Team:ULaval/Implementation

ULAVAL BAR Template

PROPOSED IMPLEMENTATION

We begin the planification of our project in March. We talked to some professionals.When we talked to them, we thought of including their advice in our planification. This is very important to have a realistic project.

Our project is about maple syrup. When we began to think about some problems for the maple syrup industry, we did a lot of research and found some solutions to those problems. Finally, we chose to work on ropy maple syrup. Ropy maple syrup is a syrup that produces a filament measuring over 10 cm. We can not use this syrup for consumption, because it is difficult to include in maple products (Pelletier and Lagacé 2018).Finally, we want the maple syrup producers to make money with ropy maple syrup so it can be used and not become a waste product.

The end users will be the Producteurs et productrices acéricoles du Québec (PPAQ, french for Maple Producers of Quebec, a private maple syrup federation). They would use our technology to transform ropy maple syrup into a valuable product. The PPAQ are open to use our product and would be a valuable partnership for the development of our product. The syrup is stored at between 10 - 15 °C, which is below the typical room temperature. We plan on using the enzymatic treatment directly in the barrels containing the maple syrup, but we are also considering directing the ropy syrup through filters coated with our enzyme. Next year we will work on the development of the transformation procedure to identify the relative efficiency of each of our options. We will do some experimentation as explained in the engineering success page.After the enzymatic treatment, the maple syrup could be used by the food industry in products such as confectionery, bakery, vinegar, and alcoholic beverages.

For the safety of our product, our enzymes will have to be food grade. This begins with the purification process for the dextranase. If there are traces of the enzyme in the syrup, there is a chance that people develop an immunity reaction, such as allergies. If the product does not have a heating step to denature the dextranase, we will have to find a method to extract the enzyme. If the product has a heating step, the enzyme will be denatured.

We will do a survey to know if the product is accepted by the consumers. The survey will clearly explain to the consumers what our product aims to do and how it could help the maple industry. Similarly, we will clearly explain how our project complies with all the relevant regulations of the maple industry and how we expect to guarantee the safety of the product. In Canada, we have a federal legislation on maple products. Maple products are subject to some government agencies such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) and Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). For the USA are Food Drugs Act (FDA) and the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) (Government of Canada, 2020a).

Maple Syrup is a syrup obtained only by the concentration of maple sap or by dilution/ solution of a maple product in potable water (Government of Canada, 2020b). In Canada, there are two grades : “Canada Grade A” and “Canada Processing Grade” (Pelletier and Lagacé 2018). The grades are based on light transmission and quality standards. Figure 1 presents the information of each grade. If a syrup is not in this grade, it is not usable. We will characterize our treated ropy syrup to make sure it complies with these grades.

Figure 1. Grade and characteristics for maple syrup

During the production of maple syrup, we can use food processing aids. A food processing aid is a substance that is a technical effect during food processing; its use does not affect the intrinsic characteristics of the food and results in no or negligible residues of the substance or its by-products in or on the finished food (Government of Canada, 2020c). We will have to put the enzyme on the food additive list of Canada Health, if it is not a food processing aid.