Guelph, Ontario-- Members and clients of the Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC) will now be able to take advantage of two new funding programs recently announced by the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC).
“We’re proud to be a recognized food technology centre under these programs,” says Kathryn Cooper, GFTC’s Vice President of Market Development & Client Services. “GFTC has extensive technical depth in dairy ingredients Through these programs, we can help bring products to market faster, with guaranteed performance, while minimizing the cost of development.”

The CDC’s new programs are:

Direct Access Fund, which will allow eligible companies to seek expert advice directly from a recognized food science institution (such as GFTC) for up to 7.5 hours or $1,500.00 of free consultation on a specific project. In the case where a company requires additional technical advice in excess of 7.5 hours, the CDC may elect to share the costs associated with the additional consultation(s) up to a maximum contribution of $1,500.00.

Innovation Support Fund is available to companies for developing new and re-formulated dairy products/ components and further processed products which utilize milk or milk ingredients. The Fund provides financial support of up to 75 per cent of a project’s cost, to a maximum of $25,000.00.

The funding programs support the investigation of non-traditional uses for dairy ingredients. “The CDC is committed to supporting an environment which fosters innovation and growth in the manufacture and use of dairy products and components,” says Mark Lalonde, CDC’s Chief of Marketing Programs. “We've revamped our marketing initiatives and created two new funds to support innovation and technology transfer, especially among small and medium-sized companies which may lack the resources, time and expertise to resolve dairy product innovation and/or product reformulation issues.”

About GFTC: GFTC is Canada’s only not-for-profit, non-subsidized food technology centre. GFTC provides creative, confidential technical solutions, training, consulting and auditing to the Canadian agri-food industry in the areas of R&D, product development, packaging, shelf-life, food safety, quality, and productivity improvement. Each year, GFTC assists over 500 companies and organizations, and provides training to more than 3600 people.

Contact Kathryn Cooper, Vice President, Market Development & Client Services, or Barbara Maly, Business Development Manager, GFTC:
Phone: (519) 821-1246
Fax: (519) 836-1281
E-mail: gftc@gftc.ca
Web: www.gftc.ca