The Rural Voice, 2006-03, Page 35The biggest headache with the
labeling regulations is a complicated
formula that requires a label to be a
certain percentage of the overall
surface of the container. Since there
are so many different maple syrup
containers getting standard labels is a
problem.
Despite these headaches O'Brien
isn't totally unhappy with nutritional
labeling because maple is such a
healthy product. His products used to
have their own nutritional label that
listed all the healthy properties of
maple syrup such as being a good
source of iron, potassium,
magnesium, phosphorous and
vitamins B2, B5, B6 and niacin plus
having as much calcium as the
equivalent amount of milk. (New
labeling regulations meant that these
ingredients must be listed in order of
their percentage of the make-up of
the syrup so they had to stop using
their old labels.)
"Most peoplehave no idea all
those things are in maple syrup."
Naturopaths who put patients
on a fast allow them to add
maple syrup to their water
because it gives them the elements to
sustain themselves through the fast,
O'Brien says.
O'Brien has also taken a lot of
pleasure in innovation over the years.
He does a lot of research into what
others are doing. Through that he
discovered the use of "sap ladders"
which can lift sap eight to 10 feet
uphill in vacuum systems.
Unhappy with the use of chlorine
to clean sap lines (both for health
concerns and also because squirrels
bite into the lines to get at the salt of
the chlorine solution) he discovered a
system that uses a pump and an air
compressor to create a surge cleaning
system that uses only water.
"I've done a lot of
experimenting," he says. Frustrated
by the complicated filter -press
systems used in the industry with
multiple paper filters that must be
inserted between plates of the filter,
he worked to develop a stainless steel
circular filter system with one simple
filter that can be reused or easily
replaced. He now offers these for
sale.
It's all a lot different from those
early days under a tarp in the bush,
boiling sap over a boiler made from a
45 -gallon drum.0
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MARCH 2006 31