Reusable plastic crates (RPC’s) are being adopted by the food industry due to the perceived benefits of reduced waste (i.e. paper board), economics and sustainability. However, by reusing crates there is a possibility of distributing contamination from one user to the next if the RPC’s are not sanitized after leaving retailer. Evidence collected over the […]

The project seeks to compile data from previous and current agricultural initiatives in northern and remote regions of Canada to determine which agricultural practices are most effective in these regions and to identify the knowledge gaps that hinder the efficacy of such initiatives. These practices and knowledge gaps will be elaborated upon using local knowledge […]

The project will develop aqueous-free systems for decontaminating (i.e. inactivation of human pathogens and spoilage microbes) fresh produce that can be applied individually or sequentially. The first intervention is based on a forced-air ozone reactor that introduces the antimicrobial gas through the bed of produced at a controlled flow rate. The advantage of the method […]

Admittance in an animal shelter is often an intensely stressful experience for cats, leading to serious health and behaviour consequences impacting their welfare and adoptability. Recognizing, understanding, and minimizing factors that contribute to cat stress in shelters is an identified priority and ongoing challenge for shelter managers worldwide. A suitable acoustic environment is necessary to […]

The partner organization is designing novel dispensing equipment for liquid products to be used by quick-service restaurants. A food safety concern related to the R&D of this equipment is the potential health hazards associated with the formation of bacterial biofilms within the dispensing system. Biofilms are complex bacterial communities that grow on surfaces contacting liquids. […]

Research within this project will focus on the innovation and characterization of plant-based ingredients arising from pulses and cereals for the protein ingredient market. The global protein ingredient market was valued at $31.8 billion in 2016 and is expected to rise to $46.4 billion by 2022 with the greatest growth occurring in the plant protein […]

Monitoring dairy cows individually around the time of calving has the potential to identify calving difficulties or cows at risk of developing diseases as early as possible and to create alerts for dairy farmers. Therefore, there has been an increase in research investigating methods to accurately predict timing of calving and disease diagnosis via activity […]

Personalized health is increasingly gaining public attention in the media as the future of healthcare. Personalized health is the idea that medical treatment will be tailored to the individual based on their predicted response or risks of disease. Omics analysis, defined as the universal detection of different classes of biological molecules, has the potential to […]

Poor diet is one of the factors associated with obesity and overweight, which may increase the risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Two ways to improve the diets at the population level are to 1) establish public health initiatives (e.g. product labelling or advertising restrictions and 2) change the portion […]

Saskatchewan is among the largest producer and exporter of pulses to various countries across the globe. However, pulses are not widely consumed in Canada. In Canada, the variety of pulse-based products is limited compared to those made from other legumes such as soybeans or from cereal grains. Consumers, including young children, will consume newly developed […]

Meeting the increasing world food demand is arguably the top priority of the Canadian agriculture industry. Current breeding criteria has increased the number of piglets born/sow/year. However, the lack of a well-rounded breeding program has diminished these effects, as large litter sizes are associated with reduced litter quality, pig performance, and carcass quality. Selecting for […]

Capol Inc works with several natural extracts to produce alternative to synthetic colourants. Research shows that these natural extracts might contain molecules that could be beneficial to human health, predominantly in the families of chemicals that give these extracts their vibrant colours. This project proposes to analyze these extracts with a new depth to determine […]