Food Science Commons^™

Evaluation Of Listeria Innocua Transfer From Personal Protective Equipment (Ppe) To The Plant Environment And Effective Sanitation Procedures To Control It In Dairy Processing Facilities, Karen Nieto

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Listeria monocytogenes can survive and grow under wet environmental conditions encountered in dairy facilities. Pasteurization of milk kills L. monocytogenes; however, recent listeriosis outbreaks have linked post-pasteurization contamination from the food environment to the final product. One of the sources of microbial contamination may include employees and their personal protective equipment (PPE), which often become in contact with equipment and food contact surfaces. To understand this issue, this study evaluates Listeria innocua, as a surrogate for Listeria monocytogenes, transfer from PPE to food products and surfaces encountered in dairy plants. Gloves, aprons, and boots were inoculated with L. …

Assessment Of Grain Safety In Developing Nations, Jose R. Mendoza

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grains are the most widely consumed foods worldwide, with maize (Zea mays) being frequently consumed in developing countries where it feeds approximately 900 million people under the poverty line of 2 USD per day. While grain handling practices are acceptable in most developed nations, many developing nations still face challenges such as inadequate field management, drying, and storage. Faulty grain handling along with unavoidably humid climates result in recurrent fungal growth and spoilage, which compromises both the end-quality and safety of the harvest. This becomes particularly problematic where there is little awareness about health risks associated with poor …

Assessing The Quantification Of Soy Protein In Incurred Matrices Using Targeted Lc-Ms/Ms, Jenna Krager

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soy-derived ingredients are commonly added as auxiliary components to a diverse range of food products. The versatile end-applications of commercially processed soy ingredients is concerning for the safety of allergic consumers. Immunological detection of soy proteins in food matrices has some drawbacks, including loss of epitope binding and matrix masking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess naturally incurred matrices with an existing liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) workflow to determine the recovery of total soy protein.

The existing LC-MS/MS workflow was time intensive. The peptide responses of five soy protein targets were compared between two dilution methods …

Detection Of Food Proteins In Human Serum Using Mass Spectrometry Methods, Abigail S. Burrows

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Allergenic peanut proteins are highly resistant to digestion and are detectable by immunoassays after gastrointestinal digestion. The application of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods for in vivo detection of peptides originating from allergenic food proteins has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this work was to develop an in vivo detection method for peanut proteins in serum using LC-MS/MS. The method(s) were validated by analyzing subject serum collected after peanut consumption.

Three de-complexation strategies were evaluated including (1) MS acquisition settings (i.e. inclusion, exclusion lists), (2) commercial depletion kits, and (3) organic solvent fractionation by discovery LC-MS/MS. Overall, …

Consumer Attitudes, Knowledge, And Behavior: Understanding Gluten Avoidance And Point-Of-Decision Prompts To Increase Fiber Consumption, Kristina Arslain

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding consumer food behavior is important for creating effective health programs and policies that address obesity. In this thesis, two topics of consumer food behavior are explored: understanding gluten avoidance and the use of point-of-decision prompts (PDP) to increase the purchase of healthier food choices. In this first topic, nationally representative data was collected on people’s gluten-free (GF) experience and perceptions. It was found that people were more likely to avoid gluten if they believed the (GF) diet was healthier than a gluten-containing diet and if they were recommended to try the diet. The second topic studies the influence of …

Research Tools And Their Uses For Determining The Thermal Inactivation Kinetics Of Salmonella In Low-Moisture Foods, Soon Kiat Lau

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The reputation of low-moisture foods as safe foods has been crumbling over the past decade due to repeated involvement in foodborne illness outbreaks. Although various pasteurization technologies exist, a majority are thermal processes and have not been well-characterized for pasteurizing low-moisture foods. In addition, the nature of a low-moisture food matrix introduces various experimental complications that are not encountered in high-moisture foods. In this dissertation, the development, building instructions, and characterization of various open source tools for studying the inactivation kinetics of microorganisms in low-moisture foods are described. The first tool is the TDT Sandwich, a dry heating device for …

Development Of A Sandwich Elisa Targeting Cashew Ana O 2 And Ana O 3, Morganne Schmidt

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cashew nut is the second leading tree nut allergy in the US. Cross-contact of cashew nut poses potential food safety risks for individuals with cashew allergies. Highly-processed foods, such as HTST/UHT cashew milks may lead to problems in cashew protein detection by current allergen detection methods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a robust sandwich ELISA for detection of highly processed cashew proteins. Commercial cashew ELISAs were evaluated for their robustness and sensitivity in detecting cashew milk cashew protein. After unreliable results were determined, cashew Ana o 2 (11S) and Ana o 3 (2S) were semi-purified using …

Identification, Aggressiveness And Mycotoxin Production Of Fusarium Graminearum And F. Boothii Isolates Causing Fusarium Head Blight Of Wheat In Nebraska, Esteban Valverde-Bogantes

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an economically important disease caused by several Fusarium species affecting wheat. Besides causing significant yield losses, infected grain may be contaminated with mycotoxins, primarily trichothecenes, that are harmful to both humans and animals. In recent years, reports of shifts in FHB pathogen populations in North America have highlighted the need for increased vigilance. This dissertation describes a four-year survey evaluating the species, trichothecene genotype and phenotypic diversity of FHB pathogens infecting Nebraska wheat. Most of the isolates were identified as F. graminearum (n=67). Additional species included F. boothii (n=3), F. poae (n=2) and F. acuminatum …