Global Affairs Canada is joining forces with several organizations to bring a delegation to F&A Next to share what’s going on with the Canadian food-tech/biomanufacturing scene. Canada is a global leader in agricultural technologies, the fifth largest exporter of agricultural and agri-food products in the world and has a global reputation as a supplier of safe and high-quality products. Canada is also a leader in alternative proteins, and the Canadian delegation at F&A Next will give a rundown on some of the latest trends and opportunities and introduce stakeholders in Canada’s cellular agriculture and precision fermentation innovation ecosystem.
Ontario Genomics is one of those key players. The not-for-profit organization leads the application of genomic-based solutions in Ontario to drive economic growth, improved quality of life and global leadership. Ontario Genomics plays a vital role in Canada’s cellular agriculture community by funding startups and industry-academic partnered applied research, hosting national conferences and leading the conversation through its white papers, reports, and thought leadership.
Insight into Canada’s emerging cellular agriculture industry
Ontario Genomics’ 2021 report, CELLULAR AGRICULTURE: Canada’s $12.5 Billion Opportunity in Food Innovation, gives critical insight into Canada’s emerging cellular agriculture industry through extensive stakeholder input and economic analysis. The report identifies three inter-connected opportunities for Canada to capitalize on this rapidly expanding and high potential global market. Learn more about this during the Canadian session at F&A Next, details below.
Session: Cellular Agriculture and Precision Fermentation – Meet the Canadian Delegation
Room: Stage 3 (Momentum Room), Omnia Building 105. Hoge Steeg 2, WUR Campus
Date: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Time: 11:50 to 13.10
This moderated discussion by Ontario Genomics President & CEO Bettina Hamelin and The 51’s General Partner Alison Sunstrum will discuss the Canadian cellular agriculture and precision fermentation ecosystem, as well as showcase the phenomenal, investible opportunities and startups that currently exist in Canada, and explore synergies, collaboration, research and innovation partnership opportunities.
Canadian cellular agriculture and precision fermentation startups at F&A Next
The following seven Canadian cellular agriculture and precision fermentation startups will be in F&A Next this year:
- Ardra Inc. produces natural food ingredients for the emerging sectors in the food industry, including plant-based meat alternatives, health and nutritional ingredients, and natural preservatives. Ardra uses precision fermentation technology to make natural ingredients more sustainably at lower cost and stable supply. As a B-to-B company, Ardra’s main customers are ingredient houses and food companies seeking natural ingredients for novel formulations.
- Biofect Innovations is a biotechnology company that has developed a unique microbe-based platform for the cost-effective production of high-value ingredients. This innovative technology has the potential to revolutionize the food industry and beyond, with applications for various novel ingredients, and are currently focusing on protein-based sweeteners like brazzein.
- Ferma Farms develops sustainable ingredient solutions through the fermentation of waste streams. They provide integrated and scalable solutions to convert industrial agri-food side streams into high-quality ingredients for their customers. Through this, they optimize value chains to serve the sustainability and nutritional needs of the future.
- Genuine Taste is a B2B venture creating cultivated fat as an ingredient to improve the texture, taste, and nutrition of alternative meats. The company has a proven scaffolding technology that increases the yield of cultivated fat, making industrial-scale production of this ingredient feasible, and helps mimic the qualities that consumers love about traditional animal products – juiciness, mouthfeel, cooking functionality.
- Liven is a B2B natural ingredients company producing animal-free, functional protein ingredients, enabling production of delicious and nutritious food and beverage products without the need to rely on the animal industry. Liven currently focuses on collagen ingredients to provide animal-free, affordable, and sustainable solutions for specialty nutrition and unique texture associated with these ingredients.
- Opalia is developing a technology to make whole milk without cows for use in the $800B dairy industry and one of the few companies developing a technology to make milk using bovine mammary cells. By using mammalian cells to make milk, Opalia’s product will be able to deliver on identical taste, functionality, and nutrition to that of traditional cow milk while being a more sustainable product.
- Synergia Biotech is a CLEAN technology company that has created the world’s only ‘green’ natural blue. Their climate friendly blue pigment (phycocyanin) comes from cyanobacteria grown in Canada using their energy efficient and innovative bioprocess.
Other Canadian delegates include:
Invest Alberta: supporting companies that are interested in establishing an office in the province of Alberta, Canada.
New Harvest: is a donor-funded research institute dedicated to the field of cellular agriculture, focusing on advances in scientific research efforts surrounding cultured animal products.
