Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saint-Hyacinthe Research and Development Centre's Industrial Program

Due to the COVID-19 situation, the Industrial Program temporarily stopped its activities and closed the Pilot Plant in March, 2020.

The Industrial Program and associated Pilot Plant remain an important part of our departmental efforts to support the food processing industry. The Department recognizes that increasing access to our worksites is an important step to advancing our science priorities.

As such, we have begun the gradual resumption of a limited number of activities while maintaining the health and safety of our employees and clients. The Industrial Program and associated Pilot Plant clients will be notified when the centre is able to welcome them into the facilities safely.

For questions or comments, please contact aafc.programmeindustriel-industrialprogram.aac@canada.ca; 450-768-7999.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Saint-Hyacinthe Research and Development Centre's Industrial Program helps agri-food companies with small-scale food processing and testing needs and fosters innovation in the area of food research. (Watch the Industrial Program video)

Objectives

Helps agri-food companies with small-scale food processing and testing needs and fosters innovation in the area of food research.

Program Delivery

The Centre's facilities, located in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, provide clients with direct access to sophisticated equipment and a versatile Research & Development (R&D) environment. Through the Industrial Program, companies can lease multifunctional pilot plants and access a full range of food processing equipment, as well as support, from experienced technologists including service of sensory analysis. Various fees apply. Equipment can be adapted, moved or even modified to respond to clients' needs. This versatility ensures a great deal of flexibility which is crucial for successful R&D. Through the Industrial Program, clients can process various commodities, such as milk (cow, goat, etc.) and dairy products, meat products, fruits and vegetables, cereals, and other food ingredients. Past clients of the Industrial Program have successfully developed a variety of food products.

Check out the Industrial Program video to see how the Industrial Program can become your secret ingredient for success.

To access the facilities, fill out and sign the application form. If you are a new client or a client who has not done business with AAFC in the past two years, you must also fill out a client account application form. The Manager, Integrated Services and Industrial Program or a technical co-ordinator will contact you in order to prepare a contractual agreement prior to the beginning of the project.

Resources

List of Pilot Equipment

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saint-Hyacinthe Research and Development Centre's Industrial Program possesses multifunctional pilot plants containing equipment designed to carry out the processes used in almost every sector of the food industry. Between 2016 and 2018, an investment exceeding $20 million has enabled the upgrade of plant equipment. The refurbishment of the plan will modernize and improve its scientific and technological capacity, allowing federal researchers to better support innovation, adoption and sustainability in the sector.

Our pilot plant directly supports the food processing industry by providing facilities that foster innovation. This includes the development of new or improved products, adopting technologies that boost productivity, and support for new enterprises.

If the equipment you are looking for does not appear on this list, please let us know. Although we cannot guarantee that we will buy the desired equipment, your suggestions will help us to draw up a list of priorities to better respond to the needs of Canadian industries.

If you are a supplier and want to bid on equipment tenders, please visit Buyandsell.gc.ca where tenders will posted regularly.

We will also be disposing of some equipment. If you are interested in buying some, please visit the federal government's official website for Crown asset sales regularly, at GCSurplus.

