POS Pilot Plant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan works with the biodiesel and natural health products industries and announced it received the funding to help with operational costs. The funding is part of a multi-million dollar Agricultural Policy Framework funding package announced by the federal and provincial governments.
Canada has seen numerous government-funded research and development facilities crop up recently, as politicians look for a way to extract more profitability out of some of the country's lagging agricultural and commodities sectors – such as grains and fisheries.
"This funding enables POS Pilot Plant to continue providing innovative services to the Canadian bioproducts industry so that bioresources from Canada's prairies, forests and oceans can be transformed into commercially successful products," said POS president and CEO Bob Morgan.
POS Pilot Plant is a not-for-profit contract research and development facility that specializes in product development and analytical services for components in consumer goods including nutraceuticals and functional foods.
In 2006, the Canadian government plugged C$2m into identifying plant, animal and marine compounds that can benefit health. This was destined for the development of the National Research Council's Institute for Nutrisciences and Health on the University of Prince Edward Island campus.
The Richarson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals opened in the same year in the Western province of Manitoba. Its focus is the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals from Canadian prairie crops.
