Prairie Tide Chemicals | Start-up company has received government funding to help sell orbitides to cosmetic and pet food industries
Prairie Tide Chemicals has received federal government funding to help commercialize its value-added flax products.
Agriculture Canada is contributing $535,000 to the start-up company.
“PTC aims to be the first company to commercialize an element of flaxseed oil called orbitides for use in health food, cosmetics, pet food and possibly pharmaceuticals,” said company president Martin Reaney.
Orbitides are what gives flax oil its bitter taste when it sits too long. Removing the orbitides from the oil results in sweet flax oil and a healthful byproduct that can be used in a variety of applications.
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PTC is working with Bioriginal, a Saskatoon food processor specializing in omega products. Bioriginal will process the seed and market the sweet flax oil and PTC will refine, purify and market the orbitides.
Reaney said the business will rely on facilities at the University of Saskatchewan.
“We own nothing. We’re able to use the resources that are here,” he said.
The orbitides will be refined at the POS Bio-Sciences pilot plant and purified at the Bioprocessing Pilot Plant at the university’s agriculture college.
PTC is already manufacturing the product, and the federal government funding will be used to improve processing efficiencies and product quality.
“The next step is to just start selling,” said Reaney.
The orbitides suppress inflammation, reduce redness and have anti-aging properties. The initial targets will be the cosmetics and pet food industries.
“When you start making things, you’re always looking for the markets that are more valuable and more easily entered. It’s very hard to get into the pharmaceutical space,” he said.
Ag-West Bio provided the company with $300,000 in early-stage funding. Mike Cey, director of corporate initiatives with Ag-West, said it is a worthwhile project for Saskatchewan, where 80 percent of the country’s flax is grown.
“Manitoba has developed a love affair with soybeans and corn to a lesser extent, and we’re seeing those flax acres come into Saskatchewan in an even larger way,” he said.
“So it makes these kinds of value-added efforts even more important for the entire industry.”
