Friday, April 20, 2018

Port of Everett Welcomes Food Studies

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place will be the new home of Washington State University School of Food Science’s Center for Advanced Food Technology.

The university has signed a three-year lease with the Port of Everett to use 4,800-square feet of office space at the Port’s Marina Village complex (near Anthony’s Homeport), as well as classroom space at the Port’s Conference Center.

"The vision of supporting the growth of the food processing industry in this region (is) a reality,” said Dr. Barbara Rasco, Director of the School of Food Science. “We are excited about this opportunity to collaborate with the Port of Everett in this innovative partnership and look forward to developing a more permanent facility at the Port to house our outreach, academic and research efforts as part of the land grant mission of WSU and the University of Idaho. These efforts will result in significant economic benefit to the people of Everett, Snohomish County, and the Pacific Northwest.”

The center will explore various food-related areas, including the development of innovative ways to process food to improve quality and safety, development of new products through application of biotechnology, and application of alternative energy technologies in processing facilities.