PIC announces investment into pea, canola protein products

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Protein Industries Canada (PIC) announced a co-investment into pea, canola, and blended pea-canola protein ingredients in new plant-based products.

Merit Functional Foods, TWC Nutrition, Daiya Foods, and Grand River Foods are partnering to product the new plant-based products, which could include alternative meat products, alternative dairy products, or other beverages.

“Adding value to our crops by turning them into innovative food products is a boon for our communities and the Canadian economy as a whole. This partnership will not only benefit Canadian pea and canola farmers by expanding their domestic market, but it will also benefit consumers of plant-based foods by giving them more options for top-quality Canadian-made products,” says Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau.

PIC will provide half of the investment to the project, with the other companies providing the remaining half. The total project investment will amount to $7.9 million.

The project’s scaling up of Merit Functional Foods’ ingredient development represents a significant step forward, not only for intellectual property potential, but also the ability to utilize Canada’s diverse crop selection in new ways, that prioritize consumer health and taste.

“Canada is known for our diverse selection of high quality crops, but we have the potential to be known for what we can do with them,” says Bill Greuel, CEO of PIC. “Merit Functional Foods has proven that our peas and canola make for ideal plant protein ingredients, and now TWC Nutrition, Daiya Foods and Grand River Foods will help show consumers around the world that these ingredients can be the base for healthy, delicious plant-based foods and beverages.”

This is PIC’s twentieth project announcement and their nineteenth, specific to their technology program.

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