An Ottawa tech company will get a $2.7 million injection from the province to help it develop a new water and food pathogen detection product, Infrastructure Minister and Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Bob Chiarelli announced yesterday.Chiarelli visited Spartan Bioscience yesterday to learn about the company’s water testing technology and to announce that 50 new clean water jobs will soon be created in Ottawa thanks to the province's funiding.
“We will develop a system for the rapid detection of pathogens in food and water,” said Spartan Bioscience CEO Larry D’Andrea. “The system that we developed right here in Ottawa will help to strengthen the safety of the food and water supply.”
The on-site water testing system will reduce analysis times from 72 hours to about two to four hours and help reduce the risk of bugs such as Listeria, E. coli, and salmonella. The government funding will go toward the $7.8 million dollar project, as the company immediately expands the number of employees from 20 to 43.
“We have left in our wake the terrible legacy of Walkterton. Today, Ontario has the highest standards of drinking water in North America,” said Chiarelli.
He also said the high-tech is in revival mode in Ottawa and looks forward to see the Spartan system expand globally.