Food Science Commons^™

Detecting Errors In Generating A Certificate Of Analysis, Breanne Harlan

Dairy Science

Many companies rely on a Certificate of Analysis (COA) to accompany the delivery of their product or material. The COA, required by law, prevents customers from questioning whether a product is safe and ensures manufacturers confirm every product tested passes the Food and Drug Administration’s required specifications. Previous to this project, Kraft Foods Springfield copied their test results for each product from their data warehouse software, called Systems, Applications, and Products onto a Word document to create a COA. This was a systematic approach to detect the possible occurrences of error and reduce the time spent on generating a COA. …

Effect Of Post Manufacture Thermal Dip Treatment On Proteolysis Of Commercial String Cheese During Storage, Melissa Karen Hsu

Master's Theses

String cheese, a Mozzarella cheese, has the unique ability to string in fibrous strands when pulled apart. Graders judge string cheese by its stringy texture; samples with copious amounts of string are awarded high ratings. But just as the texture of natural cheeses softens with time, the stringy texture of string cheese can diminish with age too.

Age related softening in cheese is due primarily to an important biochemical event known as proteolysis, which is attributed to inherent milk proteinases, residual coagulant activity, and enzymes from the lysis of starter culture microorganisms. It is hypothesized that a post manufacture heat …

Interactive Displays On Environmental Stewardship For General Agricultural Audiences, Leslie J. Johnson, Charles Shapiro

Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Faculty and Staff Publications

Extension displays are not always easy to develop. Interactive displays for general audiences are even more difficult. Each year, the University of Nebraska – Lincoln develops multiple displays for Husker Harvest Days, a Nebraska-based agricultural trade show. The University’s 2012 theme was “Strengthening the State of Beef”. The Animal Manure Management workgroup, along with others working in environmental stewardship at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln came together to develop a backdrop titled “Nebraska’s beef industry thrives by its stewardship”. Along with the backdrop, multiple interactive displays were used to grab the attention of an agricultural audience not necessarily involved …

Chemotaxonomic Study Of Citrus, Poncirus And Fortunella Genotypes Based On Peel Oil Volatile Compounds - Deciphering The Genetic Origin Of Mangshanyegan (Citrus Nobilis Lauriro), Cuihua Liu, Dong Jiang, Yunjiang Cheng, Xiuxin Deng, Feng Chen, Liu Fang, Zhaocheng Ma, Juan Xu

Publications

Volatile profiles yielded from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis provide abundant information not only for metabolism-related research, but also for chemotaxonomy. To study the chemotaxonomy of Mangshanyegan, its volatile profiles of fruit and leaf and those of 29 other genotypes of Citrus, Poncirus, and Fortunella were subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Results showed that 145 identified (including 64 tentatively identified) and 15 unidentified volatile compounds were detected from their peel oils. The phylogenetic analysis of peel oils based on hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) demonstrated a good agreement with the Swingle taxonomy system, in which the three genera of Citrus, Poncirus, and …

The Space Age Sugar Shack, Stephen G. Saupe

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Consumer Evaluation Of Low Sodium Mozzarella Cheese And Development Of A Novel Method For Evaluating Emotions, Lauren Alyse Collinsworth

Master's Theses

Mozzarella cheese is currently the highest consumed cheese in the United States. The popularity of mozzarella cheese is typically attributed to the high consumption rates of pizza cheese and string cheese; both of which are low moisture part skim (LMPS) mozzarella cheese. A single serving of LMPS mozzarella cheese contains approximately 8% of the daily value (DV) for sodium, a mineral which is currently consumed in excess among most Americans. On average, one in three Americans has hypertension. This condition is strongly associated with excessive sodium intake, and it is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke in …

Temperament Plays Key Role In Cattle Health, Sandra Avant

Agricultural Research Magazine

Do you know someone who’s temperamental? What about an animal? Amazingly, cattle can be temperamental too, which influences how they should be handled, how they perform, and even how they react to viruses that cause diseases.

For cattle, temperament is defined as the reactivity or fear response to humans or handling. Terms used to describe temperamental animals include “flighty,” “excitable,” and “high strung.” These animals can potentially injure themselves or their handlers.

