Developing two new plant-based food products that could benefit school and hospital settings is high on Dr. Marcia English's research agenda.
Dr. Marcia English
Dr. English, professor and chair of the StFX Human Nutrition Department and Canada Research Chair in Protein and Flavour Chemistry, has partnered with Nova Scotia food producer, The Station Food Hub Company, to develop a plant-based high protein pasta sauce for use with school food programs and to expand the Station Food Hub's frozen mashed potato product.
"It could have a huge impact for the school food program and a huge impact on the economy of Nova Scotia. It's exciting because we are a small university in rural Nova Scotia and we get to contribute to work that can impact students and consumers across the province and across Canada."
~ Dr. Marcia English, professor and chair of the StFX Human Nutrition Department and Canada Research Chair in Protein and Flavour Chemistry
The company wants to make another variation of their product currently sold to the Nova Scotia Health Authority with a high protein content to give consumers another option.
"I think this is a really exciting initiative," says Dr. English, who's received $15,000 in Tier I Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program (PIVP) funding for the research, with the possibility for Tier II funding next year.
The program, offered through Invest Nova Scotia, helps small and medium-sized companies access post-secondary expertise to improve productivity, develop a new product or service, and grow their business.
Dr. English and her team of two students (including one undergraduate student) have started a literature review and are researching potential ingredients.
"The goal is for my team to develop these two products working with the company. What's cool about working with them is that they have asked us to use local ingredients, even food waste, such as apple fibre and different fruits and vegetables. The goal is to use local ingredients."
The Station Food Hub's mission is to upcycle and market otherwise wasted produce into useable products.
Dr. English says the project has a lot of exciting aspects. Particularly neat is that it invests in local food processors. In Nova Scotia, we don't have a lot of food processors with the capacity to do this. If developed, the company would like to export the products beyond the Maritimes, perhaps creating opportunities for local processors to grow.
Developing a new plant-based pasta sauce could also have a huge impact on school food programs. Currently in Canada, school food programs aren't consistent across the country, she says. This means the quality of food can vary depending on the region, with some regions not having access to certain foods, "which is a bit ironic since the goal of the program is to be able to access healthy foods."
Developing a nutritious product in Nova Scotia, with the possibility to expand further afield, would have a huge impact in improving the quality of the food in the school program. Plus, it would reduce food waste and help eliminate the use of more processed foods, she says.
Dr. English is also hopeful the work has the potential to increase awareness of healthy food choices from an early age and to create a culture of thinking about healthy food and what goes on the plate.
"It could have a huge impact for the school food program and a huge impact on the economy of Nova Scotia," she says.
"It's exciting because we are a small university in rural Nova Scotia and we get to contribute to work that can impact students and consumers across the province and across Canada."
Through the year, Dr. English will be working in StFX's Sensory Lab to develop an appealing texture and taste profile, an important part of the research that will feature participant feedback. Not only is it important to develop a nutritious product, it must taste good too.
"Ultimately, with the consumer, the buck stops there," she says with a laugh. "If they like it, we're good to go."
The research work will be challenging and invigorating, drawing on fundamental sciences applied to food systems, as Dr. English and her team bring together a number of components from capturing the brand the company wants to developing the products with food safety and nutritional and sensory quality in mind.
Dr. English, who has been on faculty at StFX since 2014, teaches courses in functional food and food product development as well as an advanced course in flavour chemistry. Most recently, she became the president of the Canadian Institute of Food Sciences Technology, the governing body for food science and technology in Canada. She has been a member of this organization since her student days at Dalhousie University and has given back professionally in numerous roles, including now helming the national organization.
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