Past Projects

Bovine Colostrum Processing

Bovine colostrum is extremely nutritious for baby calves and can confer immunity. However, current pasteurization processes destroy important immunoglobulins. The purpose of this project was to find an alternative method for processing bovine colostrum that would preserve heat labile compounds.

During this project, we tested several alternative methods of processing including microfiltration and low temperature and long time pasteurization. We were able to find a time and temperature combination that maintained immunoglobulin activity while reducing microbial activity by 7 log.

Creamy Vegan Soy Cheese

Veganism is on the rise, but the vegan cheese options on the market are disappointing. Most vegan cheeses employ starches and oils to create the melty and stretchy texture, but this is a poor substitute. Other products use fermented cashews as a dairy alternative, but these tend to be grainy and nutty in flavour. The purpose of this project was to create a smooth and creamy vegan cheese from soy. Note that this project was completed as part of a competition to utilize soy.

Through a combination of filtration, homogenization, and fermentation, we were able to transform soybeans into a suitable vegan cheese alternative. This award winning product later became the start of a company. Read more about the journey here.

Neutral pH Carbonated Beverage

Carbonated beverages are highly acidic due to the presence of citric acid, phosphoric acid, and carbonic acid, which is responsible for the carbonation. This high acidity can lead to dental caries from erosion of tooth enamel. The purpose of this project was to create a carbonated beverage with a pH of 6 or higher while maintaining acceptable sensory attributes.

This project involved a two part challenge. The first challenge was to find a way to neutralize the effects of carbonic acid while maintaining an acceptable carbonation level. This was achieved with the help of buffers. However, this created the second challenge, namely neutralizing the unpleasnat flavours resulting from the addition of buffers. The off flavour from the buffers was masked with the addition of an amino acid.

Further information about this project can be found here.

High Protein Veggie Burger

A meat company desired to enter the plant based burger market. Their clientele prioritized organic ingredients and clean label products. The purpose of this project was to create a high protein clean label veggie burger with similar nutritive value to beef.

The main challenge with this project was trying to keep the product clean label. Because the clients did not want unpronouncable gums in the product, we compromised and ended up using cheese and egg white as a binder. The resultant burger was gluten based and had a protein content of 21g/serving.