Canasnack
| Created by | Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada commissioned by the Canadian Space Agency |
|---|---|
| Invented | 2007 |
| Main ingredients | oat flakes, rapeseed oil, lactulose |
| Ingredients generally used | honey, blueberry, maple or cranberry cream filling |
Canasnack (short for Canadian snack) is a set of oatmeal cookies made in five different flavours, created in 2007 by order of the Canadian Space Agency for consumption in space by Canadian astronauts. It is the only Canadian product developed specifically for space flights.
Description
[edit]Canasnack is a set of five small, round oatmeal cookies, each with a different flavour. The cookies, assembled from two halves, are held together by cream in several traditional Canadian flavours—maple, cranberry, blueberry, and tart blueberry.[1]
The main ingredients were oats, canola oil, maple sugar, blueberries, and cranberries. The cookies contained fibre, protein, calcium, and iron, and were trans fat-free. The energy value of the product was 152 kcal/100 g.[2]
Each individual cookie was made by hand and packaged in a flat, transparent vacuum bag in two rows, adjacent to each other in an arrangement reminiscent of the Olympic rings. The top halves were baked in a special pan, so that each cookie was topped with a raised maple leaf—the national symbol of Canada. On the centre cookie of the top row, this maple leaf was hand-coloured red by applying cream with food colouring.[2]
The packaging was labelled with the product type and brief description, the production date, an image of the Canadian flag, and a coloured, modified version of the Canadian Space Agency's circular emblem, which was given the appearance of a bite-size cookie.[3]
Types of cookies in packaging[2]
- Oatmeal cookies with maple cream.
- Oatmeal cookies with cranberry cream.
- Oatmeal cookies with tart blueberry cream.
- Honey oatmeal cookies with blueberry cream.
- Salty and sweet oatmeal cookies with blueberry cream.
History
[edit]In December 2006, the Canadian Space Agency commissioned the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food to develop a one-day food kit suitable for astronauts working aboard the International Space Station. The space agency allocated C$65,000 to the project, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food allocated nearly C$350,000.[2]
Development of the food products began in February 2007 at the Nutrition Research Centre of the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, by a team led by Ted Farnworth. The products had to meet a number of requirements: they had to be tasty, nutritious, low in calories, made in Canada, contain Canadian ingredients, and meet NASA microbiological requirements.[2] The first such product was an oatmeal cookie. It was decided to make it round, without sharp edges, and small to reduce the likelihood of crumbs forming in space.[1]
To bake the cookies, the laboratory had to purchase a special oven.[2] The laboratory staff then tested and evaluated over one hundred combinations of food ingredients from 37 Canadian suppliers. Ultimately, instead of one specific recipe, it was decided to create a combination version: with three types of dough (sweet, sweet and salty, and honey) and four filling options (maple syrup, cranberry, blueberry, and tart blueberry flavours). The product was named CANookie—short for Canadian cookie.[2]
Samples of the cookies were sent to NASA's food lab, and in April 2007, the Canadian Space Agency presented the product to NASA. It was emphasized that the cookie's "convenient" shape prevents crumbs in orbit.[1] The cookies and their packaging format were approved by NASA on June 1, 2007. The product was named Canasnack.[2] Farnworth, the developer of the product, said the Canadian Space Agency was able to demonstrate to NASA that it could not only build the Canadarm, but also make Canasnack.[3]
In August 2007, Canasnacks were unveiled at a pre-flight press conference featuring the crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS-118, which included Canadian astronaut Dafydd Williams. The STS-118 mission lasted from August 8 to 21, 2007. Seven packages of Canasnacks were made for the 12-day mission—one for each crew member. At a press conference after their return, Williams called the cookies delicious, describing them as a "little bite that was out of this world."[2]
Initially, the laboratory planned to bake no more than 50–70 cookies for astronauts alone.[3] Amid high demand from the public, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Office of the Prime Minister ordered samples for tasting. The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair immediately requested 10,000 cookies for distribution to visitors—in the end, only a few samples were sent to the fair for a presentation.[3] Farnworth explained that the laboratory were "not in the cookie business" and that they lacked the necessary facilities to produce a high volume of Canasnack, which required two employees to be diverted from other projects. He expressed hope that a private company would take up cookie production. Several manufacturers subsequently contacted the Canadian Space Agency, but a commercial release of the Canasnack did not occur.[4]
In October 2007, the agency found that the requirement to use exclusively Canadian ingredients made the cookies more expensive than they otherwise would have been. Furthermore, cookie production proved too labour-intensive—especially the hand-painted red maple leaf design. As a result, the project to develop Canadian space food did not receive further funding and was cancelled—no products other than the cookies were ever developed.[2]
Subsequently, Canasnack was delivered to the ISS twice more: in May and July 2009. First, it was taken on the STS-125 flight, with the participation of American astronauts, then on the STS-127 flight, whose crew included Canadian Julie Payette.[4]
Ready-made snacks
[edit]Subsequently, the Canadian Space Agency abandoned the development of its own products in favour of purchasing ready-made ones. In 2011, a national competition, "Canadian Snacks for Space", was held to select twelve popular Canadian-made snacks suitable for transportation, long-term storage, and use in space.[5] As a result, the Canadian "space menu" included Quebec maple syrup, maple cream cookies, green tea cookies, apple chips, smoked salmon pâté, and a number of other products typical of this country.[6][7] Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who was part of the ISS-34 and ISS-35 expeditions (December 2012 – May 2013), for whom this food was intended, stated that "sharing this food will not only lift our spirits, but it will also give me the chance to tell the crew a little bit about the diversity and richness of the natural and cultural landscapes of Canada."[5]
In 2026, for NASA's Artemis II mission, which featured Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen,[8] the Canadian Space Agency prepared a five-pack of ready-to-eat foods, including strawberry lavender breakfast cereal, smoked salmon, shrimp rice, Quebec maple syrup, and maple cream cookies.[9]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Canadian food for the International Space Station". Canadian Space Agency. Archived from the original on May 15, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rakobowchuk, Peter (July 1, 2010). "It took months to cook up space cookie for astronauts". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Barbara Turnbull. Space cookies' popularity soars". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
- 1 2 Knight, Chris (February 29, 2024). "NASA promises to serve Canadian-made food on historic moon mission". National Post. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
- 1 2 "Winning Canadian Foods to Fly in Space". Canadian Space Agency. August 28, 2012. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Chris Hadfield and some incredibly floating Canadian space food". Canadian Space Agency. March 11, 2013. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
- ↑ Eveleth, Rose (March 6, 2013). "How to Make a Sandwich in Space". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
- ↑ Connolly, Amanda. "A Canadian astronaut will be on NASA's Artemis deep space lunar orbit". Global News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
- ↑ Howell, Elizabeth (February 25, 2024). "Artemis 2 moon astronauts will enjoy maple cream cookies and smoked salmon thanks to Canada". Space.com. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Canasnacks are out of this world // Gouverment of Canada (in English)
- Les Canasnacks sont en orbite // Gouverment of Canada (in French)