**List of Pilot Equipment**
	Equipment name	Manufacturer Model	Characteristic
Agitators	Variable speed agitator
Fat and Moisture analyser	Fat and moisture analyser	Cem
Aseptic cabinet	Aseptic cabinet	Stericab	60 × 120 cm
Retort	Retort	Amsco 2022	1 m³
	Multiple process retort	Stock	Basket: (75 × 200 g) 70 × 70 × 50 cm
	Computered data logger and processing	Fluke Hydra Labtech Notebook	Max. 20 channels
Scale	Table scales		Until 500 kg
Churns	Meat tumbler	Röschermatic MM 50	20 kg Salted meat Variable rotation speed:16 rpm
	Meat tumbler	Scaniro 60 1	30 kg Salted meat Variable rotation speed: 0 - 30 turns by minute
	Vacuum tumbler	Lutétia Modèle O	100 kg Salted meat Rotation speed: 5 rpm
	Multi component meat tumbler	P.m.g.	5 tanks 20 l Clock-wise and counter clock-wise rotation Variable speed: 0 - 30 rpm
Cheese vats	Rectangular cheese vat (2)	Alfa-Laval	400 l
	Double-O cheese vats(3)	Kusel 4 MX	250 l
	Pre-pressing vat (Swiss type)	Perfora	100 kg
	Brining vats	Alfa-Laval	500 l
	Finishing table	Kusel RE 7481 4FT SS	125 kg
	Soft cheese production equipment	Alfa-Laval	150 kg
Grinders	Centrifugal grinding mill	Retsch ZM 1	240 g - 1 kg/h
	Rota Sieve bolting machine	Prater 91-B	0.3 m²
	Mill	Quadro Comil 196-5	4,000 kg/h
	Disintegrator	Rietz RA-2-12-K122	6 Size
	Hammer mill	Prater G5H FS1	0.3 m²
	Fine grinding mill	Prater CLM 18	< 150 microns
	Colloidal mill (emulsifier)	Stephan Microcut MC-15	1,200 kg/h
Fermentation unit	Fermentation unit	Arcos Model CT 100	Maximum capacity: 100 kg Minimum capacity: 25 kg
Centrifuges	Automatic desludger centrifuge	Srs SR1010	100 - 300 l/h
	Basket Centrifuge	Western States	Filters 15 μm - 150 μm
	Centrifugal decanter	Sharples P660	2,500 l/h
	Table centrifuge (continuous)	Sharples Model T-2P	250 cm³ Solid content
Cleaning in Place (CIP)	Mobile C.I.P. unit	Economics Lab. C.I.P. - C.O.P.
Freezers	Cryogenic freezer	Küleg Ultrafrost FG 1301	150 kg/h
Ice cream freezer	Continuous ice cream freezer	Alfa-Laval MF-75	100 l/h
Ice cream freezer	Batch ice cream freezer	Taylor	20 l
Temperature control	Temperature control for tanks
Cheese cutter	Cheese cutter	Strasbourgh 5 AR	Cutting surface 45 × 45 × 30 cm
Cutters	High-speed bowl cutter	Kilia 40	3 or 6 knives 25 kg maximum
	High-speed chopper	Urschel Comitrol	cutting head 750 mm continuous feeder
	Vacuum or pressure cutter /cooker	Stephan UMM/SK 40E GNI	40 l
	Vacuum or pressure cutter/cooker	Stephan VCM-12	Minimum capacity: 4 kg Maximum capacity: 8 kg
	Atmospheric or vacuum high-speed cutter-mixer vacuum cooker	Stephan VCM-40 E GNI	Minimum capacity: 12 kg Maximum capacity: 30 kg
Cooker	Table-top cooker-mixer	Groen TDC/TA 2-20	23 l
	Vacuum steam jacketed kettle	Groen TDC/2/RA-20	23 l
	Tilting steam kettles (2)	Entreprises Julien KDT-5T	11 l
	Tilting steam kettle	Escan Metal 107/TL-20	90 l
	Double-motion agitated kettle	Fluid Transfer Company	25 l
Cooker stretcher	Cooker-stretcher	E.b.r.	11-102 kg/h
Sterilizable tank	Sterilisable tank for cristallization	Goavec 200 1	200 l
Shredder	Frozen meat shredder	Gmc 3100	Maximum size: 23 × 51 × 61 cm
Deaerator	Deaerator	Alfa-Laval DC-500 LC	1,000-3,000 l/h
Feeders	Volumetric feeder		125, 250 mm
Feeders	Variable rate feeder
Heat exchanger (see pasteurizer)	Tubular or spiral heat exchanger	Alfa-Laval	3.8 cm diametre
Scraped-surface heat exchanger	Aseptic scraped-surface system	Alfa-Laval Contherm	400 l/h
Packaging machines	Vacuum packaging machine	Sipromatic Vac-U-Seal Vertical Komet	Sealing surface: 30 × 30 cm 40 × 40 cm 30 × 30 cm 30 × 40 cm
