Functional Technologies awarded $2.5m to develop yeast technology

Functional Technologies has announced that its subsidiary, Phyterra Yeast Inc., has been awarded $2.5 million in non-dilutive funding from the Government of Canada's Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) under the oversight of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

The funds will support a fast-track project by the company to develop and commercialize the application of its proprietary acrylamide-preventing yeast technology, Acryleast(tm), in the processed potato industry.

This is a significant achievement, as Phyterra's funding application was selected out of numerous competing submissions after an intensive scientific peer-review process, highlighting the innovative strength, global commercialization potential, and value of the Company's technologies to the potato processing industry.

Reflecting the importance of Functional Technologies' yeast-based technologies as a potential viable solution to the formation of acrylamide in a variety of potato-based foods including battered products, major industrial potato processors expressed their keen interest in, and endorsed, this project and application.

Sector- specific trials (e.g. baked goods and snack foods) conducted in Europe with the Company's acrylamide-preventing yeasts have demonstrated greater than 90% acrylamide reduction, providing proof-of-concept validation and a strong basis for translating the platform over to industrial potato-processing protocols.

"For multinational food companies, an important aspect to remaining competitive in the global marketplace is to adequately address the health and liability associations in the world's foods supply," said Howard Louie, Functional Technologies' chairman and CEO.

"Functional Technologies is pleased to have achieved high efficacy with our acrylamide-preventing yeasts not only in the lab, but also in specific sectors in the industry. With this funding, we look forward to expanding that expertise into different sectors."