Beef cattle experience stressful events during routine management practices— weaning, transportation, social mixing, and vaccination. These practices have been shown to induce secretion of the stress-related hormones cortisol …

Rolling Out Cover Crops For Higher Yields And Improved Soil Quality, Ted S. Kornecki

Agricultural Research Magazine

Growers who use cover crops are increasingly turning to a tool that can flatten out their actively growing fields, usually in a single pass. Known as a “roller/ crimper,” the technology can help reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for herbicides and is ideal for organic farmers and growers interested in reducing herbicide use.

Cover crops can improve soil quality; and in organic operations, they play a major role in keeping weeds in check. Crimpers boost those benefits. They have been used for years in South America and are beginning to catch on in the United States, says Ted Kornecki, …

Identifying Compounds To Help Control Bed Bugs, Mark Feldlaufer

Agricultural Research Magazine

When planning an attack on bothersome pests, it’s a good idea to know your enemies, especially if they happen to be bed bugs. These small, flat, blood-feeding insects—an uncommon problem since the 1950s—have once again become a menace in homes, apartments, hotels, shelters, and even places of work in the last 10 years.

Despite extensive efforts to determine whether bed bugs transmit disease-causing pathogens, no evidence indicates that they are a problem other than their biting, blood feeding, and dirty habits. However, some people have severe reactions to bed bug bites, and getting rid of the insects can be costly. …

Lifting All Boats With Organic And Conventional Research, Matt Smith

Agricultural Research Magazine

At first glance, the divide between organic and conventional farming appears to be of Grand Canyon proportions. But when it comes to research, the distance between organic and conventional farming practices is not nearly so great.

The Agricultural Research Service has a national program that specifically carries out studies aimed at helping organic farmers to compete in the marketplace by finding ways to cost-effectively produce abundant amounts of high-quality, safe products to meet consumer demands.

Consumer demand for organically produced goods has shown double-digit growth for well over a decade, providing market incentives for U.S. farmers across a broad range …

Studying Manure In Cows, In Feedlots, And In Fields, Lisa M. Durso, John Gilley, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

Agricultural Research Service scientists at the Agroecosystems Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Nebraska, have been conducting some very thorough investigations on the microbes that dwell in cattle manure—what they are, where they thrive, where they struggle, and where they may end up. “When we look at potential pathogens that can cause foodborne illness, we need to look at the whole bacterial ecosystem,” says ARS microbiologist Lisa Durso. “For instance, some people used to think all cattle have the same bacteria in their gastrointestinal [GI] tracts. But we’ve found some big differences; so if we say, ‘Oh, it’s just manure,’ we …

State Department’S Gift Of Dogwoods To Japan In Honor Of 100th Anniversary Of Cherry Tree Gift, Richard Olsen, Sharon Durham

Agricultural Research Magazine

More than 100 years ago, the Japanese government presented flowering cherry trees as a gift to the U.S. government. Those wonderful living gifts have blossomed along the National Mall’s Tidal Basin, as well as at other locations around Washington, D.C., since then.

In April 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a gift of 3,000 flowering dogwood trees to Japan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the United States.

The job of finding the right dogwoods belongs to scientists at the U.S. National Arboretum, in Washington, D.C. Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist Richard Olsen …

February 2013- Locations Featured In This Magazine Issue

Agricultural Research Magazine

The Agricultural Research Service has about 100 labs all over the country.

Locations Featured in This Magazine Issue

U.S. Agricultural Research Station, Salinas, California 1 research unit ■ 51 employees

Pullman, Washington 6 research units ■ 136 employees

Akron, Colorado 1 research unit ■ 28 employees

Cropping Systems Research Laboratory, Lubbock, Texas 4 research units ■ 113 employees

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska 6 research units ■ 113 employees

Lincoln, Nebraska 2 research units ■ 81 employees

Auburn, Alabama 2 research units ■ 46 employees

Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Ithaca, …

Robust Results From Long-Term Research On Organic Cover Cropping, Eric Brennan, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

“We can obtain important results from short-term field studies, but they don’t always capture year-to year variability. Long-term research often provides more reliable results that farmers need,” says Agricultural Research Service horticulturist Eric Brennan.

