U.S. Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $600,000 in federal funding for Halomine, Inc, a Cornell University-based company. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), and will support groundbreaking research to modernize the way food processing plants sanitize food processing equipment.
“Amidst the pandemonium of the pandemic, Cornell-based Halomine is conducting vital research that will give New Yorkers the peace of mind that the food on their tables is safe to eat,” said Senator Schumer. “Contaminated food sickens millions and kills thousands of Americans every year making proper food processing equipment sanitation all the more important to keeping consumers healthy. I will always fight to ensure that food safety research is fully supported to shore up our food supply especially in these trying times.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has put a financial strain on small businesses conducting vital public health research,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Halomine’s project could exponentially increase the efficacy of food processing equipment sanitization and help keep millions of people healthy by lowering the risk of cross-contamination. I’m proud to announce this federal aid to support New Yorker’s innovative research to keep our country safe from foodborne illnesses.”
“Halomine is a great example of the real-world benefit and commercial impact of Cornell research. It is a member of our Praxis start-up incubator, a participant in NSF I-Corps programs, and has been supported by Cornell’s Technology Acceleration and Maturation as well as Scale Up and Prototyping grants. It is a recipient of a New York State–funded Grow-NY prize and one of a growing community of high-potential upstate New York startups built on Cornell technologies. We are proud of their success and look forward to their further growth as supported by this important funding from USDA. Cornell is also grateful to Senators Gillibrand and Schumer for their steadfast support of USDA’s research budget,” said Emmanuel P. Giannelis, Vice Provost for Research and Vice President for Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property and Research Policy at Cornell University.
Forty-eight million Americans suffer from foodborne illnesses every year. Halomine’s research is focused on creating a cost-effective and accessible product that has high-efficacy against pathogens to improve the food safety disinfectant process.