Ottawa to invest $30-M towards food processing innovation

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This article was published 18/07/2019 (1742 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The federal government is planning to announce a $30-million investment today that will be administered out of Winnipeg to spur on more private sector investment in innovative technologies linked to the Canadian food processing sector.

Funded through the federal government’s Strategic Innovation Fund, the Canadian Food Innovators Network will link food processors with academia and technology development organizations to encourage the value-added food processing sector to invest in cutting-edge technology.

Details have not yet been disclosed, but the federal funding will likely be accessed through calls for proposals from the Canadian Food Innovators Network and will require a certain amount of matching funds from the private sector entities that are looking to deploy the new technologies.

Canadian Food Innovators is a virtual organization of provincial associations and industry players. Its executive director is Winnipeg-based Dave Shambrock, who is also executive director of Food and Beverage Manitoba, the province’s food processing industry association.  

The focus will be to fund projects in three streams: innovative solutions to food processing challenges; collaborative projects in automation, packaging, artificial intelligence, blockchain development and commercialization, and new innovation centres that will enable automation and piloting of digital technologies.

According to sources, the idea is not just to help companies replace old equipment, but to invest in 21st century technology that will provide much more of a competitive edge.

For instance, it could help fund the adoption of something like new smart food-packaging materials with embedded sensor technology that can be used to improve food safety, monitor freshness and extend shelf life.

The thinking is that the funding will help food processors access and integrate technology that might already exist and be in use by other industries.

The food processing industry is one of the largest sectors in Manitoba, intersecting both the agri-food and manufacturing sectors. It is also the largest source of manufacturing jobs in Canada, directly employing more than a quarter million Canadians in 2018.

Winnipeg MP and Minister of International Trade Diversification, Jim Carr, is scheduled to announce the initiative today in Winnipeg.

“By fostering technology adoption and innovation in our food and beverage processing sector our government is helping to ensure the industry continues to punch above its weight and be a source of well paying jobs across Canada. The Canadian Food Innovators Network will bring exciting changes to a dynamic industry and mean more innovative, healthy, and sustainable food and beverage products for Canadians,” he said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca