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Canadian government investing in spinach

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Canadian government investing in spinach

The Government of Canada is committing up 2.9 million dollars in repayable
funds to promote a unique process of delivering active components from
organic baby spinach for use in new cosmeceutical products.

September 8, 2008, Montmagny, Que. – The Government of Canada is committing up $2.9 million in repayable funds to promote a unique process of delivering active components from organic baby spinach for use in new cosmeceutical products.

Spinach in flower.

Once an agreement is signed, the funding will help PureCell Technologies Inc. to construct a 10,000 square foot extraction and cosmeceutical manufacturing facility in Montmagny, Que. The new facility will enable the company to extract, purify, stabilize and condition the molecular compounds responsible for the photosynthetic process in baby spinach. These compounds have demonstrated anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and have been used to develop cosmeceutical products such as sunscreen lotion and two anti-aging creams.

Under the project, PureCell Technologies will also establish a quality management program for Canadian organic spinach producers and is expected to create 20 direct and 60 indirect jobs. Additionally, the project is expected to generate over $1 million in company revenue in 2009, and over $22 million by 2012.

The project is being supported under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Agri-Opportunities Program.