The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced last week that it was investing more than $1.1 million in grants to 11 U.S. small businesses. The grants will address emerging food safety, food processing, and nutrition issues.
Some of the projects that will be receiving the grant money include:
- Wisconsin's Hagen Logistics is working on using blockchain and distributed ledger technology so freight shippers can track, trace and efficiently certify liquid food grade and dairy transportation.
- Washington-based Stixfresh USA is testing essential-oil based formulas to determine their effectiveness as a safe and natural way to suppress microbial spoilage of fresh fruit.
- New Jersey's Paragon Flavors is assessing the viability of sprouting whole-grain rice to create nutritionally dense, sustainably enhanced, consumer-friendly food ingredients for packaged food products.
The next Phase 1 request for applications for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is scheduled to open in July 2021, with a deadline in October 2021. SBIR fosters and encourages participation by women-owned and socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses.
Learn more about USDA’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
