Life Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Impact Of Food Structure On Oral Tribology And In-Vitro Digestion Of Dairy Products, Lamis Ali

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In this research, we focused on understanding the critical elements impacting consumer experience and the nutritional value of dairy products, specifically their texture, mouthfeel, and protein breakdown in the gastrointestinal tract. Our study aimed to accomplish two main goals. First, we performed analysis of the tribological attributes of various commercially dairy products. The second objective was to investigate the process of disintegration and protein release in selected dairy products.

The study included an assessment of eight dairy products of varied consistencies: solid like cheddar, cheese curd, and parmesan; semi-solid such as cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt; and liquid represented …

Understanding The Impact Of Physicochemical Modifications On The Cold Gelling Behavior Of Micellar Casein Concentrate Dispersions, Nathan Pougher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

When skim milk is filtered via microfiltration, the amount of casein (one of the major milk proteins) in solution can be concentrated. When casein content is high enough (>15%), the solution forms a gel at cold temperatures. With growing trends in the food industry towards simplistic ingredient labels, commonly used gums and stabilizers in the dairy industry are becoming less preferred. In the future, there is potential for the gelling properties of micellar casein to be applied to dairy products as a thickener or stabilizer, but the mechanism behind gel formation isn’t understood well. In this study, the gel …

Enhancing Efficiency Of The Nutrition Education For Utah Refugees, Habiba Ali Nur

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Refugees face many challenges related to obtaining and preparing adequate and culturally acceptable and desirable foods in their resettlement communities. These challenges often lead to risk of food insecurity and chronic diseases. A review of literature identified the existing delivery strategies and highlighted the need for nutrition education tailored to the refugees’ conditions. This study identified some of the barriers that refugees face, including the English language, transportation, finding items in grocery stores, availability of ingredients and equipment needed for cooking, affordability of food and budgeting. It also highlighted participants’ preference for having nutrition education.

To overcome these challenges, the …

The Effects Of Agroecological Farming Systems On Human Health, Olivia Kathryn Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

There is a growing concern that the current farming techniques are producing less-nutrient dense soils and foods impacting human health. To improve the health of soils, people, and the plant, a growing number of farmers are using regenerative, or agroecological, farming practices. Some of these methods include multi-cropping (growing various plants on the same plot of land), ley systems (alternating between crops and livestock), and rotational grazing of livestock. Previous studies have found that regenerative farming systems have various benefits for the lands, crops, and animals, as well as increasing the nutrient density of foods.

The purpose of this study …

Impact Of Moisture Content And Composition On Flow Properties Of Dairy Powders, Katelynn Palmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Milk protein concentrate (MPC) and isolate (MPI), and milk permeate powder (MPP) are functional dairy powder products that are used in food applications worldwide. It is critical that environmental factors and physical powder characteristics during production and storage are controlled. When dairy powders are exposed to non-ideal conditions (high moisture, varying temperatures,) they can quickly become very sticky, and clumpy. When powders become sticky, their ability to easily flow is reduced. As a result, processing and storing the powders effectively and sustainably becomes very difficult.

In the first study, an analysis method was created to test the general flow behavior …

Understanding The Pizza Baking Properties Of Low Moisture Part Skim (Lmps) Mozzarella Cheese, Anjali Verma

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Mozzarella cheese is expected to melt, stretch, release free oil and exhibit browning and blistering when baked on pizza. This research aimed to investigate the effects of different starter cultures (based on lactose and galactose utilizing ability) and calcium levels on the functionality of Mozzarella cheese when baked on pizza. Four combinations of starter cultures using S. thermophilus (STI 06)-control, Lac⁺ Gal⁺ L. helveticus (LH 32), and Lac^- Gal⁺ adjunct culture L. helveticus (LH 7995) were used to make the cheese samples. Various tests were conducted over a seven-week period to evaluate their baking properties. The …