From April 1 to 3, professionals from the agri-food sector will gather for the sixth SIAL Montréal, the North American Food Tradeshow, at Montreal’s Palais des Congrès. With more than 550 exhibitors from 40 countries, and more than 13,000 agri-food industry professionals from 60 countries, SIAL Montréal will showcase innovations developed at international and national levels, as well as at the provincial level in its "Aliments du Québec" pavilion. During the three-day exhibition, professionals from the agri-food sector, nutrition experts as well as restaurant owners will collect tangible information on nutrition, health, new food trends and innovations. They will thus be better informed to guide consumers in their quests for both a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits.

Every year, SIAL Montréal organizes many contests during which agri-food industry professionals bring their best products to the table--before they are found on the shelves and in our plates. An expert jury will rank many extra virgin olive oils in the Olive d'Or 2009 contest. The experts will render their decision and award prizes on during the Canadian Agri-food Export Gala, presided upon by Christine Cheylan, renowned olive expert.

The Trends & Innovations section will propose a selection of new food products that have been on the shelves only since April 2008, as well as prototypes showcased by exhibitors during the SIAL Montréal 2009 Exhibition. A contest will also be held in this section of the event for the "Trends & Innovations 2009 Grand Award." The most outstanding innovations will be showcased in the Trends & Innovations section of both SIAL China 2009, in Shanghai, and SIAL 2010, in Paris.

Other highlights include a roundtable on nutrition, a pavilion dedicated to organics and an area for bakery products, supplies and equipment.

For more information, visit www.sialmontreal.com/usa.