouting is currently very popular as consumers really appreciate growing things and they are finding the fun in watching a garden grow during the winter right in your own kitchen. Another major trend is that we are seeing more product being ordered through the internet than in past years."
All of this provides many input for discussions at the upcoming ISGA conference. The basic conference program will offer the following presentations and speakers:
- B.C. Legislative Assembly Representative, Lana Popham
- History of Sprouts, Ari Meyerowitz and Emmaleigh Goodwin
- International Panel of Sprouters to discuss their country's concerns
- Seed Security and Sprouting, Chris Therooux
- Independent Lab testing, Claver Bundac
- Seed Sanitation, Dr. Pascal Delaquis
- Nutritional Properties of Broccoli, Dr. Juurlink
- Sprout Microbiome, Cara Haney
- Implementing Food Safety Plans, Candice Appleby
- Developing a Marketing Strategy, Greg McLaren
- Succession Planning
Organic microgreens production at the greenhouses of ISGA member Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd. in Courtenay, British Columbia.
The International Sprout Growers Association is the professional association of sprout growers and companies that supply products and services to the sprout industry. The ISGA was founded in 1989 as a nonprofit organization to promote the sprout industry and to encourage the exchange of information among sprout growers and commercial suppliers. ISGA’s mission is to promote global collaboration among professional sprout growers and suppliers, in order to promote the health benefits of sprouts, and to work with researchers and government agencies to assure the safe production of sprouted foods. The ISGA currently has members in North and South America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. All ISGA members are welcome to participate by attending ISGA Board Meetings, joining an ISGA committee or taking an available seat on the Board of Directors.
Sprout production has seen a major increase in production, sorts and varieties over the last few years. In both organic and conventional settings, growers all over the world produce typical sprout crops like alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, clover sprouts, mixed bean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, soy been sprouts, beet sprouts. Next to this growers are producing many microgreens like sunflower greens, pea shooths, radish microgreens, corn shoots, wheatgrass, buckwheat lettuce, fava greens, etecetera. Basically any vegetable seed that is used to grow open field greens can be used for sprout production.
For more information: www.isga-sprouts.org