Annual/Termination Reports:

[10/06/2010] [11/09/2011] [02/05/2013] [01/27/2014] [11/08/2014]

Report Information

Participants

Anantheswaran, R C (PA);
Aryana, Kayanush J (LA);
Balasubramaniam, V. M. (OH);
Ballard, Tameshia S (IN);
Barbosa-Canovas, Gustavo V. (WA);
Barringer, Sheryl A. (OH);
Chang, Sam (ND);
Gunasekaran, Sundaram (WI);
Hanna, Milford (NE);
Heldman, Dennis R. ;
Kaletunc, Gonul (OH);
Karwe, Mukund (NJ);
Lamsal, Buddhi P (IA);
Lo, Y. Martin (MD);
Mallikarjunan, Kumar (VA);
McCarthy, Kathryn (CA);
Muthukumarappan, Kasiviswanathan (SD);
Padua, Graciela (IL);
Payne, Fred A (KY);
Ruan, Roger (MN);
San Martin Gonzalez, M. Fernanda (IN);
Wilson, Lester A. (IA);
Yang, Wade W (FL);
Jackson, David S (Administrative Advisor);
Chen, Hongda (USDA NIFA Representative)
Soojin Jun (over the phone) (HI)

Brief Summary of Minutes

NC1023: Improvement of Thermal and Alternative Processes for Foods
Minutes of the Annual meeting held at South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD.
Sunday, October 3rd evening the group had dinner at Mom Alones Mexican Grill. Announcements related to next day meeting were made.

Monday October 4th morning 8.0 A.M. meeting, host Dr. Kasiviswanath Muthukumarappan welcomed everyone. After participants introduction, committee chair Kumar Mallikarjunan and Vice-chair Bala Balasubramaniam introduced various agenda items for the two day meeting. Meeting minutes were taken by Secretary Gonul Kaletunc. Meeting had 27 attendees. Attendees introduced themselves.
Multi-State Project Administrative Adviser Comments
Multi-state project administrative adviser Dr. David Jackson (Nebraska) emphasized the importance of multistate collaborative nature of the project. Impact of the project comes from collaborations of researchers from various stations. After two and a half year, there will be a project review to evaluate whether the project is on track. Therefore, it is extremely important to start collaborative projects. A good target is to have three fourth of the projects as collaborative. A good approach will be choosing one project for each objective and pursue it collaboratively.

Washington Update from USDA National Program Leader
Dr. Hongda Chen, National Program Leader, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provided Washington update. He summarized the recent organizational and leadership changes in USDA. Effective September 16, 2010, Dr. Catherine Woteki was confirmed as the Under Secretary. Dr. Roger Beachy is the Director of USDA NIFA for a 6 year term in September 23, 2009. NIFA mission statement is defined as leading Food and Agricultural Sciences to create a better future for the nation and the world. On October 1st 2010, NIFA was reorganized and the mission is expanded to include the world. Focus areas and potential funding in NIFA competitive grants program in 2010 were:
1) Climate change $55M
2) Bioenergy $40M
3) Food safety $20M
4) Nutrition and childhood obesity $25M
5) Global food security $19M
NIFA will establish a competitive programs task force. For Fiscal year 2010 AFRI budget was $262M ($40M increase from 2009). For FY 2011 Presidents proposal was $429M. House and senate are working on $310M budget. As of September 30, 2010 congress has passed a short term CR till December 3, 2010.
For 2011, expected RFA release is December 2010. Expectation is to have funding similar or higher amount than in 2010. New RFA is expected to be less focused compared to 2010.
Dean Barry Dunn welcomed the NC1023 committee and gave information about the college, the university, and the growing food processing plants in South Dakota.
Station Reports
It was decided that reports related to collaborative efforts among stations be presented.
Bala Balasubramaniam provided examples of the collaborative efforts between OH and other stations. a) multistate project for evaluation of selected alternative technologies for food quality focused on tomato with collaborators from OH, WA, CA, NC, Natick and Food Industry, b) a book was developed titled Nonthermal processing technologies contributed by OH, OR, WA, DE, PA, IL, CA, USDA ARS, Natick, FDA, and food industry, c) short course development for food industry.
Martin Lo reported collaborations:a) between MD and CA on xanthan/curdlan hydrogel complex application in frozen food products, b) between MD and LA on receovery of solanesol from tobacco using microwave assisted extraction.
Wade Yang (FL) mentioned a collaborative study with IL on extraction of xylane from corncob using ultrasound and tomato peeling by power ultrasound.

Graciela Padua (IL) mentioned collaborative efforts a) with IA on developing seminars, b) with KY and IA evaluation of different methods to determine the influence of low-dose radiation on the ability of rennet to form curds in cheese manufacture, c) with MD for co-editing a book, d) proposed collaboration to prepare a live book on Food Engineering.
Gustavo Barbosa Canovas (WA) mentioned about a) ISEKI-3 program funded by European Union open to European Union countries and ISEKI-Mundus program open to countries outside EU b) upcoming book on ultrasound, c) CORANET program participated by OSU, TAMU, NCFST, Rutgers, Tennesee, Michigan State, Clemson, d) collaboration with Purdue on pressure assisted thermal processing.

Muthukumarappan reported the collaborative efforts in SDSU. South Dakota State University have developed a funded Higher Education Challenge grant titled Recruitment and Retention of a Diverse Population of Food Safety Students Using Market Research for Enhanced Programs in collaboration with North Dakota State University and New Mexico State University.

Lester Wilson (IA) mentioned a) collaborative USDA project focused on produce sanitization in collaboration of colleagues from OH, IA and New Mexico, b) Cornell, Iowa and Romania and Slovenia about food safety education.
Roger Ruan (MN) mentioned collaborations a) with SD on non-thermal pasteurization, b) improve whole grain bioavailability.
A discussion about organizing symposia during ICEF 10, during May 22-26, 2011 was discussed.

Input for NIFA from NC 1023:
A discussion was moderated by Hongda Chen to identify proposal areas for USDA as a stake holder input. Points raised are:
1) 2010 RFP missed some food science work/food quality. It was focused on obesity.
2) It is difficult to find food quality in the RFP. Scope needs to be broadened.
3) Time after RFP announcement should be around 3-4 months.
4) Opportunity for fundamental and innovation type research should be available.
5) Language similar to 71.1 is preferred.
6) Foundational programs are misleading. Language should be made clear.
7) Can we have more challenge grant/special grants for fundamental/innovation projects?

New Adhoc Committees
A discussion to develop new adhoc committees around NC 1023 objectives was conducted.
1) Technologies detecting microbial contamination in foods (KY, IA, IL, WI)
2) Objective 1 b (chair: Bala)
3) Objective 1c (chair: Ashim)
4) Objective 1a (chair: Muthu)
5) Objective 2 (chair: Mark)
6) Objective 3 (Gonul, Martin, Bala, Lester)
Next CoFE Meeting

Martin and Kumar will organize CoFE in 2012 in Washington D.C. in April 2012.
Following CoFE meeting will be in 2015. Possible places are NJ, IL, Seattle, WA.

Next Meeting

Hawaii volunteered to serve as the next host. Majority agreed to select Hawaii as the next meeting place in October 2011. Potential meeting places WA in 2012, LA or NE in 2013, and KY in 2014.

There were two nominations for secretary position, Fernanda (IN) and Kai (LA). Dr. Fernanda, from Purdue University was elected as the next secretary.

The meeting was adjourned by 10:30 AM October 5th.

Accomplishments

1) A book was developed titled Nonthermal processing technologies contributed by OH, OR, WA, DE, PA, IL, CA, USDA ARS, Natick, FDA, and food industry<br /> <br /> 2) A workshop during Institute of Food Technologists on Food Processing and Packaging to Food Product Developers by NC1023 participants from VA, OH, TX, and IN stations.<br /> <br />

Publications

Impact Statements

1. Handbook of Nonthermal Processing - through collaborative effort of many stations.
2. Development of xanthan/curdlan hydrogel complex for application in frozen food products
3. Receovery of solanesol from tobacco using microwave assisted extraction

Back to top

Report Information

Participants

1. Ashim Datta (NY)
2. V.M. (Bala) Balasubramaniam (OH)
3. Caleb Nindo (ID)
4. Carmen Gomes (TX)
5. Cristina Sabliov (LA)
6. Daniela Bermudez (WA)
7. Dennis Heldman
8. Fernanda San Martin (IN)
9. Fred Payne (KY)
10. Gonul Kaletunc (OH)
11. Graciela Padua (IL)
12. Jayem Subiah (NE)
13. Kasiviswanath Muthukumarappan (SD)
14. Kathryn McCarthy (CA)
15. Kayanush Aryana (LA)
16. Kumar Mallikarjunan (VA)
17. Lester Wilson (IA)
18. Mark Morgan (IN)
19. Martin Lo (MD)
20. Mukund Karwe (NJ)
21. Paul Singh (CA)
22. Pawan Takhar (TX)
23. Richard Hartel (WI)
24. Roger Ruan (MN)
25. Rohan Tikekar (PA)
26. Sam Chang (ND)
27. Sheryl Barringer (OH)
28. Sudhir Sastry (OH)
29. Sundaram Gunasekaran (WI)
30. Swamy Anantheswaran (PA)
31. Tameshia Ballard (IN)
32. Wade Yang (FL)

Brief Summary of Minutes

The meeting was hosted by the University of Hawaii and held at Ala-Moana Hotel, Honolulu, HI, October 2-4, 2011. Dr. Soojin Jun served as the local host. The following is a brief summary of annual meeting.
" Sunday, October 2nd:
The group met for dinner. Announcements related to activities next day were made.

" Monday, October 3rd : 8:00am
V.M. (Bala) Balasubramaniam NC1023 Chair:
Welcomed the participants and presented agenda items for the next two days. Minutes were taken by Secretary Fernanda San Martin-Gonzalez. Meeting host Soojin Jun welcomed everyone and introduced Dr. Kenneth Grace, Interim Associate Dean for Research at the University of Hawaii. Meeting participants introduced themselves. Participants were able to interact with remote participants including various USDA national program leaders via Adobe connect, internet based software hosted by Dr. Hongda Chen, NIFA

Kenneth Grace, Interim Associate Dean for Research University of Hawaii:
Welcomed the attendees and mentioned that one of the greatest challenges faced by Agriculture in Hawaii is the shipment of agricultural products to mainland. In this regard, he mentioned that the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources spends considerable effort coaching producers in Food Safety related issues.

Meeting participants introduced themselves


David Jackson, NC1023 Administrator Advisor:
Introduced himself as Associate Dean of Research at the University of Nebraska and is the Administrative Advisor for the Multistate Project. He provided an update of some administrative changes and emphasized the importance of thoughtfully reporting Impact Statements due in November 2011. He requested that impact statements should be quantitative and made in terms of The economic, social, health or environmental consequences derived as benefits for the intended users. The committee has to prepare a 2 page long document that outlines future research needs and the type of impact they will have in the future. The committee also has to compile 2 years of annual reports with a statement and evidence of external funding, examining the future of funding and compile evidence of external funding that is collaborative in nature. He recommended that for the next year the committee should identify some specific impacts and quantify funding used for collaborations and leveraging. He suggested to include funded projects as well as attempted to get funding, and a statement about how expertise was leveraged.

Dr. Hongda Chen, National Program Leader:
He introduced Dr. Robert Holland (from University of Tennessee) as the new leader for the Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition.
Dr. Robert Holland
Assistant Director of Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition (IFSN), NIFA.
Update: Currently assembling AFRI RFAs writing. They are under considerable budget constraints although they do not have the budget yet. It will be discussed or resolved later today or this week. Travel will be greatly reduced next year. They will be looking at more innovative ways to conduct meetings and panel reviews. They have assembled taskforce reviews to contribute information of the processes. He will chair competitive taskforce to look at foundational programs. They will also do a portfolio review. This is required by the Presidential Administration on how they conduct business, execute programs, etc. Two important tasks: How they function and interface with colleagues. The AFRI annual synopsis is available online: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/pdfs/2010_afri_synopsis.pdf

Dr. Hongda Chen, National Program Leader, Washington and USDA-AFRI update:
Washington updates on AFRI updates: A chart with the new leadership was presented. There are two new divisions: Division of Nutrition with Dionne Toombs and Division of Food Safety with Janet Singleton as the Division Directors. The vision of NIFA is Leading Food and Agricultural Sciences to create a better future for the nation and the world. The focus of Dr. Holland and Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition is in the thematic areas 3. Food Safety and 4. Nutrition and childhood obesity.

