A lowly mushroom is taking on the long-established synthetic food preservatives industry thanks to the work of Dr. Tanzina Huq, who won the Mitacs Outstanding Entrepreneur Award this past May. The Fredericton-based startup Chinova Bioworks, which she co-founded in 2016, produces an all-natural preservative based on mushroom fibre. Chinova  Bioworks is the first to introduce natural mushroom chitosan fibre as …

By processing agricultural leftovers into high-quality, sustainable ingredients, Comet Bio is set to transform the food industry. The Ontario-based company won this year’s award for “Best Ingredient Innovation” for its Arabinoxylan prebiotic dietary fibre extract and Sweeterra syrup, which is a healthier alternative to corn syrup. According to an independent Lifecycle Carbon Emissions Assessment (LCEA), Comet’s ingredients reduce greenhouse gases …

This spring, Toronto hosted its first Collision Conference, North America’s “fastest growing tech conference,” attracting more than 25,000 international attendees, almost half of which were women. During PITCH, an on-stage competition between 60 startups (narrowed down from hundreds of applicants), a cleantech product of special interest to the food industry was selected as the winner: Loliware – a company formed …

By Ethan Kwan “The portal is simple to use and it leverages the power of group purchasing from a network of suppliers,” said Alvin Rebick, FoodReach spokesperson. “With a great partner in North York Harvest that manages the logistics, community agencies can get timely delivery of quality and affordable food.” FoodReach was founded by Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (PARC), Toronto …

By Hermione Wilson   “Food really is a common language that goes beyond borders,” says James Huang, chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), during his speech at the opening ceremonies for the 2018 Food Taipei expo. The audience is a diverse group gathered from all over the world to learn more about the Taiwanese market and to …

  Maple Leaf Foods Inc. and Schneiders have rebranded their products in answer to what consumers want and when they want it. “We’ve got a unique opportunity to drive category growth across our entire prepared meats portfolio,” says Adam Grogan, Senior Vice-president, Marketing and Innovation for both companies. The change follows extensive research on consumer behaviour and demand. It is …

Jumping on board the organics train, Red Bull Canada just added a new line of carbonated drinks to complement its well-known caffeine-infused brand. This April, the energy drink giant introduced its new Organics by Red Bull, a product line that includes Simply Cola, Bitter Lemon, Ginger Ale and Tonic water, to the Canadian market. Using natural flavours from plant extracts, …

Bread has been a staple in Canadian homes for generations. It’s a food that many Canadians have been raised on and in many homes, represents a significant part of a family’s diet. Recently, however, questions have emerged about the health of bread and the ever-trending gluten-free movement has cast the once popular staple as a fattening, nutritionally bankrupt holdover. The …

Richardson to Build World-Class Innovation Centre in Downtown Winnipeg Richardson International is investing more than $30 million to develop an innovation centre in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, featuring state-of-the-art technology and equipment for research and product development. “Our goal is that the Richardson Innovation Centre will become a centre for collaboration,” says Chuck Cohen, Richardson’s Senior Vice-President, Technology. “As …