M
Victory for food lab employees
e
New$40millionstate-of-the-art
m
foodlabtobebuiltinAlbany
b
e
ByDARCYWELLS importantworkthesescientistsperform,”
r
Thehighlytrainedfoodchemistsand Comanzosaid.
microbiologistschargedwithsafeguarding “AndhavingitlocatedinAlbanyisvital
THEPULSENET TEAM—BrianSauders M
thefoodweeatwillsoonbeabletodo tothetimelyreceiptoffoodsamples.”
(seniorfoodbacteriologist),MariaSanchez
theircriticalworkina$40million,state- Albanyiscentrallylocatedbetweenthe
(FERN/PulseNettechnician),KurtMangione
o
(associatefoodchemist),andPeterOlsen
of-the-artfacilitybeingbuiltatthe westernareasofthestate,wheremanyof
(bacteriologist). — Photo by Shelly Pickett
b
HarrimanResearchandTechnology thedairysamplescomefromandcloseto
CampusinAlbany. NewYorkCitywherealargenumberof
i
l
Foodlaboratoryemployees,whoare othersamplesoriginate.
i
mainlyPEFDivision275members Thenewthree-story,70,000-square-
z
workingforthestateDepartmentof footfoodlabwillbelocatedapproximately
a
AgricultureandMarkets,havebeen 100yardsfromtheexistinglaboratory. t
fightingathreatstartedbyformerGov. i
GeorgePatakitobuildanewlabin State-of-the-art
o
Geneva. FoodchemistBobSheridaniseagerto
n
beginworkinthenew,modernfacility.
Location, Location, Location
MariaSanchezworkswithavirulence
“Itwillmakeourjobsaloteasier,”
attenuatedstrainofbacillusanthracis
“ThecommitmenttotheAlbany Sheridansaid.
(anthrax)underbiosa
locationhasbeenalongtimecoming,” “Weareconstantlybattlingpoor
P
f
h
e
o
t
t
y
o b
le
y
v
B
e
ri
l
an
2
conditions. — D. Sauders
saidPEFVicePresidentTomComanzo. workingconditionsinourcurrentfacility
Membersmobilizedquicklyinthefall suchasinefficientpowerandinadequate
of2006tofighttheproposedmoveto temperaturecontrol.”
Geneva. AccordingtoSheridanandotherswho
Divison275CouncilLeaderand workatthelab,chemistsoncehadto
ExecutiveBoardmemberRonBrown shovelsnowoffalabbenchaftersnow
recalledtheannouncementofthe driftscamethroughtheceiling.
proposedmovebytheformer “Ourcurrentbuildingwasbuiltin
commissioner. 1963,”saidseniorfoodbacteriologist
“Thecommissionerwasaskedifthere BrianSauders.
wasanychancethedecisioncouldbe “Thenatureoftheworkwedohas
reversedandhesaid‘nochance,’”Brown evolvedinthattimeandthecomplexityof IFYOUBUILDIT—PEFVicePresident
said. thetestinghasincreaseddramatically.” TomComanzospeaksatapress
ButasBrownpointedout,thatwas Lastyearalone,scientistsperformed
conferenceAugust7atthesiteofthenew
beforememberspulledtogether. approximately140,000analysesonmore
foodlab.FoodLabDirectorDanRice, Ag
“Membersattendedralliesagainstthe than19,000samplesoffood,beverages,
andMarketsCommissionerPatrick
moveandprovidedfactstotheunionand animalfeeds,fertilizerandlime.
HookerandCommissionerofGeneral
themedia,”Brownsaid. Theanalyseswerepartofregulatory
ServicesJohnEganare
Theyalsoheldpressconferences surveillanceprograms,foodborne-illness-
—
al
P
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h
o
ot
p
o
r
b
e
y
se
D
n
a
t
rc
.
y Wells
outsidethecurrentlabandonthesteps outbreakinvestigations,consumer capabilityoftestingfood,beveragesand
ofthestateCapitol,lobbiedlegislatorsand complaints,andinvestigationsof animalfeedforselectagentsthrough
toldanyonewhowouldlistenhow suspectedfoodadulteration. biosafetylevel3andchemicalterrorism
importantitwastokeepthelabin “Anewlabwillallowustoexpandour laboratoryprograms,whicharelackingin
Albany. testingcapabilitywhileincreasingour thecurrentfacility.
Itpaidoff. efficiencyandtakingadvantageofthe Thenewlabisstillinthedesignstage.
“Havinganewstate-of-the-artfacility latestdiagnostictechnology,”Sauders Thestateplanstobreakgroundforit
withadditionalworkspace,‘cleanspace’ said. withinayear.Constructionisexpectedto
w
an
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w
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g
ventilationiscriticalforthe Thenewfacilitywillprovidetheadded
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9—Page5
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