Budget situation:

FY 2011 0.2% rescission $1362 M
FY 2012 Presidential Budget $1371 M, House action with 0.78% rescission
FY 2012 Awaiting Senate Committee Action

AFRI Budget:
FY 2010 appropriation $262M
FY 2011 appropriation $264M
FY 2012: Presidents Budget $324M, House floor action: $223M, Senate Committee Action $266M

Challenge areas:
Food Safety Challenge: $20M
Food Processing Technology: 3 awards at $1M per year. Total $15M.
Several years ago there was a workshop to identify research gaps and opportunities to develop research into commercial applications. In FY 2010 there was a call for proposal to address these issues. Proposals needed to demonstrate true partnerships between academe, government and food industry. They funded 3 projects: Yen-Cong Hung (U of Georgia), Haiqiang Chen (U. Delaware), Juming Tang (Washington State). All these projects are collaborative and multistate. Rakesh Singh proposed to have a symposium on early stages of these projects to involve food scientists and community. Ideas on how to make the projects most effective are welcomed.

He presented the nanotechnology programs in the foundational program for FY2010 and FY2011. The program in FY2010 funded 8 projects at $3.5 million. Five of the PDs are engineers. There was a joint solicitation in FY2010 with EPA and NSY with the focus on increasing data on fate, transport and behavior of engineered nanomaterials in selected environmental and biological matrices. The program funded fourteen projects of a total of $7.2M, in which NIFA/AFRI funded four projects at a total of $2.2M. The FY2011 nano panel has completed and recommended funding. One of the eight projects is related to food bioactive delivery systems.

Dr. Jody Williams
Food Safety. NIFSI, AFRI-Improved Processing Technologies, SBIR.

NIFSI: Support projects that use an integrated approach to solving problems in Food Safety. Projects should include at least two of the three components: education, extension and research. Priority Areas: Training for retailers, producers and consumers. Safety of fresh and fresh cut fruits, trace backs systems, pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, new technologies. This year, 111 proposals were received. The panel met in August, 15 proposals included processing, out of the 17 proposals recommended for award, one proposal was in the area of processing. Funds will be distributed through Standard, Bridge, Conference Grants and Special emphasis.

AFRI-Improved Processing Technologies focused on new methods to characterize and analyze complex food matrices to address storage. 78 proposals were received, 12 proposals were recommended for funding, and of those, 11 were in processing.

SBIR: Commercialize useful new food products. Many of the SBIR are collaborations with university. Phase 1: $100,000 (Proof of concept) Phase 2: $500,000 (Real testing phase) Commercialization phase: no agency funding. Proposals were due on September, the panel will meet in January or February 2012 and announcements will be made in May.


Dr. Jeanette Thurston
Food Safety. Several grant programs focused on Food Safety. Specialty Crops (SCRI) opportunities for food safety. Food safety:
1. Food Safety Challenge Area Program (Multidisciplinary)
2010: 20M; $100M committed
2011: $7M; $15M to be committed
2012: Unknown at the time of the meeting

2. Food Safety Foundational
2010: $8M
2011: $2M
2012: Unknown at the time of the meeting

Food Safety Challenge Area: Multidisciplinary area to solve complex food safety problems by combining basic and applied research. In 2011, there was less funding than in 2010. Program priorities focused on Salmonella in poultry and addressing critical and emerging food safety issues. Deadline for proposals is October 11, 2011. The focus changed this year to a more proactive instead of reactive approach.

Food Safety Foundational Program: $500K per award. The focus is on mechanisms for attachment and internalization into vegetable tissue. Out of 50 applications for this program, 5 proposals were recommended for funding.

2010 CAP program: One area of focus was on viruses and foods. The use of a farm to fork approach to solve issues with viruses, including small, medium and large operations, interventions for risk management, and detection methods for foodborne viruses, including engineering aspects. This area requested fully integrated projects: Research, Education and Extension. The second focus area was E. coli on beef at all levels of operations and fully integrated. The purpose was to identify risk factors and develop interventions to control the presence of E. coli on beef.

He mentioned that now is a good time to submit stakeholder input since they are currently writing the RFAs for AFRI programs. Submission can be made by emailing NPLs, using the AFRI address, by submitting white papers, scientific organization position papers, peer-reviewed scientific articles, etc.

Presentations ended and were followed by Questions from various NC1023 participants.
Participants interacted with NIFA leaders on funding challenges for research and teaching. The NC-1023 multistate project will draft a white paper to define the position and highlight the importance of broadening RFAs so significant contributions by the Food Engineering community can be done.

Reports Summarizing Collaborative Research Efforts Among Different Stations

Sudhir Sastry (OH)
Presented two projects. The first was a collaborative project on Tomato Processing between OSU, WSU, NC State and UC Davis. They have completed Research Objective 1. Objective 2 is in progress. Education Objectives have all been completed and Extension objective 1 has been completed and 2 in progress. Diane Barrett and Steve Schwartz projects are completed. One of the difficulties they found is related to the pH of the tomato products since the heat treatment varies greatly. The technologies they have investigated are: Ohmic Heating (OSU), High Pressure (OSU), MW continuous (NC State) and batch (WSU). How to Deliver Fresh Food Quality is being investigated in UC Davis. They have planned a course for IFT 2012. The evaluation of the project is being conducted by Dr Denis Grey from the Department of Psychology.

The second project presented was Pathogen inactivation in fresh produce by incorporating sanitizers into existing operations within the produce chain. This project is in collaboration with Iowa State University. The processing advisory board includes: Kraft, Chiquita, Fresh Express, Sandridge, Loffredo Fresh Produce. The interest of companies varies depending on the existence of outbreaks related to their products. Dr Sastry pointed that great emphasis has been placed on microbial internalization. However, this problem should be mitigated downstream. Washing of produce is common practice. For a sanitizer to be effective, it must first reach the site where pathogens reside. The time required for a sanitizer to penetrate through a 1mm deep pore is about 1000s in water. Gaseous sanitizers increase the diffusivity, and the required times to penetrate are around 0.1 s. The hypothesis of this research is that gaseous sanitizers can be an effective way to deliver sanitizers. Gases will penetrate rapidly but will also react with the tissue.. A surfactant organic acid spray in lettuce, chlorine dioxide and chlorinated water spray are studied. In fresh produce operations, processing flow rates are high, however, transport to the vacuum cooler takes about 2 h, making this is a potential site for incorporation of sanitizers. There is still a need for quantifying the chlorine dioxide concentration and for optimization of concentration/time combinations. OSU is working on the extension part. They are planning a shortcourse in CoFE 2012 and workshops in Iowa and Ohio for the fresh produce growers and processors. They will use a Train the Trainers approach so extension personnel from various counties can assist.

Wade Yang (FL)
Presented the project Nonthermal processing technologies to mitigate food allergens which is a collaborative effort with FL, MN, GA, IL, and DE. This project is related to Objective 3 of the NC1023 Project. It is focused on Post-Harverst interventions. The goal of the project is to investigate the efficacy of nonthermal methods to inactivate allergens in foods: soy bean, shrimp, peanuts, almonds.
Shrimp Protein Extract: Significant reduction in shrimp allergen after pulsed UV for 4 min, no change after HHP.
Wheat PE: PUV, NTP, HP. reduction by all methods.
Peanut PE: Reduction after PUV 3 min, HHP and NTP not tested yet.
Almond: PUV 4 min, HHP and NTP not reduction under tested conditions
Egg PE: Increase after PUV.

Martin Lo (MD):
Reported work on work done with CA. Research on freeze-thaw cycles from processing to distribution to retail to consumer. They worked with a curdlan-xhantan hydrogel that forms a puffed structure. This gel can be frozen/thawed up to five times without syneresis. They used NMR and MRI to understand the proton behavior of water as well as rheological tests for viscoelasticity and SEM images for microstructure.

Gonul Kaletunc (OH):
Reported on the project Enhanced stability and targeted delivery of microencapsulated anthocyanins for improved food quality and human health. This multidisciplinary project involves researchers from Food Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Food Science and Human Nutrition. Anthocyanins were encapsulated in a hydrogel which is pH sensitive. They used PDMS molds which yield cylindrical particles; the molds are filled with the encapsulated material by spin coating and PVA layers are peeled from the mold. The size of the particles is within 10-15 mm. Anthocyanin release from the microdevices in aqueous solution and attachment to the intestine using animal models were studied.

Kumar Mallikarjunan (VA):
Announced that Nestle is sponsoring an award with international focus: International Food Engineer Award by ASABE. Nominations are due Oct 30th, previous awardees cannot apply again.

Jayem Subiah (NE):
Announced that Mildford Hana will be back as temporary department head in Nebraska.

Pawan Thakar (TX):
Presented collaborative work on modeling diffusivity of moisture through corn during drying.

Mukund Karwe (NJ):
Presented the project Temperature and Pressure Non-Uniformity during HPP which is a collaboration with Mechanical Engineering Dept. The focus of this work is on Pressure Assisted Thermal Pressurization (PATP). Reducing the amount of pressurizing medium reduces the non-uniformities. The focus is on horizontal vessels, to improve uniform pressure distribution. They state that, according to work by Minerich and Labuza 2003, within a solid (meat), inactivation by high pressure is location dependent. It will depend on the pressure and shear induced during treatment.

AFTERNOON SESSION:

Paul Singh (CA):
Presented two projects. The first one was about Modeling the gastric digestion. Five years ago he talked about his beginning work on gastric digestion. He submitted a proposal to NRI and was rejected, but rewrote, resubmitted and got funded a year later. The project will end and have no cost extension. Most of the work has been done at Davis in collaboration with New Zealand and people from various disciplines. The question of this project is what happens with the food after the fork? Nutrients are embedded in the matrix and at the same time are engineered products. One of the challenges is how to distribute the nutrients in the matrix to make sure that they will be delivered to wherever they need to be. Therefore, understanding the matrix is required. A study from a few years ago demonstrated that many nutrients just pass through the system. There are a few studies on how bolus is formed but not many studies on what happens once the bolus fall into the stomach. How is it going to disintegrate and pass from there into the small intestine? They selected the stomach to learn what are the major changes experienced there. Nutrient absorption takes place in the small intestine. After chewing, 3-4 mm particles are further reduced to 1 mm after passing through the pyloric valve. In the stomach there are food/wall and food/food interactions. In the stomach there is peristalsis, thus it can be viewed as a flexible wall reactor, with retropulsive jet as bolus particles exit the stomach. At the moment there are two in vitro systems available: the TNO intestinal model and the model from the Institute of Food Research. But, can computational modeling be used to model what happens in the stomach? By this project they modeled the flow fields for different types of fluids: Newtonian and non-newtonian for liquids. When it comes to the solids, the question to address is how do solids break down in a liquid? Thus, they built a unit to simulate the stomach and breakdown of actual food particles.

The second presentation was about the game Beer Island which intends to use videogames and immersive technologies in education. The project got funded through a USDA Education challenge grant. The idea is to use develop a game that is customizable and flexible. The game is available on the internet. The game is designed so as to simulate a plant visit. Brewing was selected since it encompasses various operations. The game takes about 2 h to complete. There are multiple choice questions. It is a customizable game and will be ready in about 1 month.

Cristina Sabliov (LSU):
Presented a project on Delivery of antioxidant lipophilic Vitamin. The use of polymeric nanoparticles for delivery to: 1) protect 2) deliver 3) target 4) enhance bioavailability due to small size. This is a multidisciplinary project with researchers from Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, Veterinary and Biological Engineering. The project is funded by USDA & NSF-Epscor. Showed a movie that simulates intestinal uptake of nanoparticles.

Jeyam Subbiah (NE):
Presented a project on the Use of PEF to enhance the extraction of bioactives from fruits and vegetables. They are also studying how the bioactivity is affected by PEF enhanced extraction of red caggabe and beetroot juices. Yields and antioxidant activity were increased and unchanged respectively.

Ashim Datta (NY):
Presented a multidisciplinary framework for modeling food quality and safety. He highlighted collaborative work with UC Davis (CA), UT (TN) and, currently, with Holland. Identified the model components needed for successful simulation of food safety and quality. His group has developed a framework for process modelling treating the food as a porous media and multiphase transport media combined with deformation. For example: Modeling the texture of a french fry (local attributes): measurement of the young modulus as a function of moisture content, as a function of time and with temperature as a function of time, thus predicting youngs modulus as a function of frying time. This framework would allow quality prediction based on measurements, from micro to macro mechanics. Another application could be prediction for color development during baking.

Mark Morgan (IN) & Graciela W Padua (IL) :
Discussed the challenges using the pilot plants, limited funds. Usually students just attend demonstrations but do not really understand how processing parameters affect product characteristics. Participants discussed ideas on how to improve lab sessions and agreed to share their lab handouts. Mark and Tameshia volunteered to gather the handouts to classify them and make them available for others to use/improve their own sessions.

Sudhir Sastry and Bala Balasubramaniam (OH):
Initiated a discussion on how to increase funding opportunities for food processing and engineering research. The committee agreed to draft a position paper to send to USDA. Dennis and Kumar would address the Foundational Program, Jayam and Mark with draft a document for Improving Food Quality and Sudhir would write a draft for Fruit and Vegetable Safety. Bala Balasubramaniam will coordinate overall efforts. Graciela (IL) noted that regaining the lost identity will require a greater effort and suggested to begin by contacting USDA, and follow up with other activities such as an article in the Food Technology magazine, activities at IFT Meetings, amongst others.

