The province of Saskatchewan’s agri-food industry celebrated the grand opening of the new Agri-Food Innovation Centre (AFIC), a 43,000-square foot facility that will diversify the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre’s (Food Centre) capacity to develop and process products from concept to commercialization.
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 Food Centre in officially opening the $17.5-million facility in Saskatoon.
The Food Centre is the primary source of food product development and commercialization for the Saskatchewan food industry. The creation of the Agri-Food Innovation Centre 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.
Dan Prefontaine, Food Centre President said,“The new Agri-Food Innovation Centre will broaden the capabilities of the current Food Centre and open new opportunities for Saskatchewan’s agri-food sector. It will assist Saskatchewan producers and processors to bridge the gap from development to commercialization and introduce higher value-added agricultural products into the global marketplace. With support from our industry and these enhanced services, the Agri-Food Innovation Centre will position our industry to be strong leaders in innovation and technology for the food processing sector.
Source: https://www.canada.ca/
