Dr. Nazanin Vafaei receives the Mitacs Outstanding Innovation Award.

Vafaei’s groundbreaking research to optimize this underutilized method for sustainable food processing has earned her the prestigious Mitacs Outstanding Innovation Award.

Research Fueled by Passion

For Nazanin Vafaei, research has been a deeply personal journey. She moved from Iran to Malaysia to pursue her research, where she witnessed firsthand the destruction of forest and wildlife habitats for palm oil production. Determined to develop a sustainable alternative, she began using supercritical fluids, a cleaner solvent-free system. However, the supercritical unit she needed was broken and, after a seven month wait, she started searching the globe for a better-equipped research facility.

Her search ultimately led her to Winnipeg, where she found the resources and mentorship, she needed at the Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research.

“I followed my dream and l found a facility here in Winnipeg at the Richardson Center,” Vafaei says. “When I first came as a visiting researcher, I worked with Dr. Curtis Rempel and Dr. Martin Scanlon who is the Dean. In my PhD project we used supercritical fluids to develop a kind of fats that can replace palm oil with less environmental impact, lower levels of saturated fats and other health benefits.”

A New Approach to Canola Oil Extraction and Protein Preservation

First developed at the University of Manitoba, canola oil is one of the top three food oils consumed worldwide. While traditional solvent-based extraction methods are effective, supercritical fluid extraction operates at significantly lower temperatures which enhances the quality of canola meal for use in functional foods.

This new methodology, developed by Vafaei, first removes a portion of the oil through mechanical pressing, followed by high-pressure CO₂ to extract the remaining oil resulting in an oil-free canola meal. This method preserves protein integrity, making canola meal that is more suitable for high-value food applications such as plant-based burgers, high-protein pasta, and protein supplements.

“Our tests show that canola meal contains 40% protein, making it a valuable ingredient for plant-based foods,” explains Vafaei. “The supercritical fluid method uses only CO₂, a process commonly used for decaffeinating coffee. Applying this method to canola allows us to extract high-quality, expeller-pressed oil while maintaining a protein-rich meal with no oil or solvent residues.”

In addition to preserving the high protein content and amino acid profile of canola meal, tests showed this method had good functional properties, including high water-holding capacity, foaming stability and emulsification ability, crucial properties for developing dairy and meat alternatives.

“This process is practically waste-free, using only CO₂ gas, which can be repressurized and reused,” says Vafaei. “The lower temperature used in our process protects the protein’s natural structure, making the canola meal more functional for food applications.”

The next step in Vafaei’s research is to explore scaling up production, with a proposal recently submitted for potential collaboration with the University of Alberta, the University of Guelph and the University of Saskatchewan. If funded, this research will assess the commercial viability and potential industry adoption of the method.

“I congratulate Dr. Vafaei on this successful innovation and her recognition with the prestigious Mitacs award,” says Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice-President Research and International. “By following her passion, she has shown that environmentally sustainable practices can be achieved while also increasing potential economic gain. This has tremendous potential to reshape agricultural practices here in Manitoba and around the world.”

A Vision for Global Impact

Beyond the scientific and technological advancements, Dr. Nazanin Vafaei is driven by the potential global impact of her work on sustainable food production.

“Our canola oil has a lovely roasted nut aroma and a bright, golden color,” says Vafaei. “Because we use a combination of expeller pressing and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) at lower temperatures, the seeds don’t burn, and we’re able to retain more natural antioxidants.”

By preserving protein integrity and enhancing nutritional quality, her method ensures that canola meal remains a high-value ingredient for plant-based food applications worldwide.

“We’ve demonstrated an exciting proof of concept—our process maintains the full amino acid profile of canola protein while increasing antioxidant levels, thanks to the gentle extraction conditions.”

Looking ahead, Vafaei hopes this innovation will inspire broader adoption of sustainable processing methods in the food industry.

“I am truly honored to receive the Mitacs Award, and I hope the success of this project will encourage more environmentally conscious developments—not just here in Canada, but globally.”

With the growing demand for plant-based proteins and sustainable food solutions, Vafaei’s work has the potential to reshape food production practices while reducing environmental impact worldwide.

The University of Manitoba postdoctoral researcher flew to Ottawa earlier this week to accept an innovation award from Mitacs, a Canadian non-profit research organization.

“I’m really honoured,” Vafaei said. “I think it’s payoff … for all these years.”

To read the full story, please follow the link here to the Winnipeg Free Press. 

Here is a full list of this year’s MITAC winners.

At the time, the Winnipeg company had 13 employees.

A few years later, Dehkordi received one of the first internship grants from national non-profit organization Mitacs for a research project at RTDS.

To read the full story about the announcement, please visit the Winnipeg Free Press.