Senator Nozzolio Announces $600,000 in State Funding for Cornell’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva

New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio today was joined by Dr. Kathryn J. Boor, Dean of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Dr. Susan Brown, Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, to unveil a major new acquisition for the Station’s Food Venture Center that will help revolutionize the food processing industry.

Senator Nozzolio announced that he has successfully secured $600,000 in State funding that will enable Cornell University’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva to purchase and install a state-of-the-art Hiperbaric 55 High Pressure Processing machine.  The addition of this machine will allow the Experiment Station, which is part of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to conduct transformational research, instruction and outreach that will revolutionize the food processing industry, expand new markets for locally grown agricultural products and create new jobs in the Finger Lakes region and throughout New York State.

This new equipment will put the Experiment Station at the epicenter of the food processing industry by providing needed food safety certification for new products.  This is also exciting news for the grape industry, as well as companies that produce dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt.  

As a non-thermal alternative to thermal pasteurization, the Hiperbaric machine will dramatically extend the shelf life of food products. In addition to housing the Hiperbaric machine as an important component of a modernized food laboratory at the Experiment Station, Cornell University will provide trained calibration and testing staff to assist food companies seeking to expand and create new food products while ensuring the highest level of consumer safety.

The Hiperbaric 55 uses high pressure instead of high temperatures to eliminate food-borne pathogens. It is being rapidly adopted by the food industry for ready-to- eat products because of its many advantages over high temperature methods, including:

• Greater food quality as High Pressure Processing retains the products nutritional properties;
• Enhanced food safety for consumers as pathogens are destroyed more effectively and efficiently;
• Extended product shelf life as well as higher quality;
• Avoiding or reducing the need for food preservatives;
• New opportunities for value-added agricultural products that cannot be thermally treated but are amenable to High Pressure Processing.
  
  

“Bringing this complex High Pressure Processing equipment to the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station and to Cornell University is an extraordinary opportunity to promote innovation in Geneva, and job growth for New York food processors, especially in the Finger Lakes region,” said Senator Nozzolio.

“High Pressure Processing research and testing capacity located right here at the Experiment Station in Geneva is a win-win situation for our local food processors who will now have immediate access to the state-of-the-art food processing technology,” Senator Nozzolio continued. “It was an honor to work with President Elizabeth Garrett, Dean Dr. Kathryn Boor and Station Director Dr. Susan Brown to bring this important technology to Cornell and the Finger Lakes region. I am pleased that the partnerships between farm and food companies, researchers, and state government will attract food processors from throughout the Nation to use the resources at the Experiment Station and Cornell University, leading to future economic job growth for our region and New York State.”

“We sincerely appreciate Senator Nozzolio’s efforts to secure funding for this important technology that resonates with Cornell’s Land-Grant mission to advance the common good,” said Cornell University President Elizabeth Garrett. “The addition of High Pressure Processing capability to the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva will enable Cornell researchers to open new frontiers for food safety while boosting the competitiveness of New York’s food processors.”

“This exciting partnership represents the best of Cornell University’s Land-Grant mission, supporting economic vitality for those who grow and sell food products in the State of New York while ensuring the safety of those products for consumers throughout the United States and beyond,” said Kathryn J. Boor, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). “CALS has long been a pioneer in food safety and the addition of Hiperbaric’s high-pressure processing equipment firmly establishes the college as the leader in this vital field of research. I thank Senator Nozzolio for his steadfast support of CALS, our mission, and our state’s growers and food entrepreneurs.”

“For more than a century, Cornell’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station has been an essential resource for the farm, food and beverage industries in New York, from new fruit and vegetable varieties to commercialization of new products. The addition of the Hiperbaric 55 to our food processing technologies on campus will enhance research expertise needed by producers of ready-to-eat foods and juices—and the consumers who enjoy their convenience, nutrition and safety,” said Dr. Susan Brown, Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.

For over 100 years the New York State Experiment Station has developed revolutionary technologies that have become essential in growing the food to feed our Nation and the world while strengthening our local and state economies. The Experiment Station provides services to millions of New York’s consumers, agricultural producers, food businesses and farmers. The purchase of this new equipment will provide the necessary tools for the Experiment Station to remain on the cutting-edge of food processing innovation.

Last year, Senator Nozzolio successfully secured $3.4 million in State funding to begin a major expansion at the Experiment Station. This expansion, when completed, will help to create local jobs and will contribute greatly to the region’s reputation of being a leader in the industry. This funding is being used to modernize the Fruit and Vegetable Processing Pilot Plant, the cornerstone facility in which the New York State Food Venture Center carries out product and business development operations. The Center serves over 3,000 companies per year, many of which are startup food processing businesses.

“We are fortunate here in the Finger Lakes to be home to one of the world’s premier agricultural research centers. Funding for the new High Pressure Processing machine will provide the necessary equipment to expand the quality and efficiency of New York’s food processing industry and will provide New Yorkers with additional opportunities to succeed,” concluded Senator Nozzolio.

Continuing his commitment to the agriculture industry in the Finger Lakes Region, Senator Nozzolio will host a “New York Loves Food” forum along with the Cornell Experiment Station, Senator Patty Richie, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Assemblyman William Magee, Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, as well as representatives of the food processing and farm industry to discuss ways to expand our rapidly changing food industry and its markets. The forum will be held on Wednesday, October 14^th at the Cornell Experiment Station in Geneva.  For further details contact Senator Nozzolio’s office at 315-568-9816 or 518-455-2366.

IMAGE 1 - Pictured left to right are: MN; Dr. Kathryn Boor, Dean of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Dr. Susan Brown, Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.

IMAGE 2 - Pictured left to right are: Rick Marshall, Sales Manager and Director of Hiperbaric USA.; Bill Strassburg, Vice President of Wegmans Food Markets; MN; Dr. Kathryn Boor, Dean of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Dr. Susan Brown, Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station; Kraig Kayser, President and CEO of Seneca Foods Corp.; and Frank Cavallaro, Vice President of Research and Development at LiDestri Foods.

IMAGE 3 - Pictured left to right are: MN; Dr. Susan Brown, Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station; Dr. Olga Padilla-Zakour, ‎Professor and Chair for the Department of Food Science at Cornell University; and  Dr. Kathryn Boor, Dean of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.