Lupin Platform Inc., Hensall Co-op, Lumi Foods and PURIS have come together to develop a lupin supply and value chain in Canada, a Dec. 16 news release from Protein Industries Canada (PIC) says.
“Lupin is an exciting new crop for Canada that will bring new value to Canada’s plant-based food and ingredient ecosystem,” Bill Greuel, PIC CEO, says in the release. “By supporting Canadian SMEs in innovating new crops, ingredients and products, new companies are being created and new products are being commercialized, leading to the creation of good-paying jobs for Canadians.”
The $7.3 million project will develop a lupin supply and value chain, from crop production through to the development and manufacturing of functional ingredients and products. The group will focus on identifying the lupin varieties which are best suited for Canadian growing conditions, developing and improving seed cleaning and processing technologies, determining the value of lupin’s co-products, and creating new food formulations and products.
It will be lead by Lupin Platform Inc., a new company which will oversee the development of the ecosystem and contribute inputs and expertise to activities related to agronomic research, commercial-scale lupin production, protein extraction and functional characterization, and ingredient and value-added product development such as lupin beverages and a baking mix, the release says.
Hensall Co-op will take on agronomic research and testing for the novel crop, as well as utilize in-house equipment and know-how to develop effective and scalable cleaning, dehulling and milling technologies that are suitable for commercialization at the processing level. Additionally, Hensall hopes to develop data related to the feed value of lupin in monogastric and ruminant nutrition.
The novel lupin ingredients will then be used by Lumi Foods and PURIS to develop new plant-based products for consumers across North America, the release says.
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