Ashim Datta (NY):
Provided an update on the Wiki committee. The website: www.foodprocessmodel.org is now available and has some contributions. He noted that the website has been hijacked and required a great effort to be manually cleaned. Participants agreed that it is a valuable tool.

Kumar Mallikarjunan (VA):
Presented ongoing plans for CoFE on April 2-4, 2012 in Washington DC. Registration deadline is March 26 and registration fee is $300 for professionals and $175 for students, it will include meals. Lodging $139/night. Hosted at the National Conference Center. All sessions are symposium style and will have invited speakers. Ashim will notify in two weeks if he can coordinate the tutorial workshop on multiphase computational modeling. USDA provided $50,000 towards the meeting. Two years ago there were 180 attendees in Columbus, OH. He noted that next year will be the 100 anniversary of the cherry blossom.

TUESDAY OCT 4, 2011

Bala presented an agenda for the day.

Cristina Sabliov (LSU): IFT Food Engineering Division Announcements
FED was charged by IFT some responsibilities: Each division should be reorganized in teams. These Teams are: Content, Operating, Community, Leadership. There is a document that shows the responsibilities and members for each team. Every division needs to come up with a document in which members are assigned to tasks. The document was passed around for participants to add/edit/delete tasks in which to participate.

Cristina asked the FED for support for CoFE12. However, IFT had some questions:
1. What kind of recognition will IFT receive for this event? 2. How are the speakers chosen?
3. What would happen if the funds are not provided? 4. Is there an opportunity for the content to be repurposed on the IFT community or other publications?
Participants advised on answers to be given to IFT.

Paul Singh (UC Davis):
Asked for suggestions on what direction should the game presented yesterday go. There is an opportunity in going as a 3-4 station team for a higher education challenge grant. The advantages are the software they are using and the person who is developing the software who used to work in Pixar. Interested stations were encouraged to contact Paul.

Draft of Position Paper: Bala, Kumar, Dennis, Jayem, Mark and Sudhir
Drafts were presented and discussed for improvements. Bala will condense and circulate by email an updated version for the committee to provide input and send to USDA.

Updates by Chairs of Ad-Hoc Committees:

Objective 1:
1a. Chair: Muthu (SD)
1b. Chair: Bala (OH): OH, NJ, VA, WSU, NE. A book on nonthermal processing technologies for food was published with contribution from several participation stations.

Chair: Fred Payne (KY): KY, IA, IL, WI. They want to have a web based seminar on July 2011, 7 people attended. They will develop a white paper.
1c. Chair: Ashim (NY)

Objective 2: Chair Mark (IN)

Objective 3: Chair Gonul (OH)
Develop outreach programs. Activities:
CoFE12 Produce Workshop (Gonul, Lester, Hao Feng)
Eu-US Atlantis (IA, New York) ? Case studies in FE related to food safety.
GAPs (IA, OH) Good agricultural practices as related to food safety.
CoFE (Kumar, Martin)
2011 Germany Nonthermal Processing Workshop (Bala, Gustavo)? Annual event since 2000. 100 attendees form various places, next Australia, UC Davis.
Lego League Food Safety Challenge (Bala, Kumar) ? STEM type of activity for K-12 students. It is done by volunteer coaches 6-12 children and 2 coaches. The teams develop a challenge and participate in the competition: Regional, National. In Ohio, 500 children participated. This year the focus of the competition is Food Safety. Children need to ask FS, FE experts questions about how to develop safe foods.

Bala Balasubramaniam (OH):
Provided some recommendations to make the AdHoc Committees more functional:
" Manageable objectives and deliverables:
Online Collaborations (Wiggio, Dropbox)
Semi-annual adhoc commeeting via teleconference/adobe connect.
" Incorporate 1 h time slots (da 1, morning and afternoon sessions for discussion
Individual groups (time conflicts)
The development of an NC1023 Newsletter was suggested by some participants.

Election of New Secretary:
Tameshia Ballard (IN) and Roger Ruan (MN) were nominated for the Secretary position. The committee agreed that Tameshia be the Secretary for this term and Roger become secretary after Tameshias term.


Lester Wilson (IA):
Report from the Steering Committee. Encouraged participants to keep working on collaborations and increasing the efforts of the AdHoc Committees in preparation for the mid-term report next year. He reminded us that in the past the committee was criticized for not doing all the things we were supposed to do. Lester mentioned that he will be the chair of the Steering Committee until the mid-project reporting but that someone else will have to be added.

Selection of 2012 Meeting Location:
Fred Payne (KY) offered to host the meeting in Lexington, KY for 2012.
Volunteered for hosting the meeting in the future (2012):
- Gustavo Barbosa (WSU/ID)  as communicated by Daniela Bermudez
- Cristina Sabliov (LSU)
- Martin Lo (MD)
- Roger Ruan (MN)

Meeting adjourned at 11:30am

Accomplishments

Stations actively pursued the strengthening of formerly established collaborations and engaged in creating new ones. Progress was made in all objectives defined in the project. The utilization of innovative methods to characterize food materials was favorably impacted. The use of non-destructive techniques, such as MRI, hold tremendous potential for rapid evaluation of food quality. Understanding the fundamentals behind these new methods is a critical step in order to diversify their applications in the food industry. Ongoing research on development of improved processing technologies will potentially impact various areas. On the one hand, foods with enhanced nutritive value will be available as these technologies are scaled-up and approved for industrial processing. Knowledge of heating patterns for technologies such as ohmic heating, pressure-assisted thermal processing and microwave heating will allow for the design of processes that comply with lethality requirements and exploit the advantages of rapid heating technologies to manufacture products that are not severely thermally degraded as seen now by sterilization processes. The benefits of increasing the extractability of health promoting compounds by pretreatments such as pulsed electric fields or high pressure processing will lead to products with added nutritional value as compared to their traditionally processed counterparts. The usefulness of robust models to predict quality changes during processing operations cannot be overemphasized. On the one hand, and along with technology development, the design of processing protocols that achieve required lethalities to produce safe foods, but on the other, the rapid simulation of quality changes under specific processing conditions will save valuable time in defining processing protocols leading to high quality products. The understanding of pathogen inactivation in low moisture foods will definitely help to prevent outbreaks on products where current knowledge has failed to foresee risks that have turned into hazards, such as peanut butter. Understanding how biochemical changes are altered under irradiation environments will directly impact the planning of future space missions. The use of videogames in education is an area with enormous potential to shift the paradigm of traditional education and improve the learning of current generations that are highly driven by technology. Dissemination of knowledge obtained by multistate collaborations has successfully started by the organization of workshops and seminars (webinars) and will be a strong component of the NC-1023 multistate project in future years to directly impact on growers, processors and consumers alike.

Publications

Impact Statements

1. Development of alternative food preservation technologies such as microwave processing and pressure-assisted thermal sterilization is a key emphasis of the NC1023 committee. FDA issued no objection to two industrial petitions for sterilization of low-acid foods by pressure assisted thermal processing and microwave heating foods. A food processor also commercialized microwave sterilization of a low-acid food. Similarly many food processors continue to introduce high pressure treatment for value-added meat, sea food, fruits and vegetable products
2. During the reporting year, NC1023 station members authored 173 peer-reviewed journal articles, 97 abstracts/proceedings, 92 presentations in national and international conferences, 11 book chapters, and 4 books. 11 doctoral and 23 master degree students completed their degree programs under the supervision of NC1023 station members.

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Anantheswaran, R;
Aryana, Kayanush;
Balasubramaniam, V.M.;
Barringer, Sheryl;
Datta, Ashim;
Dolan, Kirk;
Gunasekaran, Sundaram;
Heldman, Dennis;
Jackson, David;
Jun, Soojin;
Kaletunç, Gönül;
Karwe, Mukund;
Lee, Youngsoo;
Mallikarjunan, Kumar;
Martin, Fernandasan;
Nindo, Caleb;
Padua, Graciela;
Payne, Fred;
Ruan, Roger;
Sablani, Shyam;
Sanmartingonzalez, Mariaf;
Sastry, Sudhir;
Singh, R. Paul;
Sivanandan, Litha;
Subbiah, Jeyam;
Takhar, Pawan;
Torres, Antonio;
Walker, Steve;
Wilson, Lester;
Zhong, Qixin;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

The major accomplishment this year was organizing the Eleventh Conference of Food Engineering (CoFE 2012). The conference was a success with participation from Academia, Industry and Government. The conference also received support from USDA-AFRI, Frito Lay, Con Agra, American Society of Agricultural and Bioloigcal Engineering, and Institute of Food Technologists. The funds were used to support the travel and conference expenses for invited plenary session, keynote speakers and students. The conference had 3 plenary sessions, 18 invited sessions and one poster session and had participants from 15 countries. <br /> <br /> The other major accomplishment include nano-technology sympoisum at IFT, compilation of laboratory activities for food engineering across the nation and multistate project activity proposed for sustainability in the food industry.

