Griffin, Ga. – The University of Georgia Griffin campus will break ground on its newest building-the UGA Griffin Food Technology Center-on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. near the southeast corner of the Melton Building.
The ceremony will include remarks from Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, University System of Georgia Regent Tommy Hopkins, UGA President Jere W. Morehead, Rep. David Knight (R-Griffin) and Chuck Copeland, chairman of the Griffin-Spalding Development Authority board.
The event is free and open to the public, with a reception immediately following the ceremony.
Gov. Deal, the General Assembly, the University System of Georgia chancellor and board of regents, the Griffin-Spalding Development Authority, the U.S. Economic Development Administration and UGA provided the leadership and funding for the project. The new facility will house UGA’s Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center, or FoodPIC Center.
“When completed in 2016, FoodPIC will have the facilities and equipment necessary to extend its reach and increase its leadership role within the global food industry,” said Dick Phillips, FoodPIC Center director and professor emeritus in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The state-of-the-art facility will house pilot plants and laboratory spaces for hot and cold temperature work; wet and dry processing; quality control laboratories; refrigerated, frozen and dry storage; a demonstration kitchen; and administrative offices.
In this new facility, researchers from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and industry experts will provide innovative guidance to business owners in the areas of food product development, concept generation and evaluation, packaging, safe processing, business development, pilot plant preparation and consumer acceptance. The FoodPIC staff includes engineers, chemists, microbiologists, consumer sensory scientists and research chefs.
Parking will be available near the main gate in the large parking lot off Experiment Street.
For more information on FoodPIC, see http://www.caes.uga.edu/center/foodpic/.
