Engineering for Food Safety and Quality

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Consumers demand safer, healthier, and higher quality food products. In order to manufacture safer, healthier, and higher quality food products, food scientists and engineers must be able to characterize and understand problems caused to food products by processing and environments and develop solutions to these problems. NMR and MRI based methods are unique because they are non-destructive, non-invasive, and fast compared with conventional methods. They can be good choice for scientists to conduct in-depth research as well as for food industry investigators to carry out R&D and quality control tasks. NMR and MRI were not originally developed for food applications but they have a great potential in the food industry if they are improved or new techniques are developed. The investigators will develop new pulse sequences, new hardware, new data processing and analysis methodologies to enhance NMR and MRI based analytical capability. Methods of food pasteurization have changed from those used in the past. Until recently, thermal processes, especially ultra high temperature (UHT) and high temperature short time (HTST) had been the most commonly used methods in the food industry to increase shelf-life and maintain food safety. However, studies have shown that color, flavor, and nutrients are degraded by heat because of protein denaturation and the loss of vitamins and volatile flavors. Therefore, there is now a demand for alternative methods for fresh food pasteurization. The investigators will develop non-thermal plasma (NTP) and concentrated high intensity electric field (CHIEF) based methods for low temperature pasteurization of liquid and solid foods. Both NTP and CHIEF technologies are very new. The investigators will study the effects of these processes on safety, nutritional values, and sensory quality of foods being treated, and also develop equipment. The health benefits of whole grains are commonly recognized nowadays. However, the bioavailability of the health promoting phytochemicals in the whole grain must be significantly enhanced in order to realize the health benefits. The investigators will develop a range of processes involving mechanical, chemical, and biological treatments to improve the bioavailability of phytochemicals and the sensory quality of whole grain ingredients. Mathematical models will be developed to understand the non-thermal processes, water-solid interactions (reaction kinetics), and heat and mass transfer. MRI data will be used to validate heat and mass transfer models. Key expected outcomes include: (1) new non-destructive and non-invasive analytical methods which will help better understand water-solid interactions in foods and their relations to food stability, (3) new non-thermal pasteurization process and engineering principles of non-thermal processing equipment which will improve the safety and quality of foods, (4) new processes to improve bioavailability of phytochemicals in whole grain and thus help realize the real health benefits of whole grain products, and (5) new mathematical models which provide better understanding of reactions and processes in food processing and storage.

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APPROACH: The objectives of the project are to develop and utilize innovative instrumental methods to characterize food ingredients and products, to develop new and improved processes to produce new food ingredients and products and to improve the safety, nutrition, and sensory quality of food products, and to develop mathematical models for better understanding, control, and design of food processes. The key research areas of the project include (1) development of innovative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based analytical methods for studies of water-solid interactions and heat and mass transfer, (2) development of non-thermal processing for pasteurization of liquid and solid foods, (3) development of processes to improve bioavailability of phytochemicals in whole grains, (4) development of mathematical models for the understanding of physiochemical changes in foods, non-thermal processes, and physical and biological processing of whole grains. Research findings will be incorporated in Food Engineering and Bioprocessing Engineering courses. Investigators will work with industrial partners to utilize new methodologies and processes for problem solving.