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WALSH URGES GOVERNOR TO SITE NEW FOOD SAFETY LAB IN GENEVA

Congressman Says New State Facility Will Build on Previous Investments

(Syracuse, New York)- Congressman Jim Walsh today called upon Governor Eliot Spitzer to construct New York State’s new Food Safety Lab at the Cornell Agriculture & Food Technology Park in Geneva.

In a letter to Governor Spitzer, Walsh argued that the Geneva site offers many benefits and would compliment existing agricultural research and food safety initiatives in the Finger Lakes region, including federally funded research projects at Cornell’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, the Cornell College of Agriculture in Ithaca, and the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua.

“Adding the State’s Food Lab alongside existing facilities would not just promote cooperation between scientists and facilities, but would also bolster economic development in the area,” wrote Walsh.  “The Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park has already generated millions in investment and created hundreds of jobs.  Locating the Food Safety Lab there could only work to lure more business, investment, and jobs to the region.”

As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, since 2005 Walsh has secured close to $8 million in federal agriculture research funding to Cornell facilities in Ithaca and Geneva for projects including apple fireblight and grape genetics.

Last fall, former Governor George Pataki designated the Geneva site as the location for the new $40 million facility, though recent press reports have suggested that the Spitzer administration is reconsidering that decision.

“Farmers, growers and processors throughout Wayne County and the Finger Lakes region rely on the support and services of researchers in Geneva and Ithaca,” added Walsh.  “It’s important that the State’s efforts in this arena coordinate with ongoing Upstate initiatives to support agriculture, still the largest sector of the New York economy.”

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