Protein Industries Canada leads $6.9M investment to develop hemp and sunflower ingredients

Protein Industries Canada, in collaboration with Burcon NutraScience, HPS Food & Ingredients and Puratos Canada, is developing hemp and sunflower ingredients through a $6.9 million investment to support Canadian manufacturers.

Burcon NutraScience will elevate hemp and sunflower flours by extracting hemp protein isolate, sunflower protein isolate, and sunflower protein concentrate. These ingredients could cater to the increasing demands of food and beverage manufacturers looking to offer nutritious and flavorful protein options.

“Increasing ingredient manufacturing can help diversify our agriculture sector and increase our productivity, creating new economic growth for Canada,” said Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada.

Partnering with Burcon, HPS Food & Ingredients will evaluate hemp crop varieties to identify the most suitable ones for the new ingredients while also focusing on developing and scaling the technology required for processing hemp into these innovative ingredients. Further down the value chain, Puratos and Burcon will collaborate to incorporate the hemp and sunflower ingredients into various food and beverage products, particularly in baking applications, beverages, and meat alternatives.

“This Global Innovation Clusters project is another example of our commitment to fostering innovation in the development of plant-based products and technologies, recognizing their potential to drive sustainable economic growth and provide healthy food options to consumers,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne.

Lawrence MacAulay, minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, also highlighted the importance of strengthening Canada’s agricultural value chain. He added the $6.9 million investment, including $3 million committed by Protein Industries Canada and other partners, will expand the range of plant-based food and beverage options.

“We are excited to launch new-to-the-world high purity hempseed and sunflower seed protein ingredients that exhibit superior taste, texture, colour, and functionality. Better products start with better ingredients, and Burcon has the proteins to meet this need,” said Kip Underwood, CEO of Burcon NutraScience.