Food Science Commons^™

The Molecular Basis For Natural Competence In Acinetobacter, Yafan Yu

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

Bacteria use Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) to acquire genetic material, leading to the development of novel traits, such as the spread and development of antibiotic resistance. Natural competence is one type of HGT accomplished by DNA uptake from the environment and incorporation into the genome. Bacteria from Acinetobacter are wildly distributed in the environment and are naturally competent. This propensity is a key factor to the steady increase in drug resistance in Acinetobacter, which is a cause for concern in human health as Acinetobacter is a major source of nosocomial infections. During natural competence, type IV pili (T4P) and related …

The Application Of Mathematical Optimization And Flavor-Detection Technologies For Modeling Aroma Of Hops, Yutong Liu

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

In recent years, proprietary hops (Citra, Simcoe, and Mosaic) become the most sought-after hops among brewers due to their excellent aroma. However, they are restricted to the owners unless other growers purchase the costly licensing agreements. Many public hops are available to the growers without any additional costs, but their aroma is difficult to match to the proprietary hops. Although proprietary and public hop varieties are unique in their aroma profiles, all hops varieties contain similar volatile compounds, merely differ in the quantity of different individual compounds. The main objective of this thesis was to investigate the feasibility of matching …

Food Science, Tech Program Offers Huskers Valuable Real-World Experience, Annie Albin

Nebraska Innovation Campus Materials

A program launched by a student experience is helping Huskers in food science and technology majors gain hands-on experience while making positive real-world impacts.

Offered through the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Food Science and Technology, the Food Processing Center’s Student Rotation program allows undergraduates to participate in four lab experiences. Those labs — dairy plant, pilot plant, product development lab and sensory lab — were first completed by a student who just happened to take them through the four years of her collegiate career

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 …

Dietary Fiber Utilization In The Gut: The Role Of Human Gut Microbes In The Degradation And Consumption Of Xylose-Based Carbohydrates, Elizabeth Drey

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

Xylans are a family of xylose-based polysaccharides naturally present in fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains. Resistant to digestion by host enzymes, xylans reach the large intestine intact, where they are utilized by members of the gut microbiome. They are initially hydrolyzed by primary degraders that utilize extracellular xylanases to cleave xylan into smaller oligomers. These xylooligosaccharides (XOS) can then either be further hydrolyzed by primary degraders or can cross-feed secondary consumers, including Bifidobacterium. While several Bifidobacterium species have metabolic systems for XOS, studies have shown these species grow poorly on longer XOS and xylan substrates. In this thesis, …

Characterization Of Tea (Camellia Sinensis) Granules For Quality Grading Using Computer Vision System, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Sabiha Ferdous, Mariya Sultana Jenin, Tanjina Rahman Mim, Masud Alam, Muhammad Rashed Al Mamun

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Tea (Camellia sinensis) has been found as an important medicinal beverage for human which is consumed all over the world. Primarily, the majority of tea is being cultivated in Asia and Africa, however it is commercially produced by more than 60 countries. Though substantial amount is produced, its processing system is still underdeveloped which leads to decrease in export opportunity as well as low monetary value. Moreover, the traditional method of tea grading and sorting is laborious, inefficient, and costly which ultimately produces the low-quality heterogeneous products. Processing and grading of tea granules after drying is very important …

Synthesizing Inactivation Efficacy Of Treatments Against Bacillus Cereus Through Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis And Evaluating Inactivation Efficacy Of Commercial Cleaning Products Against B. Cereus Biofilms And Spores Using Standardized Methods, Minho Kim

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

Bacillus cereus is ubiquitous and can be easily carried in food processing facilities. It is problematic because it can survive various treatments such as heat, radiation, and chemical cleaning by forming spores and biofilms. Some review papers have discussed inactivation efficacies of different treatments against B. cereus, but they are narrative without quantitative summaries. This study first aimed to find effective and food industry-applicable treatment candidates against B. cereus spores and biofilms by synthesizing and comparing the efficacy of treatments using systematic review and meta-analysis. After screening, 17 studies were included, but only nine studies were used for meta-analysis …

