New Agri-Food Innovation Centre Officially Opens in Saskatoon
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A 43,000-square foot facility that will diversify the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre’s capacity has opened in Saskatoon.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains, and Premier Brad Wall joined representatives of the Agri- Food Innovation Centre (AFIC) for the officially grand opening on Thursday.
The Food Centre will be the primary source of food product development and commercialization for the Saskatchewan food industry. The creation of the AFIC supports the expansion of Saskatchewan’s agri-food processing sector and introduces a dedicated multi-tenant food processing incubator, extrusion line, expanded drying capabilities and fermentation technologies. It will also house new labs, a pilot plant for product and process development, and expanded capacity for pulse and cereal processing. The Food Centre will continue to operate the federally inspected pilot plant housed on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
“Over the last decade, Saskatchewan has been either the number one or number two Agri-food exporter among the provinces, and the Food Centre helps us diversify what we export,” Wall said. “The Centre already produces “meat” products made from plants, like ginger beef and chicken fingers, and through the years has helped Saskatchewan companies like Three Farmers and Zak Organics commercialize their products. This expansion will mean the development of even more products, the creation of more jobs and the further diversification of our economy.”
Construction of the AFIC was made possible with $9 million through Growing Forward 2, the federal-provincial agricultural policy framework, and $4.35 million from Western Economic Diversification Canada. Additional support came from SaskPulse, SaskCanola and other industry organizations and the Food Centre’s capital reserve. Since its inception in 1997 as a not-for-profit organization, the Food Centre has worked with clients representing various sectors of the food industry and developed more than 800 products.
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