The $27.3 million project will result in an innovative proprietary process to produce high-quality soybean protein ingredients
Protein Industries Canada has announced a partnership that will develop and commercialise high-quality, made-in-Canada, non-GM soybean protein ingredients. Canada Protein Ingredients Ltd. – Ingrédients Protéiques du Canada Ltée (CPI-IPC), DJ Hendrick International, Agrocorp Processing, Semences Prograin and Synthesis Network have partnered to produce clean label protein ingredients from Canadian grown soybeans.
The $27.3 million project will result in an innovative proprietary process to produce high-quality and highly sought-after soybean protein ingredients and soybean oil that comply with non-GM and Organic labelling standards. Canada Protein Ingredients (CPI-IPC) will process the crops at a brand-new, first-of-its-kind facility in Canada, expected to break ground in the next 18 months.
Semences Prograin will develop and test new non-GM soybean varieties optimized for Canada’s growing conditions, while DJ Hendrick International and Agrocorp Processing will assist in developing, testing and marketing the new end products to international markets. This will add increased value across the Canadian agri-food value chain; farmers will receive premiums for growing specialty crops, and food manufacturers will benefit from a local source of plant-based protein ingredients that currently can only be imported.
Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada said, “This project is yet another step we take in that direction. Harnessing the potential of new crop varieties developed and grown in Canada generates more opportunities across our entire value chain, from farmers to food manufacturers.”
Plans for the upcoming processing facility are currently at a site selection stage. Once completed, the commercial plant will process 25,000 MT of crops per year, with the potential to increase capacity and expand to other crops, following the growing demand for clean-label plant-based protein products.
A total of $27.3 million is being invested in the project: approximately $20 million committed by CPI-IPC and the consortium members will be met by $7.3 million from Protein Industries Canada.
Jim Millington CPI CEO said, “There is currently no soybean protein isolate or concentrate manufacturing capacity in Canada, despite soybeans being a major crop for farmers. CPI is poised to commercialize Canadian science, further process Canadian soybeans, and respond to a global market hungry for plant-based protein.”
“The CPI-IPC process provides the opportunity to market the “made-in-Canada” food ingredients – not just the whole bean. We look forward to supplying Canadian farmers and CPI-IPC soybean varieties that will make this project a success”, said Alain Létourneau, Prograin’s CEO.
