Multi-million dollar investment by federal government in new value-added uses for potato under BioPotato Network

February 27, 2009
Fredericton, NB - Earlier this month, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced the funding of the BioPotato Network, a network of researchers seeking to develop the science behind new value chains for potato. The multi-million dollar investment is part of a program launched in 2007, called the Agricultural Bioproducts Innovation Program (ABIP www.agr.gc.ca/abip). Bioproducts are products made from renewable biological resources. ABIP was designed to promote research, development, technology transfer and the commercialization of agricultural bioproducts in Canada, and the funding has been accorded through a competitive process.

The BioPotato Network project was funded based on its competitiveness against other proposals. Led by Dr. Yvan Pelletier and Dr. Helen Tai, of the Potato Research Centre in Fredericton, the BioPotato Network includes 32 scientists from various disciplines representing around 12 institutions from government, universities and industry from across Canada. The network will focus on developing bioproducts for health and the environment. This large network will also train a new generation of scientists in an exciting multidisciplinary environment.

The Network is supporting four streams of research:

I. BioActives, Functional Food and Nutraceuticals Potato varieties that are consumed today are mostly white in color. However, potatoes with skins and flesh that are red, purple, yellow and orange contain high levels of bioactive compounds, called flavonoids. The BioPotato Network will explore how these compounds can be extracted and what kind of benefits they provide to a number of health conditions including neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, auto-immune disorders, diabetes, allergies, infections, heart disease and obesity-related diseases.

II. Low Glycemic Index and High Fibre Functional Food This stream will look at developing new potato germplasm for the food sector, which is high in slowly digestible or resistant starches and fibre content.

III. New Potato Starch for Functional Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioplastic Uses This stream will focus on the development of cross-linked potato starch and hydrocolloid gums as functional food ingredients, resistant starch and functional pharmaceutical excipients. Bioplastic is a new generation of material that is able to reduce environmental impact by being biodegraded through the action of living organisms while functioning like traditional plastic. In addition starch-based bioplastics are derived from renewable agricultural sources as opposed to non-renewable petroleum sources for traditional plastics. Starch based polymers and/or blends have been used to produce biodegradable plastics in trash bags, mulch films and containers for packaging. The expertise of the BioPotato Network will be used to develop potato based bioplastic products including starch based bioplastic and fibre-based bioplastic for film, foam, nursery pots, tablewares and packaging applications. New technologies will also be developed through the work in this stream.

IV. Botanical Insecticides and Biopesticides for Insect Control The focus of this stream will be to develop novel, environmentally compatible pest-control agents to replace pesticides that have been withdrawn for economic or regulatory reasons. Potato is a domesticated species that is part of the Solanum genus, a large group of tuber bearing plants. Other related wild Solanum species contain in their foliage many useful chemical compounds. Some Solanum species are resistant to the main insect pest in potato, the Colorado potato beetle. Chemicals that are toxic to the beetle or prevent it from feeding on resistant species can be used to develop botanical insecticides. Wild Solanum are hard to grow but can be domesticated through crossing with the cultivated potato.

The project is backed by market research and pre-commercialization planning components, and will grow to include additional commercial partners, and possibly new research streams.

Led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the BioPotato Network will bring together 12 organizations and 32 scientists including AAFC's Potato Research Centres in Fredericton, Guelph and Lethbridge, BioAtlantech, P.E.I. Food Technology Centre, McMaster University, the University of Guelph, Dalhousie University, the University of Toronto, the University of Prince Edward Island, the University of New Brunswick, Holland College, and the National Research Council's Institute for Nutrisciences and Health.

While the network operates nationwide, its central hub is in Fredericton. A recent study by BioAtlantech and its partners identified an important plant biosciences cluster in Fredericton and in the Upper Saint John River Valley. With two federal research stations dealing with crops and forest trees, an established university, and several small and large companies, the plant bioscience investments represent over $93 million annually, and employ over 500 highly qualified persons.

Canada's potato industry is already worth nearly $6 billion a year to the national economy and generates more than 30,000 jobs. This new investment will help to ensure sustainable growth through diversification of the potato industry.

For more information on the BioPotato Network, please visit:

http://www.biopotatonetwork.ca/public/jpage/1/p/Home/content.do
http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/front/article/577618
http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/front/article/577330
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/577520
http://www.agr.gc.ca/cb/index_e.php?s1=n&s2=2009&page=n90218
http://old.bioatlantech.nb.ca/050107.html

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