Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Our lab has been collaborating with Michael Foods through the NSERC Engage grant over the past 6 months to develop the proof-of-concept on preparing phosvitin-depleted egg yolk without deteriorating the functional property. Our industry partner is hoping that we can further mature this promising technology and scale it up from lab to pilot scale and finally to industry production at the Michael Foods plant in Winnipeg, and incorporate phosvitin-depleted egg yolk into real food applications to verify the stability during food processing and storage. The remaining granule after obtaining phosvitin-depleted egg yolk will be used for phosvitin extraction and preparing phosphopeptides that may have applications for bone and dental health. The overall objectives of the project are to develop phosvitin-depleted egg yolk with improved stability in food applications and to prepare phosvitin phosphopeptides from yolk granule with demonstrated benefits in bone and dental health. Egg processing is increasingly important in diversifying egg uses and adding value to the industry. Lipid oxidation associated with egg yolk use will not only impart the food safety and overall quality of food products, but also affect the growth and profitability of the egg industry. Therefore, the proposed research in developing phosvitin-depleted egg yolk will help the industry tackle the challenge resulting in significant benefits in improving food quality and safety as well as profitability, which contributes to a growing Canadian egg industry. The generation of co-product, phosvitin, would also allow the industry expand into new market territory as phosvitin peptides shows great potential for improving bone and dental health. For example, cost associated with osteoporosis alone in 2010 was $2.3 billion in Canada. Pharmaceutical drugs for treatment of osteoporosis are reported to increase the risk of cancer and affect the cardiovascular diseases. Therefore phosvitin peptides might provide a better long-term approach for enhancing bone and dental health products with substantial economic and social benefits to Canada.