Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

HyLife Foods is a rural Manitoba company with global buyers for pork and pork products. As one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies, it strives to find new ways to add value to pork cuts and co-products of the meat cutting process. This project will look at new ways to use different meat cuts as well as co-products such as bones to deliver new products to foreign markets. Specifically, the company is looking at premium products shipped fresh for the Japanese market. This requires the product development to consider a number of challenges including regulatory limits, preservation methods and flavor development suitable to a Japanese consumer market. Red River College's Prairie Research Kitchen Technology Access Centre will conduct practical, applied research in conjunction with HyLife processing and market development team to identify key product development attributes for two new product lines: fully, cooked pork pieces suitable for pulled pork applications with a minimum two months shelf-life, and pork bone broth or concentrate in ready-to-use packages. The research team must look at suitable ingredients to provide the requested shelf-life while meeting regulatory and import regulations for the Japanese market.The partnership with HyLife provides students and staff at Red River College an opportunity to work with a successful global company on their product development needs. This partnership sets the stage for future opportunities for students and staff to engage with HyLife through employment opportunities for students, and further product development projects. Large, multi-national companies make up less than 5% of the total agri-food companies in Manitoba, which makes it a rare opportunity to involve students in foreign market product development as well as an opportunity to work with the management team of a large food company.