Food safetyFood safety business plan competition

The Emerging Technology Accelerator (ETA), an initiative of the Battle Creek, Michigan-based Global Food Protection Institute (GFPI), said it will partner with the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest (GLEQ) to sponsor a business plan competition for ventures in food safety. This competition will provide entrepreneurial support to fast-track the development of emerging technologies that safeguard the food supply.

ETA said it is seeking business plans that address a critical need for new technologies that streamline food monitoring by improving sample collection, sample preparation, and by making detection more cost and time effective. ETA is also interested in new technologies that improve food processing to eliminate pathogens and toxins.

The winner of the competition will receive a cash prize of $10,000 that will be presented at the GLEQ Awards Banquet on Tuesday, 12 June 2012.

“Technology plays a key role in protecting the food supply and consumer safety. Presently, there is an urgent need for new tools that quickly, affordably and accurately detect and remove contaminants in food,” said Julia Bradsher, president and CEO of GFPI. “This award will assist entrepreneurs as they work to advance their ideas to the commercial stage.”

“Sponsorships like that of the Global Food Protection Institute attract more and broader-based entrepreneurs to the GLEQ business plan competitions,” said Diane Durance, GLEQ executive director. “The competitions provide many entrepreneurs with a critical first experience vying for attention and funding dollars, and this new $10,000 category award opens up the field and encourages the efforts of Michigan innovators in food safety.”

Registration is open, and for information on how to apply, go to http://www.gfpi.org/eta or http://www.gleq.org.