Saskatchewan can grow soybeans and extract enzymes from them. The challenge now is to find markets and new investors.
BioSynergeuticals Inc., known as BioSyn, produced several bottles of soybean extract for demonstration purposes during a one-day pilot project in July, explained company chair Lorne Nystrom.
BioSyn uses a process to extract enzymes from soybeans that does not involve chemicals or crushing.
The plant has been inspected and approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and some equipment and two workers are at its site in an old water bottling plant in Wynyard, but production is not expected to begin anytime soon.
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“Production will depend on markets,” he said.
Nystrom said BioSyn will instead focus on creating nutritional information for labels and getting approval for the soybean extract as a simple food from Agriculture Canada.
The soybean extract is believed to benefit cardiovascular health, diabetes, allergic reactions and acne by helping create balance within the body.
Nystrom said the next step is to get the enzyme approved as a functional food, which would allow BioSyn to market its health benefits. That will require independent studies.
Asia is the most likely first market for BioSyn, which is financed by Asian Canadians.
Two Wynyard area growers have experimented with growing and supplying the plant’s soybeans, something that will get easier when shorter season varieties more suited to Saskatchewan’s climate are created.
Nystrom is cautiously optimistic about BioSyn’s future.
“It’s a path not travelled before, which makes it exciting” but also uncertain, he said.
He added that the product offers natural alternatives for improving human health without side effects often felt when using traditional drugs.
