The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, revealed the last six finalists of the Novel (modern) Technologies Streams for the Food Waste Reduction Challenge on January 16, 2023. Virtually chatting with the finalists, Minister Bibeau gained insight into their innovative plans to decrease food waste. The entries to the Novel Technologies Streams of the Food Waste Reduction Challenge were scored based on predetermined criteria, such as the volume of food waste they were predicted to prevent, the degree to which they were innovative and scalable, and the environmental, social, and economic benefits they were expected to provide. As the Challenge progresses, an External Review Committee of professionals in relevant fields evaluates submitted solutions and makes recommendations for prize recipients. In June 2022, 12 finalists were chosen from the FWDCBMS or Food Waste Reduction Challenge's Business Models Streams. Each finalist got up to $400,000 and advanced to the Challenge's final round, where they might win one of two great prizes of up to $1.5 million. The finalists are as follows: Genecis Bioindustries Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba; Carbon Lock Tech of Winnipeg, Manitoba; Clean Works Inc. of St. Catharines, Ontario; Aruna Revolution Health Inc. of Trois-Rivières, Quebec; and Genecis Bioindustries Inc. of Kitchener, Ontario (Scarborough, Ontario). In addition, 18 finalists were awarded $100,000 in January 2022 to use toward developing prototypes of their ground-breaking technologies. Having presented their best concepts to an External Review Committee, the top six finalists will now receive an amount of up to $450,000 apiece to put their technology through its paces in a real-world setting alongside at least one partner. The two top prize winners will each receive up to $1 million. The Challenge, funded to the tune of $20 million by the Government of Canada, is set to debut in November 2020 with the hopes of delivering high-impact solutions to food waste in Canada and speeding up their rollout. There are two categories and four subcategories for the Challenge. Specifically, the Novel Technologies Streams, whose finalists are being announced today, are devoted to creating technology answers to the problem of food waste. These strategies aim to either lengthen the shelf life of perishable food or repurpose food scraps into something useful. All told, 238 submissions came in from innovators worldwide, including many from Canada. These six finalists are Canadian commercial enterprises sporting an array of cutting-edge technologies that can be used in various contexts, including the preservation of pre-harvest crops, the extension of food storage times, and the conversion of food scraps into biodegradable plastics. As part of Canada's first-ever Food Policy, which lays out the country's goals for creating food systems that are healthier, more innovative, and more sustainable, the Food Waste Reduction Challenge was unveiled. Canada's government is committed to finding creative ways to cut down on food waste to improve food security, lower prices for consumers and companies, raise incomes for farmers and fortify the country's food infrastructure while reducing carbon emissions. Please refer to the Backgrounder or the Food Waste Reduction Challenge website for finalists in the Novel Technologies Streams list.