Publications

Impact Statements

1. Quinoa seeds could be puffed after extrusion to produce gluten-free snacks with low saponin contents. The quality of cakes puffed at 226°C heating time for 6 s using 34% moisture extrudates with a tempering moisture of 12% is similar to existing commercial products. Both extrusion and puffing reduced the saponins content. This is desirable since the saponins in quinoa seeds impede the nutrient absorption and induce unpalatable bitter taste.
2. Antimicrobials such as Nisin can be delivered into food products using edible food bioploymers. An understanding of the factors that govern the thermodynamics and kinetics of nisin release from the biopolymer films will be useful in designing a coating within a package or an edible coating for a food product for controlled release applications.
3. Research focuses on increasing the stability and activity of enzymes to increase the rate at which they catalyze (accelerate) biochemical reactions. By doing so, we can decrease the amount of enzyme, hence decreasing processing costs. In the case of juice clarification, simultaneously the product can be pasteurized, obviating the need of further thermal treatment downstream. Improved product quality can be expected.
4. The NMR/MRI hardware and software we developed and/or improved will enable researchers to produce higher signal to noise ratio of the low field imaging system when it is used to acquire images of low moisture foods. These improvements will further broaden the application of such low cost non-destructive and non-invasive imaging techniques in food science and engineering research.
5. NASAs packaged food items will not provide the required 5-year shelf life for Mars missions. Other processing methods to commercial sterility will need to be considered.
6. For the collaborative research between California-Davis and Texas Tech, mathematical modeling will provide a predictive tool to reduce oil uptake and improve quality of fried foods.
7. Immersive learning tools such as video games provide new opportunities for educators to teach undergraduate students. The video game on brewing offers a novel paradigm to present science and engineering content in an engaging manner.
8. Results obtained from computational modeling of gastric digestion illustrate the complex dynamics of gastric contents and the potential use of these models to provide a unique insight of how foods disintegrate in a human stomach.
9. The application of sonication to a sanitation wash with selected sanitizers significantly enhanced microbial reduction. The use of surfactant further boosts the efficacy of the washing treatment. A combined treatment of sanitizer, ultrasound, and surfactant may provide a useful tool to effectively enhance the microbial safety of fresh produce.
10. Microencapsulation is a technique to provide protection and barrier for materials included in the capsules. Probiotics have many health benefits but they have shown poor survivability causing difficulties for their applications. Microencapsulation has been used as a solution but the effect of atomization on the viability of probiotics has not been thoroughly evaluated. Researchers evaluated the effect of atomization on viability of microencapsulated probiotics during microencapsulation process, storage and simulated gastrointestinal tract. Results showed that two-fluid nozzle atomization showed significantly better viability than centrifugal atomization during long-term storage and simulated gastrointestinal tract. This study shows that microencapsulation could effectively protect probiotics and improve their viability. The results provide solid background for using nozzle over the centrifugal atomization.
11. Health and wellness are at the top of the national agenda. It is widely recognized that the basis of good health is good nutrition. Towards that effect, a number of industry initiatives are based of fortifying foods to expand their nutritional impact. A major hurdle is the low bioavailability of a number of nutritionally effective compounds. Nanotechnology research, based on cellular biology aims at providing the delivery vehicles needed to carry valuable nutrients in the cell.
12. The results from fresh produce studies will allow processors to produce safe, high quality fruit and vegetable in whole or cut form (sampling methods, sensors, improved processing methods).
13. A generic numerical modeling technique was developed which can be used for analysis of any frozen food system. Similar to the microbial quality prediction, analysis of chemical quality of food items can also be done. From the results obtained we propose to design a Time -Temperature Integrator (TTI), which, based on kinetic models of microbial growth and heat transfer simulation under different packing and storage scenarios, would indicate whether the product is suitable for consumption or not based on safety concerns.
14. Ultrasonic transmission can be used for increasing the shelf life of pasteurized milk by inactivating spore formers to a greater extent.
15. Consumer demand for food products with improved quality and safety can be achieved by two means, new process alternatives such as pressure processing technologies, or by minimizing over- and under-processing risks. The latter arises when extreme or mean values, respectively, are used in the food engineering calculations required to select product formulations, processing conditions, packaging materials and storage facilities (including storage time). The over- and under-processing risks can be minimized by considering the variability of all the parameters in those food engineering calculations.
16. Improved methods for developing, validating, and applying microbial (and quality) models will: (a) Help food processors meet consumer demand for higher-quality, safe foods, (b) Enable a higher degree of reliability/certainty in validation of critical food safety processes, and (c) Improve industry capabilities in complying with rapidly evolving food safety regulations.
17. By developing outreach programs to disseminate best practices for enhancing food safety and quality to stakeholders, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables safety and quality will be enhanced. We expect number of outbreaks will be reduced.
18. We continued our efforts for developing new and improved processing technologies for ensuring the safety of food products, while maintaining their quality and sensory attributes.
19. Work on ozone interaction with tissue and on gas sanitization shows clearly that current safety strategies of washing used by the produce industry are flawed. In particular, if a bubble happens to reside beneath a piece of contaminated produce, the washing process may have been entirely ineffective. This is a key impact which we plan to disseminate widely. Work on chlorine dioxide will provide similar information.
20. In the confectionery coating industry, hard butters are frequently used as cocoa butter replacers. An electrohydrodynamic system (EHD), which forms fine droplets with a relatively narrow size distribution, may be beneficial in confectionary coating to produce more even coverage. This study optimized the amounts of different ingredients needed to produce even coverage.
21. Studies on quality improvement of alternative processing technologies has resulted in much industry interest and further investigation. Currently pressure pasteurization is a 4 billion dollar market.
22. The developed methodology can accurately predict the dielectric properties of the samples by using the regression equations from the biphasic model as a function of moisture content and temperature or just temperature independently. Also electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) can be an accurate tool to quantify impedance changes of potato samples with different moisture contents and correlate the impedance values with dielectric properties, eventually substituting a traditional measurement using a high temperature dielectric probe.
23. Novel delivery systems are being studied for incorporation of lipophilic compounds in food matrices to improve quality, chemical stability, and bioactivity. These compounds are significant to improving healthfulness, quality, and microbiological food safety. Food biopolymers are major components of food products and ingredients. Improving physical properties of food biopolymers is critical for food quality.
24. The global probiotics market was worth $14.9 billion in 2007. It is expected to be worth $19.6 billion in 2013. The US probiotics market has grown 8.7% from 2004  2009 to $5 billion, and is expected at to grow to $6.4 billion by 2013. Probiotic (health beneficial) bacteria upon being ingested, have to survive the acid and bile conditions of the host then reach and establish in the lower gastrointestinal tract before conferring the health benefits. The mild PEF conditions identified here can be used for pretreating cultures to enhance certain desirable attributes.
25. Edible films present a new method to maintain the safety and quality of highly perishable food products and are a new strategy used by food manufacturers to retain moisture, provide attractive appearance and to control microbial growth. Therefore, the developed edible films have potential to reduce microbial growth, aid in moisture retention, extend shelf life and preserve sensory quality of food.
26. The high cost and potential toxicity of biodegradable polymers like PLGA has increased interest in octenyl succinate-modified phytoglycogen and waxy corn starch as natural carriers. The chemically- modified biopolymers can entrap lipophilic bioactive compounds thus improving food quality, bioavailability, and safety. Evaluation of the glass transition temperature (Tg) and water sensitivity of different octenyl succinate-modified biopolymers is helpful to design new encapsulation matrices at high relative humidity conditions.
27. The application of nanoencapsulated essential oils can be efficiently delivered into inaccessible sites at a controlled rate where pathogens are protected against conventional intervention methods. The coatings are an effective tool to increase shelf life of fresh-cut fruits.
28. Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria are public health concern, since these microorganisms have been associated with food-borne outbreaks from consumption of leafy vegetables. Predictive microbiology is a useful tool to determine the growth of pathogens in foods during processing and storage and the impact of strategies to minimize the risk of pathogen contamination.
29. Most fresh produce in the US does not receive a lethality step to inactivate pathogens during processing and/or handling. Recent studies indicate the internalization of pathogenic organisms into the core of leafy vegetables rather than contamination in the exposed surface only. This bacterial mobility makes surface treatments to reduce E. Coli O157:H7 and Salmonella very ineffective. In addition, most of the commercially used interventions employ chemical agents, with detrimental effects on the organoleptic properties of the food. Thermal processing of fresh produce is not an option. Therefore, non-thermal interventions such as electron beam irradiation are the only alternatives currently available to include as a lethality step in fruits and vegetables processing.
30. The lab-to-community technology transfer initiative Extension trainings and workshops on value-addition and byproduct utilization using novel food processing technologies have gained momentum and this can be used as a strategy to increase the (1) food security and (2) interest and awareness of food entrepreneurs/prospective entrepreneurs to increase the food businesses.
31. Currently, food product developers of frozen microwaveable entrees consider microwave as a black box. Cooking instructions were developed by trial and error. Mathematical model assists food product developers in understanding microwave interactions with various food products and use them for food product design that cooks more uniformly in microwave oven. Uniformity of cooking should minimizes food safety issues with frozen microwaveable food products.
32. Many outbreaks can be traced to tainted spices and the recent realization that bacteria can survive in low moisture food has led to the need for treatment of these food additives. Alternative methods of spice treatments are being investigated: the use of far infrared radiation (FIR), and treatment with ethanol vapor. Both technologies produced a 5 log reduction in Salmonella in black pepper and paprika. Both show promise for further development.

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Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes and List of Participants are attached as a pdf document

Accomplishments

Overall, 2012-2013 was a very productive year for the NC-1023 multistate project. During the reporting year, the members of the NC1023 committee conducted collective work that resulted in: 164 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 142 abstracts/proceedings/presentations in national and international conferences, 16 book chapters, 6 books and graduated 31 MSc/PhD students. At the core of such accomplishments are various collaborative works among stations belonging to the NC-1023 project. The utilization of innovative methods to characterize food materials was favorably impacted. The use of non-destructive techniques, such as MRI, hold tremendous potential for rapid evaluation of food quality. Understanding the fundamentals behind these new methods is a critical step in order to diversify their applications in the food industry. Ongoing research on development of improved processing technologies will potentially impact various areas. On the one hand, foods with enhanced nutritive value will be available as these technologies are scaled-up and approved for industrial processing. The usefulness of robust models to predict quality changes during processing operations cannot be overemphasized. On the one hand, and along with technology development, the design of processing protocols that achieve required lethalities to produce safe foods, but on the other, the rapid simulation of quality changes under specific processing conditions will save valuable time in defining processing protocols leading to high quality products. The development of web-based simulations for food engineering education is an area with enormous potential to shift the paradigm of traditional education and improve the learning of current generations that are highly driven by technology. Dissemination of knowledge obtained by multistate collaborations has successfully started by the organization of workshops and seminars (webinars) and will be a strong component of the NC-1023 multistate project in future years to directly impact on growers, processors and consumers alike.<br /> <br /> <br /> Physical and mechanical properties of a sustained release system from whey protein/alginate beads in a viscous media mimicking a beverage were evaluated and results were published in a peer-reviewed journal.<br /> <br /> <br /> Thermal processing of almonds may alter the protein structure, influencing the specific digestion of amino acids. These findings help establish a link between food processing and nutrient breakdown and absorption.<br /> <br /> <br /> UC Davis developed experimental methods to characterize micro- and macro-distribution of water in beans during cooking. These methods provide improved data for enhancing modeling and optimization of commercial canning processes for beans.<br /> <br /> Virtual experiments developed at UC Davis were converted into Javascript for use on the Internet with any operating system including mobile devices such as iPad and smartphones. These experiments are now available for use at www.rpaulsingh.com.<br /> <br /> <br /> Video modules of lectures for teaching an introductory food engineering course were developed on selected topics such as heat transfer, refrigeration, and freezing. These modules are also available for instructional purposes at www.rpaulsingh.com.<br /> <br /> <br /> Sample heating and shadowing effect have limited the application of pulsed light (PL) technology for decontamination of fresh produce. A novel setup using water-assisted PL processing was developed to overcome these limitations and reduce the risk of cross-contamination during fresh produce washing. <br /> <br /> <br /> A numerical model using COMSOL codes was developed to validate uniform heating of particulate foods in a continuous flow microwave and ohmic heating chamber. <br /> <br /> <br /> New produce washing strategy-cutting head lettuce prior to washing provides advantages in produce sanitization <br /> <br /> <br /> Pathogen inactivation in fresh produce by incorporation of sanitizers into existing operations within the produce-chain. (Ohio and Iowa). Presentations at Ohio, Serbia, Romania. <br /> <br /> <br /> Development of Food Safety Auditing Courses in the Curriculum. (Cornell, ISU, Industry, SQF, others).<br /> <br /> <br /> Collaborative study to evaluate the influence of radiation on the ability of rennet and dried milk to make curds/cheese. (Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, NASA).<br /> <br /> <br /> Functional properties of milk protein concentrate with 80% protein (MPC80) were modified using extrusion, toasting and enzyme processes. Modified milk protein concentrates were used in the formulation of high-protein nutrition bars (30 % protein) that resulted in softer bars over 42 days of accelerated storage period.<br /> <br /> <br /> A book on the topic Nanotechnology and Functional Foods: Effective Delivery of Bioactive Ingredients was developed in collaboration with NC1023. The book was co-edited with Hongda Chen (USDA-NIFA) and Rickey Yada (Advanced Foods and Materials Canada) and is to be published by Wiley-Blackwell in 2014. <br /> <br /> <br /> Markedly different mild Pulsed Electric Field settings do not have the same effect on the probiotic characteristic bile tolerance of Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris. <br /> <br /> <br /> Bile tolerance of Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris. can be improved using electric field strength of 1kV/cm, pulse period of 0.5 sec, pulse width of 3 µs, mild PEF treatment temperature of 40 C and flow rate of 50 mL / min.<br /> <br /> <br /> Successfully completed the research entitled Development of Safe and Ready to Eat Frozen Oyster Product. Food Engineering lab, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, and a Louisiana oyster company (Motivatit Seafoods, Inc., Houma, Louisiana) have developed new, safer, high quality oysters with vegetables products. <br /> <br /> <br /> Two different rapid methods to estimate temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, specific heat, and thermal diffusivity of solid or thick foods have been developed. Temperature range will be 25-130°C. Method 1: 30 min; method 2: 2 minutes.<br /> <br /> <br /> Dynamic models for the following food processes have been developed, and the inverse problem to estimate the parameters is being done: <br /> a. Thermal processing of food solids at different moistures (25-95%) from 25-130°C. Parameters: temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, specific heat, and thermal diffusivity.<br /> b. Microbial inactivation and growth models and parameters for dynamic temperature conditions.<br /> <br /> <br /> A MathWorks curriculum-development grant was completed at Mich. St. U. for one year jointly with Dr. Yinjie Tang at Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering.<br /> <br />

