CANADA – Protein Industries Canada has partnered with Lovingly Made Flour Mills, TMRW Foods, and Dutton Farms to bolster the development of pea and fava protein ingredients.
This initiative aims to advance the use of these proteins in alternative food products, particularly plant-based meat.
The nonprofit trade organization Protein Industries Canada is dedicated to positioning Canada as a global leader in plant protein and plant-based co-products.
This project will focus on cultivating optimal varieties of pea and fava crops, transforming them into protein ingredients, and establishing a comprehensive value-chain feedback loop that will cater to food processors’, manufacturers’, and consumers’ requirements.
Protein Industries Canada has invested CAD 3.3 (approximately US$2.41) million out of the total CAD 7.7 (approximately US$5.63) million budgeted for this project, with the partnering organizations contributing the remaining funds.
Saskatoon-based Lovingly Made Flour Mills, known for converting pulse crops into food ingredients, is Canada’s leading dry fractionation plant.
Vancouver-based TMRW Foods specializes in creating sustainable food products using plant-based proteins, while Dutton Farms in Paynton focuses on producing pulse crops, oilseeds, and cereal grains.
Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, emphasized the potential impact of this investment on Canada’s ingredient manufacturing sector, enhancing both productivity and prosperity.
“By focusing on developing and better-utilizing pea and fava ingredients, partners Lovingly Made Flour Mills, TMRW Foods, and Dutton Farms are bringing increased value to two key Canadian protein crops,” Greuel noted. “This value will build as the ingredients reach finished food products and international markets, helping Canada achieve its CAD 25 (approximately US$18.28) billion opportunities in plant-based food, ingredients, and bioproducts.”
In this project, Dutton Farms and Lovingly Made Flour Mills will identify the best pea and fava varieties for processing and extrusion to create new texturized vegetable protein ingredients.
TMRW Foods will then test these ingredients and use Dutton Farms’ varieties to develop its own protein ingredients for alternative meat products, targeting both grocery and foodservice channels in Canada and international markets.
Vicki Dutton, owner of Dutton Farms, highlighted the project’s importance for enhancing yield, protein, and seed quality of fava beans. These improvements are crucial for farmers’ profitability and hold significant potential for the plant food industry, promising more nutritious and sustainable food options.
Heidi Dutton, CEO of Lovingly Made Flour Mills, echoed this sentiment, stating that the investment supports innovation and brings groundbreaking solutions in plant-based proteins to the forefront.
Dean Blignaut, co-founder and CEO of TMRW Foods, emphasized the project’s potential to add significant value to the Canadian agricultural supply chain. He noted that plant proteins are the most efficient way to feed the planet, and this project will help make high-quality alternative proteins accessible and affordable to the masses.
In related news, Protein Industries Canada announced that its inaugural CEO, Bill Greuel, will leave his position on July 31 to become Saskatchewan’s deputy minister of agriculture. The organization is currently searching for a new permanent CEO and plans to appoint an interim CEO in the coming weeks.
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