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Canada has an extensive range of research centres, food incubators, accelerators and labs supporting food and beverage innovation through the research they do and/or the services they offer. Each week throughout 2023, we’ll be highlighting an organization that’s supporting food innovation in Canada. 

Name: The BC Beverage Technology Access Centre (BC BTAC) at Okanagan College. 

Location: Penticton, BC 

Mission: To work with the food and beverage industry toward sustained economic and intellectual growth. 

Focus: BC BTAC works with companies and organizations to exchange ideas and resources to create real-world solutions for the development of beverages, including fermented, brewed, distilled and non-alcoholic products. 

Services: The organization supports beverage innovation in Canada by offering a range of expert services and resources. Services include laboratory analysis such as testing for smoke taint, TCA, pesticides and herbicides; sensory services from descriptive tasting notes to fault identification and shelf-life testing analysis; commercial and business services such as market research and grant accessibility; research and development; analytical testing; education; and networking. 

What you need to know: BC BTAC offers workshops on a wide variety of topics such as customer experience, sensory tastings and social media. The organization has partnered with Statera Academy to offer Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses and qualifications, and offers courses in cider production and qualifications through the Cider Institute of North America (CINA). 

Notable news: As of 2023, the BC BTAC team has almost 60 years of experience in laboratory work, and 40 years of beverage production experience. 

Get involved: Contact BC BTAC at 1-250-490-3952 ext 3360, or bcbtac@okanagan.bc.ca, or reach out to our Regional Innovation Director for BC and the Yukon Lavina Gully.