The Canadian Food Innovation Network announced this morning that is is awarding nearly $2 million to a British Columbia company that has been innovating vineyard agriculture since 2016.
Through the Food Innovation Challenge Program, CFIN is financially supporting Crush Dynamics on the BC firm’s quest develop and test a seemingly magical ingredient, created through upcycling, that will enhance food quality and reduce sugar and sodium content in food products while diverting emissions from landfills.
The project, titled “Upcycling Agricultural Side Streams into High Performance Food Solutions Through Process Optimization,” is working alongside project partners Purdys Chocolatier and Ecovatec Solutions to leverage the fermentation of upcycled wine derivatives and agricultural waste to produce a proprietary, high-performance food ingredient at scale.
Crush Dynamics promises an ingredient that sounds too good to be true: Extracted through a patented process, the polyphenol-rich ingredient claims to enhance food quality by enabling up a reduction in sugar of up to 50% and a reduction in sodium of up to 80%—all while maintaining or even improving both texture and shelf life.
This single ingredient could thus provide food and beverage manufacturers with an opportunity to reduce complexity in their supply chain, which is why Crush aims to prove its production process at scale—from pre-processing treatments to fermentation and drying—employing automation to meet the demand forecasted by partners and potential customers.
“Crush Dynamics’ new bio-fermentation process offers a concrete solution to address the food and beverage industry’s most pressing challenges,” believes François-Philippe Champagne Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “This innovative solution will help the industry improve food quality, reduce production costs, and carbon footprints.”
“Breakthrough innovation in the food and beverage industry is essential for addressing the pressing challenges faced by manufacturers,” CFIN CEO Dana McCauley added. “In the face of labour constraints, cost pressures, and sustainability imperatives, food innovation takes centre stage as the linchpin for overcoming obstacles and ensuring a resilient and forward-looking food sector.”
Since launching in 2021, CFIN has received more than 350 funding applications from innovative companies across the country and has approved $17M in funding across over 50 projects—including many based in beautiful British Columbia.
“We are incredibly honoured to receive this support from the Canadian Food Innovation Network,” stated Kirk Moir, chief executive of Crush. “Working with our partners, we look forward to advancing the state of the art in food formulation powered by polyphenols.”
The Food Innovation Challenge is a unique funding opportunity for Canadian food industry collaborators who want to spearhead transformative improvements that will propel the food sector forward and generate significant economic impact.
CFIN is supported by Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund and Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program.
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