Guelph Research and Development Centre

  • Soil
  • Fruit Basket

 

The Guelph Research and Development Centre (Guelph RDC) located in Guelph, Ontario was established in 1997. It is one of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) network of 20 research and development centres. 

Watch the Pilot Plant Program video

Areas of Research

The Guelph RDC focuses on research and development in food safety and value added food attributes to help foster a profitable agri-food sector in Canada. A unique pilot-scale food research facility (Containment Level-II) and analytical facilities enable scientists to study pathogen survival rates during food processing and identify healthy food attributes. This work helps Canada continue to lead in food safety and promotes the availability of healthy foods.

Search Research projects from the Guelph Research and Development Centre to learn more about what we do.

Sector Needs

The Guelph RDC carries out innovative research, development, technology and knowledge transfer activities in support of AAFC's Strategic Plan for Science, which include: 

Addressing food safety threats to the value chain

Guelph RDC has a lead role in food safety research with emphasis on the control of bacterial pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, mycotoxins, and chemical threats in food production systems. A major focus is on developing and validating novel or current food processing technologies for enhanced food safety (biological and chemical threats) in a biosecure pilot plant infrastructure. Scientists are also investigating the microbiological and chemical safety in food production and manufacturing processes through developing novel green biocontrol tools and adapting current processes to comply with the current regulatory controls, such as antibiotic use and sodium reduction.

Improving attributes of agricultural commodities for food and non-food uses

Research is conducted to investigate and characterize the effectiveness of health promoting attributes of current or novel food raw materials and ingredients from Canadian agricultural origin that are of interest in food production systems. This research includes:

  • Demonstrating bioaccessibility, bioavailability and efficacy of bioactive compounds in vitro and in animal models;
  • Working with breeders and producers to support  marketing of crops and developing foods with health enhancing properties; and
  • Collaborating with science partners to demonstrate the human health benefits of novel functional foods and ingredients to support industry health claims and the availability of healthy food choices.

Meet our Scientists

Find out more about the scientists at Guelph Research and Development Centre through their profiles below.

You can also visit the Fields of Science campaign featuring 11 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists from coast to coast. Discover why they chose to pursue a career in agriculture and learn more about their research.

93 Stone Road West
Guelph, ON N1G 5C9
Canada
(226) 217-8200

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Scientists and researchers

Image Dion Lepp
Biologist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Molecular biologist: Microbiome & Antibiotic Resistance
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Dr. Elsayed Abdelaal
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Qi Wang
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Qiang Liu
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Tatiana Koutchma
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Ting Zhou
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Hany Anany
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image John Shi
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Joshua (Jianhua) Gong
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Lili Mats
Chemist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Matthew Nosworthy
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Moussa Diarra
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Rong Cao
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Sampathkumar Balamurugan
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Sandra Clarke
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Steve Cui
Senior Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Image Suqin Shao
Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

Publications

  1. Lepp, D., K. M. Doma, W. Wu, J. Tang, L. Clairmont, T. M. S. Wolever, A. M. Duncan and D. D. Ramdath (2023). Effects of bean consumption on fecal microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acid levels in adults with elevated LDL cholesterol. Canadian Nutrition Society 2023 Annual Conference. Quebec City, QC, Canada, May 4-6.

    2023 - View publication details

  2. Zaidi, S., Zaheer, R., Poulin-Laprade, D., Scott, A., Diarra, M. S., Church, D., Topp, E., Van Domselaar, G., Zovoilis., A. and McAllister T.A. 2023. Comparative Genomic investigation of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis across One-Health Sectors. AMR-One Health Consortium Second Annual Retreat. Banff Alberta

    2022 - View publication details

  3. Martinez Soto, C.; Anany, H., SMART design of a Multi-receptor Phage Cocktail to tackle Salmonella in Poultryin Salmonella enterica

    2022 - View publication details

  4. Martinez Soto, C; Anany, H., Characterization of a Multi-Receptor Phage Cocktail and Understanding the Cost of Phage Resistance Emergence in Salmonella enterica

    2022 - View publication details

  5. Liu R, Tse AT, Liu H, Neacsu D, Doma KM, Duncan AM, Shao S, Ramdath D, Lepp D. 2022. A Simple and Effective Method for Extraction and Measurement of Short Chain Fatty Acids in Human Serum by GC-FID, abstr 71st Canadian Society for Microbiology Annual conference, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, June 26 -29, 2022.

    2022 - View publication details

  6. Lone, A.; Anany, H., Is phage cocktail always the best choice? Antibacterial efficacy of individual and cocktail of phages against antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter jejuni.

    2022 - View publication details

  7. Lepp, D., Y. Zhu, X.-Z. Li, L. Clairmont, J. Tang, R. Bobb and T. Zhou (2022). Metagenomic analysis of microbial consortia exhibiting deoxynivalenol (DON) de-epoxidase activity. 71st Annual Conference of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists. Guelph, ON, Canada, June 26-29.

    2022 - View publication details

  8. Cuci, S; Anany, H., Characterization of Listeria phages for application to biosanitation

    2022 - View publication details

  9. Carlos Martinez, Michael McClelland, Cezar Khursigara, and Hany Anany*. Smart design of a phage cocktail to mitigate Salmonella contamination risk during poultry processing. Program book of the Oxford Bacteriophage Virtual Conference – Phages 2021.

    2021 - View publication details

  10. Hany Anany*. "Free and Immobilized Bacteriophage Applications to Enhance Food Safety from Farm to Fork." In program book of IAFP 2021 Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

    2021 - View publication details