Food Processing Commons^™

Multiphysics Modeling To Understand Microwave-Food Interactions In A Multi-Port Solid-State Microwave System., Kartik Verma

Masters Theses

Multiphysics modeling plays a crucial role in understanding the complexities of microwave-food interactions, especially in multi-port solid-state microwave systems where microwave parameters can be precisely and dynamically controlled. However, previous models using simplistic or manually measured oven geometries face challenges in accurately simulating the microwave heating process. This study first developed a robust 3-D scanning approach to capture precise geometric details of the oven cavity, incorporating them into multiphysics modeling for solid-state microwave heating. Furthermore, a quantitative validation approach was also developed to characterize modeling accuracy against experimental results. The results showed that multiphysics modeling with 3-D scanned geometry demonstrated …

Foaming Properties Of Dilute Pea Protein Solutions, Jiani Bao

Masters Theses

Plant-derived protein such as pea protein is a promising replacement for animal protein and is becoming popular in recent years because of its high nutritional value and potential reduction of environmental footprint. However, the increasing demand for plant-derived proteins is accompanied by the increase of wastes during protein processing such as wastewater containing dilute protein content, which may raise the cost for the downstream processing. Therefore, there is an emerging need to develop novel processing strategies to reduce waste while valorizing useful ingredients. Several researchers suggest that foam fractionation technology can be a viable approach to extract and concentrate protein …

Modeling And Quality Analysis Of Radio Frequency Heating Of Low Moisture Foods, Qianyi Chen

Masters Theses

Low moisture food is usually considered as high safety food. Since its low water activity (aw < 7), this would be a strict environment for pathogen microbes to grow in the low moisture food. However, the recent outbreaks of Salmonella in low moisture foods indicated the possibility of microbiological contamination happened during the harvesting, processing or transportation of food products. Since the bad heat conduction of conventional thermal process on low moisture food, radiofrequency (RF) treatment is a promising technology to improve the heating efficiency with its volumetric heating. Nevertheless, non-uniformity heating is still a challenge in RF technology. There are two research chapters in this study. The first research chapter was to use computer modeling to understand the improvement of applied immersion fluids on the RF heating of the cornflour. The model had a good agreement with the experiment results. The modeling results showed that the soybean oil immersion could reduce the electric field distortion to get the best heating uniformity. Also, the higher sample heating rate caused by soybean oil immersion was mainly because of higher electromagnetic power absorption and lower surface heat loss. The heating efficiency of RF was improved but less study focused on the quality analysis of flour. Therefore, the second research study is to evaluate the effect of RF and extensive hot air oven processing on the quality and functionality of all-purposed flour.

Adding Increased Value To Strawberry Puree By Adding Xylo-Oligosaccharides To Improve Health, Haochen Dai

Masters Theses

Cancer is a global risk for human wellness and health. Dietary habits could profoundly affect the risk of certain cancer, such as colorectal cancer (CRC) (Platz, 2000). CRC has listed the third leading cancer among male and female in the United States (Stewart, 2014). Surprisingly, the consumption of dietary fiber has an inverse correlation with the mortality of CRC (Song, 2018). However, most Americans do not consume enough dietary fiber to meet the recommended level of dietary fiber intake (Clemens, 2012; Lee-Kwan, 2017). Hence, it is reasonable to increase the nutrient density, i.e., dietary fiber, of current food model. Xylo-oligosaccharides …

Sodium Reduction In Turkey Breast Meat By Using Sodium Anion Species, Janamkumar Pandya

Masters Theses

Research studies show that an average American consumes 3,400 to 4,500 mg/day of sodium in their diet against the dietary recommendation of 1,500 to 2,300 mg/day. The majority of this sodium comes from processed foods. Excess sodium in the diet can potentially cause health issues such as hypertension, heart attack, kidney failure, and bone problems. The objective of this study is to understand sodium diffusion in a protein model using turkey breast meat and determine the opportunities of its reduction by changing the process conditions and combining table salt with other sodium salts.