Publications

Impact Statements

1. Techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging, provide a means to understand and characterize food systems that are designed for better delivery of bioactive compounds.
2. For the collaborative research between California-Davis and University of Illinois, mathematical modeling will provide a predictive tool to reduce oil uptake and improve quality of fried foods Results obtained from computational modeling of gastric digestion illustrate the complex dynamics of gastric contents and the potential use of these models to provide a unique insight of how foods disintegrate in a human stomach.
3. A new water-assisted pulsed light (PL) treatment could be a potential non-chemical alternative (residue free) to chlorine washing since it is both more effective and environmentally friendly than chlorine washing.
4. Mathematical model based on the finite element method can be used for the design of new pilot-scale combination heating chambers and the precise control of operating parameters in consideration of particulate food samples with various mixing ratios and particle conditions, i.e. shapes and sizes.
5. A new produce washing strategy that has shown significant enhancement in microbial reduction will contribute to significant enhance microbial safety of Iceberg lettuce. Since the new TDS and malic acid combined wash of produce does not introduce unacceptable quality changes in produce samples, it may be used as a new sanitizing agent to reduce the food safety risk.
6. Frying work yielded information on parameters causing less fat uptake to make the fried foods healthier. Using these parameters food industry can improve the quality of fried foods.
7. Extruded cornstarch work has provided information for improving the extrusion processing for developing a diverse range of food, feed and biomedical products.
8. Success for the food products of the future will depend on their capacity to deliver valuable nutritional/bioactives cargo. Thus, new technologies are needed to develop safe and effective carriers to deliver such compounds to human, animal, and plant cells. In this context, nanostructuring holds promise. A book chapter describing the structure and preparation of bicontinuous systems and highlighting their application as delivery vehicles was written.
9. Modification of milk protein concentrates (MPC) using extrusion creates functional ingredient with reduced water absorption capacity; the use of which in high-protein (20-40% protein) nutrition bars will reduce bar hardening during storage. Use of domestically produced milk ingredient in place of imported casein/caseinates in such nutrition bars is expected to impact dairy processing industry favorably.
10. A study to evaluate the impact of pH and nitrite from celery juice concentrate (CJ) on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in broth and on ham slices, and on quality attributes of the ham was conducted. Celery juice concentrate may increase meat product pH which could have implications for the antimicrobial impact of nitrite in some products.
11. The measurement of several important characteristics during Aronia berry maturation has permitted the estimation of the optimal harvest date. To determine this date, favored parameters were °Brix, °Brix/acid ratio and total polyphenol and anthoacynin contents because the consumers have preferred sweet fruits and polyphenols especially anthocyanins for their many health benefits.
12. The analysis of four-five years of storage for irradiated and non-irradiated rennet and Low Heat Treated Dried Milk is continuing. The stored unopened container of rennet always had more activity (curdled milk quicker) than the rennet that was opened, and resealed two year ago. Likewise, 5-Gry treated rennet had less activity than the control rennet. This is a joint project between (Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, NASA). The results can applied to producing cheese on Lunar and Mars missions.
13. Nanodelivery systems are currently developed for and by the food industry to improve stability of the bioactive, to release it in a controlled manner for enhanced bioavailability and functionality of the bioactive. Since there are very few technical reference books on food nanotechnology, a book was edited with specific topics related to effective delivery of micronutrients and bioactives in functional foods.
14. Probiotic (health beneficial bacterial) market has rapidly grown in recent years and is estimated to be currently worth $18 billion. Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris. are commonly used bacterial cultures in cheese manufacture. Mild PEF processing conditions identified in this work can be used for pretreating bacterial cultures Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris.to enhance their bile tolerance.
15. New instrument to measure thermal properties of foods rapidly will be useful to industry and researchers.
16. The NMR/MRI hardware and software we developed and/or improved will enable researchers to produce higher signal to noise ratio of the low field imaging system when it is used to acquire images of low moisture foods. These improvements will further broaden the application of such low cost non-destructive and non-invasive imaging techniques in food science and engineering research.
17. Processes developed to enhance the bioavailability of phytochemicals in whole grains may be applied to other foods where phytochemicals are not readily available due to physical and chemical constrains.
18. The CHIEF process was found very effective in inactivate microbes in high protein beverages. Through this research, the process was significantly improved to enhance the bacterial kill and energy efficiency. This process may be used in pasteurization of other liquid foods.
19. Research findings from almond storage studies provide needed information for establishment of storage and transportation protocols for Asian market.
20. Neither the microwave-assisted thermal stabilization processing nor the freeze dry optimization resulted in compelling quality differences from current space food provisions such that a five-year shelf life is likely with these processing changes alone. However, the evaluation of the food is still in progress. The knowledge of how these alternative processing methods and/or procedures impact food quality is important to evaluate feasibility of achieving a five-year life.
21. Developed a calibration protocol to measure dielectric properties of foods for a wide range of temperatures from frozen to cooked states.
22. Important aspects of the science of pressure-enhanced infusion have been elucidated. In addition, this works demonstrates the potential of HPP to develop nutraceutical-enriched food products. This understanding can be used to develop design guidelines that will be useful to the food industry and can be implemented for a broad class of fruits and infusing molecules to develop value-added nutrient rich foods.
23. Basic understanding on high pressure processing of foods increased and challenged previous unverified assumptions. As the technology develops and is applied to more food systems, it will aid food processors and regulators in designing processes that can assure the safety and shelf life of the products.
24. Moisture transport in processes such as drying is affected tremendously by the structure of the food material, i.e., the internal tissue structure. A new approach relates a transport property such as vapor diffusivity to the specific structure of the food from newer measurement techniques.
25. Work on ozone interaction with tissue and on gas sanitization shows clearly that current safety strategies of washing used by the produce industry are flawed. In particular, if a bubble happens to reside beneath a piece of contaminated produce, the washing process may have been entirely ineffective. New strategies are under development to overcome this problem.
26. The verification of mathematical models for ohmic heating has resulted in our working with industry to work towards a process commercialization.
27. Understanding of heat resistance is necessary for developing chocolate for tropical climates.
28. The barotolerance and thermotolerance of L. monocytogenes in long-term survival phase needs to be considered as part of the overall food safety assessment of processed RTE food products.
29. In order to produce safe foods, novel technologies are being investigated for various applications. Electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water was shown to be effective for Clean-In-Place (CIP) cleaning of on-farm milking systems, which can be applied for CIP of other food processing equipment. Pulsed UV treatment can be utilized to decontaminate packaged and unpackaged hard cheeses.
30. Modeling of factors that govern the kinetics of nisin release from the biopolymer films will be useful in designing a coating within a package or an edible coating for a food product for controlled release applications.
31. Novel delivery systems are being studied for incorporation of lipophilic compounds in food matrices to improve quality, chemical stability, and bioactivity. These compounds are significant to improve healthfulness, quality, and microbiological food safety. Food biopolymers are major components of food products and ingredients. Improving physical properties of food biopolymers is critical for food quality.
32. An increased interest in the use of inexpensive biopolymers as natural carriers has motivated research on the use of octenyl succinate-modified carbohydrates and whey proteins. The chemically-modified biopolymers can entrap lipophilic bioactive compounds thus improving food quality, bioavailability, and safety. The quantification of hydrophobic interactions between biopolymers provides a better understanding of their properties and structure type for practical applications as natural carriers.
33. Extending the shelf life of mushrooms is very important for their marketing and distribution and reliable preservation methods are still needed. Treating sliced mushrooms with vacuum impregnation and electron beam irradiation is useful to introduce physiologically active components such as beneficial microorganisms, antioxidants, vitamins, and cations, while assuring safety and maintaining quality.
34. Several intervention methods using chemical sanitizers or based on physical phenomena have the potential to eliminate microorganisms; but may not be as effective in surface decontamination of food products if the pathogens are internalized. The application of nanoencapsulated natural antimicrobials can be efficiently delivered into inaccessible sites at a controlled rate where pathogens are protected against conventional intervention methods.
35. Hummus, a Middle Eastern and Arabic food dip or spread, is gaining in popularity in the United States with sales reaching nearly $300 million by 2010. Chickpea seeds, a major ingredient in hummus, were processed using boiling, pressure cooking and microwave cooking techniques, and effects of processing techniques on chemical, physical and functional properties have been evaluated. Pressure cooking was found to be the best method for preserving properties of chickpea.
36. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is being investigated for extending the shelf life of hummus, which is currently 70 days. Although exactly how much longer MAP can extend shelf life even further is still being determined, preliminary research indicates this method improves quality (color and texture). It is expected that research data generated will help food industry choose the best chickpea varieties and optimal processing conditions for hummus production.
37. Research at Washington State University on microwave sterilization technologies starts to make real impact to the food industry. Two co-packers and military ration producers (The Wornick Company, Cincinnati, OH, and Ameriqual, Evansville, IN) installed pilot-scale 915 MHz single-mode microwave assisted sterilization systems (MATS). A WSU team is assisting the two companies develop and validate microwave sterilization processes.
38. Gelatin/AuNPs-based nTHIs can be designed as visible systems for real-time, continual monitoring of thermal history of foods to help track temperature abuse and ensure food safety during post-harvest handling, transportation, and storage.

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Akinbode Adedeji, Ashim Datta, Bala Balasubramaniam, Balunkeswar (Balu) Nayak, Bradley Marks, Carmen L. Gomes, Carmen Moraru, David Jackson, Dennis (Denny) Heldman, Elena Castell, Fu-Hung Hsieh, Gail Bornhorst, Gonul Kaletunic, Graciela Padua, Gustavo Victor Barbosa-Canovas, Helen Joyner , Hongda Chen, Jeanne Gleason, Jeyam Subbiah, Kayanush (Kai) J. Aryana, Kirk Dolan, Lester Wilson, M. Fernanda San Martin, Michael McCarthy, Mukund V. Karwe, Pawan Takhar, Rich Hartel, Roger R. Ruan, Rosana Moreira , Sheryl Barringer, Soojin Jun, Sudhir K. Sastry, Swamy Anantheswaran, Yan (Susie) Liu, Yanyun Zhao, Youngsoo Lee

