Washington | December 7, 2007 - Delaware's congressional delegation, Senators Joe Biden and Tom Carper (both D-DE) and Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE), announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a $156,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Innovative Food Processing and Preservation Technologies to University of Delaware in Newark for The National Needs Fellowship Program.  This money will help to fund the programs for graduate students at the University of Delaware who specialize in the subject of food safety.  In light of recent problems with the safety of food imports, the delegation believes this funding comes just in time.

"This is an important step towards guaranteeing the safety of our food supply," said Sen. Biden. "It enables our students to take a national lead in protecting our consumers and increasing confidence in what we buy, while reaffirming the USDA's recognition of the important role Delaware plays in agriculture and food processing." 

"The USDA does great work for consumers and farmers in Delaware," said Sen. Carper.  "The USDA recognizes the needs in our state and this grant will help bring in graduate students, provide educational opportunities and help us protect the health and safety of all Delawareans."

"It is so important to give those at the graduate level the resources that they need to study the science of food safety," said Rep. Castle.  "The Federal government is taking steps to ensure that they have these tools; it is a step that can certainly benefit all Americans in the long run."

"We are very pleased to hear that the Department of Animal and Food Sciences was awarded this grant, which will be used to recruit and train food science graduate students in innovative food processing and preservation technologies to ensure food safety," said Jack Gelb, spokesperson for the University of Delaware.