High quality protein concentrate from canola meal

A method of producing a non-animal based protein concentrate comprising:

• pelletizing a substantially dry substrate selected from the group consisting of cereal grains, bran, sawdust, peat, oil-seed materials, wood chips, and combinations thereof;
• passing moisture through said pelletized substrate;
• inoculating said moisturized pellets by fogging atomized inoculant onto said moisturized pellets, wherein said inoculant comprises at least one microbe;
• incubating the inoculated pellets at a suitable temperature under solid state fermentation conditions in a first chamber;
• transferring said incubated pellets to one or more second chambers;
• drying and milling said transferred pellets;
• and
• recovering the resulting protein concentrate comprising the at least one microbe.

A method of producing a protein concentrate from canola using fermentation comprising:

• contacting canola containing, liquid substrate with a microbe selected from the group consisting of Trichoderma reesei and Fusarium venenatum;
• incubating the contacted substrate for sufficient time, and at a pH of between about 4.0 to about 6.0, to convert the carbohydrates contained in said substrate into protein to form a protein concentrate, wherein incubation is carried out with perturbation of the substrate;
• and
• isolating the resulting protein concentrate,
• wherein the resulting protein concentrate exhibits a reduction in glucosinolate concentration of between about 69% to about 98%.