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

California<br /> The objective of this work was to characterize the flow patterns and quantitatively assess the degree of mixing in a SMX mixer (a type of inline static mixer) for miscible liquids of different viscosities using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Manuscript preparation is underway.<br /> <br /> The mechanical disintegration of food during gastric digestion is central to nutrient bioavailability. Little is currently known regarding the role of material properties on the breakdown behavior of food during digestion. This study investigated the effect of gastric juice on the material properties and subsequent disintegration of a particulate food system when exposed to different bulk loading conditions. Results illustrate the role material property changes during digestion play on the breakdown behavior of solid foods and provide the data needed to further investigate and model this relationship.<br /> <br /> University of Illinois (Takhar) and California-Davis/McCarthy completed collaborative research to address modeling and characterizing fried food. <br /> <br /> 2: Develop pedagogical methodologies for improved learning of food engineering principles.<br /> <br /> 3: Develop outreach programs to disseminate best practices for enhancing food safety and quality to stakeholders.<br /> <br /> Hawaii<br /> • Combination of microwave and ohmic heating techniques is expected to enable even temperature distributions in solid-liquid food mixtures by applying simultaneous electric current and electromagnetic waves. In this study, novel dual cylindrical microwave and ohmic heating chambers were designed and fabricated to maximize the electric field strength from microwave and ohmic power sources. Designing of the combination heating chamber was optimized and validated using the numerical simulation for electric field and potential distributions. A continuous flow combination heater has the potential to thermally process multiphase foods with improved uniformity, eventually benefitting the energy efficiency and food quality. Collaborations Dr. Sudhir Sastry, Ohio State University<br /> <br /> • A numerical model using COMSOL codes was developed to validate uniform heating of particulate foods in a continuous flow microwave and ohmic heating chamber. It was integrated with microwave heating, ohmic heating, incompressible laminar flow, forced-coupling method (FCM), heat transfer and arbitrary Langrangian-Eulerian (ALE) moving mesh technique. The solid particles were simulated to experience hydrodynamic viscous drag and pressure forces resulting from motion relative to the fluid. The stress tensors of forces exerted on the surfaces of the particles were successfully formulated by the use of FCM code. The electric fields and trajectories of particles inside the feeding tube, and heating patterns and velocity distribution of particulate foods were observed transiently. <br /> <br /> Idaho<br /> 1. Primary accomplishments for 2013-2014 include characterization of cottage cheese cream dressing using rheometry. There is little information available in the literature on cottage cheese cream dressing, and current cream dressing formulations often display instability during storage. This instability results in dressing separation and formation of a serum layer, which is unappealing to consumers. The effect of different hydrocolloids on stability of cottage cheese cream dressing was studied. Dressing stability and viscosity was affected by pH; temperature had little effect on dressing viscosity. Stability was also dependent on the hydrocolloids used in the dressing formulation. Use of a blend of hydrocolloids showed increased stability over time as compared to use of a single hydrocolloid, implying that there was a synergistic effect among the hydrocolloids when used in combination. This information can be used by dairy manufacturers to improve the stability of their cream dressing to yield a more appealing product.<br /> 2:-A case study project was developed to determine the effectiveness of clickers and cold calling on student participation and learning. Questions covered a range of engineering topics and cognitive levels. Students indicated on course evaluations that the questions promoted learning and aided in understanding concepts.<br /> -A project to develop learning modules to promote quantitative skills in undergraduates is in the initial stages. Undergraduates often do not have the skills needed to manipulate equations, apply mathematical concepts to an abstract problem, or translate the information given into a format that is needed for application of equations. A plan to develop and implement these learning modules was discussed. Currently, participants in this project are looking for funding sources.<br /> <br /> Illinois<br /> Hao Feng: Response surface modeling was used for achieving 5-log reduction of E. coli O157:H7 on alfalfa seeds by sonication and mild heat without compromising germination rates. <br /> <br /> Dr. Youngsoo Lee at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Dr. Mario Ferruzzi at Purdue University have been collaborating for a project, microencapsulation of resveratrol in protein matrices. <br /> <br /> Pawan Takhar: Frying of foods was studied in collaboration with UC-Davis, and expansion of biopolymers was studied in collaboration with University of Nebraska (UNL). Using Hybrid Mixture Theory, unsaturated fluid transport theory was developed for food biopolymers, which can be used for a large number of food and bioprocessing applications. <br /> <br /> Graciela Padua: Writing a book chapter on bi-continuos delivery systems as nano- and micro-scale vehicles for effective delivery of bioactive ingredients in functional foods <br /> Collaborations: Louisiana State University (Cristina Sabliov), USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Hongda Chen).<br /> <br /> <br /> Indiana<br /> 1b. High voltage atmospheric cold plasma (HVACP) is a technology developed by Dr. Kevin Keener at Purdue University which allows one to generate atmospheric plasmas inside sealed containers with higher electron energy densities using less energy than current plasma jets or dielectric barriers. Within the past year, Dr. Keener and collaborators have demonstrated the ability of the HVACP to extend the shelf-life of tomatoes and strawberries, eliminate Salmonella enteritidis from shell eggs inside a package and manipulate the composition of packaging films. <br /> <br /> 1b. Develop new and improved processing technologies (Dr. Kevin Keener, Purdue University; Dr. Bruce Applegate, Purdue University; Dr. Paula Bourke, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland; and Dr. P.J. Cullen, University New South Wales, Australia)<br /> <br /> <br /> Iowa<br /> Instrumental texture and sensory analysis of model high-protein nutrition bars formulated at 30 % protein with extrusion-processed milk protein concentrate (80%, MPC80) was carried out during accelerated storage at three temperatures. Physical modification of milk protein concentrates using extrusion creates functional ingredient causing less hardening in high-protein bars. Dairy ingredient industry will benefit by use of a domestically produced functional ingredient in supplementing and or replacing more expensive casein-based ingredients in bar applications.<br /> <br /> The measurement of several important characteristics (health benefits and sensory quality) during Aronia berry maturation has permitted the estimation of the optimal harvest date. To determine this date, °Brix, Titratable Acidity, °Brix/acid ratio, antioxidant levels, total polyphenol and anthoacyanin levels were determined. Aronia berries have high antioxidant, polyphenol and anthocyanin contents. Preliminary correlations between Aronia berry characteristics and weather conditions were found. Accumulated GDD and VSM were correlated with °Brix, anthocyanin and polyphenol contents. The results from the Aronia research will aid farmers to harvest their crop at the optimum time for maximum levels of antioxidants, pigments (color), and other sensory properties. <br /> <br /> The work on food auditor training has resulted in a successful Webinar, which is available online.<br /> <br /> <br /> Minnesota<br /> We focused on development and evaluation of non-destructive and non-invasive analytical tools. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a very useful non-destructive and non-invasive technique for the study of food structure, distribution of water, fat, and temperature in foods, and heat and mass transfer in foods. During this reporting period, we further improved fast imaging techniques for small MRI instruments for low moisture foods and biological materials. <br /> <br /> This research is in collaboration with Harry Xie of Bruker Optics and researchers in Nanchang University, China.<br /> <br /> We focused on minimal processes that preserve and improve the nutritional values, health benefits, and safety of food products. During this reporting period, we continued to develop and study (1) processes to enhance bioavailability of bioactive compounds in whole grains, (2) low temperature pasteurization of liquid foods, and (3) study of shelf life of almonds during storage.<br /> <br /> 1. We explore the feasibility of using high pressure homogenization to inactivate microbes. <br /> 2. We continued to pursue research programs to investigate the effects of processed wheat bran on cholesterol.<br /> 3. A new research program to study the accumulation of EPA lipids in microalgae was initiated. Microalgae cultivated on media containing hydrolysates from acid hydrolysis of four different oil crop biomass residues were found to contain over 3 % of omega-3 fatty acid (EPA).<br /> 4. We are pursuing a research program on application of concentrated high intensity electric field (CHIEF) process to inactivation of thermophilic and thermoduric organisms present in milk. <br /> 5. We continued to study the physical, chemical (lipid oxidation), textural, aromatic, sensory quality of raw and roasted almond products during storage.<br /> <br /> New Jersey<br /> • The purpose of this project is to determine if a pressure profile would develop inside a heterogeneous food system, such as a soft food with hard inclusions, during high pressure processing (HPP) that could lead to non-uniformity in the microbial inactivation.<br /> <br /> • Our experiments were done in two model systems: (a) 20% gelatin and 2% agar gel, with a single wood inclusion or dispersed glass wool (2.5% v/v); (b) 3% agar gel, with plaster particles, up to 27%. We also carried out numerical simulations of stress distribution in a model system composed of gel and a wood inclusion, using a neo-Hookean model. The simulation results showed that pressure stress decreased from the surface toward the inclusion, and that shear stress developed near the gel-inclusion boundary and decreased toward the surface. When the Poisson’s ratio of the gel was close to 0.5 the pressure and shear stress gradients were insignificant, but they increased at lower values. No difference in the bacterial inactivation was detected between different positions in the gel with one inclusion. Higher amounts of plaster are expected to produce more regions of high shear and low pressure.<br /> • We have shown non-uniformity in the microbial inactivation in a heterogeneous system during high pressure processing. <br /> <br /> • Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAPP) is considered a potentially useful non-thermal surface decontamination technique. Sandpapers of various roughness values were selected as the model system. The surface roughness was quantified using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). Microbial analysis was done using Enterobacter aerogenes. CLSM was done on various fruits to determine fruits that have similar roughness as the selected sandpapers. Golden Delicious Apples, Sunkist Oranges and Cantaloupes were selected as fruits possessing similar roughness to the sandpapers. We have shown that surface roughness affects the microbial inactivation due to CAPP treatment.<br /> <br /> New York (Ithaca) <br /> 1: Advancing the fundamental science and application of technologies to ensure food safety and improve quality of food products<br /> <br /> 1a. Utilize innovative methods to characterize food materials<br /> 1b. Develop new and improved processing technologies<br /> <br /> Structural Changes of Milk Protein Concentrates Induced by High Hydrostatic Pressure was studied. These changes suggest that HHP treatment of milk protein concentrates may represent the basis for the development of new types of protein rich foods of unique structure and texture.<br /> <br /> Safety of non-thermally processed apple juice was enhanced by combining microfiltration with UV treatment. The developed non-thermal hurdle treatment has the potential to significantly reduce pathogenic bacteria and protozoa in apple cider and thus improve its safety and quality.<br /> <br /> 1c. Develop mathematical models to enhance understanding of, and optimize food processes<br /> <br /> A three dimensional, multiscale model for growth, dispersion, spreading/shoving, and nutrient consumption of bacteria on a leaf surface is developed for a mechanistic understanding of the behavior of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens in a thin liquid film on a spinach surface acquired from CT. <br /> <br /> 2: Develop pedagogical methodologies for improved learning of food engineering principles.<br /> <br /> We have started building, testing, and evaluating preliminary versions of the simulation-based food safety education modules. We are currently working with faculty members from ~10 universities (includes Cornell Food Science) in implementing the learning modules. <br /> <br /> 3: Develop outreach programs to disseminate best practices for enhancing food safety and quality to stakeholders.<br /> <br /> Developed teaching, outreach and extension activities to educate cider producers on the use of the MF + UV combination treatments for enhancing safety of apple juice. <br /> <br /> Kentucky<br /> Fred Payne<br /> Online Fluorescence Sensor Development<br /> The development of an online fluorescence sensor for measuring and characterizing food properties was continued during the last year. The amino acid tryptophan, which is highly fluorescent was selected as the target (Excitation 280 nm/Emission 350 nm). Tryptophan fluorescence measurements are very temperature sensitive and can be affected by pH and other food product characteristics. In addition, the technology selected was front face fluorescence and it is most sensitive at low concentrations. Two online process control applications were selected for monitoring: milk coagulation and protein content in cheese whey permeate. The fluorescence signal was discovered to decrease significantly during the gel firming stage of milk coagulation. This may provide an excellent signal for coagulation endpoint selection. Fluorescence detection of protein content in whey permeate was found to be affected by solids concentration and especially by the annatto content. Thus the use of tryptophan fluorescence to monitor whey permeate for protein content may present some challenges. A processor based prototype was developed and tested in the laboratory. Plant based testing is the goal for the next year.<br /> <br /> Akinbode Adedeji started as an Assistant Professor of Food Process Engineering in the department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at University of Kentucky in July 2014. He presently teaches a Food Engineering course to Food Science students. Co-submitted 2 Letter of intent for funding to two organizations, Bill and Melinda Gate’s Foundation Program for Emerging Agricultural Leaders and Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation Program. <br /> <br /> Louisiana<br /> Acid tolerance of Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris. can be improved using electric field strength of 2kV/cm, pulse period of 0.3 sec, pulse width of 5 µs, mild PEF treatment temperature of 45 C and flow rate of 60 mL / min.<br /> <br /> Reducing particle size of sodium chloride to submicron sizes (500 nm to 1900 nm) had a positive influence on some microbiological and sensory characteristics of surface salted cheese crackers. The sodium chloride micro and submicro particles maintained low counts in yeasts, no counts in molds and did not adversely influence quality attributes.<br /> <br /> The aim of this study was to formulate and characterize ?-tocopherol (?-T) and tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) entrapped in poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and chitosan covered PLGA (PLGA-Chi) based nanoparticles. In vitro uptake studies in Caco2 cells showed that PLGA and PLGA-Chi nanoparticles displayed a greater enhancement in the cellular uptake of ?-T and TRF when compared with the control without causing toxicity to the cells (p<0.0001). In summary, PLGA and PLGA-Chi nanoparticles may be considered as an attractive and promising approach to enhance the bioavailability and activity of poorly water soluble compounds such as ?-tocopherol and ?-tocotrienol.<br /> <br /> Collaborations (stations/members): Cristina Sabliov, Charles Boeneke, <br /> National Institute of Health. (NIH R01). Ravussin E. (PI), Greenway F (Co-PI), Martin C (Co-PI), Peterson C (Co-PI), Martin R (Co-PI), Keenan M (Co-PI), Aryana, K.J. (Co-PI), Marco M (Co-PI). “Role of slowly digestible starch in diabetes risk factors in pre-diabetic people.” 