Food Development Centre

The Food Development Centre (FDC) is a Special Operating Agency of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.  FDC conducts applied contract research and development for the agri-food industry in the area of product and process development, including development of functional foods and nutraceuticals.  FDC has a federally (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) licensed pilot plant for meat and processed production.  This allows clients to produce and market their products nationally and internationally. 

Summary

FDC's facilities and equipment provide the necessary flexibility to conduct a wide variety of development projects in grains and oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, bakery, beverages, meat etc. FDC's personnel have expertise in many processing technologies, including membrane filtration, supercritical fluid extraction, spray drying, freeze-drying, blanching, freezing, modified atmosphere packaging, and crystallization.

FDC has a strategic partnership with Great Plains Aseptic Processors (GPAP) Ltd. for liquid food processing using Tetra Pak aseptic processing and packaging technology. This creates a unique opportunity for companies to develop liquid foods, including functional beverages and soups from research through pilot scale to full commercialization within the same facility.

Service Lines

The major expertise/competencies of FDC include:

• Product Development
• Process Engineering
• Pilot Plant Production and Commercialization
• Nutritional Labelling
• Sensory and Consumer Evaluation
• Shelf-life Testing
• Technology Transfer and Information Services
• HACCP Consulting and Technical Workshops
• Business Incubation

Networking

The range of expertise available to FDC clients is further expanded through our network of business and research relationships with other organizations such as private consultants, industry trade associations, university researchers, federal and provincial government research stations, economic development agencies and international trade experts.

Target Audience

FDC's clients include small and medium sized enterprises, family businesses, entrepreneurs and large companies. For small and medium sized companies, FDC represents a cost-efficient opportunity to use conventional and sophisticated technology, equipment and information to launch a product from its conceptual stage to marketplace. By relying on the skills, training and experience of FDC staff to research and address the technical and regulatory issues of developing their product, the client obtains the freedom to focus time and attention on developing and implementing their business and marketing plan. Larger firms rely on our services to complement their own in-house capabilities. Using pilot equipment for small-scale trials is essential for reasons of cost, practicality and flexibility. The cost of using full-scale, continuous processing plant for development purposes is prohibitive because large volumes of valuable raw ingredients are wasted and normal production resources, including manpower, are tied up.

Manitoba Contact(s):
Alphonsus Utioh
Manager, Product & Process Development
Food Development Centre
Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives
Box 1240, 810 Phillips Street
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba  R1N 3J9
Telephone: 204-239-3179
Fax: 204-239-3180
Toll-free (information): 1-800-870-1044
TTY (hearing impaired): 204-945-4796
E-mail: alphonsus.utioh@gov.mb.ca  
Web site: http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/fdc/