government global hunger and food security initiative funded by the U.S. Keenum noted the center continues MSU’s long history of working to develop and improve the aquaculture industry throughout Mississippi and beyond, citing the university’s recent designation as headquarters of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish, a U.S. “Our faculty, staff and students are driven to find efficient and effective ways to feed the world while also bolstering our state’s economy.” “This is an exciting venture for our university as it couples economic development with food safety and security, two strategic research initiatives at Mississippi State,” Keenum said. Keenum said the center’s impact on food safety and the blue economy-a term used to describe sustainable use of ocean resources while maintaining the coastal water quality-will be tremendous. An incubator space to work in partnership with the industry will be an adjacent addition for transfer technology developed in the safety of the pilot plant. To be constructed in three phases, the first phase includes construction of a biosafety laboratory and an analytical chemistry laboratory for measuring chemical residues in water and aquatic food products, capabilities that are currently exported out of the state.Īdditional phases will include a commercially equipped pilot plant for processing, shelf-life research and product development. The center will provide the Gulf Coast seafood industry with robust safety testing and quality assurance.

The Northern Gulf Aquatic Food Research Center is funded in part through the RESTORE Act, administered through the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, Jackson County Board of Supervisors and Jackson County Port Authority have formally approved siting the center on four acres in the Sunplex Light Industrial Park, located on Mississippi Highway 57, approximately one mile from Interstate 10 and U.S.

STARKVILLE, Miss.-Mississippi State has received formal approval to build the Northern Gulf Aquatic Food Research Center, a multi-million-dollar facility in Ocean Springs and the first of its kind on the Mississippi Coast.

Gulf coast facility scheduler