Food Processing Development Centre celebrating 40 years

“In 1984, the Food Processing Development Centre (FPDC) opened for business as a 2,800 square metre facility and this year we’re celebrating 40 years helping agri-food businesses develop and bring food and beverage products to market,” says Ken Gossen, executive director of the FPDC.

“Today, the FPDC is a 6,000 square metre facility. We have a culinary lab, product development and analytical laboratories, and a commercial pilot plant with more than $20 million in specialized food processing equipment. Our facility meets federal food-regulation requirements, which allows client companies to prepare products for sale within Canada and internationally.”

The FPDC has more than 40 team members with a range of expertise. They include food scientists, product development and food processing technologists, food safety and business development specialists, and administrative support.

Food, beverage and ingredient companies of all sizes work with the FPDC as clients on a fee-for-service basis. The team provides support with:

industry-driven research
product and process development
scale-up
interim processing to introduce a product to market before graduating to Alberta’s Agrivalue Business Processing Incubator, their own facility or a partnership with a co-packer
“For the past 4 decades, the FPDC has played an important role driving economic growth and change in our agri-food industry by helping start-ups to well-known food companies make products and expand into new markets. Our research partnerships with food companies and post-secondaries have inspired innovation and growth in the agri-food industry. To honour this legacy, we will be hosting anniversary-related events and projects this year,” says Gossen.