The Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission (SaskCanola) has committed $550,000 towards the expansion of the Food Centre through the construction of the new Agri-Food Innovation Centre.
The centre, to be built in Saskatoon, will play an essential role in the growth of Saskatchewan鈥檚 agri-food industry with direct impact to Saskatchewan鈥檚 agriculture, economy, and labour force.
鈥淐anola oil has a unique blend of fats that offers nutritional benefits for everyday consumers, as well as people at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases,鈥� says Janice Tranberg, Executive Director with SaskCanola. 鈥淲e are confident that our investment in the Food Centre will continue to support and elevate canola oil utilization in food product development.鈥�
The new 35,000 square foot facility will advance Saskatchewan鈥檚 food ingredient processing sector through new food development and analytical laboratories, innovation suite for piloting and prototyping new technologies, increased interim processing capacity for pulse and cereals and more.
SaskCanola鈥檚 contribution will expand the Food Centre鈥檚 capabilities to utilize canola in a variety of innovative food products and ingredient applications for local and export markets,鈥� explains Dan Prefontaine, President of the Food Centre.
鈥淭heir support will strengthen our resources and support commercialization of new agricultural products for both food and non-food usage.鈥�
SaskCanola鈥檚 generous contribution will support the new centre in its efforts to expand and drive innovation in the agri-food industry; support entrepreneurship; commercialization of new technology, research and development; and provide market access and proof of concept through incubation and pilot processing.
SaskCanola is a producer led organization, established in 1991 and supported by some 26,000 levy-paying Saskatchewan canola producers.
