Protein Industries Canada has announced a new project to strengthen the use and understanding of fermentation processing technology in ingredient and food processing.
The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre (Food Centre), the University of Saskatchewan, the Global Agri-Food Advancement Partnership (GAAP) and Ag-West Bio are combining expertise to create a new fermentation and training program at the Food Centre. The project will build capacity in Canada’s plant-based ingredient and food ecosystem by marrying the addition of new technology with a skills development and training program.
“Today’s announcement will develop and leverage emerging fermentation technology to produce novel plant-based ingredients, food, and feed products for Canadians and international markets. Building the fermentation ecosystem starts with attracting and training the right talent for Canada’s small- and medium-sized plant-based food and beverage sector. This project will increase capacity to utilize fermentation technology, commercialize opportunities, and create higher paying jobs,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The program will support collaborative innovation, expertise and skill development between small- and medium-sized enterprises and the consortium, enabling the commercialization of new technology while attracting and fostering a pipeline of future talent for Canada’s plant-based ingredient and food ecosystem.
“Increasing the availability of emerging technologies, while recruiting and training future experts, is key to driving innovation in Canada’s plant-based food and ingredient sector. In order to advance our sector and reach $25 billion in sales by 2035, we need to both invest in collaborative R&D projects and build capacity within the ecosystem,” said Protein Industries Canada CEO Bill Greuel. “This project is a great example of how working collaboratively across the ecosystem can support the growth of the sector. Increased access to fermentation processing technology guarantees our innovative companies are creating new products that meet ever-growing consumer demand, while ensuring a strong labour force is in place to support the growing ecosystem.”
A total of $1.3 million will be invested into the project. The project partners are together investing $600,000, with Protein Industries Canada investing the remaining $700,000.
This is Protein Industries Canada’s 27thproject announcement, and the fifth under its capacity building stream. Together with industry, Protein Industries Canada has invested more than $425 million to Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredients ecosystem.
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