Sometimes, all it takes is 30 minutes to learn the ins and outs of new food technologies and trends that are transforming the food and beverage industry. In this series, we’ll dig into a food innovation topic and link you to the best content and resources so you can become a master on the topic in 30 minutes (or less!).
This week, we’re looking at food and beverage innovation and resources in Atlantic Canada.
The Overview
CFIN - Seven Atlantic Food Businesses Receive Funding to Green their Operations
In 2024, CFIN and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.(ACOA) provided $130k in funding to seven companies to help Atlantic Canada’s food business ecosystem create new regional economic opportunities while simultaneously working to advance Canada’s broader sustainability goals.
Government of Canada - Establishing Canada’s first large-scale bioinnovation centre
A one-of-a-kind facility in Canada, Dartmouth’s Neptune BioInnovation Centre (NBC) will provide shared industrial space, contract manufacturing, spray drying, and precision fermentation up to 100,000L, enabling companies to scale locally instead of leaving Canada.
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador – Our Food. Our Future
The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources, Agriculture Production and Research Division, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Memorial University – Grenfell Campus are conducting agriculture and food related research in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Government of Nova Scotia - Food and beverage strategy: engagement
The Government of Nova Scotia is developing a food and beverage strategy that will help improve access to and increase the production of healthy, local food.
YODL - From biowaste to sustainable packaging
Atlantic Canada’s seafood industry is challenged with how to deal with processing by-products and waste more sustainably.
YODL - Maritimes brewers, this one is for you!
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has announced a project led by Dr. Aaron Mills, research scientist at AAFC, that aims to grow malt barley varieties suitable for the Maritimes.
YODL - Creating a Greener Future for Atlantic Canada’s Food Sector
Drawing on his decades of experience as both a food entrepreneur and advisor, Tyson MacInnis, Regional Innovation Director for Atlantic Canada is helping local food businesses convert their environmental aspirations into actionable—and profitable— change.
Resources
NRC Marine Research Station
The Marine Research Station in Ketch Harbour, NS has experts in algal biology, marine biology, aquaculture, analytical chemistry, and applied nutrition. The algal research facility provides resources and expertise for the cultivation of seaweeds and microalgae to produce bioactives and other compounds.
RPC Science & Engineering
With locations in Fredericton and Moncton, NB, RPC offers research and development and technical services to clients in New Brunswick and in 30 countries around the world.
Canada's Smartest Kitchen
Canada’s Smartest Kitchen at Holland College in Charlottetown, PE is a food product development centre specializing in moving projects from concept to commercialization. It is also the research division of the Culinary Institute of Canada and an NSERC Technology Access Centre.
Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development
The Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development in St. John’s, NL offers technical services in seafood processing, aquaculture, and marine bioprocessing, in the areas of applied research, product and process development, advisory services, and training.
BioFoodTech
Charlottetown, PE’s BioFoodTech provides professional technical services to food and bioprocessing companies.
Emergence
Emergence is a bioscience incubator that accelerates the growth of Atlantic Canadian startups and early-stage companies moving from ideation to commercialization.
The Verschuren Centre
The Verschuren Centre in Sydney, NS is an independent, not-for-profit clean technology development and deployment facility offering a collaborative space that allows clients to advance technology cost-effectively, while having the support required on the path to commercialization.
Companies you Should Know
Chinova Bioworks
The Fredericton, NB-based foodtech company uses upcycled white button mushroom stems to create a natural clean label preservative that is vegan, kosher, halal, and allergen-free.
CleanBands
Charlottetown, PE-based CleanBands is building handwashing compliance systems that help food workers ensure they are following handwashing policies.
Copol International
North Sydney, NS-based Copol International Ltd. manufactures cast polypropylene film for the flexible packaging industry, mostly for food packaging and often for high heat applications such as sterilizing.
Milk Moovement
Halifax, NS-based Milk Moovement creates supply chain management software for the dairy industry.
Saltwinds Coffee Company Ltd.
Douglas, NB-based Saltwinds Coffee Company’s aim is to offer a carbon neutral cup of coffee, something the company began by re-inventing coffee roasting itself to turn it into a zero-emission process.
Overtime
If you’ve got more than 30 minutes, these are for you:
YODL - Blockchain and the Food Industry
Nestor Gomez, Chief Technology Officer for CFIN, sat down with Dr. Dhirendra Shukla, professor and chair, Dr. J. Herbert Smith/ACOA Technology Management & Entrepreneurship Program at the University of New Brunswick, to discuss blockchain and the food industry.
YouTube - International students get a "taste" of Atlantic Canada
Students at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, NB try food and beverage made in Atlantic Canada.
