Food and Beverage Innovation Centre (FBIC)

Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
What the facility does

Food and beverage product/process development, laboratory analyses and regulatory assistance.

Areas of expertise

The Food and Beverage Innovation Centre (FBIC), formerly known as the Canadian Food and Wine Institute Innovation Centre, offers a full suite of services to support industry innovation and commercialization of new products and processes. From new recipe development to shelf-life testing and nutritional labelling, the FBIC pairs industry partners with faculty, recent graduates and students with the right expertise and equipment to meet client needs.

Research services

FOOD and BEVERAGE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

World-class culinary, beverage, cannabis edibles and food science expertise, facilities, and equipment to develop and improve Food & Beverage (F&B) products.

FOOD SAFETY and REGULATORY STANDARDS

Guidance on food safety and regulatory standards as part of the product development process, including preliminary food safety risk assessments; regulatory and Food Safety Gap Analysis.

BEVERAGE PROCESSING PILOT PLANT

  • Access small batch beverage processing supports for research & development (R&D) and innovation purposes to develop, reformulate, and scale-up new beverage products (alcoholic and non-alcoholic).
  • Services include beverage formulation, mixing, carbonation, bottling/canning, and pasteurization.
  • Canadian Food inspection Agency (CFIA)-approved for Inter-Provincial trade.
  • Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), Safe Foods for Canadians Act (SFCA), and Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) compliant.

BEVERAGE ANALYTICAL SERVICES

  • Anton Paar beer, distilled spirits, cider, mead, kombucha and wine analysis: alcohol by volume (ABV), colour, extracts, pH, etc.
  • Hops analysis: Total alpha and beta acids (%); moisture content (%); hop storage index (HSI).

SENSORY ANALYSIS and CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE 

  • Sensory evaluation and consumer acceptance studies.
  • Product evaluation through ‘Golden Palate’ tastings with our Chef Professors or Beverage Specialists.
  • Consumer testing to gauge market’s perception of product.
Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Manufacturing and processing
  • Professional and technical services (including legal services, architecture, engineering)
  • Tourism and hospitality

Specialized lab

Equipment

Function

Product Development (R&D) Kitchen

Fully equipped industrial kitchen (mixers, blenders, food processors, utensils, etc.)

For food and beverage research and product development.

Product Development (R&D) Kitchen

Combi ovens with hoods

Multi-function oven for product development.

Product Development (R&D) Kitchen

Induction cooktops

Electric cooktops for product development.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

UHT/HTST pasteurizer (lab scale)

Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) processing and High-Temperature, Short-Time (HTST) pasteurization. The UHT microthermics pasteurizer can bring products up to 138 °C. Connected to a homogenizer.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Batch pasteurizer (lab scale)

Pasteurize finished packaged products.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Carbonation system

Carbonate beverages to a variety of levels of CO2.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Bottle filling head and capper

Counter pressure filler to fill a variety of bottle sizes.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Can filling and seaming machine

Counter pressure filler able to fill a variety of can sizes.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Glycol Jacketed Holding Tank

Store or carbonate liquids at cold temperatures.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Process Heat Exchanger

Capable of quickly bringing liquids from a boil down to 1°C.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Heated mixing tanks

Capable of processing batches from 30L - 250L.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

RO water filtration system (beverage production)

Reverse Osmosis (RO) water system for scientifically replicable water profiles.

Beverage Processing Pilot Plant

Walk-in fridge

Cooler for raw and finished products, maintaining temperatures below 3 °C.

Food and Cannabis Research Labs

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) equipment

Create and test modified atmosphere packaging for shelf life testing.

Food and Cannabis Research Labs

Environmental chambers

Control temperature and humidity levels for shelf life testing.

Food and Cannabis Research Labs

Supercritical CO2 extractor

Extract cannabis compounds from plant matter for use in cannabis edibles research.

Food and Cannabis Research Labs

Electrospray Dryer

Produces micro-nano cannabinoid particles to study dispersion and solubility in cannabis edibles research.

