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Fermentation and Bioengineering

The Food Centre’s new Advanced Food Ingredients Centre will house our “Fermentation and Bioengineering Centre of Excellence” to support developing and commercializing novel functional ingredients for clients from all parts of the world. As one of the pivotal technologies, precision fermentation enables the development of innovative ingredients with improved functionality and additional health benefits for consumers. The Centre focuses on submerged and solid-state fermentation systems with downstream processing equipment capabilities. The ingredients and co-products derived from fermentation can be used for food and pet-food applications.

The Fermentation and Bioengineering Centre of Excellence will offer the following expertise and technologies:

ORGANISMS
Bacteria – Fungi – Yeast – Algae – Higher Plant Cell Cultures

PRODUCTS
Fermented Food Ingredients – Enzymes – Crop Inoculants
Probiotics – Biocontrol Agents – Bioproducts – Bioactive Compounds

EXPERT FIELDS

  • Biotechnology
  • Microbiology
  • Bioprocess Engineering
  • Molecular Biology
  • Quality Analysis / Control

ENGINEERING

  • Techno-Economic Analysis
  • Process Simulation Modelling for Scale Ups / Downs
  • Data-Driven Process Optimization and Controls

STRENGTHS

  • Small-Scale Fermentation Suite
  • Microbiology Suite
  • Fermentation Scale-Up Suite
  • Advanced Ingredient Suite
  • Access to Pilot Plant and Processing Suites
  • CFIA / FDA Regulated Facility
  • Access to Labs (U of Sask and GAAP labs)
  • Fast-Track Commercialization of Ingredients and End Products

FERMENTERS

  • Submerged Fermenters (1.5 / 10 / 15 / 30 / 75 / 150 / 750 / 15,000 L)
    • pH, temperature, agitation, dissolved oxygen monitoring and control
      Solid-State Fermenters (300 L)

DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING

  • Continuous Centrifugation
    • Decanter/Tricanter
    • Disk-stack Centrifuge (Clarifier/Separator/Concentrator)
  • Cell Lysing
    • High shear cell lysing
  • Membrane Filtration
    • MF/UF/NF
  • Pasteurization
      • HTST and Jet cooking
  • Drying
    • Batch (Convective Air Dryer, Vacuum Dryer, Freeze Dryer, Fluid Bed Dryer)
    • Continuous (Spray Dryer)
  • Accessories
    • Pumps, Shear Mixers, Process Tanks

KEY CONTACTS:

Mahesh Sivakumar, Senior Food Process Engineer – email Mahesh
Pooba Ganeshan, Principal Scientist – email Pooba

Our Fermentation and Bioengineering Centre of Excellence facility is slated to be completed in year 2023.  

Check out the video and story CBC News did on January 26, 2023 about how fermentation technology can be used to make everyday food products more nutrient rich.

The Food Centre held numerous webinars on fermentation.  Topics include:

  • Industry Outlook on Trends & Opportunities
  • Canada’s Fermentation Ecosystem*
  • Industry and Supplier Connection

Click HERE to access the webinar recordings.

A copy of the Canada’s Fermentation Ecosystem Report is available upon request.  This report was prepared by Garven & Associates in 2022.

Ecosystem Report Request