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Sometimes, all it takes is 30 minutes to learn the ins and outs of new food technologies and trends that are transforming the food and beverage industry. In this series, we’ll dig into a food innovation topic and link you to the best content and resources so you can become a master on the topic in 30 minutes (or less!).
This week, we’re looking at food and beverage innovation and resources in Ontario.
The Overview
City of Toronto – Food & Beverage
The Toronto region’s food and beverage sector employs more than 64,000 workers with annual wages totalling $3.2 billion.
Government of Ontario – Ontario’s Local Food Report
The report is a comprehensive snapshot of the province’s food producers and processors, as well as a look at food access and literacy in Ontario.
Invest Ontario – Food and Beverage Manufacturing
Ontario's food and beverage manufacturing sector is the third largest in North America with more than $48 billion in manufacturing revenues.
OMAFRA – Learn About Ontario’s Food and Beverage Industry
Statistics and facts about the province’s food system.
Resources
Caddle
St. Catharines, ON-based Caddle collects consumer data and insights through its app for consumer packaged goods companies to use during decision making.
Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster
The research centre, based in Hamilton, ON, is positioning Canadian companies to lead industrial digitalization, maximizing competitiveness and participation in global markets.
Fanshawe College’s Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI)
London, ON-based CRI is the only research facility amongst Ontario’s colleges specializing in nutritional and shelf-life testing for product development and validation.
Food & Beverage Innovation Centre at Niagara College
The centre offers services to support industry innovation and commercialization of new products and processes for food, beverages and cannabis edibles.
Technology Access Centre in Bio-Innovation (TAC-B)
Ottawa’s TAC-B develops or improves products or processes in biotechnology for the food industry, agriculture, agri-food and bio-pharmaceutical industries.
The University of Guelph Meat Science Laboratory
The Meat Science Lab is a small-scale meat packing plant operating under federal meat inspection regulations with the capability to slaughter, cut, and process red meat species.
Companies you Should Know
App8 Inc.
Ottawa’s App8’s offers innovative technology that allows foodservice brands to offer customers digital ordering experiences, while reducing operational bottlenecks and improving the bottom line.
CarbonGraph
Toronto, ON’s CarbonGraph is a digital platform for tracing the carbon footprint and sustainability of food products from farm to table.
Cyberworks Robotics
Markham, ON’s Cyberworks Robotics provides autonomous self-driving technology for material handling forklifts, tow-tuggers and industrial floor scrubbers.
Escarpment Laboratories
Escarpment Laboratories, based in Guelph, ON, supports the beer and fermentation industry through yeast cultures, knowledge and education resources.
Evolved Meats
Kitchener, ON-based Evolved Meats is a cultivated meat company that creates whole cuts of meat that are both structurally and biochemically identical to conventional meat.
Food Cycle Science Corporation
Ottawa’s Food Cycle Science Corporation is a Canadian cleantech company dedicated to revolutionizing food waste management, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting soil health and a circular economy.
Forward Water Technologies Corporation
This Toronto company can extract pure water from liquid streams with no energy input and without consuming any chemicals.
Gastronomous Technologies
Oakville, ON-based Gastronomous creates smart commercial kitchens using automation, interconnected robotics and software to solve foodservice challenges.
Henry’s Tempeh
This Kitchener, ON-based company produces organic and sustainable tempeh, a fermented plant protein with Indonesian roots.
Liven Proteins
Toronto’s Liven Proteins makes animal-free, functional and sustainable protein ingredients.
Mycionics
This Putnam, ON-based company has developed a fully automated mushroom harvesting system using novel advanced robotics and automation.
New School Foods
Toronto, ON-based New School Foods Inc. uses new production technologies to create authentic whole-cut meat and seafood alternatives for the mass market that deliver on texture, cooking, appearance, price and taste.
Nutrigenomix
This Toronto company offers DNA tests consisting of 70 genetic markers for health and wellness, athletic performance and fertility.
PLAN Automation
Bolton, ON-based PLAN Automation Inc. uses state-of-the-art X-ray technology to inspect clients’ products, including a variety of food and beverage and consumer goods.
Rapid Aid Corp.
Based in Mississauga, ON, Rapid Aid’s TempAid division specializes in design and manufacturing of highly engineered packaging solutions for shipping temperature-sensitive goods.
Savormetrics
Mississauga’s Savormetrics offers real-time biophysical and biochemical quality analysis through FoodSafe Analyzers, a fully integrated food quality analysis tool.
Suppli
The Toronto company leverages technology to offer its reusable takeout container service across online food channels, currently in takeout and corporate catering, but with applicability across groceries, meal kits, and beyond.
Vivid Machines
Toronto’s Vivid Machines has developed a multispectral computer vision platform to digitize fruit production.
YEX Serums
Toronto’s YEX Serums is manufacturing a product that will enable companies to make their lab-grown meat products profitably and in an environmentally friendly way.
Overtime
If you’ve got more than 30 minutes, these are for you:
CFIN Funded Projects: One Year Updates - Index Biosystems
Linda Fox, Regional Innovation Director for Ontario, speaks with David Singer, co-founder and vice president of Business Development at Burlington, ON-based Index Biosystems. The company produces BioTags that allow food and ingredients to be tracked as they move through the supply chain.