	Heat sealer for plastic tube	Kalish 14H/HTV	0.64 × 35.6 cm
	Foam tray sealer
	Tray Packaging machine	Dyno
Stuffer	Manual flange stuffer	Cornet C.K. S35"	100 - 150 mm
Evaporator	Plate evaporator	Apv Junior	180-200 kg H₂O/h (50°C)
Evaporator	Vacuum evaporator	Anhydro Lab E	25 kg/h (40°C)
Extruder	Twin-screw extruder	Baker Perkins MPF-50	5 cm diametre
Dough Forming	Dough rounder
	Dough proofer	Picard	30 dough
	Sheeter-moulder	L&M Fsm 24a Sinmag Male SM 520
	Dough Homogeniser	Sinmag
Fermentor Bioengineering	Computer control and data acquisition	Fix intellution
Fermentor Bioengineering	Fermentors	P 1500 l 150 l Nlf 19 Nlf 22 2 l	Fol. max. / Maximum volume 1 100 l 110 l 14 l 16 l 1.4 l
Filter press	Filter press	Star no. 6	8. 5 l
Foamer	Foamer	Hansa	20-250 kg
Ovens	Two-pan oven	General Electric CN 52	30 loafs
	Revolving oven	Picard	4 shelves 80 loafs
	Oven	Fisher 350G	90 cm³
	Hot air oven	Shel lab 1620	75 cm³
	Muffle furnace	3001	60 cm³
	Convection oven	Bakers Pride X 700	4 grates 60 × 90 cm
	Bread oven on the hearth	Panvailler	Baking surface: 1.5 × 1 m
Fryer	Fryer	Moffat	12 l
Smoke house	Smoking and cooking unit (dry, controlled humidity, steam cooking)	Voss 813-S	Ham 90 kg Weiners: 50 kg (5 kg Mould)
Chopper	Meat chopper-grinder	Mainca PM-114L	European head 3 sectors Bone separator
Chopper	Meat chopper-grinder	Butcher Boy A56HF	plate 15 cm
Homogenizers	Homogenizer	Alfa-Laval SHL 20	500-2,000 l/h
	Homogenizer (2 phases)	Gaulin MP3-5TBS	227 l/h
	Homogenizer (2 phases)	Gaulin-APV 15M 8TA	0.5-57 l/h
	Homogenizer (2 phases)	Rannie	0-200 l/h
Hoods	Laminar flow hoods	Canadien Cabinets Co Ltd Canlab	60 × 120 cm 60 × 180 cm 60 × 180 cm
Incubators	Incubator	Fisher 255 D	2 shelves
	Culture incubator	Lab. Wiesby Viscubator	6 × 5 l / 30°C - 60°C
	Culture incubator	Lab. Wiesby Viscubator	2 × 10 l / 30°C - 60°C
	Yoghurt incubator	Entreprises Julien	9 × 30°C - 60°C shelves
Injector	Multi-needle pickle injector	Mepsco	140 needles
Irradiator	Irradiator	Nordion International Gamma beam 651 PT
Fluidized bed	Fluidized bed agglomerator		2 to 500 kg/h
Freeze dryer	Freeze dryer	Virtis Lyo-San Y6-CAB	5 trays 12 trays
Mixer	Mixers-grinder	Hobart A-200T-2 pintes	22.7 l 10 l
	Dough mixer	National	100 - 200 g flour
	Dough mixer	Blakeslee V-20	20 l
	Dough kneading-beater-mixer	Logiques Compact 30	30 l
	Double action mixer	Leland 100-DA-70	40 kg
	Centrifugal mixer	Crepaco Liquiverter CLV 25	95 l
	Blender		8 l
	Blender		1 l
Microscope	Microscope	Leitz	lens 4, 10, 40, 100 ×
Mojonnier	Mojonnier	Fmc
Cheese moulds	Cheese moulds (Baby Gouda, Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, St-Paulin, Suisse, Tomme)
Curd mill	Curd mill	Damrow M 250 E type SEP	30 × 30 cm 25 knives
Milling	Automatic laboratory mill	Bühler-Miag MLU 202
Milling	Laboratory plan-sifter	Bühler-Miag MLU 300	12 sizes
Grain cleaner	Multi-aspirator	Kice 6F6	38-50 kg/h
Mobile plate heat exchanger systems	Mobile plate heat exchanger systems	Alfa-Laval Alfa-Laval	5 l 1 l
	Plate pasteurizer	Alfa-Laval	100-500 l/h
	Plate pasteurizer	Alfa-Laval A3-HRB	2,000 l/h 4 s - 4 min
High pressure pasteurizer	High pressure pasteurizer	Alstom	Maximum Pressure: 7000 bar Volume: 3 l
pH-meters	Table top pH-meter	Radio Meter PHM 82
	Table top pH-meter
	Table top pH-meter	Radio Meter PHM 82
	Portable pH-meter (2)	Beckman
	Stearing and heating plate (4)
Pumps	Curd pump	Hydro Dynamique Ltée Ibex 2130	400-4,000 l/h
	Diaphragm pumps	Sand Piper PB1-A Sand Piper SSA-2-A Sand Piper	0 - 1,000 l/h 0 - 4,000 l/h - 2 1/2 po 0 - 1,000 l/h - 1 po