The Sulfur Microbial Diet And Risk Of Colorectal Cancer By Molecular Subtypes And Intratumoral Microbial Species In Adult Men, Daniel R. Sikavi, Long H. Nguyen, Koichiro Haruki, Tomotaka Ugai, Wenjie Ma, Dong D. Wang, Kelsey N. Thompson, Yan Yan, Tobyn Branck, Jeremy E. Wilkinson, Naohiko Akimoto, Rong Zhong, Mai Chan Lau, Kosuke Mima, Keisuke Kosumi, Teppei Morikawa, Eric B. Rimm, Wendy S. Garrett, Jacques Izard, Yin Cao, Mingyang Song, Curtis Huttenhower, Shuji Ogino, Andrew T. Chan

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: We recently described the sulfur microbial diet, a pattern of intake associated with increased gut sulfur-metabolizing bacteria and incidence of distal colorectal cancer (CRC). We assessed whether this risk differed by CRC molecular subtypes or presence of intratumoral microbes involved in CRC pathogenesis (Fusobacterium nucleatum and Bifidobacterium spp.).

METHODS: We performed Cox proportional hazards modeling to examine the association between the sulfur microbial diet and incidence of overall and distal CRC by molecular and microbial subtype in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2012).

RESULTS: We documented 1,264 incident CRC cases among 48,246 men, approximately 40% of whom had available …

Studies On Milling And Baking Quality And In-Vitro Protein Digestibility Of Historical And Modern Wheats, Sujun Liu

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

There is considerable controversy among the public and the scientific community about whether modern wheats are harmful for human health and responsible for the increase of Celiac disease compared with historical varieties. Therefore, the milling and baking quality, protein digestibility, and protein composition of historical and modern wheats adapted to the Great Plains of the US were evaluated in this thesis. One objective of this thesis was to determine how end-use quality of wheat changed with wheat cultivar release year. Kernel physical characteristics, milling yield, whole-wheat flour quality, flour protein content, mixing quality and baking quality of 23 hard winter …

Effect Of Radiofrequency Assisted Thermal Processing On The Structural, Functional And Biological Properties Of Egg White Powder, Alisha Kar

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

Radiofrequency (RF) assisted thermal processing is a novel and energy-efficient method used for pasteurization, which heats the product volumetrically as opposed to traditional hot room (HR) pasteurization. RF-assisted thermal processing accelerates the heating rate of egg white powder (EWP), which has a low thermal conductivity and further affect its gelling properties. The effect of processing methods (RF and HR) due to pH and treatment temperature combination was monitored by subjecting neutral EWP (6.4 pH) to 70 and 80 ℃ and alkaline EWP (pH 9.9) samples to 70 ℃ over 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 d. At 80 ℃ and …

Pre-Milling Interventions For Improving The Microbiological Quality Of Wheat, Shpresa Musa

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

Development of pre-milling intervention strategies to improve the microbial quality of wheat and wheat-based products is an emerging concern for the food industry. When steam tempering conditions for hard and soft wheat were applied, the microbial population associated with the grain was significantly reduced compared to controls. Further reductions were observed when acid was applied as part of the intervention which is an added benefit since the addition of a tempering solution is required for both wheat classes since the desired milling moisture cannot be reached by applying steam alone. On average, the highest reductions for hard wheat were achieved …

Understanding The Roles Of Nutrient-Niche Dynamics In Clostridioides Difficile Colonization In Human Microbiome Colonized Minibioreactors, Xiaoyun Huang

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

Clostridioides difficile is a Gram-positive pathogen that is one of the most common causes of health care-associated infections in the U.S. Because of its importance to human health, researchers are trying to understand risk factors for infection and identify new therapies to treat disease. A “healthy” gut microbiome has the ability to protect the host against colonization of C. difficile or other pathogens by providing colonization resistance. One proposed mechanism for colonization resistance is through competition for nutrients with pathogens by the members of the healthy microbiome. We tested whether competition for nutrients was important for colonization resistance in human …

Investigating The Prevalence And Control Of Listeria Monocytogenes In Food Facilities, Cyril Nsom Ayuk Etaka

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

Small and very small food facilities in the ready-to-eat food industry face difficulties complying with the Food Safety Modernization Act-Preventive Controls for Human Food rule (FSMA-PCHF). This regulation highlights the need for sanitation to control environmental pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes. The main goal of this project was to investigate the prevalence and control of Listeria monocytogenes in food facilities. This study provides technical assistance to facilities to comply with the PCHF rule and addresses sanitation alternatives for food contact surfaces like aqueous ozone.

