Manitoba’s Food Development Centre and the University of Manitoba will collaborate on finding foods more fit for fiftysomethings.
The provincial research centre, based in Portage la Prairie, and the university on Friday announced a research project that will start by arranging consumer focus groups to home in on the food products most commonly consumed by people ages 50 and over.
From those results, fortified and enriched prototype foods will be developed using Manitoba-grown crops, “containing the necessary
nutrients for the baby boomer generation (and) pleasing to the
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The new products, to be developed with the help of the Manitoba Food Processors Association, will then be made available to Manitoba food companies for commercial-scale production, the province said.
The research project was kicked off Friday with a funding pledge of $80,000 from the province. Results from the research project are expected to be made available by 2009.
Apart from developing healthier
adults, slowing the onset of chronic illnesses and setting up new business opportunities for Manitoba food companies, the project is also expected to build up markets for Manitoba farmers through the
production of nutritional ingredients derived from oats and flax.
Announcing the funding at a news conference in Portage la Prairie, Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk noted Canadian baby boomers now number 9.4 million,
accounting for nearly a third of the population and
representing a substantial market for age-specific,
nutrient-enriched foods.
“This initiative will lead to the
development of easy-to-prepare, appealing foods with increased
nutritional value that will help increase the number of healthy
dietary choices available to consumers in the 50-plus age range,” said provincial Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross in the province’s news release.
