Downtown Campus plans for food testing institute

The United States imports millions of tons of seafood each year, but the quality of the food is dangerously unstable, according to international news reports.
So FCCJ is partnering with local companies to develop a program that will train students, generate extra revenue for the college, and respond to international market demands.
More than 85 percent of America's seafood market comes from the 5 million tons imported each year, according to The Institute for Food Safety Overview, an FCCJ document that outlines the program.
Questions of the safety and quality of our seafood imports have been raised this year with news of contaminated and substituted fish. The increase of imports and questionable food sources has placed analytical food testing technicians in high demand.
What is FCCJ's solution?
A multimillion dollar Institute for Food Safety that will be able to train up to 100 students as biotechnology laboratory technicians, said Kathyrn Birmingham, Downtown Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences and administrator of the Institute. Birmingham is expecting a first cohort of 24 students to declare a major of Biotechnology Lab Testing Technician for the A.S. Degree at the College in fall 2009.
"Getting the new A.S. degree is a great opportunity to work with research scientists, make a difference in an important health issue and get into highly innovative companies," said Birmingham.
Upon graduating, students will have opportunities to work with laboratories "worldwide to test samples from processing locations in China, Vietnam, India and South American nations, as well as domestic ports of entry and frozen storage facilities worldwide," according to the institute overview.
If food testing is not your thing the biotechnology lab skills acquired in this A.S. degree can apply to agriculture, pharmaceutical research, medical research and biomedical device fields, said Birmingham.
Preferred Freezer Services Inc. is building the 20,000 square foot Institute facility at its own cost near the Downtown campus, said Birmingham. Expected to be completed in June 2010, the building will be split in two identical labs: the first 10,000 square feet will be a commercial test lab which will generate revenue for the college by lab testing; the second 10,000 square feet will be a mirrored image lab for students to train and gain firsthand lab experience.
"Preferred Freezer will own the building and give the college a low-cost lease," said Birmingham. "The college will own all the equipment."
The institute's primary objective is workforce training; its second goal is to generate an estimated $500,000 for student scholarships by providing sample testing for FDA/USDA compliance, according to the institute overview and the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Much of our seafood comes from Chile. In fact "Chile exports more salmon to the United States than to any other country besides Japan," reported the New York Times. In recent months millions of Chile's salmon were killed by a virus. Experts said that "the crowded conditions have given rise to illnesses and stressed the fish, making them more susceptible to catching viruses," according to a New York Times article Sept. 03, 2008.
"China, the leading exporter of seafood to the U.S., is raising most of its fish products in water contaminated with raw sewage and compensating by using dangerous drugs and chemicals, many of which are banned by the Food and Drug Administration," according to a WorldNetDaily.com article on June 04, 2007. Amounts of exports are rising while the "percentage of important seafood shipments with samples taken for laboratory inspection has decreased over the past four years."
Not only is the safety of seafood in question, but also its authenticity. In the past year over 20 Tampa area restaurants thought they were serving grouper, but a DNA analysis discovered it was less expensive fish. Sysco, a main supplier to these restaurants, "will pay $200,000 for the state's legal fees," said the Jacksonville Business Journal, and "donate $100,000 in products to charity food programs.