Page 4 - Salute to Agriculture

B4 WESTMAN THIS WEEK THE BRANDON SUN n THURSDAY MARCH 25 2021
n
Shape Foods

broadens scope

BY TYLER CLARKE straightforward — vast in Oil can be used for such
scale, but “not in-depth.” products as an ingredient in
A global enterprise at the Sourcing cleaned product non-dairy beverages for its
east end of Brandon, Shape from Zeghers Canada in Hol- omega 3 content, while flax
Foods processes approximate- land and Vandaele Seeds in meal can be used for various
ly 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of Minto, their mainly automat- things, such as baking and pet
flax in an average year. ed plant gets to work as soon food.
At various stages of expand- as grain trucks’ contents pass “Flax meal is also used as an
ing to accommodate hemp, an initial inspection. egg replacement, if you want-
sunflower seeds and their own Product is then vacuumed ed to have a truly vegan meal,”
line of in-house products, the into the plant’s largely auto- Snidal said.
company has worked to diver- matic process, which begins Shape Foods has been in
sify its appeal in recent years. with it being crushed into flax Brandon for approximately 10
Company president and meal and flax oil. years and employs 21 people,
CEO Vernon Snidal walked the The oil is still dark at this with much of their product
Sun through their operations stage, so it’s filtered to get the shipping out of the coun-
recently, from pre-deposit in- sediment out and packaged try — mainly to the United
spection to readying product into totes for export. States, though their exports
for overseas shipment. Flax meal is either refined or stretch around the globe.
By food-processing stan- exported as flax meal, depend-
dards, he said it’s ultimately ing on the client’s needs. » See ‘In-house’ — Page B6

We involve ourselves in all things farming –

offering everything from tractor tires

to on-the-farm services.

Brandon, MB 204-725-1523 fountaintire.com

Shape Foods lab technician Diogo Janiaski inspects yellow flax seed. (Tyler Clarke/The Brandon Sun)

WEST END Produce
Fresh

START YOUR

Spring Scratch
Freshly
Baked
From

Fresh Designs
OFF Custom
Floral

More

Deli Baked
& Wide Goods
Selection
of Meat

3409 VICTORIA AVENUE | BRANDON | 204-727-3443 bdnsobeyswest bdnsobeyswest