	Screw pumps	Firing Monoflow SMH 22B8 Allweiller AG Netzch MES 40A	0 - 250 l/h 0 - 100 l/h 2 inches
	Centrifugal pumps	Thomsen Crepaco Crepaco Alpha-Laval Alpha-Laval	1,000 l/h 24,500 l/h 8,800 l/h 24,500 l/h 31,000 l/h
	Positive pumps	Albin variable 1 1/2 Amicon variable réversible 1 1/2 Ibex variable	200 - 2,000 l/h 20 - 2,000 l/h 1 - 1,000 l/h
	Vacuum pump
Stuffer	Vacuum stuffer	Handtmann VF-10-50	8 - 65 kg/min
	Hydraulic piston stuffer	Villa SP25	25 l
	Fresh sausage portioning cutting machine	Devro HandCrank Linker	Casing Diametre: 13 to 34 mm Length: 4 to 5 1/4 inches
	Double clipping stuffing system	Poly-Clip DCA-U Automat	Maximum Casing Diametre: 72 mm
Presses	Horizontal cheese press	Kusel LS	25 × 9 kg
	Vertical cheese press	Perfora 504 OP	10 - 20 kg
	Hydraulic cheese press
	Tunnel press	Alpha-Laval	4 × 10 kg 10 × 1 kg
Juice press	Juice press with crusher	Goodnature X-6	180 to 270 kg fruit/hour (minimum: 20 kg)
Pulper	Pulper-finisher - Extractor	Brown 6600	9 - 23 l/min
Milk reception	Milk reception	APV Hall Crepaco	2 × 4 500 l
Filler	Piston filler	Simplex Fuller AS 1	30 - 590 ml
Filler	Paste, cream and liquid filler	H.G. Kalish inc.	26-520 ml PCL/2
Tanks	Storage tank (2 units)	Milkeepler Crepaco SND	3,000 l 3,875 l
	Aseptic storage tanks (2)	Alpha-Laval Steritank	600 l
	Nylon tanks		200 l 400 l 500 l
	Double wall tanks	Alpha-Laval Alpha-Laval Alpha-Laval mobile Alpha-Laval mobile Tri Canada (5) Apv Palardy Palardy Apv Palardy Apv Palardy Marine Alpha Marine Alpha Palardy Palardy (5) Alpha-Laval Falco (2)	500 l steam 1,000 l steam 600 l steam 250 l steam 500 l × 5 steam 400 l hot water 300 l steam 80 l hot water 200 l hot water 150 l hot water 100 l hot water 100 l hot water 85 l steam 25 l steam 25 l hot water 20 l hot water 500 l hot water 100 l steam
	Single wall tanks (20)	Apv	bell-mouthed 36 l, 85 l
Cutting saw	Cutting saw	Biro 3334SS	150 mm ribbon saw
Dryers	Hot air dryer	National TY 2	4 × 60 cm × 90 cm × 15 cm
	Spray-dryer	Niro P6.3 modèle V	Evaporation: 20-50 kg H₂O/h
	Spray-dryer	Buchi 199	Evaporation: 1.5 l H₂O/h
Can sealer	Can sealer	Wisconsin Alum. Foundry	10, 14, 19, 28, 40 oz Automatic Master (300 ml - 1,2 l
Sieve	Laboratory sieve		Seive: 4 to 80 mesh
Sieve	Vibrating sieve	Kason	Seive: 14 to 165 mesh
Slicers	Bread slicer	Sinmag
Slicers	Manual slicer	Hobart 1612	knife 300 mm diametre
Slicers-pealers	Transverse slicer	Urschel OV	1/16 inch, straight or ripple
	Dicer, strip cutter and slicer	Urschel GK	2,500 kg/h size (0,6; 1,0; 1,3 cm)
	Potato and vegetable peeling machine	Blakeslee XC 60 T	23 - 27 kg
UHT	UHT Sterilizer direct or indirect	Sterilab	100 l/h
Membrane separation units	Ultra-filtration unit	Koch UF-180 S	Spiral membrane 19 m² Tubular membrane 19 m²
	Ultra-filtration unit	Romicon	6 tubular membranes (6 × 2.3 m²)
	Nano-filtration unit		2 membranes
	Ultra-filtration unit	Romicon	1 membrane, 900 cm²
	Micro-filtration unit	Amicon	3 mineral-ceramic membranes (0.2, 0.5, 1.4, 3.0 μm
	Bactocatch Microfiltration unit	Alpha-Laval MFS-7	3 membranes of 1.4 m² (0.1, 0.8, 1.4 μm)
Volumeters	Loaf volumeters	National	400 - 1,000 cm³ 1,675 - 3,000 cm³
bar: bar unit cm: centimetre cm²: square centimetres cm³: cubic centimetre °C: degree Celsius g: grams h: hour H²O/h: water per hour kg: kilogram kg/h: kilogram per hour kg/min: kilogram per minute l: litres l/h: litres per hour m: metre m²: square metres m³: cubic metres Max.: maximum Min.: minimum min: minutes mm: millimetres ml: millilitres μm: micrometre oz: ounce rpm: rotation per minute s: seconds UHT: Ultra-high temperature

