Determining the Opportunities for Ahiflower Oil to be Used as a Functional Ingredient in Packaged Food Products through Stability and Organoleptic Testing.

自然作物国际公司（NCI）位于爱德华王子岛的肯辛顿，从专业合同种植的作物中生产高价值，非商品，植物衍生产品，用于广泛的行业，包括功能食品，化妆品和特种化学品。加拿大最聪明的厨房（CSK），加拿大荷兰学院烹饪研究所的研发部门。通过这个项目，NCI和CSK打算合作开发新的和独特的产品，以Ahiflower®油为基础，在营养补充剂和功能食品市场销售，Ahiflower®油是NCI开发的一种受商标保护的植物来源的omega 3和6。主要目标是在不引入负面属性的情况下，最大限度地提高各种食品中Ahiflower油的比例，并产生积极的数据来支持其纳入。NCI是Technology Crops， LLC（一家总部位于北卡罗来纳州温斯顿塞勒姆的美国公司）的全资子公司，于2009年在加拿大大西洋成立，旨在创建一个卓越的商业中心，生产从新型油籽作物中提取的特种植物衍生成分。NCI已在爱德华王子岛（PEI）建造并委托了一个定制的最先进的油籽加工设施，以提供新颖的加工技术和其他增值能力，并为知识产权的发展提供了绝佳的机会。工厂还拥有农作物储存设施和设备齐全的符合ISO和HACCP标准的质量控制和研究实验室。Ahiflower®油是naturescrops的商标产品，源自Buglossoides arvensis的专利品种，Buglossoides arvensis是一种小型一年生植物，是欧洲和亚洲北部地区的本地物种，也是北美的引进物种。Ahiflower是NCI在过去十年中进行的优良遗传选择和传统（非转基因）植物育种技术的结果。目前，NCI为天然产品市场生产Ahiflower油，主要用于膳食补充剂。该项目的主要目标是将阿希弗花油加入到普通食品中，消费者可以将其作为日常饮食的一部分食用或饮用。油类食品的成功整合将为NCI创造新的国内和国际市场机会。在该项目中，加拿大的智能厨房将开发和优化产品，以最佳水平的Ahiflower油，确保产品的稳定性，最佳的健康益处，以及卓越的风味和感官特性。由于Ahiflower油富含易氧化的多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFAs），因此本项目将初步评估Ahiflower油作为单独和与其他油混合使用的食品成分的稳定性、物理特性和局限性。当考虑到本项目范围内一些主要食品类别的生产所固有的加工类型时，稳定性是特别值得关注的。例如，在考虑用于乳制品和饮料产品的Ahiflower油时，必须首先确定Ahiflower油在经过超高温（UHT）、高温、短时间（HTST）或任何其他热量或其他加工处理后是否会受到任何负面影响（营养、感官或其他方面）。

Natures Crops International (NCI), located in Kensington, Prince Edward Island, produces high value, non-commodity, plant-derived products from specialty contract grown crops for a wide range of industries, including functional food, cosmetic and specialty chemicals. Canada's Smartest Kitchen (CSK), the research and development arm of Holland College's Culinary Institute of Canada. Through this project, NCI and CSK intend to collaborate to develop new and unique products to be sold in the nutritional supplement and functional food markets, based on Ahiflower® oil, a new trademark protected, plant-derived source of omega 3 and 6 developed by NCI. The primary goal would be to maximize the rate of Ahiflower oil in various food products and generate positive data to support its inclusion without introducing negative attributes.NCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Technology Crops, LLC (a US Corporation based in Winston-Salem, NC) and was founded in Atlantic Canada in 2009 to create a commercial centre of excellence for the production of specialty plant-derived ingredients from novel oilseed crops. NCI has built and commissioned a custom state-of-the-art oilseed processing facility in Prince Edward Island (PEI) to provide novel processing technology and other value added capabilities, with excellent opportunity for development of intellectual property. The facility also has crop storage facilities and a fully equipped ISO and HACCP compliant quality control and research laboratory.Ahiflower® oil is a trademarked product of Natures Crops that is derived from proprietary varieties of Buglossoides arvensis, a small annual plant that is a native species to northern regions of Europe and Asia, and an introduced species to North America. Ahiflower was developed as a result of selection of superior genetics and conventional (non-GM) plant breeding techniques conducted by NCI over the past decade. Currently, NCI produces Ahiflower oil for the natural products market where it is primarily used in dietary supplements. The main goal of this project is to incorporate Ahiflower oil into common food products that the consumer would eat or drink as part of a regular diet. Demonstration of the successful incorporation of the oil food products would create new national and international market opportunities for NCI. In the project, Canada's Smartest Kitchen will develop and optimize products with optimal levels of Ahiflower oil, ensuring stability of the product, optimal health benefits and well as superior flavor and sensory properties. Since Ahiflower oil is high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are prone to oxidation, this project will initially assess the stability, physical characteristics and limitations of the Ahiflower oil as a food ingredient, alone and in blends with other oils. Stability is of particular concern when considering the types of processing inherent to the production of some of the major food categories in scope of this project. For example, when considering Ahiflower oil for dairy and beverage products, it must first be determined whether or not Ahiflower oil will suffer any negative effects (nutritional, organoleptic or otherwise) after undergoing an ultra-high temperature (UHT), high temperature, short time (HTST) or any other heat or other processing treatment.