Sustainable Food Research and Technologies program

In support of Canada's agri-food sector and the Protein Industries Supercluster, the NRC partners with key stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector to advance scientific knowledge and create technologies that promote the development of sustainable food systems in Canada, with a focus on alternative proteins.

Our technical and research staff have expertise in oilseeds, cereals, fruit, pulses and algae. We have a long history in agri-food-related innovation with capabilities that can help transform these resources into value-added and sustainable products that will lead to the export of new products to global markets.

Collaborate with us

Through collaborations with industry and academic partners, we bring to market scientific and technological innovation across the agri-food value chain in areas such as agricultural inputs, soil microbiome, nutrient diversification and enrichments, marine sources, novel proteins, feed applications, biomass utilization, microbial production, enzyme technologies, smart packaging, and food traceability.

Our agri-food capabilities include:

• Sustainable agriculture and aquaculture
  • Aquaculture nutrition
  • Crop productivity and quality trait development
  • Genetics and genomics
  • Water, land and agricultural inputs
• High-value food products and processing
  • Process development and optimization
  • Specialty and functional ingredients
  • Value-added products from waste
• Smart solutions for food quality and safety
  • Devices for food inspection
  • Green, compostable and bio-based packaging materials
  • IT and big data analytics
  • Remote sensing
  • Smart packaging for traceability and food spoilage prevention

As part of NRC's support to Protein Industries Canada and the agri-food industry, we are pleased to offer the following resources:

• Plant-based protein market assessment: an overview of the plant-based protein sector, including production, trends, challenges and opportunities conducted by the Agri-food Innovation Council
• Plant-based protein asset map: a bilingual, interactive mapping tool to search protein-related organizations in Canada, in collaboration with Agri-food Innovation Council, Bivizio, McGill University and Western Economic Diversification Canada

Research facilities

The NRC's capabilities span the country with complementary facilities and capabilities, including:

• algal technologies and photobioreactors
• analysis and characterization
• controlled environment plant-growth facilities
• packaging formulation and fabrication
• photonic sensors and printable electronics
• small scale fermentation and bioprocessing
• small to pilot scale fermentation and bioprocessing
• soil analysis and bioremediation
• zebrafish facilities