Food and Cannabis Research Labs

Combi oven

Multi-function oven for cannabis edibles research.

Food and Cannabis Research Labs

Bulk Tray Dryer

Large commercial dryer to dry cannabis plant matter and edibles.

Food and Cannabis Chemistry Lab

High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC)

Chemical analytical instrument to identify and quantify chemical components in cannabis edibles research.

Food and Cannabis Chemistry Lab

Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) system

Chemical analytical instrument to identify and quantify chemical components in cannabis edibles research.

Food and Cannabis Chemistry Lab

Flash Chromatograph

Chemical analytical instrument to identify and quantify chemical components in cannabis edibles research.

Beverage Quality Lab

Texture Analyzer

Testing of food and beverage quality attributes for product development.

Beverage Quality Lab

Colorimeter

Testing of food and beverage quality attributes for product development.

Beverage Quality Lab

Water Activity Meter

Testing of food and beverage quality attributes for product development.

Beverage Quality Lab

Density Meter

Testing of food and beverage quality attributes for product development.

Beverage Quality Lab

Moisture Analyzer

Testing of food and beverage quality attributes for product development.

Beverage Quality Lab

Viscosity Meter

Testing of food and beverage quality attributes for product development.

Beverage Quality Lab

Refractometer

Testing of food and beverage quality attributes for product development.

Beverage Quality Lab

Anton Paar Beverage Analyzer (beer and cider)

Test key parameters such as alcohol content, CO2, pH, colour, haze, and specific gravity.

Beverage Quality Lab

Anton Paar Beverage Analyzer (spirits and liqueurs)

Test key parameters such as alcohol content, sugar content and colour.

Beverage Quality Lab

Anton Paar Beverage Analyzer (wine)

Test key parameters such as alcohol content and specific gravity.

Beverage Quality Lab

Anton Paar CBoxQC

Analyzer to determine CO2 and O2 levels in beverages.

Beverage Quality Lab

Rotary Evaporator

Rotovap. Vacuum distillation equipment.

Beverage Chemistry Lab

Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer

Chemical analytical instrument to identify and quantify chemical components in food and beverages.

Beverage Chemistry Lab

Raman Spectrometer

With Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Chemical analytical instrument to identify and quantify chemical components in food and beverages.

Beverage Chemistry Lab

High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC)

Chemical analytical instrument to identify and quantify chemical components in food and beverages.

Food Microbiology Lab

Biosafety Cabinet

Microbiology cell counts and identification for shelf-life testing to validate food and beverage industry processes.

Food Microbiology Lab

CO2 Incubator

Microbiology cell counts and identification for shelf-life testing to validate food and beverage industry processes.

Niagara College Culinary Labs

Full-scale commercial kitchens and pastry labs

Fully equipped to develop culinary products.

Niagara College Teaching Brewery

Small-scale functional brewery and 3/4 acre research hops yard

Fully equipped to develop and trial beer and other beverage products.

Niagara College Teaching Winery

Small-scale functional winery and 40 Acre Production and Research Vineyard

Fully equipped to develop and trial wine and other fermented products.

Niagara College Teaching Distillery

Small-scale functional distillery

Fully equipped to develop distilled beverages.

 

  • A Hillier Vineyard
  • Broya Bone Broth
  • Brushfire Smoke BBQ
  • Can-AM Pepper
  • Chocolate FX
  • Detour Coffee Roasters
  • DistillX Beverages
  • Drink Miura Ltd.
  • FalseOx
  • Genuine Tea Co.
  • Iron Will Raw Pet Food
  • Kvas Fine Beverage Co.
  • Mariposa Dairy
  • Miski Organics
  • MLG Enterprises Ltd.
  • Neob Botanical Beverages
  • Niagara Food Specialties
  • Ontario Craft Brewers Association
  • Pilling Foods
  • Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery
  • Riverside Natural Foods Ltd.
  • Theo’s Eatery
  • Vailmont Vineyards
  • Valley Growers Inc.
  • VG Meats
  • Vij’s at Home
  • Vineland Research and Innovation Centre
  • Vines to Vintages