Food Science Commons^™

Risk Based Simulations Of Sporeformers Population Throughout The Dairy Production And Processing Chain: Evaluating On-Farm Interventions In Nebraska Dairy Farms, Rhaisa A. Crespo Ramírez

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

Sporeformer bacteria are ubiquitous in the farm environment. These bacteria produce enzymes that negatively affect the quality of dairy products representing a problem for the dairy industry. Two major issues associated with high levels of sporeformers in raw milk are shelf-life reduction of fluid milk and market limitations for milk powder. Specific attention has been given to the contamination of milk powders with sporeformers due to their ability to survive pasteurization and milk powder processing conditions. Hence, the control of sporeformers is crucial to benefit the whole dairy industry. Researchers have suggested that certain management practices could decrease sporeformers in …

Development Of A Rapid Detection And Quantification Method For Yeasts And Molds In Dairy Products, Brandon Nguyen

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

A rapid quantitative PCR (qPCR) method was developed for the detection and quantification of fungi that are potentially present in dairy commodities. Genes of interest that were considered and used in the method development were the following: 18S rRNA, actin, beta-tubulin, and elongation factor 1-alpha. The following organisms were screened in this method development: Galactomyces candidus, Debaryomyces hansenii, Yarrowia lipolytica, Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium verrocosum and Cladosporium cladosporioides. The developed method has a standard curve based on the organism, Galactomyces candidus, and the primers based on the elongation factor 1-alpha gene. Using this yeast and …

Risk Assessment And Research Synthesis Methodologies In Food Safety: Two Effective Tools To Provide Scientific Evidence Into The Decision Making Process., Juan E. Ortuzar

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

The food supply chain is a complex and diverse system. Some food products need minimum processing to reach the consumers, while others involve several different processes, countries and suppliers, can take several months to be on the table of the end consumer. Regarding food safety, the public health of consumers is at stake and the consequences of outbreaks could prove disastrous. This has been recognized as a matter of global importance for the food industry and authorities around the world since several efforts to improve quality, safety and trade of food have arisen since the early 1960s. The birth of …

Evaluation Of Qualitative Food Allergen Detection Methods And Cleaning Validation Approaches, Rachel C. Courtney

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

Allergen control plans are increasingly used by the food industry to prevent allergen cross-contact and validation of these plans involves methods to detect allergen protein residues. A commonly used rapid allergen detection method is lateral flow devices, although research about their validation is lacking. The objective of this research was to investigate lateral flow devices, their specificity and sensitivity to milk proteins and milk-derived ingredients, swabbing conditions, and applications in cleaning validation.

Several lateral flow devices advertised to detect total milk did not detect whey proteins or whey-derived ingredients. The overload level of the kits was highly variable (ranging from …

Tracking Heat-Resistant, Sporeforming Bacteria In The Milk Chain: A Farm To Table Approach, Maricarmen Estrada Anzueto

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

Sporeforming bacteria (such as Bacillus and Paenibacillus spp.) can survive pasteurization conditions (Collins, 1981) and grow in pasteurized fluid milk during refrigerated storage (Huck et al., 2008; Ivy et al., 2012), causing fluid milk spoilage and limiting the further extension of fluid milk’s shelf life (Fromm and Boor, 2004; Durak et al., 2006). Moreover, Bacillus and related genera have been found in raw milk, pasteurized milk and environmental samples from dairy farms, indicating that these organisms are ubiquitous in nature and can enter the milk chain from different sources (Huck et al., 2007b; Huck et al., 2008; Ranieri and Boor, …