The Government of Canada has announced an investment of approximately $285 billion (CAD $ 300 billion) to study the economic feasibility of using phytochemicals, such as antioxidants, to create naturally-sourced nutraceuticals in functional foods and beverages on a commercial scale.
The investment will help Mazza Innovation Ltd. who will conduct this study. It will help farmers turn traditional crops into new revenue streams by extracting natural chemicals from plant materials for use in foods and cosmetics.
Canada’s Member of Parliament Dan Albas, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, made the announcement under government’s AgriInnovation program.
“The Canadian-made pioneering technology will increase the demand for a wide variety of Canadian agricultural crops and help processors boost their profits while fulfilling the growing demand for health enhancing foods,” said Mr Albas.
Founded in 2011 by Dr Giuseppe Mazza, Mazza Innovation develops and markets innovative extraction technologies that recover high value molecular components from plants. The company’s technology is being applied to deliver high-value extracts for ingredient manufacturers for the food and nutraceutical industries.
“The funding will help finance the optimization of our patented extraction process which will not only help Canadian agriculture producers enhance the value of their crops, but will provide a green, sustainable and more cost-effective system to extract phytochemicals from plants. Our aim is to be the technology of choice for the production of high value ingredients used in nutraceuticals, essentially functional foods and beverages and dietary supplements,” said Dr Joe Mazza, who invented the plant extraction technology, and is a renowned global authority on phytochemical extraction and functional foods.
Canada invests $285 bn in development of naturally sourced nutraceuticals
