Feds invest $2.43M in food inspection tech company

The federal government is investing $2.43 million in P&P Optica Inc. to help the Waterloo startup promote its food inspection technology for meat processors.

Its smart imaging system allows processors to inspect meat automatically on the production line by analyzing the composition of food, evaluating properties like tenderness, freshness and its protein, water and fat content. 

The system promises to detect imperfections and eliminate foreign bodies like plastic, bones and rubber. 

Funding, which comes from the government’s AgriInnovate Program, will allow P&P Optica to build demonstration units that allow the company to present its technology to potential users. It will also be used to construct a demonstration room. 

"PPO is focused on working with food processors to improve the safety and quality of our food supply, while reducing waste. We're excited about the opportunity to promote our automated inspection system, which is already operating in plants across the US, to Canadian meat processors. We believe the Canadian meat industry, already a global leader in quality products, can increase our competitive edge even further by using technologies like PPO's Smart Imaging System,” P&P Optica CEO Olga Pawluczyk said in a statement.