The federal government will invest $10 million into an Abbotsford dairy company, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay announced today.
According to a government press release, "Vitalus, a leading supplier of customized dairy ingredients to the food, beverage and nutraceutical industries, has developed a proprietary technology to produce a prebiotic from milk permeate, a milk by-product. This prebiotic can be used in infant formulations and other foods to enhance their nutritional characteristics, including dairy products and beverages, fruit drinks, and fruit preparations."
"Commercializing this new ingredient will help the dairy industry transform a currently unused by-product into a value-added functional food product, helping grow the middle class by creating new economic opportunities in the food processing sector."
"Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates, a type of fibre, that act as food for probiotics – the 'good' microorganisms that support healthy digestion and offer protection from harmful bacteria."
The investment is a loan that must be repaid. Funds were accessed through the federal govermnent's five-year, $698 million AgriInnovation Program.