15,628 research outputs found
Food Digest : 2014
No full textMessage from the Department Head: Greetings. December 10, 2013, is a date that should be recorded as part of the Food Science and Technology history. On this date we received a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy for the Human and Agricultural Biosciences Building 1 (HABB1). Almost exactly two years after breaking ground, we have moved into the new 93,860-square-foot building with research and office space for the Food Science and Technology and Biological Systems Engineering Departments. Moving our professional belongings is much like what we have all experienced in moving our personal possessions. It is a time of sorting and evaluation. While most of the department is enjoying beautiful new offices, some of us will remain in our current (FST) building that we still cherish, but the signs of its age are apparent. We will retain the administrative offices and the advising offices. Faculty and staff whose duties are primarily teaching or Extension will remain in FST. Some graduate students also will remain in the FST building, so the path between our two buildings is quickly becoming familiar. We are planning how to best use the space that we now have in FST. Lots of changes are still ahead for the FST department in 2014. We continue to grow as a department, with new faculty, staff, and increasing undergraduate enrollment. Our undergraduate program now has more than 150 majors. At the first Food Science Club meeting this year we had over 80 students in attendance. HABB1 is a beautiful building, and the department is delighted to finally be in a building made of Hokie Stone. The office areas and atrium inside HABB1 also have Hokie Stone. One Board of Visitors member commented that he believed the inside of HABB1 was the most attractive part of the building. I invite you to come and judge for yourself. We would love to show you the new building. Best personal regards, Joe Marcy
Food Digest : 2015
No full textMessage from the Department Head: Greetings! I hope this newsletter gives you an indication of the Department of Food Science and Technology’s busy year. One highlight was March 21, 2014 — celebrating the grand opening of the Human and Agricultural Biosciences Building 1 with speeches from former President Charles Steger, Dean Alan Grant, and students from the food science and technology and biological systems engineering departments. It was the culmination of years of planning and construction. Now that the transition to HABB1 is complete, we can focus on projects in our new facility, and I want to encourage alumni and friends to come to Blacksburg so that we can show you our outstanding facility. With the shock of the move over, all will agree that working in this new building is a joy. The old food science and technology building is getting some much needed renovations, including a fire detection system, new paint in public areas, and a sensory kitchen renovation. The university has conducted a feasibility study for turning the dairy processing pilot plant into a 2,300-square-foot, hi-tech classroom. It’s still too early to say if this will happen, but after months of planning, we are hopeful that we are on track for a new teaching space. We have many new developments to tell you about, but expansion that I am very excited for is the establishment of three new endowed scholarships for food science and technology students. Pledges have been made to fund these scholarships through annual gifts from both corporate and alumni supporters. Financial aid for students is always appreciated and is extremely helpful as we grow our undergraduate program. In spring semester 2015, we will teach the first new course in our undergraduate fermentation option. Herbert Bruce has joined the Department of Food Science and Technology as an adjunct professor and will be teaching a new brewing methods class. Later in the semester, we expect delivery of our new brew house and research malt roasting system. We believe that curriculum that explores broad application food fermentations will be an option that new students will seek. It will also serve to attract prospective students to our department. We look forward to a prosperous 2015 for students and faculty! Best personal regards, Joe Marcy
Other title: Title from page 2: Evaluate sources and reduction potential for nitrogen and phosphorous in vegetated and un-vegetated ditches
No full textFinal report; "December 2024."; "Project ID Number: 118512."; "Prepared in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration"--Page 3.; Sponsored by the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Statewide Planning & Research; Contract or grant number: 38588; "Author(s): Ben Phillips, Jon Witter, and Ryan Winson"--Page 2.; "Performing Organization Name ... Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, Ohio State University"--Page 2.; Additional information provided in email: Sate job number 136692.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 27-31)Ohio has one of the nation's largest roadway systems exceeding 121,000-miles and the Ohio Department of Transportation is responsible for ~16% (i.e., 19,470-miles) of the overall network. In areas where right-of-way is relatively inexpensive, open channels (ditches) parallel to the road are constructed to efficiently drain the roadway and provide safe travel conditions during wet weather. They also provide for pollutant removal through sedimentation, filtration, infiltration, plant uptake, and soil processes. Finally, they can provide a host of other ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and habitat for species in landscapes that are highly managed (e.g. agriculture). These ditches often outfall into streams and rivers, contributing flow and transporting nutrients and other pollutants to receiving waters. The ability of ditches to function for efficient pollution control is largely dependent on the vegetation (or lack thereof) in the channel. However, most previous research on roadside ditches focuses on systems planted with turfgrass. Few studies have focused on ditches in low-lying areas which may develop (unintended) wetland conditions. These wetland ditches possess vegetation and processes which might remove nutrients more efficiently than standard turfgrass ditches. Further, ditch maintenance in both grassed and wetland ditches often requires highway technicians or contractors to "dip out" accumulated sediments to restore hydraulic capacity resulting in the complete removal of vegetation from the ditch. These denuded ditches can be subject to erosion until stabilizing vegetation takes root. The overarching goal of the proposed study is to gain a better understanding of the extent to which roadside ditches impact watershed hydrology and nutrient processing, storage, and transport