Procedures

Clients of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Food Research and Development Centre's Industrial Program can develop various products. The list below represents only a portion of the procedures available through the Program.

Procedures (partial list)

Biomass and metabolite production
Cheesemaking and cheese aging
Coagulation
Cooking
Drying
Evaporation
Fermentation
Filtration
Freeze-drying
Freezing
Grinding
High-pressure processing
Homogenization
Irradiation
Mixing, emulsification
Packaging and processing
Pasteurization (thermal, filtration, ultra high pressure)
Pressing
Smoking
Sterilization (canning, UHT, aseptic processes)
Texturization, extrusion
Three-phase centrifugation (liquid-liquid-solid)
Two-phase centrifugation (liquid-liquid, solid-liquid)

Other available facilities

Fully computerized sensory evaluation laboratory
Crossroad for Food Innovation Technology (Business incubator)
4 confined pilot plants including services, office, storage room and cook room
2 laboratories for emerging businesses
40 controlled atmosphere rooms
20 high-security offices
Microbiology, biotechnology, biochemistry, physiology and chemical analysis laboratories
Library with access to scientific and business data banks
94-seat auditorium with multimedia projection and sound systems
Conference and meeting rooms

For more information, please contact us at 450-768-7999.

Other services

In collaboration with INITIA (formerly the Governor's Foundation), the following services are available.

Information retrieval and analysis service
This service allows anyone who has questions on a technological or more general aspect of the agri-food sector to obtain quick answers.
Save time! A phone call or visit will put you in touch with specialized staff that can help you quickly find the information you need.
For more information, contact INITIA: info@initia.org.
List of consultants and laboratories
A list of consultants and laboratories in the food processing sector is available for your perusal through INITIA.
Note: this list is provided strictly as a courtesy and must not be construed as a recommendation of the services of one or more specific firms by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
To have your consulting firm or your laboratory appear on the list, contact INITIA: info@initia.org.

Products

Clients of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Food Research and Development Centre's Industrial Program have used the program's equipment and facilities to make a variety of products. The list below contains some of the products created by them.

cheese
processed cheese
yogurt
ice cream
butter
margarine
milk powder
cold-pasteurized milk
condensed milk
canned food (fruit, vegetables and meat)
pasteurized prepared food
powdered and liquid ingredients
ham
sausages
pâtés
mousses
jams and preserves
sauces
juices
bacterial cultures
condiments (sauces, ketchup, mustard)
pudding
breakfast cereal
snacks
bread
cakes
cookies
crackers
prepared fresh fruit

Fee schedule

**Industrial Program access and support fees**
Description	Hourly cost ($)
Access	$43.78
Support: Scientific	$65.68
Support: Professional	$41.70
Support: Technical	$31.27

A cost estimate is submitted for approval before the beginning of a project.
Access time is calculated based on the actual time the equipment is used and excludes time used for consultation, protocol preparation or data analysis.
Supplemental charges directly related to a project (such as copies, supplies or equipment cleaning.) are charged at the cost actually incurred by the Centre.
This fee schedule is subject to change without notice.

Service Standards

Our goal is to achieve our service standards a minimum of 80% of the time under normal circumstances:

Respond to general inquiries made to our phone number or email address before the end of the next business day
Acknowledge receipt of your application within 1 business day
Assess your application and send you an approval or a rejection decision notification within 10 business days

Contact Information

For more information about the Industrial Program, or to access the facilities and equipment, please contact us at:

Email: aafc.programmeindustriel-industrialprogram.aac@canada.ca
Telephone: 450-768-7999
TDD/TTY: 613-773-2600

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