2012-2016 Granted $2,500,000. <br /> <br /> Maine<br /> (1) Sixty oysters-in-shell were measured for their shell dimensions and weight. The average length and width of the shell was 83.5 mm and 21.7 mm, respectively, while the gross wright was 55 gram. The shelled oysters were heat treated in the range of 40 – 90 °C in a water bath. Interestingly, the come-up-time in the shelled oysters was in the range of 41 – 50 min. This information helped understanding the changes in oyster quality parameters during come-up-time. <br /> <br /> (2) Quality attributes such as color, texture and pH of oysters at various times and temperatures combination was investigated and compared with commercially available oyster products. Color attributes of the raw and heat-treated oysters were analyzed using CIELAB color space i.e. brightness (L), redness/greenness (a) and blue/yellowness (b). As anticipated, brightness (L = 60) and yellowness/blueness (b = 13) of the raw was higher compared to heat-treated oysters. It was observed that the color attributes of heat-treated oysters changed faster due to Maillard browning reaction in the product. Measuring color attributes of the heat treated oysters using one point reading by hunter colorimeter may not provide accurate data as the color changes rapidly. Rapid change in color also provided higher variation in the color attribute data. <br /> <br /> Michigan<br /> 1: The impact of dynamic water activity on the efficacy of low-energy x-ray pasteurization and radio-frequency (RF) pasteurization of low-moisture foods is being tested at the pilot scale. Collaborations: The RF work is being conducted primarily at Washington State University, under the leadership of Dr. Juming Tang, as part of two USDA competitive grants (NIFSI and AFRI), with Dr. Marks as PI.<br /> 1c. Microbial inactivation models were developed (and are still being developed) as part of the following specific projects:<br /> a. Novel inactivation models for Salmonella in/on low-moisture foods are being developed and have been presented (as part of USDA-NIFSI and USDA-AFRI grants). <br /> b. The effects of process humidity and product water activity have been demonstrated, and the effects of product composition and structure are being tested, all aimed at developing improve methods for applying inactivation models to validation of pasteurization processes. <br /> c. The impact of rapid change of product (wheat flour) moisture content on the subsequent thermal resistance of Salmonella was quantified and reported (completed thesis and accepted journal article).<br /> d. The impact of inoculation methods on the resulting inactivation parameters for Salmonella in low-moisture foods was quantified and reported (MSU, WSU).<br /> e. The impact of data management strategies for low- and zero-count microbial survivor curves were demonstrated to significantly impact the resulting inactivation parameters estimated from those data.<br /> Bacterial transfer models are being developed for multiple processes, as part of the following specific projects:<br /> i. Collaborations: Jeyam Subbiah (Nebraska), Vasilis Valdramidis (U. Malta), Yoshiki Muramatsu (Tokyo University of Agriculture). Juming Tang (WSU) and Nathan Anderson (FDA) for low-moisture pasteurization work. <br /> <br /> 2. The microbial safety of low-moisture food products will be enhanced by improved methods for validating pasteurization processes.<br /> <br /> 3. Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables safety and quality will be enhanced. We expect number of outbreaks will be reduced.<br /> <br /> Missouri<br /> Tekwan is a traditional food from Palembang, Indonesia. Dried tekwan needs to be soaked in water for at least 6-9 h before cooking. This process is not only time consuming but also has safety and nutritional issues such as microbial growth and nutritional loss. This study used extrusion cooking and drying to prepare ready-to-cook tekwan. Tekwan was made using a 50 mm twin screw extruder with a circular die with 20 mm in diameter. The raw material used was prepared by mixing ground tilapia and tapioca at 1:1 ratio, and salt (2.8%) prior to extrusion. The experiment was a 3×3×2×2 factorial design consisting of three extrusion moistures (45, 50 and 55%), three extrusion screw speeds (50, 100 and 150 rpm), two types of post-extrusion process (with and without freezing) and two levels of final product thickness (1 and 1.5 cm). Screw speed had a significant effect on % degree of gelatinization, lightness, redness and hardness of extrudates, while extrusion moisture had a significant effect on moisture, redness, hardness and chewiness of extrudates. Freezing had a significant effect on moisture and density of dried tekwan. Thickness had significant effect on moisture, density, and rehydration assessment. Result showed that extrusion cooking improved water absorption of dried tekwan. Incorporating freezing as a pre-treatment of drying in tekwan production was beneficial to tekwan prepared from the conventional method, but not for that prepared from extrusion cooking. Recooked tekwan produced from a combination of 55% extrusion moisture, 100 and 150 rpm screw speed with a thickness of 10 mm had a texture profile closer to the fresh sample (extrudates) and fresh tekwan samples from the conventional method. <br /> <br /> <br /> Nebraska<br /> • Developed and validated a three-dimensional finite element model coupling electromagnetic, heat, and mass transport for describing multiphysics during microwave cooking of frozen microwaveable foods. <br /> <br /> • Working on radiofrequency processing, a novel thermal food processing technology, for improving microbiological safety of low-moisture foods such as egg white powder. <br /> <br /> • Collecting energy and water data in a beef packing plant to evaluate sustainability in beef industry. <br /> <br /> • Collaborations: Karen Schmidt, Kansas State University, Randy Phebus, Kansas State University, David Jones, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Harshavardhan Thippareddi, University of Nebraska-Lincoln<br /> <br /> • The desorption isotherm profile of cooked pasta was measured using an automated vapor sorption analyzer at five temperatures from 20 to 60 °C, and over a water activity range of 0.1 to 0.9. <br /> <br /> • Working on radiofrequency processing, a novel thermal food processing technology, for improving microbiological safety of low-moisture foods such as egg white powder and peanut butter. Evaluated radiofrequency processing for pasteurization of shell eggs.<br /> <br /> • Developed and validated a three-dimensional finite element model coupling electromagnetic, heat, and mass transport for describing multiphysics during microwave cooking of frozen microwaveable foods. <br /> <br /> • Currently implementing blended learning techniques in the course, Engineering Properties of Biological Materials.<br /> <br /> • We have deployed our heat transfer and microbial models on the website, foodsafety.unl.edu so that food processors, students, and anyone could access and utilize these models.<br /> <br /> New Mexico<br /> Creation of scientific visualizations and industry outreach tools for several research projects, including “Pathogen Inactivation in Fresh Produce by Incorporation of Sanitizers into Existing Operations within the Produce-Chain.”<br /> ii.Collaborations (stations/members)<br /> Sudhir Sastry, The Ohio State University<br /> Gönül Kaletunç,The Ohio State University<br /> Ahmed Yousef, The Ohio State University<br /> Lester Wilson, Iowa State University<br /> <br /> Ohio<br /> • Kinetics of pectin methylesterase (PME) inactivation in tomato puree were investigated under conventional and moderate electric field (MEF) treatments using the Linearly Increasing Temperature Method (LITM). <br /> <br /> • Diffusion coefficients in porcine Longissiumus dorsi were determined in a diffusion cell at three frequencies (10, 50, and 100 Hz) and three electric field strengths (68, 136, and 189 V/m). <br /> <br /> • The prediction of thermo-physical properties (thermal conductivity, density, specific heat, and thermal diffusivity) of food based on composition is an important input for process design.<br /> <br /> • The quality of a frozen food is directly impacted by the air temperatures during storage and distribution. <br /> <br /> • Rinse effectiveness during CIP was correlated with Reynolds Number, and rinsing effectiveness increased with Reynolds Number.<br /> <br /> • The influence of the freezing process on food quality depends on temperature distribution within the product during the freezing process. <br /> <br /> • Combinations of gas and liquid sanitizers were investigated for inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 in baby spinach. Best combinations included the application and holding of liquid sanitizer for a half-hour, followed by vacuum cooling and application of ozone. <br /> • Hot break, cold break and commercially canned tomato juice was concentrated by vacuum concentration and solid-liquid separation (SLS). Most volatile levels in vacuum concentration greatly decreased initially then remained constant during further concentration. <br /> • Shelled raw peanuts were roasted using an oven at 163 to 204 °C, microwave, or oven and microwave combinations. The lethal effect of these treatments was investigated on peanuts inoculated with the Salmonella surrogate, Enterococcus faecium and stored at room temperature for 1 h, 24 h, or 7 d before roasting. <br /> • Powder separation causes uneven flavor and color on coated food products. Understanding the basis behind separation is needed to decrease separation. NaCl, starch, protein, sugar and mixtures of pairs of those powders were coated nonelectrostatically and electrostatically. Electrostatic coating generally decreased separation in the mixtures without NaCl.<br /> • Electrostatic atomization is one way to achieve even coverage of oil soluble flavor, color or nutrients; however, it is sensitive to changes in lecithin content, temperature and voltage. Soybean oil was sprayed on oil sensitive paper with 0–15% lecithin, at 4, 22 and 47C, 0–40 kV, to determine droplet distribution. Lecithin decreased electrical resistivity, increased viscosity, first increased then decreased surface tension and decreased droplet size. <br /> • Pressure ohmic thermal sterilization (POTS) involves ohmic heating of foods by applying an electric field under elevated pressure. This study demonstrates the potential to produce high quality shelf stable low-acid vegetable products using POTS.<br /> <br /> • A study was conducted to develop an integrated process lethality model for <br /> • pressure-assisted thermal processing (PATP) taking into consideration the lethal <br /> • contribution of both pressure and heat on spore inactivation. <br /> <br /> <br /> Oregon<br /> • Various food materials (berry fruit, surimi, tuna fish, and red meat) and food processing byproducts (fish bones, squid pens, fruit and wine grape pomace) were characterized in respect to their chemical compositions, bioactive compounds and functional properties.<br /> • Value-added products (surimi) and utilization of the food processing byproducts (?-chitosan extracted from squid pens and food items fortified with pomace) were developed and evaluated.<br /> • Different thermal and non-thermal processed technologies were evaluated for their capabilities to ensure food safety and quality. This included high hydrostatic pressure processing for ensuring food safety of red meat, thermal processing of tuna fish, and edible coatings for retaining natural food pigment and antioxidants during thermal and non-thermal processing. <br /> • Outreach programs were implemented to disseminate the research findings and help the stakeholders for ensuring their product safety and quality. This includes HACCP workshop, surimi school, better food processing control school, food quality analysis short course, etc. In additional, websites were developed for delivering the latest information to the stakeholders.<br /> <br /> Pennsylvania<br /> • Swamy Anantheswaran: Cocoa is a widely and highly consumed food commodity throughout the world. It is also a rich source of polyphenols, found to exceed that of green tea and red wine. Cocoa polyphenols are primarily flavan-3-ol monomers and proanthocyanidins (PaCs) with degree of polymerization (DP) previously identified up to ten. Ongoing research suggests that these PaCs may account for the potential health beneficial effects of cocoa. <br /> <br /> • Studies were conducted to investigate the effect polymer concentration (0.5% and 1.0%), chitosan molecular weight (low and high) and ratio of chitosan to alginate (expressed as 33%, 50% and 66% alginate fraction) on the release of nisin from chitosan-alginate films using a two-temperature disc agar diffusion bioassay. Additionally, an interaction study was conducted to determine the ratio at which the polymers showed maximum interaction, by measuring the specific viscosity of dilute chitosan-alginate solutions after centrifugal separation of bound polymers. The polymer concentration and alginate fraction had a significant effect (p<0.05) on nisin release. <br /> <br /> • Turbidity measurements confirmed high level of complexation between chitosan and alginate at alginate fractions between 66% to 75%, resulting in higher levels of unbound nisin in the films.<br /> <br /> • Ali Demirci: For cleaning-in-place (CIP) milking systems, the cleaning mechanisms of milk system by electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water was continued by using a lab-scale milking system simulator. Building of mathematical model is still in progress. Also, the one-step cleaning approach by using neutralized (blended) EO water was evaluated as opposed to two-step approach with alkali and acid washes. Results demonstrated that blended EO water was able to do successful CIP cleaning of the pilot milking system. <br /> <br /> Tennessee<br /> We continued to study various delivery systems of antimicrobials, nutraceuticals and pigments and characterized physical, chemical, biological, and microbiological properties of these systems, as well as technologies improving heat stability of whey proteins and dispersion stability of corn zein nanoparticles. Dr. Zhong has the following projects under objective 1:<br /> (1) Delivery systems to improve effectiveness of lipophilic antimicrobials. In the USDA NIFA, OREI, and Center for Produce Safety projects, we continued to study various delivery systems of lipophilic antimicrobials to improve microbial food safety and quality of food products during shelf-life storage.<br /> (2) Technologies for improving heat stability of whey proteins. We continued to characterize physicochemical properties of whey proteins after glycation with various reducing sugars for high protein beverage applications.<br /> (3) Delivery systems for incorporation and protection of lipophilic nutraceuticals in beverages. Various colloidal systems are studied to improve the stability and bioactivity of nutraceuticals for functional foods applications.<br /> (4) Natural pigments: interactions with food biopolymers, delivery in beverages, and removal from cheese whey.<br /> (5) Structure-function correlations of food biopolymers and functionality improvement. Physical properties of food biopolymers, focusing on nanoscale structures, are studied to elucidate and improve macroscopic properties such as dispersibility, turbidity, and rheology. <br /> <br /> Collaboration: Dr. MaryAnne Drake at NC State and Dr. Salam Ibrahim at North Carolina A&T.<br /> <br /> Washington<br /> • Study influence of oxygen transmission rates of packaging polymers on chemical quality and shelf-life of thermally sterilized and pasteurized food products. The findings may guide food processing industry for design of polymeric packaging for food products. <br /> • Investigated UV-C inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms on plant surfaces of varied morphology. The study provided insight into interactions between plant surfaces and pathogens.<br /> • A US Army Natick Soldier Center team led by Dr. Tom Yang has completed a 10 week storage (at 7 and 10 C) sensory tests on three products processed using a pilot scale 915 MHz microwave assisted pasteurization (MAPS) system developed by Tang’s group as a part of USDA NIFA project. The process was designed to achieve 6-log reduction of C. Botulinum E spores (90C for 10 min). The product held quality well over the tested period. Microbial safety of the products was verified by independent tests in a commercial microbial laboratory and in a University of Tennessee (UT) laboratory (Dr. Michael Davidson). Two major US food companies are in discussion with Tang’s laboratory to explore the use of MAPS for chilled meals for retail markets.<br /> • Tang’s laboratory has evaluated quality of food processed by MAPS. The process was designed for control of HAV (75C 10 min, data from UT). Those processes are suited for chilled products with shelf-life of 10 days at 8C and applicable to small food companies catering urban population. <br /> <br /> Wisconsin<br /> Gunasekaran: A “green” synthesized nanomaterial-based thermal history indicator (nTHI) for monitoring low-temperature storage is proposed. The nTHI was synthesized and optimized in an environmental-friendly way by using gelatin, an edible protein, as a reducing reagent as well as stabilizer to control the growth of gold nanoparticles. The size and shape of the gelatin-functionalized AuNPs were characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometery and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nTHIs subjected to a low-temperature storage test revealed that those experiencing higher temperature treatments exhibited more intense color change. The observed color changes in nTHI can provide information regarding thermal history that it had experienced. <br /> <br /> Hartel: Based on previous work, we know that commercial ice creams exhibit a wide range of melting properties. Although ice cream melting is influenced by numerous factors, we hypothesize that the nature of fat globule clusters (due to fat destabilization during freezing) plays an important role, all else being equal. We have designed experiments to create ice creams with a wide range of fat globule cluster numbers and size to further evaluate their effects on melt-down properties. These studies are underway with results expected within the year.<br /> We also have begun a more fundamental investigation on arrested (or partial) coalescence of fat globules (USDA funded) to better understand how these clusters form during processing. We are investigating which parameters influence arrested coalescence in order to better control the process. <br />

