CIFST - Manitoba

Thursday, February 19, 20206 afternoon plant tour at La Cocina

We had the pleasure of touring the facility with Jodi Warkentin, Owner, Laura Deveau, FSQA Manager, and Melissa Sanders, Agri-Food Processing Inspectors/Health Officer, Government of Manitoba—all exceptional leaders.

La Cocina is experiencing impressive growth at ~40% year over year, with a facility expanding at an incredible pace.

The operation is hyper-clean and highly efficient. And the highlight? Fiesta Flavour Chips—absolutely delicious fresh off the line.

A wonderful tour overall, and we truly appreciate the warm hospitality.

🚀 Student Career Night 2026 🚀
Join us for an engaging panel discussion on:
“Career Prospects for Food and Human Nutritional Sciences Students: Opportunities in the Food Industry, Government, and Academia.”
✨ Meet professionals from academia, industry, and government
🍕 Enjoy a pizza dinner (because networking is better with food!)
🤝 Connect with experts and explore career paths in your field
📅 Date: Friday, March 27, 2026
Location: 172 Agriculture Building, University of Manitoba, 66. Dafoe Road West, Winnipeg, MB.
Interested in competitions too?
👉 Find out more about IFT College Bowl 2026

📌 Please RSVP by March 20, 2026
https://lnkd.in/gQDg5hiQ

🎉 CIFST 2026 Canadian Food Summit – Call for Volunteers 🎉
We’re excited to begin planning the CIFST 2026 Canadian Food Summit, a milestone event celebrating 75 years of advancing food science and technology in Canada.
We’re looking for volunteers to help amplify our outreach by sharing personalized communications with colleagues, departments, and industry contacts. Your support can make a real impact in growing and strengthening our food science community.
Interested in getting involved? Contact Shaina at [email protected] to learn more and receive next steps.
Let’s work together to make CIFST 2026 a success!

The CIFST Manitoba Section successfully launched the 2025/26 Mentorship Program with a Meet and Greet event held on October 23, 2025. This year’s program features 22 mentor–mentee pairings, bringing together professionals and students from across the food industry, government, and academia.

Our mentors represent a diverse range of expertise, including food and biosystems engineering professionals working in industry and public sectors, while our mentees include undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-doctoral researchers from food and biosystems engineering disciplines. Notably, several mentors are joining us from outside Manitoba and even from the United States, reflecting the program’s expanding reach and connectivity.

During the event, we officially launched the mentorship program and reviewed the current program structure, which will continue to evolve and improve throughout the Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 sessions. The evening concluded with lively networking among the mentors and mentees in attendance, as well as successful virtual introductions for our remote participants.

The CIFST Manitoba Section is excited to see the relationships and professional growth that will develop through this year’s program, as mentors and mentees embark on their journeys of career development, learning, and meaningful connection within the food, human nutritional sciences and biosystems engineering community.

Register for the RCFTR Food Technology and Research Day on Thursday, November 13 @ 100 Innovation Drive

Please RSVP here https://lnkd.in/gcQnmB9a

Agenda includes:
13 speakers from industry, government and academia
48 research posters
Free lunch
CIFST Manitoba sponsored mixer @ 2:45pm
Great networking and learning opportunities
Option to tour RCFTR facilities
Moderated by RCFTR Director Rotimi Aluko

What topics will be discussed?
1. Cold plasma processing
2. Soybean meal valorization
3. Flavouromics and artificial intelligence for improving pan bread applications
4. Lupin as a source of protein
5. Protein digestibility of plant-based meat analogs
6. Moringa as a novel ingredient for plant-based foods
7. CO2 extraction of vegetable oils
8. Creating novel pulse ingredients for today’s consumer
9. Upcycling potato starch
10. Applying Indigenous science for food system innovation
11. Innovating Canada’s cereal crops
12. Extending the shelf-life of meat products
13. Enhancing grain quality by studying the genomic profile of ergot
14. Sub-zero storage and drying of canola
15. Enhancing industry research communication

LinkedIn This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn