MISSISSAUGA, ON – Maple Leaf Foods has introduced Natural Selections deli meats, which include oven-roasted turkey, oven-roasted chicken, baked deli ham and Black Forest ham. According to the company, using basic ingredients to make the products results in ingredient labels that more consumers understand.

“We want to provide our customers with foods free of added preservatives and artificial ingredients they can feel good about feeding their families," said David Grachnik, marketing manager for Natural Selections. "So we launched Natural Selections by Maple Leaf, made with our finest cuts of meat plus simple, pronounceable ingredients like vinegar, lemon and sea salt."


According to a recent national survey, 65% of Canadians always read food labels but only 38% recognize all the ingredients in the food they buy. Maple Leaf commissioned this Leger Marketing survey to highlight the growing trend toward simple, preservative-free foods and introduce their newest product innovation — Natural Selections.

Fifty-eight percent of the survey respondents said they cannot pronounce the ingredients in the foods they buy regularly. To help consumers make healthy choices Maple Leaf ensured that each variety of Natural Selections deli meat has no more than nine easy-to-recognize ingredients, according to the company.

Approximately one in four Canadians (27%) only buy products made with natural ingredients. Food labels on everyday products are becoming easier to read and the ingredients are even easier to pronounce.

All four varieties — oven-roasted turkey, oven-roasted chicken, baked deli ham and black forest ham — are available pre-sliced in resealable 175 gram packages. The Black Forest ham and oven-roasted turkey are also available for slicing at the deli counter. Natural Selections deli meats are available in grocery stores across Canada. The suggested retail price of Natural Selections is C$4.99 in the East and C$5.99 in the West.