Re-engineering the Welfare System: A Study of Administrative Changes to the Food Stamp Program: Final Report
No full textFood Assistance and Nutrition Research report, no. 17. Prepared by Health Systems Research, Inc. and the Urban Institute for the Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Includes bibliographic references. Appendices show changes made by states. Arizona and five other states (Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Kansas and Connecticut) are the six states profiled in the individual case studies section
Performance Analysis of a Directly Coupled Solar Powered Thermoelectric Refrigeration System
No full textFood items, medicines and other perishables are considerably sensitive to temperature and environmental conditions. Storage and transportation of these items without affecting their quality is one of the acute challenges all over the world. The method of refrigeration is used to keep these items below atmospheric temperature. It is an energy intensive process and to meet these energy requirements, electric power is commonly used. As the electricity crisis and prices are increasing day by day, it has established a thought provoking ideology to utilize solar energy for refrigeration processes and improving their performance in this regard. Photovoltaic Powered Thermoelectric Refrigerator is a special type of refrigerator which uses solar energy instead of conventional electrical energy and is based on the principles Peltier effect to create a cold side and a hot side. The cold side of the module is used for the cooling of refrigerator space while the heat from the hot side is rejected to ambient by using heat sinks and fans. The present work for the experimentation of Solar Thermoelectric Refrigeration unit was carried out at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology Lahore-Pakistan at KSK Campus. The results showed that at an ambient temperature below that of 25ºC, the unit could maintain the temperature in the refrigerator space at about 0ºC. The maximum COP recorded was about 0.65. It has been further analyzed that the temperature gradient of hot and cold sides of the thermoelectric module and solar irradiance greatly affects the system performance. An optimum value of solar insolation rate let the cooling production and COP to achieve maximum value. The refrigerator would be potential for cold storage in remote and outdoor conditions where electric power supply is absent. It has the advantages of being portable, small, reliable, lightweight, noiseless and low cost in mass production
Fractional calculus to control transport phenomena in food engineering: A systematic review of barriers and data agenda
No full textThis study aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature through bibliometrics and content analysis to raise barriers, data agenda, and a framework to support academics and practitioners of fractional calculus in transport phenomena from the perspectives of food engineering. The structure of the methodological procedure is a selection of studies in the research area, statistical analysis of the data, and content analysis. The Bibliometrix package of software R was used in the bibliometric analysis, being fundamental for the organization of the discussions. Finally, the food engineering area researchers can use the questions, barriers, and research agenda in fractional calculus to solve problems in the studied clusters' processes. Based on the previous knowledge of the researcher, a path was provided to follow the data agenda and the proposed framework, identify insights, and solve a specific problem. As the main contribution, this study presents several applications and the most significant barriers and presents bibliometrics quantifying the theoretical and empirical studies in the area. Nonetheless, this study places the research field of fractional calculus for Food Engineering, Science, and Technology, presenting several applications and the most significant barriers quantifying the theoretical and empirical studies in the area. As a practical contribution, this study presents a research agenda and a framework that can contribute to practitioners applying fractional calculus in process control.Chemical Engineering Graduate Program and Chemical Engineering Department Universidade Estadual de MaringáDepartment of Industrial Engineering Universidade Estadual do ParanáDepartment of Industrial Engineering Universidad Tecnológica del PerúDepartment of Chemical Engineering Universidade Tecnológica Federal do ParanáDepartment of Biosystem Engineering Universidade Estadual de São Paulo, São PauloDepartment of Biosystem Engineering Universidade Estadual de São Paulo, São Paul
Computer-aided food engineering
No full textComputer-aided food engineering (CAFE) can reduce resource use in
product, process and equipment development, improve time-to-market
performance, and drive high-level innovation in food safety and quality. Yet,
CAFE is challenged by the complexity and variability of food composition
and structure, by the transformations food undergoes during processing
and the limited availability of comprehensive mechanistic frameworks
describing those transformations. Here we introduce frameworks to model
food processes and predict physiochemical properties that will accelerate
CAFE. We review how investments in open access, such as code sharing, and
capacity-building through specialized courses could facilitate the use of
CAFE in the transformation already underway in digital food system
Production and characterization of palm oil microcapsules obtained by complex coacervation in gelatin/gum Arabic