Brennan speaks from personal experience. In 2003, he and a team of University of California-Davis collaborators began a 2-year field study that evolved into a unique long-term investigation of high value organic cropping. The project, the Salinas Organic Cropping Systems trial, is being conducted on an ARS research farm and is now in its 10th year of certified organic production. Brennan, who works in the ARS …

New Tools For Studying The Root Of The Matter, Leon V. Kochian, Dennis O’Brien

Agricultural Research Magazine

Like any structure, a root has its own architecture. Some roots burrow straight down into the soil. Others scatter web-like tentacles. However they turn out, root systems play a critical role in the health and survival of today’s crops. That’s why Agricultural Research Service scientists in Ithaca, New York, have developed a new tool for studying root architecture, one that brings them out in three-dimensional color. It’s a major step forward in a challenging field.

Studying root-system architecture can be extremely difficult because the opaque nature of soils makes it hard to capture and visualize the root structures. Also, field …

Travel Patterns Of Wind-Blown Soil Microbes, Veronica Acosta-Martinez, Dennis O’Brien

Agricultural Research Magazine

When strong winds carry away soil, microbes in the soil can act like hitchhikers and go along for the ride. With help from a wind tunnel and the latest DNA technology, Agricultural Research Service scientists are shedding light on the travel patterns of these soil-borne hitchhikers. The work has implications for soil health and could lead to management practices that minimize the damage to soils caused by wind erosion.

Scientists have been studying wind-eroded soils since the 1930s, but few studies have focused on wind’s effect on soil microbes. Microbes drive a number of critical processes, such as releasing enzymes …

Emerging Enemy Of Veggies Unmasked, Carolee T. Bull, Marcia Wood

Agricultural Research Magazine

Chic, trendy veggies like arugula and baby broccoli, and familiar stand-bys like Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, are vulnerable to attack by a once-puzzling pathogen. Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist Carolee T. Bull and colleagues have, in laboratory, greenhouse, and field research, detected, identified, renamed, and classified the plant-killing microbe that’s now officially known as Pseudomonas cannabina pv. alisalensis. “Pv.” stands for “pathovar” and indicates that the microbe is a specific pathogenic form, or strain, of a species.

Their work has sorted out some of the taxonomic confusion surrounding classification of the large, complex group of harmful bacteria in …

New Club Wheat Holding Its Own Against Fungal Disease, Kim Garland-Campbell, Jan Suszkiw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Pacific Northwest wheat growers now have added insurance against outbreaks of yield-robbing fungi, thanks to Cara, a soft, white, winter club wheat cultivar developed by the Agricultural Research Service that boasts high levels of disease resistance and outstanding flour quality.

Washington State accounts for 77 percent, or 230,000 acres, of the entire U.S. club wheat crop, with the remainder produced in Oregon and Idaho. Much of the acreage in Washington and Oregon is planted with three cultivars: Bruehl, Cara, and Chukar. Spring-sown club wheat cultivars JD and Eden are grown on another 11,000 acres. Although several other winter club wheats …

Agricultural Research Magazine, February 2013

Agricultural Research Magazine

Table of Contents

4 Robust Results From Long-Term Research on Organic Cover Cropping

6 Rolling Out Cover Crops for Higher Yields and Improved Soil Quality

8 Emerging Enemy of Veggies Unmasked

11 Travel Patterns of Wind-Blown Soil Microbes

12 New Tools for Studying the Root of the Matter

14 Identifying Compounds To Help Control Bed Bugs

16 Studying Manure in Cows, in Feedlots, and in Fields

18 New Club Wheat Holding Its Own Against Fungal Disease

20 Temperament Plays Key Role in Cattle Health

22 State Department’s Gift of Dogwoods to Japan in Honor of 100th Anniversary of Cherry Tree …

Challenges In Testing Genetically Modified Crops For Potential Increases In Endogenous Allergen Expression For Safety, Rakhi Panda, H. Ariyarathna, Plaimein Amnuaycheewa, Afua O. Tetteh, S. N. Pramod, Steve Taylor, B. K. Ballmer-Weber, Richard E. Goodman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Premarket, genetically modified (GM) plants are assessed for potential risks of food allergy. The major risk would be transfer of a gene encoding an allergen or protein nearly identical to an allergen into a different food source, which can be assessed by specific serum testing. The potential that a newly expressed protein might become an allergen is evaluated based on resistance to digestion in pepsin and abundance in food fractions. If the modified plant is a common allergenic source (e.g. soybean), regulatory guidelines suggest testing for increases in the expression of endogenous allergens. Some regulators request evaluating endogenous allergens for …