First, the prevalence of Listeria spp and L. monocytogenes in small and very small food manufacturing …

The Differences Of Prokaryotic Pan-Genome Analysis On Complete Genomes And Simulated Metagenome-Assembled Genomes, Tang Li

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

Metagenomic assembly is often used in microbiome research. In metagenomic assembly, contigs are binned based on the shared nucleotide composition. These contig bins are called metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), each representing a unique bacterial genome recovered from metagenome sequencing. Hundreds of thousands of high-quality MAGs of various ecological environments have been published since 2017, and increasingly more MAGs are being used in pan-genome analyses where unculturable species or species without reference genomes are studied in microbiome research. However, compared to the traditional pan-genome analysis that uses isolate genomes (from a pure strain isolated from a mixed bacterial population), it is not …

Handling Of Spurious Sequences Affects The Outcome Of High-Throughput 16s Rrna Gene Amplicon Profiling, Sandra Reitmeier, Thomas C. A. Hitch, Nicole Treichel, Nikolaos Fikas, Bela Hausmann, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Klaus Neuhaus, David Berry, Dirk Haller, Ilias Lagkouvardos, Thomas Clavel

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing is a popular approach for studying microbiomes. However, some basic concepts have still not been investigated comprehensively. We studied the occurrence of spurious sequences using defined microbial communities based on data either from the literature or generated in three sequencing facilities and analyzed via both operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) approaches. OTU clustering and singleton removal, a commonly used approach, delivered approximately 50% (mock communities) to 80% (gnotobiotic mice) spurious taxa. The fraction of spurious taxa was generally lower based on ASV analysis, but varied depending on the gene region targeted …

Peanut Allergen Reaction Thresholds During Controlled Food Challenges In 2 Canadian Randomized Studies (Canada-Arm1 And Pisces), Derek K. Chu, Joseph L. Baumert, Steve L. Taylor, Julie A. Nordlee, Tina Nham, Jonathan Bramson, Sébastien La Vieille, Michael A. Abbott, Paul Spill, Andrea Marrin, Manel Jordana, Susan Waserman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

In 2 randomized studies addressing peanut allergy (Canada-Food Allergy Risk Management 1 [NCT01812798] and Peanut Immunotherapy Starting in Canada, Evaluation and DiScovery [NCT0 1601522]), we quantified peanut allergen thresholds to food challenge using Bayesian stacked model averaging to inform policy and clinical practice. About 50% of patients tolerated more than 70 mg (~ ¼ peanut).

Overview Of The Microbiome Among Nurses Study (Micro-N) As An Example Of Prospective Characterization Of The Microbiome Within Cohort Studies, Christine Everett, Chengchen Li, Jeremy E. Wilkinson, Long H. Nguyen, Lauren J. Mciver, Kerry Ivey, Jacques Izard, Natalia Palacios, A. Heather Eliassen, Walter C. Willett, Alberto Ascherio, Qi Sun, Shelley S. Tworoger, Andrew T. Chan, Wendy S. Garrett, Curtis Huttenhower, Eric B. Rimm, Mingyang Song

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

A lack of prospective studies has been a major barrier for assessing the role of the microbiome in human health and disease on a population-wide scale. To address this significant knowledge gap, we have launched a large-scale collection targeting fecal and oral microbiome specimens from 20,000 women within the Nurses’ Health Study II cohort (the Microbiome Among Nurses study, or Micro-N). Leveraging the rich epidemiologic data that have been repeatedly collected from this cohort since 1989; the established biorepository of archived blood, urine, buccal cell, and tumor tissue specimens; the available genetic and biomarker data; the cohort’s ongoing follow-up; and …

Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Fried In Recycled Palm Oil: Implications For Nutrition And Health, Aemiro Tadesse Zula, Derese Tamiru Desta, Mary S. Willis

