A new diagnostic kit to test vitamin A and D content in fortified milk and other dairy products will get almost $1 million in federal funding to help see it through the marketing phase.
SciMed Technologies of Edmonton has developed VitaKit A and VitaKit D, which the company says will allow dairy processors to reliably, efficiently test the vitamin content of their own milk.
Use of the kit will cut both the cost per sample and the time that process takes to “as little as two hours” compared to three to five days using current testing methods, the company said.
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The federal government funding, announced Tuesday in Edmonton by Wetaskiwin MP Blaine Calkins, will flow through the Agri-Opportunities program for “accelerated commercialization” of ag products and services. It will go toward the company’s plans for commercial development of VitaKit A and VitaKit D, the government said.
“This funding will allow us to move beyond the beta stage of product development and move rapidly toward commercialization of our VitaKits,” SciMed president Dr. Rajan Gupta said in the government’s release.
For dairy consumers, the government said, the test kits’ commercialization will help to make vitamin fortification of milk products more consistent and boost both quality control and assurance.
Much of the vitamin A and D found naturally in milk is removed in low-fat milk and dairy products, the company said. Vitamin concentrates must then be added before the milk is consumed. Analysis is the only way to ensure the vitamins have been replaced in “appropriate quantities,” the company said.
SciMed has said its VitaKit line has been validated in a blind study involving major North American dairy processors such as Fonterra, Lucerne, Parmalat, Saputo and Nestle.
“This type
of innovation in the dairy sector is a win-win for processors who can achieve real cost
savings, and also for Canadians who will benefit from improved quality of milk products,” Calkins said in his release.
