Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

Canada's Smartest Kitchen (CSK) is a food product development and culinary innovation research center co-located with The Culinary Institute of Canada (CIC) at Holland College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. As a NSERC Technology Access Center (TAC), CSK serves SMEs nationwide. Within its research and development mandate, the multi-disciplinary team at CSK supports faculty and student learning, fosters economic development, and promotes innovation in the globally expanding food development sector. CSK is seeking funding support from NSERC's Applied Research Tools and Instruments grant under the CCI program for a VEMAG 500 vacuum filler. This mobile, multi-functional unit creates food products across numerous preparation categories. This includes, but is not limited to, formed, portioned, deposited, and ground products in both sweet and savory food categories. The VEMAG 500 vacuum filler is an industry standard. In fact, it is the most installed vacuum filler worldwide in full-scale food production facilities. The key feature of this unit is its double screw technology which enables users to produce food products which meet the highest industry tolerances for quality and consistency. The highly efficient vacuum system is the perfect tool for supporting daily tasks within the formed and extruded food product sector. With an easy to use operating system and strong training program, users experience a great deal of success with this equipment. Whether projects require the forming of meat products, portioning of doughs, depositing seafood portions, or stuffing sausages, this equipment is fitted with accessories which support multiple food categories. In relation to foodservice innovation and culinary research and development, the CSK team works with multiple SMEs specializing in various product categories. Due to this, the VEMAG 500 is very important to supporting as many clients as possible. The preparations created when using this equipment are limited only by the food product developer's imagination. As a global leader in food product development, this is the space in which CSK was originally established and has grown over the past decade. With onsite access to a VEMAG 500, our team of food product developers will be better positioned to advance the innovation process when working with clients. To date, for CSK to undertake research on these types of products and processes, the team has had to conduct high-level testing at a smaller, benchtop scale. This can result in inconsistent products. For example, with the development of a recent meat bar product, our research chef had to spend a considerable amount of time developing and manufacturing a specialized cutter and process to try and mimic what would be happening at the large-scale production level. As this was a very technically challenging product which required several other processing steps to meet necessary CFIA and other regulatory standards, any amount of production inconsistency affected everything from cook time to shelf life. With a VEMAG 500 on campus, the research chef would have been able to accurately weigh, extrude, and cut the product in a consistent size and shape every time. Acknowledging foodservice equipment can be a high-priced investment, identifying opportunities for collaboration and partnerships is always a key objective for Canada's Smartest Kitchen. Not only is CSK working with the vendor (Reiser) to maximize this purchasing opportunity, the two organizations are working together to outline an agreement which will support a lending and trial program as new attachments become available for the unit. In addition, the Reiser team has committed to allowing the CSK team to borrow attachments that are not be included in the initial purchase. This will allow CSK to demonstrate these features to new clients (and potential buyers of the equipment for the supplier) and determine whether the equipment is the right fit for the manufacturing of their prod