OTTAWA, ON - Canadians are trailblazers in agricultural innovation and environmental sustainability. Investments in research, development and innovation are crucial to helping Canada's agriculture sector preserve and protect our natural resources and environment.
Today, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced up to $1,545,000 in funding for Outcast Foods Inc. to expand their operations in food waste reduction that upcycles surplus and unsaleable fruits and vegetables from growers, processors and retailers into dried, plant-based powders and solid food ingredients.
More than half of Canada's food supply is wasted annually and nearly $50 billion of that wasted food is avoidable. By encouraging more solutions to food waste in Canadian society, we can increase food availability, save consumers and businesses money and strengthen our food systems, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The funding announced today will help support the expansion of their demonstration plant in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and commission a new full-scale facility in Burlington, Ontario. Together the two plants are projected to process up to 35,800,000 tonnes of waste fruit and vegetables by 2024 into more than 4,100,000 million pounds of plant-based, powdered ingredients annually, a conversion rate of approximately 12 percent. The plant-based ingredients created at these facilities are sold as branded health products as well as raw food and beverage ingredients that are high in nutrition, vitamins, phytochemicals and natural flavours.
This announcement is part of the federal government's efforts to strengthen Canada's food system at every step—from sustainable food production and processing, to strong local food infrastructure, to less food waste. Investments in innovation and technology are helping secure the vitality of the sector for generations to come.
Source : Cision