The production of maple products, including maple syrup, sugar and
butter in Canada represents approximately $360 million to the Canadian
economy . Of this total, approximately 10% is from rural
Ontario. Almost all of the production can be described as artisanal, i.e.,
small producers on their sugar maple woodlots. It has long been
known that some fungi can grow on packaged maple syrup that has
not been sufficiently heated before sealing or stored for a long time after opening.
The common wisdom has been that moldy maple syrup “unless severely
damaged” can be filtered, re-heated and blended and packaged. While this advice reflects common sense, there
is little information on the consequences of the mold growth. Whalen
and Morselli recommended that further studies be conducted
on “the possible damage to pure maple syrup by fungi”. Consumer complaints
of mold growth in maple syrup are quite common throughout
the maple production areas in the US and Canada (Drake and James,
1992), particularly in product purchased from roadside stands