Since proteins are a complicated system and …

Influence Of Hierarchical Interfacial Assembly On Lipase Stability And Performance In Deep Eutectic Solvent, Stephanie M. Andler

Masters Theses

Hierarchical systems that integrate nano- and macroscale structural elements can offer enhanced stability over traditional immobilization methods. Microparticles were synthesized using interfacial assembly of lipase with (CLMP-N) and without (CLMP) nanoparticles into a crosslinked polymeric core, to determine the impact of the highly ordered system on lipase stability in extreme environments. Kinetic analysis revealed the macrostructure significantly increases the turnover rate (k_cat) following immobilization. The macrostructure also stabilized lipase at neutral and basic pH values, while the nanoparticles influenced stability under acidic pH conditions. A greener solvent, choline chloride and urea, was applied to produce sugar ester …

Chemical Disinfectants For The Inactivation Of The Emerging Foodborne Aichi Virus, Andres Ignacio Arreaza

Masters Theses

Aichi virus (AiV) is an emerging virus responsible for gastroenteritis outbreaks worldwide. Improved decontamination methods are being researched to control AiV spread. The effects of common hard surface disinfectants including benzalkonium chloride (BAC), potassium peroxymonosulfate (KPMS), tribasic sodium phosphate (TSP) as well as sodium metasilicate (SMS) and calcium hypochlorite (Ca(ClO)₂) [calcium hypochlorite] against AiV need to be explored. The objective of this research was to determine their effects against AiV using suspension and carrier tests over various contact times at room temperature. Phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.2 as control), 0.64% BAC, 10% KPMS, 10% TSP, 0.16 and 0.3% …

Changes In Carbohydrates Of Navy Beans During Hydration And Subsequent Thermal Processing, Robert Blake Lowe

Masters Theses

Navy beans were subjected to six different hydration protocols that varied in time, temperature, and methodology after which they were thermally processed in both a brine solution and a typical baked bean sauce. Beans, isolated starch, and hydration fluid were analyzed immediately after the completion of hydration protocols. Significant differences were noted between those protocols utilizing low heat (1 and 2) and those utilizing high heat methods (3-6). Bean from low heat protocols were firmer overall. Starch granules from low heat beans were smaller in overall size, experienced less surface damage retained birefringence, and could absorb more water (higher swell …

The Effects Of Roasting Time And Temperature On The Antioxidant Capacity Of Cocoa Beans From Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Indonesia, And Ivory Coast, Whitney Leigh Harrington

Masters Theses

Roasting is an important processing step for developing cocoa flavor, color, and aroma. Cocoa beans contain polyphenolic compounds, which can be desirable antioxidants. Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) values can be used as an indicator of health benefits of antioxidants in foods. ORAC values measure total antioxidant capacity of different foods by measuring antioxidant scavenging activity against peroxyl radical induced by 2,2’-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH). This measurement of total antioxidant capacity gives a complete assessment during which the inhibition time and inhibition degree are measured as the reaction comes to a completion. ORAC values were determined as Trolox Equivalents (TE). …

Quality Of Applesauce And Raspberry Puree Applesauce As Affected By Type Of Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Salts And Chelators Under Stress Storage Conditions, Eric Calvin Goan

Masters Theses

Applesauce prepared for the US military is processed as MRE (meals-ready-to-eat) in several forms including Type VI - Applesauce with raspberry puree, and Type VII - Carbohydrate enriched applesauce. Production of MRE applesauce starts with commercially prepared and thermally processed applesauce that is further processed by a military contractor. The further processing includes adjusting pH, ºBrix, and ascorbic acid level, packaging into pouches, and again thermally processing. Both types of the MRE applesauce are very much liked by troops, but under stress storage applesauce darkens and its consumption is drastically reduced. The overall goal of this project was to identify …