Publications

Publications are attached as a PDF file.

Impact Statements

1. California Techniques, such as the magnetic resonance imaging technique employed in the current study, provide a means to understand and characterize continuous mixing under processing conditions. For the collaborative research between California-Davis and University of Illinois, mathematical modeling provides a predictive tool to reduce oil uptake and improve quality of fried foods. Results obtained from computational modeling of gastric digestion illustrate the complex dynamics of gastric contents and the potential use of these models to provide a unique insight of how foods disintegrate in a human stomach.
2. Hawaii Heating non-uniformity of particulate foods is the major problem of existing processing technologies. Despite recent advances in volumetric heating such as microwave or ohmic heating, these individual technologies still have their inherent limitations. To reduce the non-uniform temperature distribution, ohmic heating usually requires blanching pretreatments and microwave are supplemented with additional heating methods such as infrared or convection heating.
3. Hawaii The mentioned solutions have problems in the production throughput, energy efficiency or practical applicability. For a particle-liquid mixture, solid particles, in general, are heated faster than liquid, independent of their electrical conductivities whereas, during ohmic heating, liquid is heated faster due to their higher electrical conductivity than particulates. Therefore, when microwave and ohmic heating are combined, it is expected that the complementary heating of solid and liquid be able to provide more uniform heating of both solid and liquid phases.
4. Hawaii Mathematical model based on the finite element method can be used for the design of new pilot-scale combination heating chambers and the precise control of operating parameters in consideration of particulate food samples with various mixing ratios and particle conditions, i.e. shapes and sizes.
5. Idaho Cottage cheese cream dressing is used to give cottage cheese curds additional flavor and texture. However, this cream dressing has a tendency to separate over time, resulting in an unappealing appearance. There is little available information about cream dressing in the literature. A study on cream dressing has shown that stability can be improved by the addition of hydrocolloids. Using multiple hydrocolloids provides a synergistic effect that stabilizes the cream dressing over a range of pH. This information can be used by dairy manufacturers to improve the stability of their cream dressings and increase the appeal of their creamed cottage cheese.
6. Illinois Graciela Padua Success for the food products of the future will depend on their capacity to deliver valuable nutritional/bioactives cargo. Thus, new technologies are needed to develop safe and effective carriers to deliver such compounds to human, animal, and plant cells. In this context, nanostructuring holds promise. This chapter describes the structure and preparation of bicontinuous systems and highlights their application as delivery vehicles. Pawan Takhar The developed model can be applied for numerous food processing operations involving unsaturated transport. The information on frying of foods was used to help food industry in reducing fat uptake in fried foods.
7. Illinois Hao Feng a. The development of an artificial surface that mimics surface characteristics of fresh produce leaves offers a new approach in understanding the factors that are key for bacterial detachment from plant surface and improve produce sanitization. b. The sonication and hot water combined treatment may provide an effective means for the disinfection of seed sprouts to reduce microbial food safety hazards. c. Mano-thermo-sonication may be a good alternative to thermal treatments for eliminating E. coli O157:H7 in juice blends and preserving juice quality, and in enhancing the functional properties of soy protein isolate. d. The combination of pH-shifting and ultrasonication effectively modified isolated pea protein (IPP) functionality. The soluble IPP obtained through this process may be a promising emulsifier for the enrichment of fat-soluble nutrients in foods.
8. Indiana The high voltage atmospheric cold plasma process (HVACP) efficiently generates bactericidal molecules (gas plasma) inside a sealed container or package. This technology allows one to achieve commercial sterility for foods and medical products without radiation, heat, or chemicals. Leading to an environmentally friendly process that uses no water and very little heat (energy). The amount of energy required is less than a light bulb to sterilize a gallon-size container. Current research underway is examining the capability of this technology to improve safety of fresh cantaloupe and extend the shelf-life of tomatoes and fresh berries and examine its ability to decontaminate water and medical devices.
9. Iowa Physical modification of milk protein concentrates using extrusion creates functional ingredient causing less hardening in high-protein bars. Dairy ingredient industry will benefit by use of a domestically produced functional ingredient in supplementing and or replacing more expensive casein-based ingredients in bar applications. The results from the Aronia research will aid farmers to harvest their crop at the optimum time for maximum levels of antioxidants, pigments (color), and other sensory properties. The work on food auditor training has resulted in a successful Webinar, which is available online.
10. Lousiana Health beneficial bacterial market has rapidly grown and is estimated to be currently worth $18 billion. Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris. are commonly used bacterial cultures in cheese manufacture. Lactococcus lactis is a natural antibiotic that reduces the ability of pathogenic microbes to grow and cause infection. Also, ingesting live cells of Lactococcus lactis allow them to directly access inflamed area to harmlessly produce proteins that reduce inflammation.
11. Upon ingestion of these bacteria they have to survive stomach acidic conditions before they can establish in the lower GI tract and confer the health benefit upon the host. The mild PEF conditions identified in this work can be used for pretreating bacterial cultures Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris.to enhance their acid tolerance which is an important probiotic characteristic.
12. Reducing particle size of salt to submicron range would increase its surface area increasing its dissolution rate in saliva leading to a more efficient transfer of the ions to the taste buds and hence perhaps a saltier perception of foods. This has a potential to lead to less use of salt in surface salted foods.
13. Antioxidant nanoparticles: Nanodelivery systems loaded with antioxidants may find food industry applications if shown to protect the antioxidant from degradation and to improve its cellular uptake and functionality. Alpha-tocopherol is a lipophilic antioxidant with well-documented health benefits. The study shows that when entrapped in biodegradable nanoparticle the antioxidant uptake in cells is improved and its antioxidant activity is enhanced while no noticeable cytotoxic effects of the nanocarrier itself is observed.
14. Maine In short-term basis, the project provided (i) analytical experience to a graduate student in determining various quality parameters in raw and heat-treated oysters; (ii) improved the knowledge of come-up-time and heat transfer to the shelled oysters in simulated oyster processing conditions to the scientific community and oyster industry; and (iii) through a comprehensive review, it increased the understanding of risks associated with the consumption of raw oysters and benefits of high pressure processing in reducing these risks.
15. Michigan New instrument to measure thermal properties of foods rapidly will be useful to industry and researchers. Improved methods for developing, validating, and applying microbial (and quality) models will: (a) Help food processors meet consumer demand for higher-quality, safe foods, (b) Enable a higher degree of reliability/certainty in validation of critical food safety processes, and (c) Improve industry capabilities in complying with rapidly evolving food safety regulations. Engineering students who know MATLAB and Simulink will be better prepared to solve problems in the food industries. The microbial safety of low-moisture food products will be enhanced by improved methods for validating pasteurization processes. Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables safety and quality will be enhanced. We expect number of outbreaks will be reduced.
16. Minnesota The NMR/MRI hardware and software we developed and/or improved will enable researchers to produce higher signal to noise ratio of the low field imaging system when it is used to acquire images of low moisture foods. These improvements will further broaden the application of such low cost non-destructive and non-invasive imaging techniques in food science and engineering research. The processes we developed to enhance the bioavailability of phytochemicals in whole grains may be applied to other foods where phytochemicals are not readily available due to physical and chemical constrains.
17. The CHIEF process was found very effective in inactivate microbes in high protein beverages. Through this research, the process was significantly improved to enhance the bacterial kill and energy efficiency. This process may be used in pasteurization of other liquid foods. The research findings from the almond storage studies provide needed information for establishment of storage and transportation protocols for Asian market.
18. Missouri Extrusion cooking improved water absorption of dried tekwan, especially from the combination of higher screw speed (150 rpm) and lower extrusion moisture (45%). This research demonstrated the potential of using extrusion cooking to replace the traditional method of preparing tekwan. The resulting products are ready-to-cook eliminating the need of soaking the products for 6-9 hours at the room temperature before cooking which could cause microbial hazard and nutritional loss.
19. Nebraska ? Developed a methodology to estimate diffusion coefficient from isotherms measured at different temperatures. ? Make sophisticated heat transfer models available for food industries, educators, students on the web.
20. New Jersey This research is increasing our basic understanding on high pressure processing of foods and is challenging previous unverified assumptions. As the technology develops and is applied to more food systems, it will aid food processors and regulators in designing processes that can assure the safety and shelf life of the products.
21. This research is increasing our understanding of CAPP technology and the different parameters that play a role in microbial inactivation due to CAPP. Also, this research is a step forward towards characterizing plasma in terms of the reactive species being generated and their concentrations. As the technology develops and is applied to more food systems, it will aid food processors and regulators in designing processes that can assure the safety and shelf life of the products.
22. New York Our mechanistic understanding of how bacteria attach, grow and internalize is severely limited. In absence of this, we have exhaustive experimentation that takes much longer and yield little predictability. We are developing this mechanistic understanding through mathematical models and complementary experimentation. The models will serve as powerful tools for investigating ?what-if? scenarios in microorganism, food, and process conditions to improve mitigation of pathogen-to-produce attachment and internalization.
23. In education, we are developing software tools that allow a student to do ?what if? scenarios beyond what can be reasonably implemented in a classroom laboratory or lecture. This allows students to be more proficient in interdisciplinary, real world problem solving.
24. By combining the expertise in various food processing technologies and different areas of food science (food engineering, food microbiology and safety), we were able to develop new processing methods able to: a) enhance the safety of foods while maintaining high nutritional and sensory properties; b) explore novel ways to manipulate the structure and functionality of food proteins, which could result in the design of novel high protein foods, with superior nutritional and sensory properties.
25. Ohio Fresh produce safety has been of continuing concern due to outbreaks. Our efforts show the importance of considering the physics and engineering aspects of sanitization operations. It is not sufficient simply to apply sanitizers, rather, it is necessary to consider the length of time and the situation during current operations within which they may be applied.
26. Enzymes have profound effects on foods, but currently there is only one way to control their activity ? by controlling temperature. The discovery that electric fields also affect activity may be used to optimally activate or inactivate enzymes as necessary.
27. Peanut safety is important especially since Salmonella outbreaks in tree nut and peanut products have been numerous in recent years. Roasted peanut color, odor activity values, lipid oxidation, and sensory attributes are quality parameters used to evaluate roasted peanuts. Based on the evaluated safety and quality parameters, microwave or microwave and oven combination roasting technologies may be used as alternative roasting methods to produce peanut butter potentially decreasing the production costs.
28. Solid-liquid separation (SLS) is a new technology for dewatering products, such as concentration of tomato juice. SLS does not need heat to concentrate the product; therefore, the processor may be able to reduce energy consumption while better preserving flavor and viscosity of the product.
29. Liquid electrostatic coating can produce more uniform and efficient coating than traditional methods in the snack food industry. The loss of high-value additives will be less, costs will be lower, products will have higher quality and products can be made that have less oil sprayed on the surface. Increasing temperature and voltage can be used to lower the amount of lecithin that needs to be added.
30. Using mixtures with similar size powders has been shown to reduce separation during powder coating. However, even if the powders are the same size, separation still occurs because different powders have different properties. Increasing the amount of salt in a mixture may decrease separation because salt has greater targeting loss than other powders. Minimizing differences in individual targeting loss decreases separation, as does mixing powders together. Electrostatic coating can be used to decrease losses and separation in mixtures without salt.
31. Pennsylvania The research on understanding the effects of processing on cocoa polyphenols can be used to optimize chcolate manufacturing process to maximize these health-benefiting compounds.
32. Antimicrobials such as Nisin can be delivered into food products using edible food bioploymers. An understanding of the factors that govern the thermodynamics and kinetics of nisin release from the biopolymer films will be useful in designing a coating within a package or an edible coating for a food product for controlled release applications.
33. In order to produce safe foods, novel technologies are being investigated for various applications. Electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water was shown to be effective for Clean-In-Place (CIP) cleaning of on-farm milking systems, which can be applied for CIP of other food processing equipment. Pulsed UV treatment can be utilized to decontaminate packaged and unpackaged hard cheeses as well as waste water treatments.
34. Tennessee Lipophilic compounds are significant to the healthfulness, quality, and microbiological safety of food products, and novel delivery systems are demanded to incorporate and protect them in food matrices and improve their bioactivity. Food biopolymers are major components of food products and ingredients and their physical properties are important to food quality.
35. Washington ? Tang?s group conducted engineering and microbial validation tests in plants of military ration producers and co-packers AmeriQual Foods (Evansville, IN) and Wornick Foods (Cincinnati, OH) on pilot-scale 915 MHZ single-mode microwave sterilization units (MATS-B) in support of their activities for FDA filing. Ameriqual Foods received the first FDA acceptance in March 2014. ? A major international food company signed the first purchase order in October 2014 for a production scale 915 MHz single-mode microwave assisted thermal sterilization (MATS) system. This marks a major milestone in technology transfer of the microwave sterilization technology developed at Washington State University.
36. Wisconsin ? The formation of gold nanoparticles in the presence of gelatin can mimic bioproducts to colorimetrically indicate spontaneous quality changes in response to history of thermal stress. ? Through a better understanding of the process of arrested coalescence and how these clusters influence physical and sensory properties, our expectation is that we can design ice creams to have lower total and/or saturated fat with equivalent properties as full fat ice cream.

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