TrustBIX Inc. Receives National Research Council Funding for Joint Project with UK-Based Arden Biotechnology

Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 26, 2021) - TrustBIX Inc. (TSXV: TBIX) ("TrustBIX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it received funding approval on April 1, 2021 from the National Research Council of Canada ("NRC") worth up to $300,000. The funding will be used to finance a 2-year project running until March 31, 2023 with UK-based Arden Biotechnology Ltd. to provide traceability for the development of its poultry natural feed supplement "Sustavian". The overall project budget is up to $1.2 million, with TrustBIX and Arden Biotechnology each funding up to $300,000 and the balance of funding provided under a Canada-UK industrial research and development program. NRC announced^[1] the award on May 20 2021.

Sustavian is an antibiotic replacement technology for poultry and improves the feed conversion ratio, enabling faster production times and reduced emissions. In addition, demand for verified antibiotic-free meat products is anticipated to grow significantly in the coming years.

TrustBIX will enhance its BIX software platform to trace products and analyze sustainability metrics for poultry produced using Sustavian. This will support producers and processors to identify best management practices and validate 'gate to plate' sustainability claims.

Dr. Doug Korver, Researcher at the University of Alberta notes, "The Sustavian approach takes advantage of the world-class facilities and poultry research team at the University of Alberta's Poultry Innovation Partnership. These facilities allow us to conduct intensive screening of candidate products, and scale-up to facilities representative of commercial poultry operations. Upon demonstration of efficacy, the close relationship between the research team at the University and the poultry industry in Alberta and Canada will be leveraged to implement the product in the real world."

"We are delighted to collaborate with TrustBIX in the development of Sustavian," notes Dr. Chris Stanford, CEO, Arden Biotechnology. "As a recognized leader in livestock traceability and sustainability, TrustBIX is a natural partner. In response to a growing demand to enhance sustainability in poultry production in the UK, Canada and globally, the consortium wishes to address necrotic enteritis (NE), the financially debilitating and poor-feed disease in poultry, by utilising a proprietary bacteriophage cocktail developed by Arden Biotechnology, 'Sustavian'."

Karen Haugen-Kozyra, President, Viresco, said, "We are delighted to work with the project partners to develop sustainability metrics prioritised by packers, retailers and consumers."

"TrustBIX is known for adding value to and accelerating the sustainable food chain," said Tom Ogaranko, TrustBIX Chief Innovation Officer. "Collaborating with innovators like Arden Biotechnology to develop and commercialize Sustavian will improve the productivity and sustainability of Canadian poultry farming by reducing emissions and antibiotic use. With our Canadian partners, the University of Alberta and Viresco Solutions, this project will enable our BIX team and platform to build on our experience in the beef industry and create new attributes for protein products."

About Arden Biotechnology Ltd.

Arden Biotechnology was founded in 2017 in the heart of Lincolnshire in response to mounting pressures on global livestock producers. Farmers around the world are keen to meet a growing demand for excellent quality beef, pork, lamb and poultry obtained from animals reared with exceptional welfare standards and without reliance on traditional antimicrobials for profitability. Our mission is to introduce cutting edge, natural and efficient biological controls that actively negate the impacts of removing antimicrobials from meat production in an economical, environmental evidence-based approach.

About the University of Alberta

The University of Alberta in Edmonton is one of Canada's top teaching and research universities, with an international reputation for excellence across the humanities, sciences, creative arts, business, engineering, and health sciences. Home to more than 38,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff, the university has an annual budget of $1.9 billion and attracts more than $500 million in sponsored research revenue. The U of A offers close to 900 rigorous undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in 18 faculties on five campuses-including one rural and one francophone campus. The university has more than 275,000 alumni worldwide. The university and its people remain dedicated to the promise made in 1908 by founding President Henry Marshall Tory that knowledge shall be used for "uplifting the whole people."

About Viresco Solutions Inc.

Viresco Solutions Inc. is an Alberta-based environmental consulting firm active in the agriculture and energy sectors to develop science-based metrics and solutions that enhance social license and public trust in sustainability and carbon road-mapping.

About TrustBIX (TSXV: TBIX)

As an innovative leader, TrustBIX provides agri-food traceability. By addressing consumer and agri-food business demands, the Company has a goal to become the most trusted and largest source of third-party food traceability and sustainability information globally - Gate to Plate®. TrustBIX Inc.'s focus is to create a world where we trust more, waste less and reward sustainable behaviour. The Company's proprietary platform, BIX (Business infoXchange System), is designed to create trust without compromising privacy through innovative use of data and technology. Extensive R&D has allowed TrustBIX to create a new blockchain-derived technology to complement its mature and proven traceability systems. By leveraging BIX and its unique use of incentive solutions, the Company can deliver independent validation of food provenance and sustainable production practices within the supply chain. ViewTrak Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, provides a suite of hardware and software solutions to the livestock industry in Canada, United States, Mexico and China, such as Auction Master Pro, Market Master, Feedlot Solutions and pork grading probes. For more information, visit www.trustbix.com^[2], or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/@TrustBIX_Inc^[3], Facebook at www.facebook.com/BIXSco^[4], or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bixsco-inc-/^[5].

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking information and reflects the Company's present assumptions regarding future events. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, levels of activity, performance, and/or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "propose", "anticipate", "believe", "forecast", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions used by any of the Company's management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Company's internal projections, expectations, future growth, performance and business prospects and opportunities and are based on information currently available to the Company. Since they relate to the Company's current views with respect to future events, they are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments except as required by applicable securities legislation, regulations or policies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Hubert LauPresident and CEOTelephone: (780) 456-2207Email: info@trustbix.com^[6]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/85401^[7]

References

1. ^{^} announced (www.newsfilecorp.com)
2. ^{^} www.trustbix.com (www.newsfilecorp.com)
3. ^{^} twitter.com/@TrustBIX_Inc (www.newsfilecorp.com)
4. ^{^} www.facebook.com/BIXSco (www.newsfilecorp.com)
5. ^{^} https://www.linkedin.com/company/bixsco-inc-/ (www.newsfilecorp.com)
6. ^{^} info@trustbix.com (www.newsfilecorp.com)
7. ^{^} https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/85401 (www.newsfilecorp.com)