Food and beverage research and development lab.
The Food Innovation and Research Studio (FIRSt) supports the food and beverage industry with scientific R&D services from our lab located at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario. As a Technology Access Centre, our team of food scientists, chefs, and industry professionals provide our clients with creative, practical, and science-based insights to solve product development challenges and help them bring new ideas to market.
- Product and recipe development: Product development; Product optimization; Recipe development
- Validation and support: Consumer sensory research; Focus groups; In-plant trials and pilot testing
- Testing and compliance: Shelf-life validation; Nutritional analysis; Claims, regulatory, and packaging review
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Consumer non-durables
Specialized labs and equipment
|
Equipment |
Function |
|---|---|
|
4000 square foot facility with a large kitchen filled with typical kitchen and factory-scale processing equipment (ovens, mixers, scales, kettles, blenders, etc.) |
Applied research and testing. |
|
Private secured testing kitchen |
Proprietary research and development. |
|
State-of-the-art quantitative sensory testing facility |
Consumer sensory evaluation. |
|
Sensory evaluation software |
Consumer sensory evaluation. |
|
Beverage carbonators |
Product development and testing. |
|
Homogenizer / emulsifier |
Product development and testing. |
|
Hobart Mixer |
Product development and testing. |
|
Robot Coupe Mixer |
Product development and testing. |
|
Food dehydrator |
Product development and testing. |
|
Freeze dryer |
Product development and testing. |
|
Steam kettles |
Model: scrape surface and other. Product development and testing. |
|
Brew / steep kettle |
Product development and testing. |
|
Ice cream machine |
Product development and testing. |
|
Blast chiller freezer |
Product development and testing. |
|
Tabletop convection burners |
Product development and testing. |
|
Combi oven |
Product development and testing. |
|
Accelerated shelf life test chambers |
Product development and testing. |
|
ESHA Genesis nutrition database software |
Product development and testing. |
|
Moisture meter |
Product development and testing. |
|
pH meter |
Product development and testing. |
|
Viscometer |
Product development and testing. |
|
Colorimeter |
Product development and testing. |
|
Chromameter |
Product development and testing. |
|
Refractometer |
Product development and testing. |
|
Water activity meters |
Product development and testing. |
|
Metal detector |
Product development and testing. |
Private and public sector research partners
- Awake Chocolate
- Aware Beverages Inc.
- Barilla Inc.
- Everspring Farms
- Flamaglo Foods Ltd. (YOSO)
- Flow Hydration Inc.
- Gidney Fisheries
- Gord’s Ginger Beer Co.
- Hero Ice Cream
- Imago Restaurants Inc. (Duke Pubs)
- Kawartha Lakes Food Source
- KL Foods Inc.
- Mado’s Sauces
- Manning Canning
- Martin’s Family Fruit Farm
- Metro Inc.
- Neale’s Sweet N Nice Inc.
- Nola Baking Co.
- NONA Vegan Foods
- Nuba Beverages
- O’Doughs Inc.
- Pyung Hwa Food Company (PH Food Inc.)
- Rawcology Inc.
- Ready To Go Foods Inc.
- Rootham Gourmet Preserves Ltd.
- Siip Bone Broth
- The J.M. Smucker Company
- Stirling Creamery Ltd.
- Superpower Snax Inc.
- Sweetness Sugar Cookies
- The Whole Living Kitchen (Healthy Crunch Company)
- TMF Foods (The Meat Factory)
- Torill’s Table
- Two Bears Coffee
Additional information
|
Title |
URL |
|---|---|
|
Culinary technologist’s creativity and problem-solving skills help FIRSt make pandemic pivot. |
https://www.georgebrown.ca/news/2021/culinary-technologists-creativity-and-problem-solving-skills-h… |
|
Bioenterprise and George Brown College to collaborate on innovation. |
https://www.foodincanada.com/research-and-development/bioenterprise-canada-and-george-brown-college… |
|
Local entrepreneurs 'go to college' to launch businesses. |
https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/local-entrepreneurs-go-to-college-to-launch-businesses |
|
Kawartha Lakes Food Source launches a salsa brand with a social purpose. |
https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/local-kawartha-lakes/life/food-wine/2021/05/21/kawartha-lakes-foo… |
|
Yogurt made from Canadian-grown oats to hit store shelves. |
https://www.foodincanada.com/food-in-canada/yogurt-made-from-canadian-grown-oats-to-hit-store-shelv… |