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Fish constitutes a occasional food for the Sidama people of Hawassa, the capital city of Ethiopia’s Sidama Region and the site of a large endorheic lake. Freshly-caught fish, especially Nile tilapia or koroso in Local name, are typically fried prior to consumption. Despite the sensory qualities, fried foods are not always advisable due to the impact of frying on the nutritional quality of food. This study was designed to assess the nutritional quality of Nile tilapia that had been fried in the same palm oil over six consecutive frying cycles. The raw fish were purchased from the Lake Hawassa fish …

Techniques To Improve The Volume, Texture And Nutritional Quality Of Gluten Free Bread, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This article highlights the use of soy flour to improve the protein and fiber of gluten free bread. Also, the use of an extrusion process on soybean and corn flour blends improves the volume and texture of the bread. A full listing of the ingredients and method for production of higher quality gluten free bread is included.

Gut Community Response To Wheat Bran And Pinto Bean, Shuen Leow

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

There is general consensus among the scientific community that dietary fibers reduce the risk of Western diseases through their fermentation by beneficial microbial communities in the human gut. However, dietary fibers in wheat bran (WB) and pinto bean (PB) are incompletely fermented by the gut microbiota. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify gut microbial communities that can increase fermentation of dietary fibers from these foods to maximize their disease-preventing properties. The goal of this study was to identify such communities with increased capacity to ferment the dietary fibers in WB and PB. To accomplish these goals, a stepwise …

Risk-Based Evaluation Of Treatments For Water Used At A Pre-Harvest Stage To Mitigate Microbial Contamination Of Fresh Raspberry In Chile, Constanza Avello Lefno

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

The global agricultural sectors are facing challenges of providing food for a rapidly growing population while still meeting appropriate food quality and safety standards. Chile, a South American country with great climatic and soil diversity, is positioned among the top ten agricultural exporters in the world.

Berries are considered highly prioritized produce in terms of microbiological hazards. The work presented in this thesis primarily focuses on the control of microbial contamination in water used at a pre-harvest stage, for enhanced quality and safety of raspberry products in Chile destined for export.

Two studies were conducted to achieve the goals. In …

Food Sensitivity In Individuals With Altered And Unaltered Digestive Tracts, Walker Carson

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

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) against food proteins has become the subject of much discussion with regards to its role in adverse food reactions. An estimated 20% of the population suffers from some type of food intolerance. Food sensitivity can present with a vast range of symptoms and severities. Diet can have a substantial impact on the wellbeing of individuals with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Incidentally, these diseases have been associated with elevated levels of food-specific IgG as well an increased likelihood of food sensitivity. The presence of food-specific IgG and food sensitivity in …

Novel Sources Of Food Allergens, Lee Palmer

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

Technological advancement and globalization have led to the spread of foods to countries where the food does not yet have a documented history of consumption, in other words, novel foods. Novel foods also encompass truly novel foods, foods that have been processed in a novel manner, and novel means of exposure. With novel foods comes the potential of food allergens that pose an uncharacterized risk to those with food allergies. Food allergies are an increasingly important facet of public health. Therefore, a deeper understanding of novel foods as well as methods to evaluate consumers’ potential risk is necessary. Literature reviews …

Microbial Challenge Studies Of Radio Frequency Heating For Dairy Powders And Gaseous Technologies For Spices, Xinyao Wei

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

Persistence, thermal resistance, and survival of Salmonella in low moisture foods (LMF) have resulted in several foodborne illness outbreaks. Both existing and novel pasteurization technologies need to be validated for microbial safety of LMF. In this dissertation, a framework for using radio frequency (RF) heating to enhance microbial safety of milk powders and egg white powder was established. Thermal inactivation kinetics of Salmonella in milk powders were determined to guide the dairy industry for identifying thermal processing conditions for pasteurization. Storage time showed no effect on the thermal resistance of Salmonella, which can simplify the process validation study in …

Process Interventions For Improving The Microbiological Safety Of Low Moisture Food Ingredients, Tushar Verma