No full textPalm oil is a carotenoid-rich natural compound, whose microencapsulation by complex coacervation may protect it against adverse conditions, allowing applications in food formulations for nutritional enrichment and natural pigmentation. Besides, since the coacervates are insoluble in acid pH of stomach, this undigested lipid is delivered slowly in the intestinal tract, which can help treatment of metabolic disturbs. Accordingly, this study intended to optimize palm oil microencapsulation by complex coacervation using gelatin and gum Arabic as wall materials. For this purpose, the effects of wall material concentration (WM) (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5% w/v), gelatin:gum Arabic ratio (G:GA) (1:2; 1:1; 2:1), and core:wall material ratio (C:WM) (75, 100, and 125%) on the encapsulation efficiency, particle morphology, and size distribution of microcapsules were investigated. Microencapsulation assays followed a factorial central design and, after coacervation, the microcapsules were freeze-dried. The highest values of encapsulation efficiency were obtained using G:GA = 1:1 or 2:1 with C:WM = 100%, whereas the WM concentration could vary from 2.5 to 7.5%. High concentrations of WM (7.5%) and G:GA = 2:1 hampered the formation of spherical or oval microcapsules. Microcapsules showed average diameter (D[4.3]) between 97 and 690 µm, with increasing concentration of WM and higher C:WM ratio contributing to formation of larger microcapsules. The G:GA ratio showed the highest influence on the particle size, with the 1:2 ratio resulting in smaller microcapsules. Practical applications: Palm oil is a significant source of antioxidants and other phytonutrients, and its microencapsulation may protect these bioactive compounds, enabling its use to nutritional enrichment of dry food formulations, at the same time as functioning as a natural pigment given the intense reddish-orange color of the oil. In addition, the microcapsules may slow down palm oil release in the gastrointestinal tract, since the coacervates are insoluble in acid pH of stomach, allowing this nutrient to achieve the ileum before being digested and help treatment of metabolic disturbs. Accordingly, microencapsulation of palm oil can be of great interest for food and pharmaceutical industries to develop controlled-delivery systems to encapsulate and slow down digestion of lipids, inducing modulation of satiety response.Department of Food Engineering and Technology São Paulo State University (UNESP)Department of Food Engineering Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM)Cereal and Chocolate Technology Centre - Institute of Food Technology (ITAL)Department of Food Engineering and Technology São Paulo State University (UNESP
Department of Genetic Engineering: A Roadmap
No full textThe design of life is the zenith of engineering disciplines. Over the last half-century, researchers have made rapid advances in creating DNA that reprograms living cells. Biotechnology now spans all aspects of society, from living medicines to new sources of food, chemicals, and minerals. Yet, as a discipline, genetic engineering emerged without an intellectual home, siloed across departments. Projects are housed in departments due to tradition; for example, corn engineering in Agrosciences, microbial biomanufacturing in Chemical Engineering, and human T-cell design in Biomedical Engineering. Legacy coursework and faculty compositions draw students away from core competencies in genetic engineering. As a result, students receive only partial educations, which limits their career options and forces them to pursue long PhDs and postdoctoral training for positions where it should not be required. A focused Department of Genetic Engineering will train future students in the theory, practice, and ethics of the field. The workforce must be prepared for both modern and yet-to-be-envisioned applications, such as advanced materials, mining, and infrastructure. Students need to become capable designers who understand the principles and mathematics behind reprograming every kingdom of life
Priority research questions for the UK food system
No full textThe rise of food security up international political, societal and academic agendas has led to increasing interest in novel means of improving primary food production and reducing waste. There are however, also many ‘post-farm gate’ activities that are critical to food security, including processing, packaging, distributing, retailing, cooking and consuming. These activities all affect a range of important food security elements, notably availability, affordability and other aspects of access, nutrition and safety. Addressing the challenge of universal food security, in the context of a number of other policy goals (e.g. social, economic and environmental sustainability), is of keen interest to a range of UK stakeholders but requires an up-to-date evidence base and continuous innovation. An exercise was therefore conducted, under the auspices of the UK Global Food Security Programme, to identify priority research questions with a focus on the UK food system (though the outcomes may be broadly applicable to other developed nations). Emphasis was placed on incorporating a wide range of perspectives (‘world views’) from different stakeholder groups: policy, private sector, non-governmental organisations, advocacy groups and academia. A total of 456 individuals submitted 820 questions from which 100 were selected by a process of online voting and a three-stage workshop voting exercise. These 100 final questions were sorted into 10 themes and the ‘top’ question for each theme identified by a further voting exercise. This step also allowed four different stakeholder groups to select the top 7–8 questions from their perspectives. Results of these voting exercises are presented. It is clear from the wide range of questions prioritised in this exercise that the different stakeholder groups identified specific research needs on a range of post-farm gate activities and food security outcomes. Evidence needs related to food affordability, nutrition and food safety (all key elements of food security) featured highly in the exercise. While there were some questions relating to climate impacts on production, other important topics for food security (e.g. trade, transport, preference and cultural needs) were not viewed as strongly by the participants
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