Food Innovation & Research Studio
(FIRSt)

George Brown College

Toronto, ON

ABOUT FIRSt

FIRSt supports the food and beverage industry with scientific R&D services from our lab located at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario. We provide our clients with creative, practical, and science-based insights to solve product development challenges and help them bring new ideas to market


Contact FIRSt

FIRSt Dan Reilly

Dan Reilly
Director, FIRSt

+1-416-415-5000x6962

dreilly@georgebrown.ca


FIRSt Andrea Orazi

Andrea Orazi
Business Development Manager, FIRSt

N/A

andrea.orazi@georgebrown.ca



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RESEARCH AND INNOVATION EXPERTISE

EXPERTISE

  1. Product development
  2. Product optimization
  3. Recipe development
  4. Consumer sensory research
  5. Focus groups
  6. In-plant trials and pilot testing
  7. Shelf-life testing and validation
  8. Nutritional analysis and Nutrition Facts Tables (NFTs)
  9. Claims, regulatory, and packaging review
  10. Food science consulting

Previous Research Projects:

Fields of projects:

  • Spreads and dips
  • Soups
  • Sauces
  • Snacks (granola, protein bars, chips, etc.)
  • Frozen desserts and ice cream
  • Coffee and tea
  • Baked goods and baking mixes
  • Beverages (including alcoholic / carbonated)
  • Powders, flavours, applications

TECHNOLOGY SECTORS

  1. Agriculture
  2. Food Innovation

EQUIPMENT AND LABS

Equipment Function
A 4000 square foot facility with a large kitchen filled with typical kitchen and factory-scale processing equipment (ovens, mixers, scales, kettles, blenders, etc.) Applied research and testing
Private secured testing kitchen within facility Proprietary research and development
State-of-the-art quantitative sensory testing facility Consumer sensory evaluation
Sensory evaluation software Consumer sensory evaluation
Beverage carbonators Product development
Homogenizer / emulsifier Product development
Mixers (Hobart, Robotcoupe) Product development
Food dehydrator Product development
Freeze drier Product development
Steam kettles (scrape-surface, etc.) Product development
Brew / steeping kettle Product development
Ice cream machine Product development
Blast chiller / freezer Product development
Tabletop convection burners Product development
Combi oven Product development
Accelerated shelf life chambers Product testing
ESHA Genesis nutritional database software Product testing
Quality measurement tools including: Moisture meter, pH meter, Viscometer, Colorimeter, Chromameter, Refractometers, Water Activity Meters, etc. Product testing
Metal detector Product testing