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

The recurrence of Salmonella in low moisture foods and the implementation of the FSMA rule requires a need to validate legacy and novel processing technologies. In this dissertation, a legacy thermal (extrusion), a novel thermal (radiofrequency (RF) heating), and a non-thermal (chlorine dioxide) technology, were evaluated as intervention technologies for Salmonella in low moisture foods. The twin-screw extruder was performed at different levels of screw speeds, temperatures, moisture contents, and fat contents to understand the impact of processing conditions on Salmonella inactivation in oat flour. At temperature >65°C, the Salmonella population was below the detection limit. At 55°C, Salmonella reduction …

Bibliometric Analysis Of The 200 Most Cited Articles On Antioxidant From 1976-2020, Ghouse Modin Nabeesab Mamdapur Mr., Neelesh Kumar Nema Dr., Baby Kumaranthara Chacko Dr., Jose Paul Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Antioxidant helps to reduce various disorders and control pathological conditions such as cancer, aging, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, immune system decline, and brain dysfunction etc. In this study, the top 200 highly cited articles (citations 327,657) with total 647 authors were retrieved from Elsevier’s Scopus database (105,440 hits) by the keyword “antioxidant” published across the worldwide for the timespan 1976-2020 years. The data were analysed through bibliometric indicators by using VOSviewer and biblioshiny tools to explore various parameters i.e. keywords co-occurrence, authors contribution, highly cited journals, affiliations/organization engaged and worldwide collaboration. In the year 2001 and 1996, maximum number of …

Rejection Of African Indigenous Food: The Case Of Rwanda, Eugene Baraka

NUTR/GLST 498b: Global Research Experiences in Nutrition and Health

Rwanda has one of the highest stunting rates among children globally, and malnutrition remains one of the most pressing public health issues. Lack of diversified diets, due to colonialization and nutrition transition, is the leading cause of the double burden of malnutrition in the country where the progress to reduce undernutrition is slow and obesity rates are rapidly rising. Consumption of indigenous foods has proven to diversify diets, but very few studies have been conducted to assess which ones are available for consumption in Rwanda. The purpose of this study was to assess the availability and use of indigenous foods …

3d Printing Of Human Microbiome Constituents To Understand Spatial Relationships & Shape Parameters In Bacteriology, Jacques Izard, Teklu Kuru Gerbaba, Shara R.P. Yumul

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Effective laboratory and classroom demonstration of microbiome size and shape, diversity, and ecological relationships is hampered by a lack of high-resolution, easy-to-use, readily accessible physical or digital models for use in teaching. Three-dimensional (3D) representations are, overall, more effective in communicating visuospatial information, allowing for a better understanding of concepts not directly observable with the unaided eye. Published morphology descriptions and microscopy images were used as the basis for designing 3D digital models, scaled at 20,000×, using computer-aided design software (CAD) and generating printed models of bacteria on mass-market 3D printers. Sixteen models are presented, including rod-shaped, spiral, flask-like, vibroid, …

Pickle And Other Condiment Recipes From Backyard Farmer, Wayne C. Whitney, Sue Ann Gardner

Zea E-Books Collection

Compiled by Wayne C. Whitney, Extension Horticulturist University of Nebraska Extension Publication CC-245 (1972) With a new Preface by Sue Ann Gardner Here are the favorite pickle and other condiment recipes submitted by viewers of Backyard Farmer, a television program of the Extension Service, University of Nebraska College of Agriculture. On this program, questions pertaining to the home, yard and garden are answered by specialists in the areas of Horticulture and Forestry, Entomology, Plant Pathology and Agronomy. This publication resulted from an on-the-air request for pickle recipes. Some 536 recipes were received from interested viewers from Nebraska and surrounding states. …

Twenty-Five Years Study (1995–2019) Of Food And Bioproducts Processing: An Overview Of Research Trends, Meghana B. P. Ms, Ghouse Modin Nabeesab Mamdapur Mr, Sidhartha Sahoo Mr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In the current study, we presented an overview of the publication profile of Food and Bioproducts Processing (FBP), a leading international journal on food processing. The detailed analysis was made to measure its scientific progress from 1995 to 2019 by identifying publication trends, most cited articles, leading institutes, and profolic countries. The publication dataset and citations information were retrieved from the Scopus bibliographic database hosted by Elsevier. Several scientific achievements were observed in publications (n=1548), impact factor 3.726 or CiteScore 6.10, and the citations (a total of 33,663) over the 25-year time frame. The factorial analysis revealed that the …